SURReUNDINCS' A LYNN AND i RROUNDINGS Clarence W. Hobbs. ILLUSTRATED. -1886. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1886, by l.Kwis & WiNSHip, Publishers, In the ofiice of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. C<^'. X C ' ^- / h List of Illustrations, . ..... Pages 4, 5, 6 Preface, ........... 7 "High Rock," II Introduction — "Lynn and Surroundings," .... 13 Saugus, .......... 17 " Saugust is called Lin," ....... 23 Lynn Legends. .Bride of Pennacook, ...... 35 The Pirates' Glen, ....... 36 Dungeon Rock, ......... 38 Treasure of Pines Point, . . . ... 40 The Quaker Invasion, ... ... 44 The Witchcraft Tragedy, . . 50 Moll Pitcher, .......... 55 The Sea Serpent, . . . ..... 59 City of Lynn, . , . .... 62 Leading Industries, . . ... 68 Among the Churches ......... 82 Glimpses of the Town, . . . 102 Organizations, . . . . 123, Some Lynn People, . ... 135 Lynn and Surroundings, . . 155, llusipaiions, Frontispiece — High Rock, ..... IO Title Heading — Lynn and Surroundings, 13 Natural Scenery. — Foot of Nahant street. 16 Across the Marshes, .... 17 Clifi- Rock 17 Lake Wenuchus, .... 21 A Glimpse of the Marsh, . ... 22 Phaeton Rock, ... . . 23 Floating IJridge, ...... 24 Great Dwarf Rock, . . ... 25 Red Rock, . ... 34 Tedesco Rocks, Swampscott, .... 35 Ascent to Dungeon Rock, ..... 37 Entrance to Dungeon Rock, 38 Dread Ledge, 43 Eastern Point, Nahant, .... S9 N.nhant Breakers, . . . ¦ 61 Breakwater, Lynn Beach, 67 Sliding Rock, ... . . 81 Spring Pond, . .... 102 Waite's Well, ..... 103 Breed's Pond, .... 108 Lovers' Leap, . ... III Lynn Beach, . 122 Strawberry Brook, 124 Hunters' Cabin in the Woods, near Flax Pond, 159 Historical Skefches. — Indian Maiden, 18 First Map of Saufjus. A. Lewis. 19 Early Homes in .Saugus, ..... 20 Abijah Boanlman Home-tead, Saugus, 24 Indian Signatures to Deed of Lynn, 26 Olrl Town Hall, . . . . 29 Southwest Side of Market street, .( (1 (< tt 30 Old Anchor Tavern, . ... 3132 First R. R Stalion in Lynn, 33 D,irk Entrance to Pirates' Cave, .... 39 Relics from Pirates Cave, 39 Old Anvil from Pirates' Cave, 40 Treasure Digger at Pines Point, 41 The .-Vrk, F.iyeite street, ..... 44 Aucticjn Sale of a Quaker, ..... 47 Witches' Ride to Meeting, 50 Execution of Ann Hibbins, 52 Parsonage, Salem -Village, . ... S3 Witches' Attendants, 54 Moll Pitcher, . . . 55 Moll Pitcher's Cottage, 57 Grave of Mull Pitcher, .... 58 Sea Serpent, . .... 60 Old Shoe Shop, ...... 69 Primitive Shoemaking, 69 " 1 lannah at the Window, Binding Shoes," 70 Shed at West Lynn, ..... 102 Map of Lynn fifty years ago, ..... 102 Blue Tavern, Liberty street, 103 Hawthorne House, ...... 123 Early Settlers, ..... 135 'Views of Lynx. — Lynn, looking southeast from High Rock, 13 Lynn, from Nahant road, ... 62 West Lynn and Lynn Common, from City Flail Tower, 104 Looking south, from A. B. Martin's residence, . 115 Scene in Maple street, Old Parrott Homestead, 14 Gold Fish Pond, ...... IS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Views of Lynn, Continued. — Old Houses on Boston street, Sketch on Walnut street, Old Shoe Shop, Lynn Harbor, Yacht Regatta, Mt. Vernon street, . Willow street, Central square, Early Morning in Union street, . Mall, on the Common, Commercial street, Looking down Market street. Soldier's Monument, City Hall square, Frog Pond on the Common, Market square, The Common, from Market square. Looking up Mall street, Entrance to Pine Grove Cemetery, The Garden in Pine Grove Cemetery, Washington street, Highland square, Nahant street, Newhall street, Baltimore street, Tudor street, . Ocean street, Munroe street. Egg Rock, by Moonlight, Egg Rock, by Sunlight, . Franklin Square, East Saugus, Lincoln Avenue, East Saugus, Swampscott, Lincoln House, Swampscott, Nahant, . Map of Nahant, Nahant Beach, ..... Bass Beach, .... Buildings. — Lynn City Hall, City Hall square, C. D. Pecker & Co.'s Factory, Central square, Ashcroft Building, Union street. Alley Building, Union street, Buffum Block, Union street, V. K. & A, H. Jones' Factory, Broad street, J. N. Buffum & Co.'s Block, Broad street, Lennox Block, Market street, D, A. Caldwell & Co.'s Factory, Oxford street, Morgan & Dore's Factory, C)xfurd street, . Lucius Beebe & Son's Factory, West Lynn, Boscobel Hotel, Market square. Hotel Nahant, Nahant road. Home fur Aged Women, North Common street, Lynn Hospital, Boston street, Children's Home, Boston street, . City Almshouse, Boston street, Massachusetts Temperance Home, New Ocean street, Grand Army Building, Andrew street, -V'oung Men's Christian Association Building, Market street, Odd Fellows; Building, Market street, Lee Hall, City Hall square, First National Bank, cor. Broad and Exchange streets, . Highland School, Highlands, Cobbett School, Franklin street, Shepard School, Warren street, . Broad Street Engine House, Fayette Street Engine House, Federal Street Engine House, Old Lyceum Building, Market street. Churches. — Original First Church, Second First Church, " Old Tunnel," Third First Church, now Seccnd Univeisalist, . 2327 6668 72 74 80 8284 105 106106107 107108 nono 112 "3 117117 it8118119129155 155 156 156 158 158158 159 160161 65 73 757677 76 77 78 7^ 79 79 107 122 123 124 125125125126127127 130130 131131131132133 133 134 8283 84 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Churches, Continued. — Fourth First Church, burned in 1870, First Church, Congregational, South Common street, Central Congregational Church, Silsbee street, North Congregational Church, Laighton street, The -'Old Bowery" Church, site of Lee Hall, First Methodist Church, City Hall square, St Paul's Methodist Church, Union street, . South Street Methodist Church, Boston Street Methodist Church, First Baptist Church, North Common street, Washington Street Baptist Church, East Baptist Ch'arch, Union street, First Universalist Church, Nahant street, . Christ Church, North Common street, . Interior of St. Stephen's Church, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, South Common street. Chapel of the Incarnation, Estes street, St. Mary's Church, City Hall square, . Portraits. — Mary Pitcher, (Moll Pitcher), Hon. George Hood, Lynn's First Mayor, Hon. Peter M. Neal, Lynn's War Mayor, . Rev. Parsons Cooke, formerly of First Church, Rev, James L. Hill, North Church, Rev. James M. Pullman, D,D., First Universalist Church E. Redington Mudge, Donor of St. Stephen's Church, Rev. F. L. Norton, D.D., St. Stephen's Church, Rev. John L. Egbert, Church of the Incarnation, Richard W. Drown, A. C. Moody, Alonzo Lewis, Judge J. R. Newhall. David N. Johnson, Hon, John B, Alley, .... John B. Tolman, .... Hon. Wm. F. Johnson, Hon. James N. Buffum, Benj. F. Doak, Francis W. Breed, . Hon. Josiah C. Bennett, John P. Woodbury, Hon. John R. Baldwin, . Henry F. Hurlburt, Esq., Hon. Geo. D. Hart, Hon. Henry B. Levering, Chas, O. Beede, Col. Gardiner Tufts, Gen. B. F. Peach, Hon. F. D. Allen, . Capt. John G. B. Adams, Wm. A. Clark, Jr,, David Walker, Hon. Frank W. Jones, Horace A. Roberts, . . • . Residences. — Roland G. Usher Homestead, City Hall square, John T. Moulton's Home, Mall street. Judge J. R, Newhall's Cottage, Walnut street, . John W. Healey's Residence, Washington street, C, K. Clark's Residence, cor. Western avenue and Washington street, S. C. Newhall's Residence, Flighland square, Hutchinson Cottage, High Rock, Residence of A. B. Martin, High Rock avenue, Residence of Hon. J. N. Buffum, Herbert street, Residence of Hon. J. 0. Bennett, Beacon Hill avenue. Residence of Hon. J. B. Alley, Nahant street, . Residence of Eugene Barry, Nahant street. Residence of F. W. Breed, Ocean street, - Residence of J. P. Woodbury. Nahant street, Residence of Joseph N. Smith, Ocean street, . 848587 90 9191 92 93 93 949696 9799 100 56 63 64 95 9798 99 128 132 136137 137139 140140 .141 142 143 144145 145 146 147 148148 149 150151152 152153153 154105 108 109III112113 114 114 116 116 117 119 120 120 121 N dedicating this book to those very dear friends, the reading public, a fe-w ® words of explanation and acknowrledgement may be in order. I The aim has not been to produce a new history of Lynn, for the work of 4 Lewis, Newhall, and others in that line, in point of completeness, leaves very T little to be desired. Neither is this work designed as a guide book, though I possibly it might serve a stranger tolerably well in that capacity. The writer has simply sought to reproduce in as attractive garb as possible, the impressions received by hiin in his endeavor to become acquainted with our Lynn and her Surroundings, her people and her history ; and the book is commended to its readers in the hope that they may share in the interest and pleasure which the work of preparation has brought to him. Nothing is claimed on the score of originality. All sources of infonxiation have been remorselessly drawn upon, so that it is simpty — "A handful of culled flowers I bring. With nothing of my own, except the string That binds them." Acknowledgments are therefore due in many quarters. To make them in order would be tedious ; consequently all must be expressed in a single compre hensive bow. In selecting the subjects for illustration an eftbrt has been made to so distribute them that they might serve not only to illumine the text, but also to enable the pei'son examining them, perchance an absent son of Lynn, to obtain something of an idea of the appearance of the city, and to this end the List of Illustrations will be found of especial usefulness. The work has been made as complete as its liinits would allow. One is, however, strongly impressed with the transitory nature of things by the fact that the changes wrought by the spirit of progress and iinprovement, and by death, since this work was undertaken, have already transformed some pages of this record of to-day into history. No attempt will be made to point these out, neither to correct some slight errata ; some will surely find them out, and those who do not will be quite as happy, not knowing. eVERLOOKING the town of Lynn, So far above that the city's din Mingles and blends with the heavy roar Of the breakers along the curving shore; Scarred and furrowed and glacier-seamed Back in the ages so long ago The boldest philosopher never dreamed To count the centuries' ebb and flow; .Stands a rock, with its gray old face Eastward ever turned, to the place Where first the rim of the sun is seen, Whenever the morning sky is bright, Cleaving the glistening, glancing sheen Of the sea with a disc of insufferable light. Down in the earth its roots strike deep; Up to his breast the houses creep, Climbing e'en to his rugged face, Or nestling lovingly at his base. Stand on his forehead, bare and brown; Send your gaze o'er the roofs of the town Away to the line, so faint and dim, Where the sky stoops down to the crystal rim Of the broad Atlantic, whose billows toss. Wrestling and weltering and hurrying on With awful fury, whenever across His broad, bright surface, with howl and moan, The tempest whirls, with black wing bowed To the yielding waters which fly to the cloud, Or hurry along, with thunderous shocks, To break on the ragged and riven rocks. When the tide comes in on a sunny day, You can see the i\-aves break back in spray From the splintered spurs of Phillips' Head; Or, tripping along with dainty tread. As of a million glancing feet, Shake out the light in a quick retreat; Or along the smooth curve of the beach, Snowy and curling, in long lines reach An islet, anchored and held to land By a glistening, foam-fringed ribbon of sand — That is Nahant, and that hoary ledge To the left is Egg Rock, like a blunted wedge Cleaving the restless ocean's breast, And bearing the light-house on its crest. — Elizabeth F. Merrill. are found within her borders. r* YNN is like no other New England city. ¦y Both in situation and surroundings, she has a beauty and a charm all her own, and in her natural physical characteristics is displayed a marked individuality. All the varied scenes of town, sea-shore and country " The fanner drives his team afield " not far from the stirring inart, and the fisherman mends his nets in sight of the tower ing, smoke-wreathed chimneys of the large factories. But a short distance northward from the City Hall are bosky dells between the hills where one may hide, and many peaceful lakes where the wanderer may catch the reflection of wooded shore and shadowy cloud ; while nearer still, in the opposite direction, is the stnooth beach, where one may walk the shining sand, plunge beneath the curling breakers, or from fhe neighboring clifT count the sails and watch the mighty pulsations of the restless heart of ocean, as with ceaseless throbs she sends the wavelets hurrying toward the shore. Or, better still, if one has but an hour for sight-seeing, let him climb the stairs to the top ofthe rugged observ atory built by nature, ages before man built the town, and a wondrous panorama unfolds before his eyes. At his feet lie the city and the shore ; on the landward side the view is limited only by the dark background of evergreen-clad hills, while toward the sea the scene dies away in the purple haze which hangs like a veil over the bosom of the ocean. No point of view on the Atlantic gives a larger return for so little effort, and no other city of the New World can boast of such an endless variety of landscape and sea-view, hill and valley, lake and river, cottage-crowned cliff and rock-bound shore, with the bright waters of the bay 14 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. dimpling and sparkling in the sunlight. On a clear day the scene is full of life and light, and is inspiring and exhilarating in a high degree. But -when the storm cloud hangs over the waters, and the huge waves seem to gather their forces for a final assault upon the opposing rocks, and the spray flies in clouds far up on the shore, the scene is full of grandeur. Let us together visit High Rock, and see these things for ourselves. One hundred and seventy feet to the top ; and approached from the northward, the ascent is gradual and eas}' ; but on the seaward side both wind and limb get well tested, though the climb is now facilitated by successive flights of steps set in an iron frame-work upon the face ofthe cliff. There was once a wooden tower on the summit of the rock, but one night it disappeared in smoke ; and now we take our stand upon the bare rock, or lean against the flag-staff. The eye naturally turns first toward the sea. At the left is the village of Swampscott, with its cluster of fishing-boats and white beach covered with dories and fishing-nets spread out to dry. Further out is Baker's Island, with its light, the -white towers of Marblehead, and on a clear day is seen the distant headland of Cape Ann. Off to the right are the dark brown monumentof Bunker Hill and the gilded dome on Beacon Hill. Further to the north we get a glimpse of Wachusett rising above the succession of lesser hills, and to the south the Blue Hills of Milton lie misty in the distance. Nearer stretches out the graceful curve of Crescent Beach, and directly in front of us ¦ I J I -- ¦ts *' /f ^^ _ I -^<:S- ' 1 1^ •¦" ni "i^' v 'Ji:,. ¦A" m i. >fc- ¦¦ W'-^ -^lE MAPLE STREET, GLEXMERE. is the harbor, its bounds determined on the one hand by the Point of Pines, and on the other by the dark rocks of the Nahants — those twin gems of the North Shore, connected with the mainland only by a narrow neck of sand — "A snowy ribbon, fringed with foam." Lying low in the waters of the bay, seemingly no larger than a fisherman's dory, is Egg Rock, with its white light-house, for thirty years a faithful sentinel on a dangerous coast. Around to the northeast are seen the hills and plains of GOLD-FISH POND. 15 Danvers and Peabody, while through a gap in the hills we catch a glimpse of our near neighbor, Salem. Back from the town stretch a ledgy range of hills — of which High Rock is the most easterly — their sides clothed with dark green trees, save -where these have given way to beautiful cottages, and occasionally a more stately residence ; and each of them has its name : Lover's Leap, a steep cliff one hundred feet high from its base, and one hundred and thirty from the sea level ; Pine Hill, two hundred and twenty-four feet high, at the southwestern extremity of which is Saddler's Rock, one hundred and sixty feet high ; and among them are the Pirates' Cave, Dungeon Rock, Glen Lewis, and many other beautiful spots made doubly interesting by the halo of legend and romance which surrounds their names. At our feet lies the city, circling around on either side and climbing the sides of the hill until many of its houses nestle under the very edge of the rock on which we stand. Northeast of us lie the pretty villages of W\'oma and Glenmere, and the once beautiful lake, bearing the musical name of the Indian maiden, Wenuchus. In its waters our foremothers rotted their flax, whence came its more practical and homely name. No-w the useful but prosaic ice house sadly mars the symmetry of its shores. Further to the east Gold-fish Uw i fat, Ct, Vifa GOLD-FISH POND, FAYETTE STREET. Pond lies like a gem in the sunlight, while crowning the eminence which overlooks the bay are hundreds of beautiful residences, half hid among the leafy branches of the elms and maples. Directly to the southwest, between us and the harbor, is the manufacturing district. At this distance we hear little of the noise of the city, but we can see the busy life as it pours up and down the streets. The buildings have a substantial and prosperous appear ance, and are admirably adapted to the great industry of the city. What a contrast between these solid structures of brick and the low wooden shops in which the shoe business of Lynn was transacted before the trade of shoemaking 16 LVNN AND SURROUNDINGS. had been evolved into a science ! As we turn toward the west, we see that the circus-field of our boyhood has become thickly populous ; and over the thick- leaved trees of the Common, which, from this standpoint, hide the shape thereof — so appropriate to the City of Shoes — we can see the white-walled homes of West Lynn stretching far out toward the Saugus River ; and beyond, as the sun is setting, we catch a glimpse of the shadowy hills and salty flats of the towns beyond. In our sweep we have counted the spires of the churches and the towers of the school-houses, admired the proportions of the City Hall, and marked where the two roads stretch their converging lines of rails toward Boston. We can dimh' see the gray stones in the old Burying Ground, where sleep the worthies of the colonial days, and to the north, gleaming fair, the white monuments of the more modern but equally silent city of the dead. There is little in this busy modern city to remind us that it has a history, and that the white man first trod the spot where we stand, more than two centuries and a half ago. The city of the fathers is no more — gone out as com pletely and permanently as the -ways and methods of the cordwainers who first plied their trade in her little shops. The makers of the labor-saving machines made over the somewhat scattered and straggling town of Lynn into a thriving and prosperous city, which refuses to believe the census-taker who says we have not yet fifty thousand inhabitants. FOOT OF NAHANT STREET. "1 A^HAT time the first white man set his foot upon the soil of Lynn, or who ^v^ he was, history revealeth not. Legends of a visit by Thorwald, \vith a ^ffi company of sturdy Norsemen, to Nahant in the eleventh century, as -well I j- as tales of explorations in these waters by the early English adventurers, Gosnold and Pring, are preserved ; but their foundation is obscure, if not doubt ful. It is reasonably certain, however, that in 1614 Capt. John Smith, having established his Virginia colony, sailed northward on a voyage of exploration ; and in his excellent description of the coast, he mentions the Mattahunts as two islands of great beauty, and gives such a minute description of the bay and surroundings as to leave little doubt that he explored the beauti ful peninsula, but had mistaken the pronunciation ofthe Indian name, Na- hanteau. In 1622 the whole territory knovyn as the Massachusetts, extending ten miles northeast from the Charles River, including Saugus and the Na hants, -was granted to Capt. Robert Gorges ; but he failed to perfect his title to his princely domain, and left his heirs only a series of vexatious la-w- suits, which vyere decided against them. The settlement of Salem -was begun in 1625 by the famous Roger Conant, who came thither -with the remnant of the Cape Ann colony. On the 19th of March, 1628, the Council in Eng land sold all that part of Massachusetts between three rniles north of the Charles River and three miles south of the Mer- CLIFF ROCK, NEAR PEABODY LINE. 18 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. rimack to a company of six gentlemen, among -whom was Mr. John Humphrey, who afterward became an honored citizen of Lynn. Until that time the Indians had held undisputed possession of the country. Essex County was included in the domain of Nan- apashemet, the mighty chief of the Pawtuckets, who sometimes made his home near the falls of the Merrimack, and occasionally on Sagamore Hill, at the eastern end of our city. But in a longandbloody war with the Tarratines, those terrible fight ers of eastern New England, Nana- pashemet, the New Moon, had gone down in a crimson sky ; and a terrible scourge, occurring shortlj- after, had so reduced the num bers of the >j,,v^& Indians that .O"*^ when the first ^ ^ settlers came, there were only jj C*" scatteringvillageshere and there, presided over by local sa chems, and the old warlike spirit of the noble red men ace to a more peaceful disposi- readiness to receive whatever in way ot benefits the hand of the -white men might bring. They were entirely will ing to sell whatever land the settlers desired, and did not hesi tate to sell the saine parcel as many times over as they could find a purchaser — a practice prolific of trouble for the settlers and business for the courts. The Indians are represented to have been tall and -well-formed, and one impressionable writer speaks of " the unparalleled beauty " of the Indian maidens, describing them as having " very good features, seldom given SAUGUS. 19 without a come-to-me in their countenance, all of them black-eyed, having even, short teeth, and very white, their hair black, thick and long, broad-breasted, handsome, straight bodies, and slender, thin limbs, cleanly, straight, generally plump as a partridge, and, saving now and then one, of modest deportment ; " and another says : " The Indessesthat are young are some of them very comely. Many prattle Bro-wnettos and spider-fingered lassies may be seen among them." No doubt the national costume of the Indians afforded abundant facilities for accurate personal description. THE FIRST MAP OF SAUGUS. Lewis, writing in 1844, gravely informs us that Lynn " is much smaller than it was before the towns of Saugus, Lynnfield, Reading and South Reading were separated from it." Since that time the towns of Swampscott and Nahant have taken up separate existence. All the territory comprising these towns was called by the Indians, Saugus. Salem was known as Naumkeag, Marblehead as Massabequash, and the territory lying southwest of Saugus had the musical appellation of Winnisimet, but it was included in the territory of Mystic, which. afterward became Boston. The marsh now lying partly in Chelsea and partly in Saugus was called Rumney marsh. When the white men came, Winne- poyekin — the Winnepurkit of Whittier's Bride of Pennacook — eldest son of Nanapashemet, " He whose name the Mohawk trembling heard," ruled the territory of Naumkeag, Montowampate was sachem of Saugus, and Poquanam of Nahant — all of them sons of Nanapashemet. The whites gave these three sagamores the less melodious but more pronounceable names of Sagamore James, Sagamore George No-nose and Duke William. It is evident that the " power and regal consequence" attributed to the Saugus chieftains had failed to impress the settlers as anything overwhelming. Most of the Indians hereabouts lived on Sagamore Hill, near the end of Long Beach, at Swamp- 20 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS scott, and at Nahant. Saugus signifies great or extended, and was used by the Indians to designate the long beach which stretched out in front of their official residence. The river which now goes by that name -was called by the Indians, Abousett. Nahant is a shortening ofthe Indian term Nahanteau, signifying the twins, and for many years the settlers adopted the Indian formula, and spoke ofthe two islands as the Nahants. When, therefore, in 1629 — probably in the leafy month of June — Edmund and Francis Ingalls, not liking the atmos phere of the Endicott settlement at Salem, set out to find a place to " set themselves downe," under the roving permission, given by the bluff and some times peppery Governor, to go where it pleased them, came hitherward search ing for a suitable location where they might carve themselves out a home, the}^ found a broken country, thickly covered with the primeval forest, save -where, here and there, the Indians had cleared srnall patches, where they planted their purnpkins, beans and corn. Without doubt they climbed High Rock to get the lay of the land, and as their eyes drank in the beautiful prospect, perhaps they felt in their hearts, as Thorwald is said to have done when he landed on Nahant : "Here it is beautiful, and here I -would like to fix my dwelling." Edmund chose "a fayre plaine" beside a sedgy lakelet, on -what is now called Fayette street, and Francis selected a spot nearer the beach in Swampscott, where he built the first tannery in New England. Newhall, in his Jewels of the Third Plantation, gives a charrning picture of the building of the first log cabin. There accompanied Edmund Ingalls from Salem, when he was read}' to com mence his habitation, a goodly compan)-, who lent -willing hands to the work. The corner stone, or, more properly, the corner log, was laid with earnest exhorta tion and lengthy prayer, and tradition has it that one Zachariah Hart worked harder, prayed longer and swore louder than an)- other man in the company. Three other families came to Lynn that year — Williair. Dixey, who remained here some years, but finally removed to Salem ; William Wood, who subsequently left to begin with others the settlement of Sandwich ; and John Wood, who lived on the corner of Essex and Chestnut streets, and from him that locality has ever since been called Woodend. The Indians received the settlers kindly, and rendered thei-n assistance in many ways, and, in return, received many benefits from the hands of the colonists. The following year saw nearly fifty families added to the number of settlers, who took up land in various portions of the plantation, and this year was born Thomas Newhall, the first white child who saw the light in Lynn. These settlers were principally farmers, who brought with them from England many of the necessaries and comforts of life, and possessed a large stock of cattle. The sheep, goats and swine were for many years pastured on Nahant, the danger from catamounts, bears and wolves being so great that the constant services ofa shepherd were required for their protection. The Saugus freemen took their seats in the General Court in 1630, an act which constituted E.VRLY HOMES IN SAUGUS. SAUGUS. 21 all the incorporation the town ever had. The legislators had mostly come from the walks of private life, and were unskilled in the mysteries of statecraft. Besides, the General Court had its calendar full of business, being called upon to regulate many of the most trifling details of everyday life, to say nothing of exercising a general oversight of the religious opinions of the settlers. As a consequence, many things which were well enough were suffered to stand, by common consent. But the progress of the settlers was measurably rapid. Their habitations, which at the first were roughly built of logs and thatched with straw or sedge, were improved ; farming tools became more abundant, and preparation was made for the common defense by the organization of a military company, which had two "great sakers," or iron cannon. The surrounding Indians, seeing the growing power of the settlers, had begun to be uneasy and less friendly ; although the local sachems continued to regard the settlers kindly, the sad experiences of the other colonies warned the dwellers in Saugus to be on their guard. No outbreak ever occurred in this vicinity, but twenty-six men from Saugus took part in the King Philip war and participated in the .swamp fight, which proved the death-blow to the power ofthe mighty Sassacus. During the first few years the religious privileges of the set tlers were limited, the nearest minister being at Salem, and to -*^ attend service there the settlers had to traverse a road well-nigh impassable from stumps and rocks. In 1634 the Rev. Stephen Bachiler came to Saugus, and the First Church was organized The first meeting-house was situated on the corner of ,.^5^ Shepard and Summer streets It was a log building) "^^^^Z.^ set in a hollow for piotection ftom the winds, and hke ^ LAKE WENUCHUS, OR FLAX POND many of the early dwelling-houses, the floor was sunk ^ '"^ several feet below the surface of the ground outside, and entrance was had only by a descent of several steps. Trouble soon arose between Mr. Bachiler and his flock, and in 1636 he -was succeeded by Rev. Samuel Whiting, a most godly man. Under his fostering care the church became united and prosperous, and the foundation was laid so deep and stiong that the church continues to this day -with no substantial change in form or doctrine, the oldest orthodox Congregational Church in the world. The form and appearance of the town has undergone several transformations ; new sects 22 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. and new doctrines have arisen, few of which remain ; but amid all the clash and tumult of sect and faction, and the changes in the customs and manners of the people, the old First Church has stood, a monument to that sturdy Puritan faith which would sooner face the terrors and hardships of a home in the wilderness than oppression and interference in matters of conscience, and which has been transmitted from father to son for ten generations. With 1637 ends what may be termed the first period of our history. In the eight years of its existence the colony has so rapidly increased in numbers that an assistant to the minister had been installed, farms cleared and stocked, mills built, and a ferry established over the Saugus River ; altogether the colony was contented and prosperous. A GLIMPSE OF THE MARSHES. SUCH is the quaint and entire official record of the legislation by which our city came to be called by its new name, the action of the General Court . jt necessary thereto taking place on the 15th of November, 1637. The name I was given in compliment to Rev. Samuel Whiting, -who had come hitl-ier from King's Lynn, in England. The name in its original form, /en, signify ing " spreading waters," was thought to be specially applicable to this spot, with its beautiful bays and its nine forest-girt lakelets scattered here and there. PHAETON ROCK, NEAR LYNNFIELD ROAD. The name was written by the settleis " some what according to the taste and fancy of the speller "- Lin, Linn, Lyn, Lynn and Lynne. The' liberties taken with the orthography of the word were no greater than was done with most other words of the language, for it seems as though some of the early writers tried to make their manuscripts as grotesque as possible. Some time was required to familiarize the people with the new name. For several years Saugus and Lynn were interchangeable terms, and sometimes the name of the place was written " Lynn at Saugus." Notwithstanding the change of name, the affairs of the colony ran on in their usual and uneventful course. Population gradually increased, better roads were constructed, bridges built, and schools opened, where the boys became acquainted with the rule of three and the 2i LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. schoolmaster's ferule, the heroic method of instruction being then the popular idea. Very little attention -was given to the education of fetnales, it being deemed of more importance that they should be skilled in domestic arts. The Iron Works were established in Saugus in 1643, and foi se\eial years continued to be the only, as they weie the first, manufacture of the ^'' kind in the colonies. They continued an eventful but % unprofitable existence for ij^UlP tS^^^o^^ "^^^^to^^^^^^^^^KH^En stacle to their success being the scarcity of money among their customers. The ore used -was bog iron, vi'hich was quite abundant, and the fur naces turned out a good grade of charcoal iron. Three years later Lynn was made a market town, and Tuesdays were given to a general interchange of commodities among the inhabitants, and the Market Street occasionally took on an animated appear ance, scarcely rivalling, however, the bustle and brilliancy ofa modern Saturday evening. Until the years closely following 1650, the settlers had their religious affairs very much their own way, and doubtless thought they had secured the poet's ideal — "Freedom to worship God." The teachings of George Fox, and the bitter persecution accorded him in Eng land, had not been unnoted in the New World, and the people had begun to take sides in the controversy . when the first Quakers landed in Boston in 1656. p^^^; The colonial authorities were quick to imitate their | English cousins in their methods of dealing with the ABIJAH BOARDMAN HOMESTEAD IN SAUGUS. y I llllfl " ¦¦¦IIIWIIIIBIIIIIi, FLOATING BRIDGE. Jll' J'Slii unwelcome visitoi s The freedom of worship "•ii which they had fot nd, they were wholly unwillino- ¦ to accoid to the visiting Quakers, and they were I ijj promptly impnsoned and sent back to England on Ithe fiist departing vessel The record of the next few yeais forms a teiiible chapter in our history. Tie -whippingpost and the gallows had their fre quent Quaker victims, and it was not till twenty "SAUGUST IS CALLED LIN." 25 GREAT DWARF ROCK, NEAR GLEN LEWIS. years after that the authorities discovered that these were the least effective means ever devised for checking the growth of a religious idea. The Quakers continued to multiply until there were over one hundred families in Lynn, and it was not until opposition was withdrawn and they were left to themselves that they were found to be a simple and harmless body, with many of the ordinary frailties common to our human nature. Scarcely had the excitement over Quakerism begun ecline when the bugaboo of witchcraft arose to vex righteous souls of the settlers. Salem village, now Danvers, -was headquarters for the strange delusion , but Lynn was by no means left out in the cold. On the con trary, she took an active part in the strange and terrible tragedies, and fur nished her quota of alleged witches, and an occasional wizard. The excitement culminated in 1692, and notwithstanding the violence the outbreak, subsided as quickly as it had arisen. The old log meeting house, -which for half a century served the spiritual needs of the colony, was removed, in 1682, from Shepard street to the center of the Common, and con verted into a more pretentious edifice, whiclr, from its peculiar shape, has gone into history by the name of the Old Tunnel. The Rev. Samuel Whiting, for forty years the faithful pastor and earnest preacher, passed to his rest in 1679, and shortly after, the Rev. Jeremiah Shepherd came to fill his post. Mr. Shep herd had few ofthe characteristics of his predecessor. He was a positive spirit ual force, and stirred up the church to greater outward effort and efficacy than it had before shown. But he was also of a fiery and somewhat irascible disposi tion, and mixed as freely in the -worldly as the spiritual contentions of his time. He -was a man of strong mental power — a discourse three hours long was not an uncommon feat for him ; but -whether this habit -was in any way the occasion of the enactment by the General Court of a law compelling everyone to attend meeting, is not stated. But a similar habit on the part of his predecessor was the occasion of this quaint paragraph in the Journal of Obadiah Turner, one of the early lights of Lynn : " Allen Bridges hath bin chose to wake ye sleepers in meeting, and being much proud of his place, must needs have a fox taile fixed to ye end of a long staff, wherewith he may brush ye faces of them yt will have napps in time of discourse; likewise a sharpe thorne, wherewith he may prick such as be most sounde. On ye laste Lord his day, as hee strutted about ye meeting-house, hee did spy Mr. Tomlins sleeping with much comforte, hys head kept steadie by being in ye corner, and hys hand grasping ye rail. And so spying, Allen did quicklie thrust his staff behind Dame Ballard, and give hjm a grievous prick upon ye hand. Whereupon Mr. Tomlins did spring vpp mch above ye floore, and with terrible force strike with hys hand against ye wall, and also, to ye great wonder of 26 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. all, prophainlie exclaime in a loude voice: 'Cuss ye woodchuck;' he dreaming, as it seemed, yt a woodchuck had seized and bit his hand. But on comeing to know where he was and ye great scandall he had committed, he seemed much abashed, but did not speake, And I think he will not soone againe go to sleepe in meeting. Ye women may sometimes sleepe, and none know it by reason of their enormous bonnets. Mr. Whiting doth pleasantlie say yt from ye pulpit, he doth seeme to be preaching to stacks of straw, with men sitting here and there amoug them." In 1683, following the example of their neighbors round about, the people of Lynn succeeded in perfecting their title to their lands, by deed from the heirs of the original Indian proprietors. This deed is recorded at Salem. It is a long and curious document, abounding in surplusage and legal redundancies, on account of which, possibly because few people could unravel their meaning, such documents were thought to be all the more binding. This deed conveyed all the interest which David Kunkshamooshaw and Abigail, his wife. Cicely, better known as Su George, and Jai-nes Quonopohit — the sole surviving heirs of Nanapashemet — held in the territory of Lynn and Nahant. The signatures of David and Abigail seem to be rude representations of a bow and arrow. The T' t third signature is that of Cicelj'. James signed his name in full, after the manner of white men. The last is the sign manual of Mary Ponham, his wife. The settlers attached much importance to the Indian deeds, but Sir Edmund Andros, th3 English governor, professed the greatest contempt for them, likenino- them to scratches of a bear's claw, and by an arbitrary exercise of his power, endeav ored to set aside the deed of Nahant in favor of his secretary, Edward Randolph, wlio had coveted the peninsula. The spirit -with which his purpose was resisted by the settlers taught hirn the useful lesson that in this country the government is no stronger than the popular will, and that the ruler who undertakes to breast public opinion, right or wrong, has a wearisome, and possibly a dangerous, course to follow. Randolph persisted in his claim, and finally, finding himself vigorously opposed by Oliver Purchis, lost his temper, and attempted to cut off the ears of his opponent. This was more than the settlers could endure, and headed by Parson Shepherd, they hunted Randolph to Boston, and made it desirable for that individual to look elsewhere for a summer residence. From that day to this Nahant has continued to be the queen of seaside resorts, btit the later invasions from Boston have been of a more peaceful and desirable char acter. So the .century passed away, and gradually the turmoils of its later years SLibsided, and the lives of the people moved on in straighter lines. In 1712 L3nTnfield was set off as a separate town, and two years later a meetino--house was built. In all the early New England settlements the meeting-house was the center of influence and power. The building ofa meeting-house and the settle ment ofa minister was insisted upon as a necessary preliminary to the recoo-ni- tion ofa new municipality. If law and public policy could have made a people as a whole religious and God-fearing, our ancestors would have been entitled to canonization. Possibly some of them are, for what they did accomplish. 'SAUGUST IS CALLED LIN." 27 Farming continued to be the chief occupation of the settlers. There were a few tanneries, and in 1760 the manufacture of shoes had begun to receive considerable attention. Some skilled workmen in the line of ladies' shoes had come to the town from England, and they had imparted their skill to the home workmen, so that in 1764 The Boston Gazette records the fact that "the women's shoes made at Lynn do now exceed those usually imported, both in strength and beauty, but not in price " — a standard always since lived up to — and in 1768 it is stated that 80,000 pairs of shoes were made in Lynn the previous year. The foundation of our subsequent prosperity was then laid. Good work at a fair price was the motto, and in all the achievements ofthe later years this has been the governing principle. The occurrences which led up to the War of the Revolution were full of interest and excitement for the citizens of Lynn. No less than the Bostonians did they resent the oppressions and exactions of the English Government. Some of her citizens participated in the Boston tea-party, and all joined with spirit and faithfulness in the crusade which was declared against all taxed tea. At a meeting on the i6th of December, 17731 it was, among other things, resolved, "That -we highly disapprove of the landing and selling of stich teas in Arnerica, and will not suffer any teas, subjected to a parliamentary duty, to be landed or sold in this town ; and that we stand ready to assist our brethren in Bos ton or elsewhere, whenever our aid shall be required, in repelling all attempts to land or sell any teas pois oned -with a parliamentary duty." lifers-"""- SKETCH ON WALNUT STREET. There is little occasion to question the meaning of this declaration, and the people were as good as their word. It became known that Mr. James Bowler, on Water Hill, had a quantity of tea in store. A committee of ladies immedi ately waited upon him, demanded the tea, and destroyed it. The independent spirit of the mothers has been transmitted to their descendants, and the actors in this first American boycott planted seeds which still flourish in our soil. Holmes asserts that "The waters of the rebel bay Have kept their tea-leaf savor; Our old North Enders in their spray Still taste a Hyson flavor." And the same spirit wliich led our ancestors to unite to resist an arbitrary and unjust tax still bands our people together to combat any real or fancied attempt at oppression. The following year the port of Boston was closed, by order of the English Government. Then the storm clouds rapidly gathered. The people of Lynn made common cause with those of the surrounding towns. Couriers constantly 28 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. passed back and forth between Concord, Salem and Boston, and a company of Lynn minute men assisted at the reception given the English regulars at Lexing ton — four of whom were killed in the fight, and several more were -wounded. Among the latter was Timothy Munroe, who had one ball through his leg, and thirty-two bullet-holes through his clothes and hat. Active measures were taken for carrying on the war, which all now perceived was inevitable. A Commit tee of Safety, consisting of Rev. John Treadwell, pastor of the First Church, and Rev. Joseph Roby, of the Lynnfield jjarish, and Deacon Daniel Mansfleld, was appointed. Guards were stationed on Sagamore Hill, Shepard street, and the crossing at the Saugus River, and no one was suffered to pass out of town -witho-i-.t permission. Arms were carried to meeting on the Sabbath, and it is recorded that the minister appeared -with his powder-horn under one arm and his sermon under the other, and stood his musket at one side of the pulpit when he rose to begin the service. A company of minute men was formed, -which took part in the battle of Bunker Hill. In the long and terrible -war which fol lowed, Lynn furnished her quota of tnen and means, and bore with patriotic fortitude the privations, hardships and disappointments of that trying time. One hundred and sixty-eight of her citizens -were in the Continental Army, of whom fiftj''-two men were lost, besides the four men killed at Lexington. The years succeeding the war were devoted to retrieving the losses and repairing the -waste of that long struggle. With the exception of the ripple caused by Shay's Rebellion in 1787, there were no clouds in the political hori zon until 1808, -when the Embargo brotight all sorts of commercial activity to a standstill, and reduced all inanufacturing interests to a low ebb. A majority of the people were Democrats, and upheld the General Government in its policy, though not without a vigorous protest froi-n their Federalist neighbors. Ao-ain, in 1813, the naval -war with England seriously checked all business for a time. As -was their wont, the citizens of Lynn -were alive to the contest. A privateer was fitted out, which sent home three prizes, and generally the feelings of the people were keyed up to the fighting pitch. The frequent successes of the Yankee tars and their impromptu fleet had caused the people to regard them as well-nigh invincible. One of the songs of the day ran : " I often have been told That the British seamen bold Could beat the tars of France so neat and handy O. But they never found their match Till the Yankees did them catch, For the Y'ankee tars for fighting are the dandy O. It was, therefore, with great expectation of a glorious victoiy that the people lined the heights of Nahant on the first day of June, 1813, to witness the battle between the British ship Shannon and the American brig Chesapeake. They were doomed to a bitter disappointment, for after a short and spirited contest Capt. Lawrence ofthe ChesajDeake fell, her colors were lowered, and the people sadly watched the Shannon depart with her prize for Halifax. At last the treaty of peace brought an end to hostilities, and the people once again turned their attention to their ordinary peaceful pursuits. Farming and shoemaking continued the chief occupations of the people. Attempts were 'SAUGUST IS CALLED LIN." 29 made, from time to time, to inaugurate other industries, but either the place or the people were not suited to them. Several tanneries were in operation frbm 1820 to 1830, but by 1833 these were all discontinued, it being possible to pur chase leather in Philadelphia cheaper than it could be manufactured here. In 1819 the sea-serpent made a reconnaisance of our shores, much to the consterna tion of the people, and in 1824 a visit from General Lafayette was the occasion of a great dei-nonstration. Five years later the community was convulsed by the anti-masonry excitement, and for several years the opponents of that ancient order held complete control of municipal affairs. Scarcely had the public inter est in this controversy begun to die away -when abolition became a burning question. In the early days many slaves had been owned in Lynn, but at the opening of the Revolution all that were then held here were given their freedom. Froin that time onward there had been a inarked and oftentimes outspoken opposition to the institution of slavery among the people, and in 1832 the Lynn Anti-Slavery Society -was formed. This organization soon became noted for its advanced opinions, and its boldness in expressing them. Frequent meetings and discussions were held, and the silvery voice of Phillips and the burning eloquence of Garrison -were often heard here in behalf of the southern slave. Old Town Hall was frequently the scene of exciting occurrences, but probabl}' no more spirited g^gj gathering ever met within its walls than was called together on the 5tli of October, 1850, the occasion being the passage by Congress of the Fugitive Slave Law. The measure was de nounced in the most unsparing, manner, and those who had taken, prominent part in the enactment of the law were called by name and roundly castigated. The resolutions adopted by the meeting vyere charac teristic of our people, and breathed the uncompromising hatred of oppression and lo^'e of liberty which, seventy-five years before, had led their fathers into rebellion. Following is one of the resolutions adopted at the meeting, which shows the temper of the people : Resolved, That, since God hath commanded us to "bewray not him that wandereth,'' and since, our fathers being witnesses, every man's right to liberty is self-evident, we see no way of avoidin" the conclusion of Senator Seward, that " it is in violation of the divine law to surrender the fugitive slave -B'ho takes refuge at our firesides;" and in view of this, as well as the notorious fact that the slave power has constantly trampled under foot the Constitution of the United States to secure its own extension or safety, and especially of the open, undisguised and acknowledged contempt of that instrument with which the slave states kidnap our colored citizens travelling south and imprison our colored seamen, we, in obedience to God's law, and in self-defense, declare that, Constitution or no Constitution, law or no law, with jury trial or without, the slave who has once breathed the air and touched the soil of Massachusetts shall never be dragged back to bondage. Other large meetings were held in various parts of the Commonwealth, and such a fire of indignation was kindled that a Legislature was chosen which OLD TOWN HALL. 30 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. made such provisions that the operation of the law -was seriously obstructed, and Massachusetts nullification became the theme of many a fiery Southern orator. It was on Fayette street where Edmund In galls built his humble cottage, in the shade of sorne of the old giants of the forest. A small natural clearing formed the beginnings of his husbandry, and the sweet waters of Lake Wenu chus supplied both his family and his flocks. This cot long since gave way to a more preten tious edifice, and the outlines of the farm have been lost in the network of streets which com pose that section of the city. It is two centuries since the sturdy Puritan sought repose in the bosom of his foster-mother. Lynn would doubt less have been sought out and settled, had not Edmund Ingalls first selected this as the place of his abode ; but who shall say how much of our present perfnanence and prosperity we owe to the steady courage and fervent piety of our first citizen, -whose blood has flowed down through successive generations in an ever-widening stream until, in our own day, his name is borne by half a hundred of our citizens.'' It was on the corner of Essex and Chestnut streets that John Wood bLiilt his modest dwelling. His house was long since demolished and his farm sub-divided, but his name becan-ie engrafted upon the locality which will be known as Woodend as long as Lynn continues a city. Joseph Armitage, who came here in 1630, cleared a farm on the north side of the Common, his land extending from jSIall street to Strawberry Brook. The Common was then a forest and somewhat swampy, with a shallow brook crossing it. Mr. Armitage after ward opened the Anchor Tavern, situated in Saugus, on the carriage road to Boston. For one hundred and seventy years this was the most celebrated liostelry in Essex County, and it counted among its guests many ofthe noted men of the time. Another of the early settlers whose name has become inseparably connected with the city was Allen Breed, or Bread, as the custom of that early time had it. His farm was on Sum mer street, near the Western Avenue, and from him that section was early known as Breed's End. Samuel Graves, whose possessions lay west of the Floating Brido-e, is the third of the Lynn immortals, that locality being yet called Gravesend, o a 0 w WH H 00O "SAUGUST IS CALLED LIN." 31 though modern usage is gradually changing this to the more musical Glenmere. In 1836 it is mentioned that there were only seventeen buildings of brick in Lynn, and only six of any material above two stories in height. The dwellings throughout the town had an average valvie of $500. These buildings were scattered along sixty streets, and not near enough together but that each family had plenty of breathing space. Market street -was largely given up to dwellings, though here and there a shoe shop or tannery gave variety to the scene. The cuts on this and the preceding page give a faithful picture of Market street as it was in 1820. Referring to the numbers, i is ] now Sea street, 2 Timothy Alley, 3 Wm. Richards, 4 Viall's slaughter-house, 5 F. S. ° & H. Newhall's morocco factory, 6 Winthrop " Newhall's tannery, 7 water trough, 8 Benj. , 5 Alley, 9 and 10 Solomon Alley, 11 Richard h Pratt, 12 Pelatiah Purington, 13 John Alley, W Jr., 14 now Summer street, 15 James Alley, H 16 Simeon Breed, 17 Dr. Lummus, 18 Capt. J y Jos. Mudge, 19 Jerusha Williams, 20 and '' ^ 21 Stephen Smith's house and shoe shop, 23 ^ Gamaliel W. Oliver's shoe shop and house — '^ in this shop William Lloyd Garrison worked o shoemaking for some time — 23 J. B. Ingalls, ^ w 24 Rev. Enoch Mudge, 25 Methodist meeting- M house, " The Bowery," now Lee Hall. These E-' cuts were made from reliable data, and are said ^ b}r those who survive that time to be a correct ^S representation of things as they were then. The S only building of that time now standing is close " by the railroad. It is not shown in the cut, being on the opposite side of the street. It was then used as a morocco factor}^, and close by it was a creek through which the tides flowed in , and out of what is now Harrison Court. A stone culvert spanned this stream just below ¦' where now the railroad crossing is. Up to this time the town had probably not := changed very much in the matter of its streets for a century or more. In the center of the town it had Market street, Liberty street. Spruce street ^ — now a part of Washington — Sea street, Front gtj-eet — now that part of Broad from Exchange to Market — Union street, Pine street — now Exchange — Spring street. Broad street. Further east were Broad, Nahant, Lewis, Chestnut, Fayette, Olive, 32 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. Mason, Orange, Essex, Pearl and High streets. In the -western part of the town were Pleasant, Shepard, Summer, Commercial, Elm, North and South Common, Franklin and Franklin avenue, Turnpike — now Western avenue — Boston, North Shepard, Mall, Center and Federal streets. Nahant street led to Nahant over the beach; there being no road, the tides were watched to know \yhen the long beach could be used for travel. Lewis street led to Swampscott and into Humphrey street, and a cart road extended on through the farms to Marblehead. Essex street led from Woodend to Salem, with no cross streets. All other parts of Lynn were in wood or pasture lands, or farms, and there was no house south of Nahant and Broad streets, nor east of Nahant, Broad and Le-wis streets. The lands between Lewis, Fayette and Essex streets, also between Essex, Orange, Chestnut and the Turnpike, also south of Summer and Commercial streets, were used as farms or pastures. Around the southwest ¦j ¦¦ ' ¦! ¦ L' ') . . 1 :* -.--•-¦¦ '"- ' '4- .L- OLD ANCHOR TAVERN. corner of Union and Exchange streets ran a stone wall,, and on the opposite corner stood the Keene homestead. Through a culvert under what is now Central square flowed a stream of pure, cool water, from springs under the present Central Station. It formed a muddy, grassy brook which ran down Union street to where the Ingalls building now is, then turned and flowed through the gardens of Jonathan Connor and William D. Thompson, across Broad street to the sea. In the brook near Earl's new building was sunk a tub where the neighbors watered their cows. Nearly all the principal families owned a cow, and if they had no pasture, they hired or owned what was called a " cow lease," or right to pasture a cow in Rocks Pasture or on Nahant. Where Goldthwait's stable now is was a hill, on the summit of which was a 'SAUGUST IS CALLED LIN.' 33 two-Story house, the cellar of which must have been much above the roof of the present stable. Half-way down the hill was an old-fashioned well, with curb, sweep and an old oaken bucket. The stone wall extended up the south side of Union street for a short distance to the house of Farmer Silsbee, where Welch & Cummings' store now is. The one-story house of George Todd stood oppo site Pearl street. From this point the stone wall extended most of the way to Woodend. A stone wall marked the site of the Sagamore House, and from Pearl street a wall extended nearly to the burying-ground. Where the East Baptist Church is, and beyond, was called Smith's field, and where Ireson street is was called Quaker Pasture — a decided contrast to the modern, busy, throng ing Union street. There were no Beach, Baltimore, Atlantic, Ocean, or other cross streets in that section, nor any Silsbee, Green, Ireson, Rockaway, Washington, Willow, Munroe, Oxford, Andrew or Johnson streets, and only five or six cross streets from the Common. There were formerly salt works near the foot of S. N. Breed's -wharf, with a windmill to pump the water into tanks for evaporation ; and where the engine-house is -was a srnall beach called " Water Side." Where Central avenue and Willow street are was a cow pas ture, and Almont street was given over to brick-yards. At the foot of Nahant street was a fence, with a gate, to keep the cows from returning home too early. The last decade of this period of our history is full of events of great importance as bearing on the future of the town. First, in 1838, came the Eastern Railroad, pushing its way north and east — first to Salem, and then onward toward Portland. The projectors of the railroad were men of courage and foresight. The science of railroad building and management, as it is now understood, was an unknown quantity, and the tremendous possibilities of the steam locomotive undreamed of. They came to Lynn, and calling the promi nent business men together, asked their opinion as to the average nurnber of passengers they might expect between Lynn and Boston. After mature delib eration and close calculation, the conclusion was reached that the average might reach thirty-eight per day, though one gentleman emphatically dissented, saving that " never in the world will they have so many!" The first station was a one-story wooden structure, about forty feet long, with a bell on the roof, which was rung oh the arrival of each tiain. The first cars -were about fifteen feet long, and seated twenty-two persons. The first locomotives were very crude, and had scarcely power enough to draw the few coaches in the train. Frequently in cold weather, or when facing a high wind across the marshes, the trains would be compelled to stop to get a head of FIRST RAILROAD STATION IN LYNN, steam Sufficient to proceed. That was railroading under difficulties. But with the railroad came new life and energy into the ptace, which made itself manifest in the impetus given to business and the various new enterprises which sprung into life. The financial panic of the previous year, though falling heavily upon many of our manufacturers, 34 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. had served to clear the business atmosphere, and brought many young men to the front. The era of invention, which has astonished the world by its productions, was then just beginning, and the shoeinaking industry early began to receive its share of attention. A few minor inventions were brought out prior to 1850, but they were mostly crude and of little use ; but they began to open the way for the great revolution in the methods of shoe nianufacture which began ten years later. They consisted chiefly in improvements in lasts, and in methods of cutting the soles. The styles of boots most comnnonly made had been foxed gaiters, slippers and buskins, but in 1848 the congress boot was invented, which at once came into great favor. The city, in the years 1S40 to 1850, took rapid strides both in population and business, and it began to be felt that Lynn had outgrown her town organization. The subject of obtaining a city charter was agitated for several years. Finally, on the loth of April, 1850, the Legislature granted a charter, and on the 19th it was accepted by the town. With this action may be said to end the second period of our history. In our brief review we have seen a sparsely-settled colony, planted in a wilderness, grow to a busy and prosperous town, with an industry of sufficient magnitude to give employment to thousands of busy workers, and prosperous in a marked degree. RED ROCK, LYNN BEACH. ©xXftS 9 C|~HE legendary history of Lynn forms one of its most fascinating chapters. *¦ The limits of tliis work prevent more than the briefest reference to some of the more ii-nportant of these events, although in number and interest they would suffice for a separate volume ; and these naturally find a place where the sketches of the town end and those of the city begin. The pathetic tale of the Bridal of Pennacook reaches farthest back into the shadowy vista of the past — " .\ story of the marriage of the chief Of Saugus to the dusky Weetamoo, Daughter of Passaconaway, who dwelt In the old time upon the Merrimack." The story, in brief, is that Winnepurkit, as Morton has it, or, more properly, Winnepoyekin, son of Nanapashemet, sagamore of Saugus, when he came to man's estate, made choice, for his wife, of the daughter of Passaconaway, the great chieftain of the tribes inhabiting the Merrimack valley. Passaconaway was not only a mighty chieftain, but, if we may believe the early English chronicles of his doings, he was the most accomplished wizard the New World ever knew. These learned and reverend writers gravely assert that, so skilled was he in the arts of necromancy, he could cause a green leaf to grow in winter, trees to dance, water to burn, and numberless things of a like marvellous nature, through his mystical invocations. The union of the young people was blessed by the great chieftain, and in due titne Weetamoo was seated in her lord's wigwam on Sagamore Hill, with the broad bay spread out before her door, now shining like a burnished mirror in the sun, and then rolling its angry waves upon the beach in thunderous monotone, or dashing them upon the rocks of Little Nahant. Before long, however, a homesick longing for a 3G LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. sight of her father filled her heart, and like a kind husband, Winnepurkit sent her home, escorted by some of his most mighty men. The daughter -was re ceived with open arms, and the escort were cordially entertained and graciously dismissed. After a short stay she signified a desire to return to her noble husband, upon which her father sent messengers to Winnepurkit to notify him of the desire of his wife, and to request the Saugus sachem to dispatch a suitable guard to escort his wife back through the wilderness to her home. But here an unexpected difficulty arose, for Winnepurkit curtly told the messengers to carry word to his father-in-law, " That -when his wife departed from him he caused his own men to wait upon her to her father's territories, as did become him ; but now that she had an intent to return, it did become her father to send her back with a convoy of his own people." Both were men of high spirit, and neither would yield, and so the poor princess was forced to remain with her father, at least for a time. Tradition has it, however, that her woman's wit found a way through or around the difficulty, and that she, after a -while, made her way back to her husband's home. Whittier, however, gives a different and tragic ending to the tale. In his poem, the heart-broken Bride of Pennacook determines to return alone. She steals away from her attendant maidens, launches her frail canoe upon the swollen and threatening Merrimac, and is instantly swept "Down the vexed center of that rushing tide, The thick, huge ice blocks threatening either side, The foam-white rocks of Amoskeag in view, With arrowy swiftness — - Down the white rapids like a sere leaf whirled, On the sharp rocks and piled-up ices hurled. Empty and broken, circled the canoe In the vexed pool below, but where was Weetamoo?" THE PIRATES' GLEN. About the year 1656, in the twilight of a pleasant evening, a strange vessel was seen to approach the shore oflT the mouth of the Saugus River, where she furled her sails and dropped anchor. When the shades of night had fallen, a boat was lowered, and four men rowed silently up the river to where it emerges from the hills. There they landed and turned into the woods. The strange visitors doubtless thought themselves unobserved, but those were perilous times, and sharp eyes had followed them. Many were the conjectures occasioned by these unusual movements. The next morning the settlers rose early to learn more of these unannounced visitors, but the stranger-vessel had disappeared, and no trace either of her or her singular crew could be found. The occurrence was a nine days' wonder among the settlers, but the interest had nearly died out when one day a workman at the Iron Works found a paper lying in a conspicu ous place, running to the effect that if a certain quantity of shackles, handcuffs and other articles named, were made and deposited with secrecy in a certaia LYNN LEGENDS. 37 place in the -woods, an amount of silver equal to their value would be found in their stead. The articles were made and deposited as directed, and on the fol lowing morning they had been taken away, and the money left as agreed upon. Some months later the four men returned, and selected one ofthe most secluded spots in the woods of Saugus for their abode ; and interest is added to the tale by the statement that the pirate chief brought with him a beautiful woman. The place of their retreat was a narrow valley shut in on two sides by craggy, precipitous rocks, and screened on the other by a thick growth of evergreens. The spot was admirably chosen for concealment and observation as well, for from the cliff on the eastern side of this glen a noble expanse of country and sea, stretching far toward the south, is spread before the eye. Here the pirates built themselves a small hut, and here it is said that the chiefs beautiful mistress sick ened and died. After a time the retreat of the pirates became noised abroad. Three of them were captured and taken to England, where they suffered the penalty of their crimes upon the gibbet. The fourth, Thomas Veale, escaped, and for many years thereafter made his home in a cave in the woods, -which the band had previously utilized as a storehouse for their treasures. Here he prac ticed the trade of a shoemaker, occasionally visiting the village to obtain food. .'.> I, < » I* -^ ' .. ^ ^^^Ss*" . ^ '•'¦ -'.'- "^ * ^ ' '*? - -i-'l^ ^' '' ASCENT TO DUNGEON ROCK. In 165S an earthquake shook up the settlers in a most alarming manner. The entire face of Dungeon Rock was split off, and the cavern forever closed up. The legend has it that the pirate was entombed therein, with all his treas ures, and possibly one of the village girls who had mysteriously disappeared some months previous. A realistic turn was given to the legend by the declara tion of a certain Joel Dunn, that on the night of the earthquake, during the tre mendous storm which raged, he got lost in the woods at the north of the town, and in his wanderings found himself, at the dead of night, at the door of the cav ern. He entered, and found the pirate working by the light of a blazing pine knot. Newhall gives a lifelike picture of their interview, which waxed as stormy 38 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. as the weather outside, and the pirate had just grasped his visitor by the throat, when the earthquake shock came. Just how it came about is not explained, but somehow Joel was not included in the general destruction which followed, but was found next morning in a sad state by men from the settlement who, alarmed by his non-appearance the night before, had set out to search for him. When he had recovered he told his wonderful story, which naturally occasioned much wonderment ; but while the people seemed willing to believe the pirate Veale was entombed beneath Dungeon Rock, even the grave Mr. Whiting felt consti'ained to say that while he had no doubt that Joel Dunn passed the night on which the earthquake occurred, in the woods, it was most likgly that a large jug which Joel had taken into the woods had been the inspiration of his wonderful visions. The treasures thus believed to be buried in the heart of Dungeon Rock have never been exhumed, but about forty years since, Hiram Marble, under the direction of spirit mediums, began the search for it. For more than a quarter of a century father and son toiled early and late to unlock the secret caverns of the cliff, and when they were ready to abandon the work, they were again spurred on by some new delusive revelation of the spirits. And even when death had released the elder enthusiast from his delusion, the son carried on the work as the most sacred of trusts until he, too, died in the same fatal delusion. ENTRANCE TO DUNGEON ROCK CAVE. A visit to Dungeon Rock is full of interest, not only on account of the traditions which surround the locality, but for the natural beauties which are revealed on every side. Two miles out from the city, in the heart of the Lynn forest, few wilder or more picturesque spots can be found in New England, and one can hardly realize that he is scarcely out of sight and sound of the homes LYNN LEGENDS. 39 and mart of nearly fifty thousand people. The ledge on one side is a sheer precipice ; tlie other side, which the road ascends, is less abrupt, and is covered with a grove of oak trees, growing among enormous boulders, with which, in fact, the whole region abounds. The cave which once existed in the ledge was closed by the great earthquake — to doubt the legend, with the evidences all around you, would be folly — and some avaricious vandal has blown out the remains of the entrance in the vain hope of finding out the well-kept secret of i the cliff. The entrance to the excava- ^tion made by the Marbles, father and son, is barred by a grating, not specially sug- . ».r Mf p,^ y J iSsS*j < / gestive of aught piratical, or in any way li ? ^ 'f^f **''' ^T^^i'S'' uncanny, the open sesame to which is a quarter in hand, paid to the pleasant appearing lady, sister of the younger Marble, who is now the presiding genius of the locality. The key turns -with a creak in the rusty lock, and the door opens outward with a groan. The de scent into the tunnel is first by a series of rickety steps, then by such foothold as one is fortunate enough to gain on the slippery rock. The entire gallery is about one hundred and fifty feet in length, descending in its course some forty feet. On account, ho-wever, of the zisf-zag direction which the often-amend- ed revelations of the spirits marked out, the rock is not actually penetrated more than one hundred feet. The formation is porphyry, as hard as adamant, and without seam or break to indicate that a cavern ever existed there or thereabouts ; and one is compelled to the opinion rected the operations must have prenticeship in some of the wild- west. But scarcely has our serf it when it is again chal- of the relics ofthe pirates tainer, tucked in cran- sheath looks as though and the knife has a suffi- thirsty appearance to suit What is left of the scissors ^^^ look, but the old anvil brings us back that the spirits -who di- served their earthly ap- cat enterprises of the wild incredulity begun to as- lenged by the production found, so says our enter- nies of the rock. The I it had done hard service, ciently piratical, blood- the most fastidious. has a more modern to the days of hard, legend and story may practical things. For no matter how people the rocks and grottoes of the neighborhood with strange personages and shapes, or fill the hollows ofthe clifl with shining gold and precious gems and jew- 40 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. els ; regardless >vholly of the phantom guides who promise to show the path to the hidden treasures ; the old anvil brings us to a realization ofthe fact that the path can be gained by mortals, and the treasures secured, only by hard blows -with ma terial implements. Judging from the nature of the rock, both father and son must have spent fully as much time at the anvil as in the tunnel. After all, the history of the experiences of hidden treasure of Dungeon story of most lives. Always coveted blessing ; convinced will bring it within their thwarted again and again, that success will come — how , and gone to their rest -with realized ! But there is no thanking our guide for her thoroughly satisfied with our ever in love with Lynn and her surroundings. the Marbles in search of the Rock reads much like the almost within reach of the that one more strong effort grasp ; disappointed and yet still buoyed -with hope many have lived their day their dearest expectation un- time for moralizing. So, attention, we return to Lynn excursion, and more than THE TREASURE OF PINES POINT. There has ever been a peculiar interest attaching to tales of wonder or adventure wherein pirates and their exploits form an important element. The New World, with its many unexplored bays and safe harbors, which had so hospitably received the early settlers, was supposed by them to be also in high favor, as a safe rendezvous, with the black-haired, blood-thirsty gentry who roamed the seas, collecting tribute of all nations. Upon our headlands they set their watch, and held high revelry after their successful ventures. Their meth ods of making money were not so gentlemanly or refined as those of some of our modern financiers, but were quite as honest, and the banks of deposit which they selected have never failed, nor their cashiers taken vacations in the peniten tiary or Canada. Had Capt. Kyd endowed all the localities with which tradi tion has credited him, his wealth must have been marvellously great, and his methods a step in advance of any system of stock watering or manipulation since devised. Longfellow has invested the old stone tower of Newport with a halo of romance. Thither, says his Skeleton in Armor, "Three weeks -we westward bore, And when the storm was o'er. Cloud-like we saw the shore Stretching to leeward; There, for my lady's bower. Built I the lofty tower Which, to this very hour, Stands looking seaward." The fact that this tower was built by the first settlers and used as a windmill detracts nothing from the interest of the legend, and it is possible that many, if not most, other legends which tell of mysterious visitations of pirates and LYNN LEGENDS. 41 secreting of treasure which they never came to reclaim have as slender a foun dation as the instance named. Nevertheless, in the time when the Old Anchor Tavern, or the " Blew Ankor," as its early title was, constituted the half-way house between Boston and Salem, and around whose crack ling fire the travellers and idlers used to meet to exchange yarns, there was a belief held by many that the pirate crew, whose craft so mysteriously appeared off" the mouth of the Saugus River, had buried a chest of gold beneath a flat stone at the roots of a tree at Pines Point, as it was then known. On many a dark night might the solitary treasure-seeker have been seen groping among the trees with his lantern and spade, vainly searching for the hidden doub loons, but the barren point would not give up its secret. But one night a party was made up at the Anchor Tav ern to make a final search for the covet ed treasure. New hall, in his Jewels of the Third Planta tion, gives the only account of this enter prise we have seen. The night agreed upon was fair, and a bright moon shed her favoring beams upon them. David Kunkshamooshaw, a mighty -wizard, and skilled -with the divining rod, was one of the party. They made the journey to the point in the early evening. The action of the hazel rods in the hands of David was satisfactory in the extreme. Then he pro ceeded, with his incantations, to charm away the evil spirits, -who, he solemnly averred, -would combine to prevent them from accomplishing their object, and a circle was dra-wn around the spot where the hazel rods had indicated the treasure was concealed, over which the spirits could not go to do them injury. He then charged them not to utter a word, even in whispers, for if they did, their whole labor would come to naught, though by keeping within the ring they might escape bodily harm. The work then began, and in due time they came upon the flat stone which they knew covered the treasure-chest. Just as they began working around it, there came a tremendous gust of wind sweeping down over the beach with such fury that they were nearly blown from their feet and outside the circle. But they recovered from their momentary fright, and resumed operations. A stout lever -was adjusted, and they were just 42 L\TSrN AND SURROUNDINGS, giving a vigorous heave at the stone, when an astounding neigh, as of a horse on the very bound ofthe circle, sounded in their ears. The lever dropped from their grasp, but as they peered around nothing could be seen, and at the word from David, who constantly perambulated the circle, making wild gesticula tions, they again plied the lever, and the ponderous stone began to move from its bed. Soon the edge -was high enough so that one of them, holding do-wn his lantern and peering eagerly into the darkness beneath, declared he saw the corner of the long-sought-for iron chest. This stimulated them to renewed effort, and in a moment more their dreams -would have been fulfilled, but a most astounding circumstance occurred, -which is told in the graphic language of Judge Newhall : " At that critical moment there came another awful gust of -wind, but this time from over the water, saturating their clothing -with salt spray, almost blind ing them, and setting everything whirling again. Then -was heard the heavy tread of a rapidly advancing horse. On, on, he dashed, in headlong fury, out into the moonlight — a gigantic courser, -with flaring tail erect and long mane waving and curling in the breeze ; snorting and prancing in the most threaten ing manner. Astride his back, without saddle or bridle, hatless, and with hair streaming in lank locks about his shoulders, sat a man of giant form and grace less mein, a hideous grin playing about his toothless mouth. On, on he rushed -with unabated fury, directly toward the petrified group. But the instant he reached the charmed circle his progress was arrested. Not a hoof could pass the magic bound ; the desperate rearings, plungings and snortings of the horse, nor the fiery glaring and spurring of the rider, could avail. But in that alarm ing attitude of aflfairs the affrighted iliggers could not continue their ^vol•k, and their tools fell from their paralyzed hands. Things remained thus for some minutes ; and then began a frantic race around the circle, the distance narrowing at every turn. Just on the verge the furious beast wheeled and reared and plunged, as if determined to dash across in spite of fate itself. David now for the first time showed signs of terror. With fiery ejes and hissing breath the fiery steed poised himself on his hind feet, while his rider in stentorian voice vociferated : ' By my blood, what do )-e here ? ye are well set to work filching my gold, hard earned upon the sea by dagger and by fire. But the devil will yet save his own, I wot. Aroynt ye, or bear a pirate's malediction.' The ponderous hoofs were quivering almost directly over the head of David, who had stepped forth to see there was no break in the ring, when, thrown suddenly oft- his guard, with treinbling lips he gave utterance to a propitiatory ejaculation in these imploring words of his euphonious native tongue : — ahquonlamannean nummatcheseongask ; poliquohwussinnean. In an instant, down came the hoofs, almost upon his head ; and then rang the exulting laugh of the rider out over the sea ; and the wild neigh of the horse was louder still. The spell was broken and there was no longer a charm-protected bound. They pranced within the ring without restraint ; the stone fell back over the chest ; the affrighted dig gers scattered for dear life. The triumphant horse and his rider, having acom- plished their purpose, sped off among the trees, the one whinnying and the other laughing till the old woods resounded with the weird clamor." LYNN LEGENDS. 43 This was enough. Treasure-seeking at the point became unpopular, and here is no record of any subsequent attempt to locate or unearth the hidden treasure There has been a great change in the appearance ofthe point and the surrounding marshes since that memorable night, but it may be a pleasant di version some fine summer day to undertake to locate the spot where the chest of gold as really lies buried now as it ever did. DREAD LEDGE, SWAMPSCOTT nvasion. DURING the first twenty-five years, the colonists of New England managed ^^ their affairs both civil and religious entirely in their own way, and doubt- I I less much to their own satisfaction. Nearly, if not quite, all of those who "^ came hither from England prior to the death of Charles Stuart did so to I gain greater freedom in their religious opinions and practices. They came, many of them, from the best-educated, property-owning classes, who, being hindered from -worshiping God according to the dictates of their con sciences, at home, resolutely, and of their own accord, sought asylum in the New World. Under the royal patent, those named therein came into absolute control ofthe territory covered by it, subject only to the claims ofthe aboriginal proprietors, and the several towns acquired a like title under the grants from the original patentees. Matters of religion, especially the organization of a church and the settle ment of a minister, became questions of immediate concern, for it was because f' of their religion, and their regard for their religious teachers, that they had left their former pleasant homes to end their days in the wilderness. Matters of purely civil administration received only secondary attention during the early years of the colony, being, for the most part, provided for in the administration and organization of the church. What seems to us a strange and unreasonable regulation, because of the changed circumstances of our time, Hiat everyone i should be taxed for the support of the church, and that no one should vote who 1 was not a church member] was the natural thing for them to do, because nlnety- \nine persons out of every hundred were members of the church. The charter of the colo);iy in no respect resembled the Constitution under which we live ; it was, on the contrary, that of a trading company — a close corporation which had the technical right to expel any person whose presence was deemed preju dicial to the interests of the company in general. Having been persecuted for their religion at home, they naturally sought, in establishing their own religious system, to throw around it every safeguard and influence to maintain its suprem- QUAKER INVASION. 45 acy and secure its permanence. Their troubles at home had arisen from a con flict of beliefs ; therefore they would preyent a recurrence of sirnilar troubles in their new home by shutting the door tight against all who would not unresei-v- edly subscribe to their system. Their plan was, in a certain narrow and technical sense, just, and would doubtless have been a good one if it could have been made to work. The ob stacle to its success lay in their inability to control the thoughts and consciences of all their own people, and the extent of their coast line, which precluded perfect police supervision of all new-comers. The obstacles were not at first apparent, and where there was such a will to carry out their ideas, with a man like Gov. Endicott in authority, seconded by an exceptionally able Court of Assistants, there was certain to be devised ways and means. The events attending upon the preaching of George Fox, and the methods by -which the English authorities attempted to check the new religious move ment, had not been unnoted in tlie Massachusetts colony ; and with a singular seeming forgetfulness of the trials they themselves had passed through, the English Puritans were quite as fierce in their denunciations of the new sect as the authorities of the Establishment, and lent ready countenance to the persecu tion -which was at once raised against it. And the Massachusetts authorities were in full sympathy -with their English cousins in regarding Quakerism as a dangerous heresy to be combatted by all means. The Friends on the other side had endured enough persecution to raise the zeal of the leaders to the point of enthusiasm, and it was not long before some of their number felt called to testify for their faith in the New World. The first Qiiakers of note to arrive in Boston were Mary Fisher and Ann Austin. They came in 1653, though it appears that for two years several fafni- lies of that faith had dwelt unmolested in the Plymouth colony, and that a few had settled in Lynn and Salem. Both were women of mark, having suffered imprisonment and scourging for their faith in England. They found the Massa chusetts authorities ready to receive them. They were promptly imprisoned, their books publicly burned, and by the first departing vessel were sent back to Eno-land, the jailer keeping their beds and Bibles for his fees. Eight more who subsequently arrived were similarly treated, and at the next session of the court a law was enacted forbidding all masters of vessels from bringing Quakers into this jurisdiction, and threatening any Friends who might come, with the House of Correction. This had no effect to deter them from coming, but, on the con trary, only served to inflame the missionary zeal of the Qtiaker propagandists. The following year a number of Friends, men and women, landed in Boston. They received equally prompt attention as their predecessors, and several of them were accorded the additional courtesy of twenty stripes on the bare back with a whip of three cords, knotted at the ends to give point and pungency to the proceedings. During the succeeding years the whipping-post was one of the busiest of our public institutions. Some of those who had been sent away having returned, the following order was issued by the Court : " To the Marshall-General or his deputy: You are to take with you the executioner, and repair to the House of Correction, and there see him cut off the rio-ht ears of John Copeland, Christopher Holder and John Rouse, Quakers, 46 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. in execution ofthe sentence ofthe Court of Assistants, for the breach ofthe la^w entitled Quakers. Edward Rawson, Secretary. And the order was carried out to the letter ; but even these harsh measures failed of the desired effect. Not only were the English Quakers stirred to greater zeal, but murmurings against the severity ofthe punishments began to be heard among the colonists, and it was found that many of them had adopted the Quaker belief, these being specially numerous in the vicinity of Lynn and Salem, so that the government had not only those -who came hither to look after, but also an uncomfortable number planted upon the soil, who -were every -whit as firm in their faith as the magistrates in their determination to root out Quakerism. Lynn and Salem early became a center of the Quaker influence. Refusing to perform military sei'vice or to pay church rates, they suffered many indignities, and had their cattle, corn, hay and domestic furniture distrained for payment. Mention is made in the Friends' records of George Oaks, who appears to have been one of the first Quakers in Lynn, the entry being : " Taken away for the priest, Samuel Whiting, one cow, valued at =£3." The good minister seems not to have despised the co-w, though his estimate of the Quakers is given. In enumerating the evils with which the people of New England have to contend, he remarks that "it is cause for humiliation that our sins have exposed us to live among such wicked sinners," among whom he ranks "atheists and Quakers." It has been understood atnoiig Friends that the first Friends' meetings in this vicinity were held in a house on what is called the old road to Salem, and near the Lynn mineral spring farm ; composed of those from Salem and Lynn who had adopted the Friends' belief. But while these things had been going on in Lynn, the authorities in Boston had no end of trouble. The -whippings, imprisonments and maimings to which the Quakers were subjected at length roused the genuine martyr spirit in not a few, who felt that they could render no better service to their religion than to come to New England and protest against the persecutions of their sect. Accordingly in 1658 the General Court passed a law banishing all incoming Quakers " on pain of death." This severe legislation was not passed unanimously. Very many of the Court had begun to doubt the wisdom of the course that was being pursued, and the measure had only a majority of one in a vote of twenty-five. The details for the enforcement of the statute included summary arrest and imprisonment without bail until the next term of Court. Scarcely was the ink dry on the parchment when William Robinson and Marmaduke Stevens, with Mary Dyer and Nicholas D.avis, arrived in Boston. They were arrested, and a decree of banishment issued against them. The two latter obeyed for a time, but Robinson and Stevens came directly to Lynn and Salem, where they commenced active evangelistic yyork. But the authorities soon learned their -whereabouts, and they were re-arrested. The following month Mary Dyer returned boldly to Boston, and -was immedi ately secured. In due season the fated trio were taken before the Court, tried, and sentence of death passed upon them. On the 27th of October they were led away to execution. Robinson and Stevens were hanged first, but as the rope was being adjusted about the neck of Mary Dyer, a reprieve was received^ QUAKER INVASION. 47 and she -was sent to her home in Rhode Island. The next summer found her again in Boston. She -was taken before the Court, and the sentence reaffirmed. Being asked why she had returned, she said: " I came, in obedience to the -will of God, to the last General Court, desiring you to repeal your unrighteous laws of banishment on pain of death ; and that saine is my work now, and earnest request ; although I told you that if you refused to repeal them, the Lord would send others of His servants to -witness against them." This time there was no reprieve, and she died at the time appointed. The record of the months following reads little like the history of Puritan New England. It would be impossible to describe the bitterness of persecution to which Quakers in the northern counties of Massachusetts and in New Hamp shire were subjected. To the terrors of the jail and the pillory were added unspeakable indignities at the hand of brutal officials. Both men and women -were stripped of their clothing and cruelly scourged at the whipping-post, or were tied to a cart's tail and -whipped from town to town, their property con fiscated and their homes taken from them, and in some instances they were condemned to be sold for payment of jail and officers' fees. On one such episode Whittier has founded his famous poem of Cassandra Southwick, -which is in many respects one of the most thrilling products of his gifl:ed pen. And not a few suffered death upon the gallows. A characteristic official document of the time reads thus : " To the Constables of Boston, Chariestown, Maiden and Lynn : You are required to take into your custody, respectively, Edward Wharton, convicted of being a vagabond from his own dwelling place ; and the Constable of Boston is to whip him severely with thirty stripes on his naked body ; and 48 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. from constable to constable you are required to convey him until he come to Salem, the place where he saith he dwelleth ; and in so doing this shall be your warrant. John Endicott. A sudden ending came to the bloody persecution. Prominent Friends in England succeeded in gainingtheear of Charles, who had but just been called back from his twelve years' exile. Reports had already reached the royal ear of the independent attitude assumed by the colonists, most of whom had been in ardent sympathy with Cromwell, and had not been backward in expressing their pref erences ; and the incident of the persecutions was seized upon as a convenient pretext for letting the colonists feel the weight of his hand. Accordingly a letter was addressed to Governor Endicott, under the King's hand, ordering the immediate cessation of the persecution ; and, as if to make the intervention all the more galling, the letter was given into the hands of Samuel Shattuck, a Quaker who had but lately been expelled from Boston, to be conveyed to its destination. The incidents of the reception of this letter have inspired the pens of both Longfellow and Whittier. The verses of the latter are especially valu able as showing the estimate in which a member of the persecuted sect holds the character and acts of their greatest enemy in the New World : THE KING'S MISSIVE. Under the great hill sloping bare To cove and meadow and common lot. In his council chamber and oaken chair Sat the worshipful Governor Endicott — A grave, strong man who knew no" peer In the pilgrim land where he ruled in fear Of God, not man, and for good or ill. Held his trust with an iron will. He had shorn with his sword the cross from out The flag, and cloven the may-pole down; Harried the heathen round about, And whipped the Quakers from town to town. Earnest and honest, a man at need To burn Uke a torch for his own harsh creed, He kept with the flaming brand of his zeal The gate of the holy commonweal. ****** The door swung open, and Rawson, the Clerk, Entered and whispered under breath : "There waits below for the hangman's work A fellow banished on pain of death — Shattuck of Salem, unhealed of the whip, Brought over in Master Goldsmith's ship, At anchor here in a Christian port, . With freight of the Devil and all his sort ! " Twice and thrice on his chamber floor Striding fiercely from wall to wall; "The Lord do so to me and more," The Governor cried, "if I hang not all! QUAKER INVASION. 49 Bring hither the Quaker ! " Calm, sedate, With the look of a man at ease with fate. Into that presence grim and dread Came Samuel Shattuck, with hat on head. "Off with the knave's hat!" An angry hand Smote down the offence; but the wearer said. With a quiet smile : " By the King's command, I bear his message and stand in his stead." In the Governor's hand a missive he laid, With the royal arms on its seal displayed; And the proud man spake, as he gazed thereat, Uncovering: "Give Mr. Shattuck his hat." He turned to the Quaker, bowing low : "The King commandeth your friends' release; Doubt not he shall be obeyed, although To his subject's sorrow and sin's increase. What he here enjoineth John Endicott His loyal servant questioneth not. You are free I God grant the spirit you own May take you from us to parts unknown." So persecution ended, and the Quakers gradually came into possession of all the rights of citizens, and were accorded the privilege of churches and schools of their own. In Lynn the number of Qiiakers rapidly increased. The -witchcraft delusion in 1692 diverted attention from them for a time, and after that had become history, they were .found to have become somewhat aggressive and disputatious. Finally Rev. Mr. Shepherd hit upon a new method of combatting them, and a fast was appointed for the church, to the end " that the spiritual plague might proceed no further," of which Cotton Mather wrote : " The spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ gave a remarkable effect unto this holy method of encountering the charms of Quakerism. It proved a better method than any coercion of the civil magistrates." And he adds : " Quaker ism in Lynn received, as I am informed, a death wound from that very day." However this may have been, eight years later we find the Rev. Mr. Shepherd, with an imported champion from England, meeting the leading lights of the Quakers in a joint discussion, which narrowly escaped being a riot. In 1723 Richard Estes presented the society with a large lot on Silsbee street, on which their first house of worship was erected. In 1816 that house was removed to make room for the present edifice, and now serves as an office for S. N. Breed & Co. , on the corner of Broad and Beach streets. In 1826 the Quaker meeting house in Boston and the burial grounds adjoining having been long disused, and few or none of the society remaining in the city, it was thought best to remove the bones ; and the remains of one hundred and nine persons, among whom were many martyrs to the faith, were taken up and removed to the Friends' cemetery in this city. The neighborhood of Nahant street was for many years headquarters for the Society of Friends, and to this day their descendants own and occupy some of the best places in that beautiful section. This, in brief, is the story of the Quaker Invasion, and it forms one of the most remarkable chapters in the history of our city and of the Commonwealth. Iiishs^afi ifi ^^age THE clouds of superstition still hung heavily over humanity when the first homes -were made in Massachusetts. The settlers had that faith in God ® which could support them through the dangers and trials attendant upon I the establishment of a home in the wilderness. They had an equally vivid belief in the existence not only of Satan, but of an innumerable host of imps who -waited upon him to do his bidding. Tlie first voyagers -who ap proached our shore reported that they " saw Indians and devils sitting upon the rocks ; " the settlers, sitting in their homes in the evening with the doors and windows tightly barred, while the forest choirs raised their nocturnal anthems, could distinguish the voices of devils mingling with the bark of the fox, the howl of the -wolf, and the scream of the catamount. And even Obadiah Turner, one of the brightest and steadiest lights of the community, credited Satan with personal attentions rendered. He tells his own story best : " It was somewhat within ye night when -we came in sight of home. In coming over ye hillock near ye doore of our habitation, I descried a daintie -white rabbit, as yt seemed, -wch I deemed -would make a savory dish for break fast on ye morrow. Giving chase, I was soon altnost vpon him, -when, lo, he whisked up a bushy tail over his hinder parts, and then threw it towards me with a mighty rush ; and yt shed upon me a liquor of such stinke yt nothing but ye opening of ye bottomless pit can equal. My eyes were blinded, and my breath seemed stopped forever. When I recovered, ye smell rernained vpon me, insomuch yt they would fain drive me from ye house, saying yt they could not abide within while I remained. And I still carry yt about with me in a yet terrible degree. I am persuaded yt is another device of Satan ; yt four-footed beast being an impe let to do ye Devil his baptism by sprinkling." Among a people thus ready to give the devil his due and more, it is little wonder that belief in witchcraft, which had held full sway in England and on the continent for two centuries, should be regarded almost as one of the tenets of their religion. Again.st an inherited superstition, reason and judgment are of little avail. THE WITCHCRAFT TRAGEDY. 51 The popular idea of a witch was grotesque ; the theory being that in the constant endeavor of Satan to win back to himself those souls who had been redeemed by the death of Christ and baptized, many, probably most, would be faithful to their vows and the church, in which case he had no power over tliem ; but that occasionally an individual -would be found, who, yielding to his wiles, entered into a written compact whereby, in exchange for their souls, they re ceived certain specified powers to work evil, such as to raise storms, blast crops, render men and beasts barren, inflict racking pains upon an enemy or cause him to waste away in sickness ; and an evil spirit was appointed as a special attendant, which most often took the form of a cat, but could transform itself at will into the likeness of any other animal. It was believed that Satan made his conquests in the form of a beautiful man or maiden, with -whom vows of love -were plighted, and that at certain stated times -were held meetings of -witches and their satanic lovers, called -witches' sabbaths, to which they rode through the air seated comfortably astride of a broomstick, making their exit by the chimney and returning in the same manner ; and haying sold themselves to Satan, as good subjects they must continually strive to induce others to similarly dispose of themselves. But with all the power thus conferred upon the deluded mortal, they could not exercise it to better their own condition. There were various methods of testing alleged -witches, to ascertain if they were guilty of forbidden practices. One was, to confront them -with their vic tims, and if the paroxysms or phenomena ofthe infliction were repeated, it was regarded as positive proof of guilt. Another method was, to search the body of the accused for the " devil's mark." When the compact -with Satan -was sealed, he -was supposed to touch sdrne part of the body, -which at once lost the sense of touch. The delicate and humane method of finding tliis mark -was to remove tlie vyitch's clothing, and examine every portion of the body, using sharp needles to locate the insensible part. Another method, and one which was deemed infallible, was to cast the accused into deep w^ater. If she floated, it was infallible evidence of satanic assistance. If she sunk, she -was as con clusively proved innocent ; but the vindication usually came too late to be of much comfort to the accused. All these dark superstitions tlie settlers in these New England towns brought with them from England. For some years they had more tangible things to occupy their attention, but when the occasion served, the pent-up flames burst forth with redoubled fury. In those early days the New England towns were more closely bound to gether in a common interest than now, and though the earliest outbreaks of the witchcraft mania took place in Boston and Salem, the people of Lynn were as profoundly stirred by them as the dwellers in the localities named. The first person to be denounced as a witch and arrested, condemned and executed was Margaret Jones of Charlestown, this occurring in 1648. Seven years later Mrs. Ann Hibbins, of Boston, was charged with witchcraft and condemned. Her case attracted widespread attention, and there were many dissenters from the severity of her sentence. The charge against her consisted chiefly in the alle gation that she possessed a crabbed temper, and the original accusation was doubtless caused by personal spite. She was executed on Boston Common. From that time until 1692 there were occasional and widely separated accusa- 52 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. tions and trials for witchcraft, not enough to cause great popular excitement, but sufficient to keep alive the fire of superstition, ready to burst into flame when the occasion should serve. The outbreak came in 1692, and so startlingly near our doors as to al most achieve the impor tance of a local event. Salem Village, now a por tion of Danvers, is a quiet, unpretentious place, little suggestive of -witchcraft or anything else so uncanny and weird. The quiet street still winds by the same old trees which stood there then, and the houses which were the homes of the principal actors in the bloody drama remain upon the old founda tions. The parsonage was the scene ofthe first outbreak. Two children of the Rev. Samuel Parris were attacked with convulsions, and a black slave called Tituba was accused of haying bewitched them, the accusation being made by a number of young girls who had been accustomed to meet at the parsonage at stated times during the -winter. Tituba was promptly arrested, and in due course of jus tice put on trial. Noth ing could be proved against her that would justify summary pro ceedings, and the prin cipal excuse for holding her in jail for nine months-were certain boastful claims made by her at her trial EXECUTION OF MRS. ANN HIBBINS. which have a strong suggestion of modern spiritualism. She was finally sold for payment of jail fees. The excitement caused by this occurrence soon rose to a frenzy. As though encouraged by their success in the case mentioned, the circle of girls soon after made accusation against well-known and hitherto respected residents of the surrounding country, and when confronted with the victims in court, the girls would calmly make the most preposterous statements of things done by the THE WITCHCRAFT TRAGEDY. 53 accused, which were accepted by the learned jurists of the day as competent evidence. Several ofthe accused persons, in order to save their lives, confessed to having signed their names in the Devil's book, to having been baptized by him, and to have attended midnight meetings of witches, or sacraments held on the green near the parsonage, to which they came riding through the air. They admitted that he had sometimes appeared to them in the form of a black dog or cat, sometimes in that of a horse, and once as " a fine, grave man," but generally as a black man of severe aspect. But many would not so confess, and suffered the penalty. The trials were the merest farce, the judgment apparently being made before the evidence was in. Thirteen women and five men were hung, and two — Rev. George Burroughs and Giles Corey — were pressed to death beneath heavy weights because they would neither confess nor plead to their accusations. More than one hundred others were accused and r~- -O: .-.: ...1 M: I m- ,1* THE PARSONAGE, SAI.EM VILLAGE. imprisoned, of whom seven belonged in Lynn. Many of tliese persons were of advanced age, and the long months spent in Boston prison must have been a terrible hardship. It was a reign of terror indeed. No one was safe. The honored citizen of one day often found himself doomed upon the next, and many happy homes were, without a moment's warning, broken up, and the father or mother, and sometimes both, hurried off to prison and the mockery of a trial. The delusion finally furnished the cause of its downfall. The Rev. Jeremiah Shepherd of Lynn was denounced as a -wizard. The charge was so manifestly absurd, and the friends of the worthy pastor made such demonstra tions of opposition, tliat the judges called a halt. The excitement cooled as •quickly as it had risen. Those confined in jail -were released, and in many cases compensated for lost time ; and most of the girls whose antics had caused the mischief, came before the church, humbly confessed their errors — the blame for which was duly laid upon Satan, who had possessed them — and pleaded for forgiveness. Thus ended this most weird and bloody chapter in the history of our city and vicinity. It reads little like a story of real life actually lived near the spot -we call home ; yet such it is. The superstitions of those old days are CTone — or exchanged ; but whether exchanged or gone will not be told until 54 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. two more centuries have passed by. Perhaps, then, some poet will sing of the romance of these days as sweetly as Whittier has sung the requiem of the days gone by : " How has New England's romance fled, Even as a vision of the morning! Its rites foredone, — its guardians dead, — Its priestesses, bereft of dread, Waking the veriest urchin's scorning ! Gone like the Indian wizard's yell, And fire-dance round the magic rock ! Forgotten like the Druid's spell At moonrise by his holy oak ! No more along the shadowy glen Glide the dim ghosts of murdered men; No more the unquiet churchyard dead Glimpse upward from their turfy bed, Startling the traveller, late and lone; As on some night of starless weather They silently commune together. Each sitting on his own headstone ! The roofless house, decayed, deserted, Its living tenants all departed. No longer rings with midnight revel Of witch, or ghost, or goblin evil; No pale blue flame sends out its flashes Through creviced roof or shattered sashes ! — The witch-grass round the hazel spring May sharply to the night-air sing, But there no more shall withered hags Refresh at ease their broomstick nags. Or taste those hazel-shadowed waters As beverage meet for Satan's daughters; No more their mimic tones be heard, — The mew of cat, — the chirp of bird, — Shrill blending with the hoarser laughter Of the fell demon following after ! " \oll Witshe^^ i i Q[ HE stood upon a bare, tall crag Cj Which overlooked her rugged cot — .-^ A wasted, gray and meagre hag. In features evil as her lot. She had the crooked nose of a witch, And a crooked back and chin; And in her gait she had a. hitch. And in her hand she carried a switch To aid her work of sin — • A twig of wizard hazel, which Had grown beside a haunted ditch." Whittier must have given his then youthful fancy loose rein in this word- picture of our famous townsyyoman. Doubtless he described what, according to the popular fancy, a witch should resemble. But Moll Pitcher -was no witch, though doubtless if she had lived in the days ofthe -witchcraft frenzy, she -would have been hanged as such with little ceremony. But it was less than three- quarters ofa century ago that she lived in her little cottage, opposite the head of Pearl street, on the north side of Essex, where for fifty years she solved the doubts and mysteries which troubled her contemporaries. Her father, Capt. John Dimond, commanded a small vessel sailing out of Marblehead. She was born in 1738, and early married Robert Pitcher, a Lynn shoemaker — a man of no force of character — and the chief burden of the support of the little family, one son and three daughters, early fell on her. Her ancestors had borne a repu tation as wizards of greater or less attainment, a favorite accomplishment of her grandfather having been to pace up and down among the graves in the church yard during the most furious storms, and direct the course of vessels attempting to make the harbor, his voice plainly audible to the sailors, no matter how loudly the storm might roar, or how far out the vessel might be. With such a reputa tion ready-made in the family, it is, perhaps, little wonder that young Mistress Pitcher sought to lighten the pressure of poverty by the exercise of her inherited gifts. But whatever was the motive that first impelled her to practice the art of 66 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. soothsaying, her early success was great, and her fame spread until her musical name became a household word not only throughout this land and England, but in every port where the Yankee sailor spun his yarns, were related stories of the Lynn pythoness, which doubtless suffered no loss of embellishment or detail because of the inborn credulity of the sailor boys. Her powers lay in no special direction, but she -was sought alike by the swain in doubt as to the feelings of his fair one ; by the maiden anxious to know of the safety of her sailor lover ; by the sailor, to kno-w if he should have a safe return ; by the merchant, solicit ous of the success of his ventures ; and by the noble, to learn the future course of the affairs of state. The well-worn path to her cottage was trodden by rich and poor, high and low, alike. No matter -what their station in the outside world, within the brown cottage beneath the shadow of High Rock, in the pres ence of the renowned fortune-teller, they stood on a common level, and for a consideration could learn the whereabouts of lost property or friends, or get the merest peep behind the curtain of the future. Lewis, who was familiar with her appearance, having kno-wn her, leaves a picture very different from the fancy sketch of the Quaker bard : " She was of medium height and size for a woman, with a good form and agreeable manners. Her head, phrenologically considered, -was somewhat capacious, her forehead broad and full, her hair dark brown, her nose inclining to be long, and her face pale and thin. Her countenance was intellectual, and she had the contour of face and expression which, without being positively beautiful, is nevertheless Ma r^fJlhr decidedly interesting,— a thoughtful, pensive, sometimes downcast look, almost approaching to melancholy, — an eye, when she looked at you, of calm and keen penetration, — and an expression of intelligent discernment half mingled with a glance of shrewdness." MOLL PITCHER. 57 What was the secret of the remarkable power of Moll Pitcher .? Here she dwelt all the years of a long life, going in and out before the people, her life open before them ; reputable, charitable, and given to no occult or mysterious rites Other than scanning the bottom of a tea-cup or musing over the cards, and it is most likely that she had little regard for these ceremonies, but used them to gain time while cautiously watching her visitors for a clue to their history or desires ; but more often she calmly looked her customers over and talked with them face to face. Yet her fame increased with her years. The stories that are told of her achievements, not only in piercing the secrets of the future, but in solving the mysteries of the current happenings, would rouse the smile of in credulity were they not recorded by persons of undoubted veracity and relia bility. Possibly to great native shrewdness and tact in divining the hidden thoughts and desires of her visitors was added in a high degree the clairvoyant faculty ; but probably most of her revelations could be accounted for without resort to this intangible quality. According to the proverb, "it is the unex pected that happens ;" not that the occurrences of every day are not the natural outcome of antecedent acts, but because men, in forming their expectations, ordinarily think along the line of their desires, rather than according to the logic ofthe events of their past lives. If, therefore, the sibyl, having gained from the unsuspecting guest- the main facts of his life to the time of their meeting, has the logical force to deduce from them their natural outcome in his after years, the " fortune " which she may tell' him will very likely be vastly different from his anticipations, but will probably be the things yyliich must inevitably result from his course of life. To a i-nind on the alert and trained by long experience the slightest admission may be a sufficient clew to the secret of a life. Doubt less Moll Pitcher made a great many mistakes. These would be little heard of and soon forgotten, but a prediction verified under extraordinary circumstances was sure to be talked of as a wonder, and to lose nothing in each repetition ; and among the thousands who sought her counsel, there could hardly fail of being many -who yvould unconsciously furnish her with the data for a wonder fully accurate "fortune." But even this supposition will not satisfactorily account for many of her achievements in her peculiar line, and it is easier to lay MOLL PITCHER'S COTTAGE. 58 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. the secret of ttiem at the door of clairvoyance than to trace them to their actual origin. Whatever was the secret of her power, she was the most successful fortune-teller of her day ; she had no equals among her predecessors, and since she died there has been none like her. The home she lived in still stands near its old foundation, on Essex, at the head of Pearl street. If only its \valls could be induced to tell the many strange things they have heard in their day, and the names of all the persons who crossed the sibyl's palm with the magic key to her knowledge of the future, what a wondrously interesting story could be -written ! She was married on the 2nd of October, 1760, and died April 9th, 1813. "Even she, our own weird heroine, Sole Pythoness of ancient Lynn, Sleeps calmly where the living laid her; And the wide realm of sorcery, Left by its latest mistress free, Hath found no gray and skilled invader." %e^peni' CTHIS strange wanderer of the seas can scarcely be classed as an exclusively ^L Lynn institution, but in the early part of the present century he created a '^^ tremendous sensation here and hereabouts. That there was such a visitor to our shores and bay in the early summer of 1819 and several seasons after, is true past question ; it was through attempts to describe him, and wor.se still, to estimate his length, that many reputations well established as to truth and veracity received a wrench from which they have never recovered. When Col. T. H. Perkins, a well-known resident of Boston, was asked by an English friend whether he had heard of tlie sea serpent, he replied : " Unfortunately I have seen it." He felt that a shadow had someho-w closed in upon him from which he was unable to emerge. His snakeship's comings were as unannounced as his departures were un ceremonious, and he was frequently seen taking his morning swim along the shores, his head elevated at a good sight-seeing distance above the waves. Whether the people he saw were too inquisitive, or the country not to his liking, is not known, but he declined to fix his residence here, though no doubt he could have made very advantageous terms as a permanent summer attraction. A recently published letter by a fello-w townsman gives as good a description of him as any we have seen. " Lynn, Mass., June 26, 1881. Mr. C. F. Holder. Dear Sir : — ^Yours of the 24th inst. came duly to hand, and, in reply to that part of it relating to the account given by myself of a strange fish, ser pent, or some other marine animal called a sea serpent, I have to say that I sa-w him on a pleasant, calm summer morning of August, 1819, from Long Beach, Lynn, now Nahant. At this time he was about a quarter of a i-nile away ; but the water was so smooth that I could plainly see his head and the motion of his body, but not distinctly enough to give a good description of him. Later in the day I saw hiin again off ' Red Rock.' He then passed along about one hundred CO LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. feet from -where I stood, with head about two feet out of the -water, and his speed was about the ordinary of a common steamer. What I saw of his length -was from fifty to sixty feet. It was very difficult to count the bunches or humps (not fins) upon his back, as, by the undulating motion, they did not all appear at once. This accounts, in part, for the varied descriptions given of him by different parties. His appearance upon the surface ofthe water was occasional and but for a short time. The color of his skin was dark, differing but little from the water, or the back of any common fish. This is the best description I can give of him from my own observation, and I saw the monster just as truly, although not quite so clearly, as I ever saw anything. This matter has been treated by many as a hoax, fish story, or a seaside phenomenon to bring trade and profit to the -watering-places ; but, nothwith standing all this, there is no doubt in my mind that some kind of an uncommon or strange I'over in the form of a snake or a serpent, called an ichthyosaurus, plesiosaurus, or some other long-named marine animal, has been seen by hund reds of men and boys in our own, if not in other -waters. And five persons beside myself — Amos Lawrence, Samuel Cabot and James Prince, of Boston, Benjamin F. Newhall, of Saugus, and John Marston, of Swampscott — bore public testimony of having seen him at the time. Yours Truly, Nathan D. Chase." The gentlemen named -were all interviewed at the time, and their testi mony, to make it, if possible, more conclusive, -was sworn to before a magis trate, and differed only in detail from that of Mr. Chase, except that Mr. Mar ston thought he miglit have been a hundred feet long. At various times and in various places, from Nahant to Nova Scotia, his serpentine majesty has suddenly raised his head above the waves, carrying wonder and affright to the hearts of all beholders. All tell about the same story of him with the exception of the crew of the bark "Pauline," of London. Their testimony, taken before a magistrate at Liverpool, was : "Borough of Liverpool, in the County Palatine of Lancaster, to wit: We, the undersigned, captain, officers and crew of the bark Pauline of THE SEA SERPENT. 61 Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, in the United Kingdom of Great Britain -and Ireland, do solemnly and sincerely declare that on July 8th, 1875, in lati- tute 5 deg. S. and longitude 35 deg. W., we observed three large sperm whales, and one of them was gripped round the body with two turns of what appeared to be a huge serpent. The head and tail appeared to have a length beyond the ¦coils of about thirty feet, and its girth eight or nine feet. The serpent whirled its victim round and round for about fifteen minutes, and then suddenly dragged the whale to the bottom head first. George Drevar, Master; Horatio Thomp son, John Henderson Landells, Owen Baker, William Lewarn." That was quite a fish story, but it by no means measured their capacity in that line, for five days later three ofthe same ship's crew made affidavit that they had seen the serpent, his head " elevated some sixty feet in the air." What length of body and tail would be required to enable the serpent to elevate his head sixty feet in the air, we leave for others to figure out ; but it seems a pity that they could not have been contented to let a good enough story alone. At intervals ¦during these later )-ears this strange wanderer of the seas has put in an appear ance now here, now there ; but those across whose path he has swum have be come very guarded in their references to him, owing, possibly, to sundry unkind references to the unaqueous condition of their ship stores. But the local de scriptions given of this king of the serpents have attracted -wide attention in sci entific circles, and even inspired one poet's muse : " Welter upon the waters, mighty one, And stretch thee in the ocean's trough of brine; Turn thy wet scales up to the wind and sun, And toss the billon's from thy flashing fin; Heave thy deep breathings to the ocean's din, And bound upon its ridges in thy pride; Or dive down to its lowest depths, and in The caverns where its unknown monsters hide, Measure thy length beneath the gulf stream tide; Or rest thee on the navel of that sea Where, floating on the maelstrom, abide The Krakens, sheltering under Niirway's lee ~ But go not to Nahant, lest men should swear Y'ou are a great deal bigger than you are." — J. G. Brainekd. NAHANT BREAKERS. XtfX^a N the fourteenth day of May, 1850, the town organiza tion, under which Lynn had lived peacefully and happily for two centuries, was superseded by the city form of government. The change was not made without a struggle, and for two successive years Mr. George Hood, one of the most public-spirited men of the time, successfully led the opposition to the pro posed measure; but the majority of the people were against him. Notwith standing his pronounced opposition, his fellow-citizens were quick to see that his course was governed by motives of public spirit and solicitous regard for the best welfare of the town, and at the first election of city officers, he was chosen Mayor by a small majority. The first City Government was organized on the date above named, with Daniel C. Baker as President of the Council, and Richard Bassett as City Clerk. Under the careful guidance of Mayor Flood, the machinery ofthe new city was soon made to run sinoothly. His large busi ness experience and knowledge of public affairs, gained by several years' service in the General Court and other public positions, specially fitted him for the duties of Mayor, and he devoted himself -with as much energy to promoting the interests of the city as he had to opposing the acceptance of the city charter. The second year he was re-elected by a very large majority, showing that the people recognized his faithful service in their behalf. The third year he de clined a renomination. Among the more important events of the two years of Mayor Hood's administration may be mentioned the readjustment of the hours of labor, whereby ten hours came to be accepted as a day's work — in bringing this change about, Mayor Hood bore a leading part — the High School building on High street was dedicated ; an effort -was made to preserve Long Beach from the encroachments of the sea by planting a line of red cedars along the ridge ; the excavation in Dungeon Rock was begun by Hiram Marble ; a grand recep- CITY OF LYNN. 63 tion was tendered to Louis Kossuth ; and the sewing machine was introduced. The shoe industry was in a highly prosperous condition. Largely through the efforts of Mr. Samuel Brimblecom, -who died in 1850, the methods of carrying on tire business had been simplified and systematized, and the manufacturers found a ready market for their product at remunerative prices. The total valu ation ofthe city was $4,834,843, and the municipality started out with a debt of $56,960. In 1852 Swampscott was set off as a separate town, and the following year Nahant gained her majority. The following j^ears were uneventful beyond the ordinary happenings of New England towns. The financial depression of 1857 rested heavily upon rich and poor alike, and during the struggle to regain the ground lost, the foundation was laid for the great strike of i860, which created a decided sensation throughout the country. The hanging of John Brown, in 1859, again roused the slavery-hating citizens of Lynn to a high pitch of indig nation, and the bells were tolled at sunrise, noon and sunset. In i860 the valu ation of the city was $9,649,065, population 19,087, showing a gain of 50 per -cent, in population, and 100 per cent, in wealth, during the decade. In 1861 came the neyvs of the; fall of Fort Sumter. The first call] for troops by President Lincoln met = -with a prompt response from Lynn . In five hours after the proclamation was received, two full companies were armed and ready for duty, and the following terse dispatch was sent to headquarters : " We have more men than guns — what shall we do ? " ¦ At eleven o'clock the next day, April H i6th, they left for the seat of war. M These t-wo companies — the Lynn Light Infantry, Capt. George T. S Newhall, and the Lynn City Guards, ^ Capt. James Hudson, Jr. — were at- H tacbed to the Eighth Massachusetts Regiment, of which Timothy Mun roe, of Lvnn, was colonel. Capt. Newhall is still among us, hale and hearty, and wields a pen as mighty for peace, morality and earnest living as his sword was for freedom and the in tegrity of the Union. The regiment performed honorable, though not very bloody service, and returned after its three months' term without the loss, by death, of a man. Meanwhile the -war spirit had kept at fever heat, and enlist ments went rapidly forward. Throughout the -war Lynn supported the Govern ment loyally, and gave of her men and means without stint. Large and enthu siastic war meetings were held, and great inducements in the way of bounties for volunteers offered, with the result of keeping her quota more than full. During the war Lynn furnished 3,274 men forthe field — 230 more than her HON, GEORGE HOOD. 64 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. full quota. Many of those who went into the war from Lynn in private or sub ordinate positions rose to places of honor and distinction, and not a few who went came not back. Out of those who did return has been organized the largest Post of the Grand Army of the Republic in the country. Those -were stirring times in Lynn, and to describe the great war meetings, the departure of troops for the front, the rejoicings over victories achieved, the funeral honors paid to slain soldiers, and the other moving incidents of those memorable days, would require larger limits than this volume affords. Hon. Peter M. Neal was Mayor of the city during 1862-5. In those times the duties devolving upon the chief magistrates of our cities were varied and constant. In addition to the routine work of the office, there -were the added duties arising from the raising and equipping of troops, the general oversight of all relief operations, and the many questions and requests coming from the friends of those at the front. During the four years of his administration, he generally worked from sixteen to eighteen hours a day. He was indefatigable in his exertions in alleviating the suffer ings of our soldiers and their families, and many times visited the army and hospitals, carrying good cheer and messages from home to those in the field, and relief and comfort to the wounded. After the close of the war, for many years he continued his care and service for the soldiers and their families, obtaining for many pensions from the Govern ment, although he would never take any compensation for his efforts. Mr. Neal is a native of Maine, and was born in North Berwick Sept. ,_ 21, 181 1. His parents -were Quak- | ers, and he received his education and early training in the Friends' I '*, schools. After leaving school, until 1850 he was engaged in teaching in Maine. In that year he came to Lynn and engaged in the lumber '^ business, in tinues. which he still con- HON, PETER M. NEAL The burning of the old City Hall, which from the time of its building, in 1814, until 1833 had stood in the center of the Common, and thereafter on South Common street, left the city without an official home until the new City Hall was completed in 1867. The new building was dedicated on Saturday, Nov. 30. The whole day was generally observed as a holiday. The dedicatory exercises were of a very interesting nature, consisting of addresses, poem, etc., aud, what was of equal interest to very many, a free collation in the basement, served at noon. The beautiful structure thus dedicated is justly regarded as one CITY OF LYNN. of the chief ornaments of the city. The inany conveniences for the transaction of public business which it affords, and the beneficent influence which it has exerted upon the architecture of the city, have made it worth the cost, which was about $313,000. From this time on, the growth and development of the city has been rapid. The shoe industry, -which from the earliest times had been carried on in the little shops scattered here and there over the city, had been gradually developing toward the factory system, and to center about the railroad station. There were no steam engines in Lynn at that time, but the change taking place in the methods of the business rendered them a necessity, and they were soon after introduced ; and during the few years ending in 1874 many of LYNN CITY HALL. the large factories were built. Business was good, real estate rapidly advanced in price, and values of all kinds rapidly expanded. The following year the finan cial crash came. Real estate declined more rapidly than it had risen, failures were numerous, and business had a blue time generally. This depression lasted nearly two years. The recovery was gradual but healthy, and since that time the growth ofthe city, while being measurably rapid, has been regulated by the demand of the time rather than by any speculative movement. The shoe busi ness and its collateral branches has steadily expanded. The later years have been prolific of labor troubles, and the inducements held out by various country towns have caused many of our manufacturers to locate a part of their business 66 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. outside the city, where they hoped to be free from disturbance of this nature. At present, many towns in Maine and New Hampshire receive their principal business impulse from the operations of Lynn capital and brains in their midst, and hence may almost be looked upon as outlying wards of the city proper. The t-\\o hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement pf Lynn was celebrated in 1879, on the 17th of June. In all these many years she has enjoyed a steady increase both in population and business importance. Though possessing a large water frontage, the harbor is approachable only by a small class of vessels, the channel being both narrow and shallow. Yet when the Lynn yachtsmen come together in their annual regattas, the harbor presents an animated appearance. In respect to her harbor she has been, for all commercial purposes, less fortunately situated than some of her sisters who started in life about the same time with herself. Yet this very fact is now seen to have contributed largely to her success. Little of her capital and few of her citizens being engaged in shipping or foreign commerce, the embargoes and blockades resulting from our numerous wars inflicted very little loss or hardship here, and she was left free to develope the peculiar industry for which her people and soil seem best adapted ; and having a home market for her manufacture, the disturbances at home and abroad, which oftentimes had a well-nigh disastrous effect upon many seaboard towns, troubled her but little, and that only incidentally. The foundations of the city's prosperity were laid broad and deep, and consist not more in the reputation for excellence, finish and cheapness of her product, than upon the inborn enterprise and ability of her manufacturers and the skill and faithful work of her mechanics. And enough business has gone from Lynn, to escape labor troubles and take advantage of the inducements offered by country towns, to make, if all were collected together, another city of almost equal size and importance with herself. The census of 1885 credits Lynn with a population of 45,867, with 13,278 polls, a valuation of $28,459,243, and a tax roll of $533)130.53 ; 7,144 houses CITY OF LYNN. 67 on 564 streets, places and courts, make up the city. A Police Department with 44 patrolmen guard the peace of the town ; a Fire Department of five steamers, one chemical engine, four hose companies, and two hook and ladder companies, protect us from conflagrations. One High, seven Grammar and sixty-four Primary schools, besides numerous private schools, provide for the education of our youth, and the spires of twenty-six churches point the way to a better life. A free public library of 32,000 volumes furnishes good reading to -whomsoever chooses to avail themselves of its advantages, and the social, charitable and protective associations number one hundred and three. Connection with the outer world is maintained by the Boston & Maine, Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn, and the Lynn and Boston (Horse) Railroad Com panies. Five National Banks facilitate our business exchanges, and two Savings Banks guard the small savings ofthe people. It may, therefore, be asserted that Lynn is not only a city having a history and a goodly heritage, but also is pos sessed of all the advantages and appliances of a live, modern manufacturing town, and an industry that is destined in the future, as it has done in the past, to keep her in the front rank of the sisterhood of tire cities in the Common wealth. As -we pass on, we shall have occasion to examine many features of our modern city more in detail, and to get something of an idea of her resources and developments of her social life. BREAKWATER. LYNN, CHRISTMAS 1885. MT. VERNON STREET. ^les, t|~HE beginnings of shoemaking in Lynn were exceedingly small — "like a f grain of mustard seed, which indeed is the least of all seeds, but vyhen t it is grown, is the greatest among herbs." In like manner has the shoe ^ industry grown, until our goodly city, with many sister communities in the Commonwealth, and New England as well, finds shelter " in the branches thereof." Probably Philip Kertland, the first Lynn shoemaker, did not lay claim to more than ordinary skill in the art, and for many years those who fol lowed in his footsteps were content to do as he had done. The best shoes worn by the Lynn dames came from England and France. Those constructed here -were made of neat's leather, and were serviceable, if not handsome. The sole leather v/as worked with the flesh side out, and for nearly two centuries both shoes were made on the same last. About the year 1670 shoes began to be cut -with broad straps for buckles, which were worn by women as -well as men. Fifty years later buckles for ladies' shoes went out of fashion. The coming of John Adam Dagyr in 1750 gave the trade of shoemaking in Lynn the turn and impetus which led to its adoption as the leading industry ofthe place. He was a thorough workman, and produced shoes equal to the best made in England. The Lynn craftsmen were apt scholars, and it v^as not long before the fame of the Lynn shoe had spread throughout the colonies. The little, square shoe maker's shop became an institution, and fathers and sons in their spare hours, particularly in winter, -worked alongside the journeymen and apprentices, the number working in a single shop ranging from four to eight. In the years LEADING INDUSTRIES. 69 preceding the introduction of machinery these shoe shops had become very numerous. The shoes were cut at the establishments of the bosses, and given out to be made through the town. The uppers were called "shoes," and the ,soles " stuffs," and thread, wax and everything necessary to make the shoe were M 11 ^'>iW^ \.^ \\\\\V^ \^ PRIMITIVE SHOEMAKING. 70 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. supplied by the bosses with the shoes. The ladies of the household had quite as important a part in the work as the men. They stitched, or bound, the uppers while the men were preparing the soles. The se-wing-machine made quick despatch -with the time-honored occupation of our mothers and grand mothers, but Lucy Larcom has immortalized their work in her pathetic poem of Hannah Binding Shoes. The invention, or rather the perfecting, of the McKay "Spring and winter, Hannah's at the window binding shoes." machine in 1862 put an end to the old-style methods of shoemaking, and the modest shoe shops which were scattered all over the town -were gradually turned over to the uses of the pigs and chickens, and the shoe factory became an insti tution. These naturally clustered as closely as possible about the railroad. Mr. John Wooldredge was one of the first to see the advantages of the labor- saving machines, and it was he who, in 1853, brought the first sewing-machines to Lynn, and ten years later, first applied steam power to the manufacture of shoes. It was not till the close of the war, in 1S65, that the use of steam engines in shoe factories became general. With machinery came the minute sub-divisions of the labor of making the shoe, so that, in place of the three, and possibly four, persons who would once have performed the labor upon a shoe, the work is now shared by not less than thirty-four. No more interesting trip can be taken, than w-ith a competent guide, to go through one of the large shoe factories and watch the processes by which abstract particles of leather, iron, cloth, buttons and other things, in all more than one LEADING INDUSTRIES. 71 hundred in number, gradually come together in the form ofa shoe. Commencing at the basement, one finds himself in a most confusing medley of brawny men in scant clothing, for it is hot down there at all seasons, huge machines which run with a clatter and thud that suggest great power, and piles of leather in all stages of manufacture, from the whole side to the soles -which have been sorted, sized and tied up ready for the making rooms above. In this room we find the stripper, sole cutter, sorter and tier-up ; and one cannot help wondering if those -who are running the stripping and dinking machines are as indifferent to the loss of a finger or possibly a hand as they seem to be. We are next shown into the cutting room where the upper leather and linings are prepared. There is nothing ex citing here. These twenty or more gentlemen who are ranged around the room, each at his cutting-board, work with a deliberation and care which is seen in no other part of the factory, but necessary to faithful work. In this room -we find four more divisions ofthe work — i, outside cutter; 2, lining cutter ; 3, trimming cutter ; 4, dier-out. Following our guide we mount another flight of steps and find ourselves in the stitching room. The energetic clatter of the different busy machines render us oblivious to the conductor's explanatory remarks, and we content ourselves with watching the continued evolution of the shoe under the busy, skilful fingers of the operatives. The uppers pass first into the hands of the lining maker, then to the closer, third, seam-rubber ; fourth, back-stayer ; fifth, front-stayer ; sixth, closer-on ; seventh, turner ; eighth, top-stitcher; nintli, button-hole cutter ; tenth, corder ; eleventh, button-sewer. On casting up our account so far, we find that twenty persons have had a part in making our shoe. From the stitching room we are taken to tlie finishing room, where the bottoms and uppers, which have thus far been travelling by different routes are finally brought together. In this room, as in the stitching room and Ijasement, everything is lively. Men and boys are working as if for life and scarcely stop to bestow a look upon the visiting party. Racks and horses filled with shoes in all stages of completion fill the floor, and numerous odd lookmg machines are located at convenient spots. At one end of this room the compo nent parts of the shoe come together in the hands of the stock-fitter, whom we number twenty-one in our list, and are passed from hand to hand until they ar rive at the other end completed, ready for packing and shipment. From the stock-fitter we watch our shoe go into the hands of the laster, who, with a dozen of his fellows, works at an odd-shaped bench. Attention is attracted to one -who is evidenth- a veteran. Taking a preparatory chew of tobacco, which he carefully stows away in one cheek, and with a backward toss of the head filling the other with something less than a gill of sharp tacks, he pro ceeds to last our shoe ; and with caring for the tobacco, working the tacks one by one. to ]-;is lips with his tongue, and dropping an occasional emphatic ejacu lation as he drops a tack or pounds his thumb, his mouth is kept as busy as his hands. The cutting and lasting departments of the shoe factory are the only ones which have not been successfully invaded by the labor-saving machines, and these are about the most important in the factory. Upon the good judg ment and close calculation of the cutter depend, in large measure, uniformit}' in the quality of the product and the profits of the business, for no degree of ability or foresight in the management can counteract the ravages of a wasteful cutter ; 72 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. PI rs^ irr-' «¦.-«. — — «N.*~— — v^'-" , — ^ ,¦* t. — IP — P-- «f X, '• ' >j^, _- s,:;;;:::::^, ^_ r.=:iL %. i - _ " — * i . - / — r i. T ^jj;* ttt ^» A ^ I |l 0« \Li«. 'I— B-i 'I re c_ '^K 1 1 I ^ ' ^- >"l V 1 • -fc* '_ \» '_ i!_?i L-: ^1 Mel JK h a =^^taaa,,^^a:.. .. , large concerns are located in Harrison K- ."'¦'vljcourt, others on Munroe, Broad and ° Beach streets. The large factory of Lu cius Beebe & Sons, on Western avenue, is one of the most complete establish ments of its kind in the East. There are twenty-seven firhns engaged in this branch of manufacture, and the product finds a ji:" 111 ;.;;,• rj [jMMg^^^^SWa J"' ™^'"^^*^ ^^ nearly every shoe town in the Iw* t -^fiTJ8g:!?2ffi^^^3^^j j^y country. In addition to the two leading j branches of the shoe and leather industry already mentioned, there are many others directly contributory to them. Among them may be mentioned fifty-seven dealers, and manufacturers of boot and shoe soles, heels, stiffenings, &c., sixty-six stitching- rooms, twenty dealers and manufacturers of findings and supplies, thirteen manufacturers of boot and shoe machinery, besides numerous other sub-divisions of the business. In the production of labor-saving machinery Lynn mechanics have made several notable contributions, which are to be seen in every well- CALDWELL Sc CO.'S FACTORY, OXFORD STREET. LEADING INDUSTRIES. 79 regulated shoe factory. One ofthe latest inventions, and one which promises to ¦'- „,ir silk tJ »._ ^ „ T MOJIGAN & DORE S FACTORY, OXFORD STREET. become of great practical utility, is a lasting machine which lasts a shoe perfectly LUCIUS BEEBE & SONS' FACTORY, WEST L-STNN. 80 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. LEADING INDUSTRIES. 81 in the time a shoemaker of fifty years ago would be getting his tools together. Another industry inseperably allied to the manufacture of shoes is the making of wood and paper boxes. In the manufacture ofthe latter, machinery has largely taken the place of the former hand processes. The improvement in the style and appearance ofthe shoes in the last fifty years is no more marked than the changes in the manner of sending out the goods to market. It was a long step from the bags and barrels formerly in use, and the neat, and often highly orna mented, individual carton in which the shoes are now packed. The factories ofthe Thomson-Houston Electric Co., on Western Avenue are among the most extensive works of the kind in the country, and give employ ment to a large number of men. They manufacture supplies and machinery for the electric-lighting companies, and their products find a ready market. The general business of Lynn, aside from the special lines of manufacture already described, is composed chieffy of local retail trade. The section of Union street above Central square, and of Market street between Andrew and Essex streets, are chiefly given over to this branch of business. Lynn has a number of large firms engaged in the dry goods, clothing and house furnishing business, and the business in these lines is constantly increasing, the people being able to purchase about as advantageously here as in the large market of Boston. As in most manufacturing towns where wages are paid weekly, the rush of business comes on Saturday, and no more animated spectacle can be seen in any city than is presented on Market and Union streets on any pleasant Saturday evening. Taking all things into consideration, the facilities for carrying on the leading industries, the nearness ofthe city to the great business centres of New England and the ease of railroad communication therewith, the excellence of her home markets, and her beautiful and healthful location, the advantages of Lynn, either for business or residence, are surpassed by no New England city. •"'jL.ugJrL' :.i '^btjfi ^-- =l^att' S^", cAs SKupqKqs, THE first church in Lynn was formed in May, 1632, three years^after the settlement of the town. In the order of church organizations in the Mas- p sachusetts colony, this was fifth — the church in Salem first ; next, that in T Charlestown, yyhich was afterwards removed to Boston ; next, that in Dor chester ; next, in Roxbury ; next, in Lynn. All the churches organized prior to tliat in Lynn have ceased to be numbered among the churches of the Puritan faith ; and the same is true of those planted before it in the Plymouth colony. Thus it maybe said that the First Church in Lynn has been longer on the ground where it \vas originally planted than any Congregational Church in America, and the claim is made that it is the oldest living Congregational Church in the -world. The little house on Shepard street, which for fifty years served the pur poses ofa cl-iurch, was a very modest structure, and the room where the people met for wor ship has been aptly described as " a basement with no up-stairs," the floor being several feet below the ground outside. In 16S2 the main portion of the house was moved to the Com- N^- mon, and -was metamorphosed into that sin gular architectural curiosity known as the Old THE ORIGINAL FIRST CHURCH. Tunnel. The porch of the Shepard street house finally found its way to Harbor street, where it still does humble duty as part of a dwelling. The country was sparsely settled, and though the church was made up of people from Lynn, Lynnfield and Saugus, the little house was ample for all requirements for half a century. The Old Tunnel meeting-house stood in the middle of the Common, and was the center of spiritual influences AMONG THE CHURCHES. 83 for the community for many years. Nearly square in form, with -windows somewhat irregularly placed, and the bell-tower on the center ofthe roof, it at a distance must have borne a striking likeness to that useful article whose name it subsequently bore. It was originally built without pews, and permission to build them was granted from time to time by vote of the town. Each person built his pew according to a plan of his own, so at last the interior of the church must have had a sort of crazy-quilt appearance. This house kept its place till 1827, when it was removed to the corner of Commercial and South Common " THE OLD TUNNEL. streets, and remodeled. Here it served the purposes of the society ten years more, when its new church on the corner of Vine and South Com mon streets was completed. This was a commodious edifice, although it might not be set down as a triumph in church architecture. On the afternoon of Christmas, 1870, the house took fire from some defect in the heating appara tus, and was consumed. The society immediately set about the task of rebuild ing. The corner-stone of the present beautiful structure was laid on the loth ofthe following May, and the house was dedicated on the 29th of August, 1872, with appropriate services. It is interesting to note the steps in the evolution of 84 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. SECOND UNIVERSALIST CHURCH, FORMERLY THE " OLD TUNNEL. the present house. Each of the five successive structures is a suggestion of the attainment and prog- . A ress of the people, both in material resources and in some /l rM A '-'^ their religious ideas. The first, plain and bare, without i^^^^^A stove or comfortable seats, was not more indicative of the ^^^ il^^^t^% straitened circumstances of the set tlers, than of the ex-, the showy, ceremonial^ treme revolt of the Puritans from ^ worship of the Anglican church. (The Old Tunnel shows something jof the returning swing of the pend- Julum, and in its day -was considered THE " FIRST CHURCH," BURNED IN 1870. AMONG THE CHURCHES. 85 quite remarkable as an architectural achievement, and an ornament to the town. In its later years, however, the people became more fastidious in their tastes, and discovered that their historic meeting-house was becoming old-fashioned ; soon the name by which it has passed into history was applied in ridicule, and FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, SOUTH COMMON ST. its fate was sealed. Each of the succeeding houses shows progress in the like direction, and -was the best the means of the society and the skill of the times could produce. At the beginning, -when the membership of the church com prised every family in town, substantially, scattered over the territory of Saugus, LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. Lynnfield, Lynn, Nahant and Swampscott, two pastors were required, who, in comparison with the slender means of the settlers, were given a generous sup port, though Mather remarks : " The ungrateful inhabitants of Lynn one year passed a vote that they could not allow their ministers above thirty pounds apiece that year for their salary, and behold, God, who will not be mocked, immediately caused the town to lose more than three hundred pounds in the single article of their cattle, by one disaster." They were not always so poorly paid, for Mr. Whiting left an estate as good as six thousand dol lars, and had, moreover, educated three sons at Harvard. In course of time Mr. Cobbet was translated to Ipswich and Mr. Whiting to heaven, and Rev. Jeremiah Shepherd was called to the pastorate, which office he filled acceptably for many years. It was under his administration that the Old Tunnel was erected, and it did service one hundred and forty-five years. Shortly before his death Rev. Nathaniel Henchman was installed as colleague, and after the death ofthe aged pastor, continued as sole incumbent ofthe pastoral office. His pas torate was filled with bitterness and dissatisfaction. He died in 1762. Follow ing him in the pastoral office w^ere Rev. John Treadwell, 1763, Rev. Obadiah Parsons, 1784, Rev. Thomas C. Thacher, 1794, Rev. Isaac Hurd, 1813, Rev. Otis Rockwood, 1818, Rev. David Peabody, 1^32, Rev. Parsons Cooke, 1836, Rev. James M. Whiton, 1865, Rev. Stephen R. Dennen, 1872, Rev. Walter Barton, 1S76, Rev. F. J. Mundy, At the close of Mr. Shep- ministry the church was prosperous. 1885. herd'sunited and prosperous. From that time until the time of Mr. Rock-wood the ancient society had its ups and downs, mostly the lat ter, and during the pastorate of Mr. Parsons the church was re duced to five male and twenty-one female members, caused by one hundred and eight inembers of the church, including both deacons, witlidrawing and uniting, with others, to form the First Method ist Church. Under Mr. Rock- wood's earnest ministry the tide was turned. Numerous additions were made to tlie church, and its position in the community made much more creditable. In Rev. R^^- parsons cooke. Parsons Cooke the society and the faith had a strong and earnest champion. He impressed his vigorous personality not only upon the church, but upon the town, and under his leadership the church was placed in good financial condi tion and its constituency still further enlarged. The Washingtonian temperance movement, the incident of the Comeouters, and the discussions pro and con concerning Methodism, took place during his ministry, and in each of them he AMONG THE CHURCHES. bore a memorable part. Like all strong men, he had many devoted friends, and bitter enemies who sought in every way to undermine his influence. He wielded a prolific pen, and aside from its controversial spirit, his history of religious movements in Lynn is both complete and interesting. The First Church hive has swarmed six times. First came out the West End or Saugus Church ; afterward the church in Lynnfield ; then came the secession of the majority of the church to the Methodists ; afterward the church in Swampscott was set ofli"froni its membership ; and later still, both the Central and North Churches. And aside from this enumeration, as many more have gone singly from its communion to other societies in the place. Despite its years, the Society is still as full of vigor and life as any of its children. A com plete history of this church would be a history of the town. In the early years the church organization was substantially the municipal body. During the Quaker discussions, the church was the principal opposing factor. In the days of the Revolution the pastor of the church headed the committee of public safety, and in all the lapse of years no influence has been more potent in shaping the course of events than the old First Church. The Central Congregational Church was organized in 1850, chiefly from the membership of the First Church, and their first church building was dedicated ,, in December of the same year. This \ building was enlarged and beautified in l 1864, and the following year was burned. The present handsome structure was completed in 1868, and is one of the 1 " onvenient CENTRAL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH SILSBEE ST. churches in the city. It is situated on the corner of Silsbee and Mt. Vernon streets, very convenient and accessible, though the rumble of passing trains is sometimes painfully apparent. The North Church was formed in 1870, largely from the membership ofthe First Church, and though youngest among the Congregational churches of the city, is largest in point of membership ; and as the section ofthe city in which it is located is growing more rapidly than any other, it is destined to continue to fill an important place among the churches of Lynn. The pastor, Rev. James L. Hill, has been with the church since 1875, and is the oldest in office of any 88 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. ~S pastor among the Protestant churches in the city. Mr. Hill was born in a home mis sionary cabin in Iowa, and graduated from Iowa College in i87i,and in 1875 from An dover Theological Seminary. He immediately assumed the pastorate of this church, to which he had been previously unanimously called. Under his wise leadership the church has had a steady growth. In 1878 he was chosen by the Legislature to preach the elec tion sermon, which was done at the Old South Meeting- House. In 1 88 1 Mr. Hill vis ited Europe, and in 1883 was chosen to deliver the Alumni oration at his Alma Mater. He was active in promoting the formation of the Associa ted Charities. As a public speaker, Mr. Hill has few superiors. His relations with NORTH CHURCH, LAIGHTON ST. liis people are of the most cordial na ture, and he has declined flattering calls from other places to remain here, it being, as is frequently said, a love-match between him and his people. The second meeting-house in Lynn was erected in 1678 forthe use of the Society of Friends, and was situa ted on a spot known as Wolf Hill, on Broad street. It stood in front of the present Friends' burying- ground, -where it remained until 1723. The next house was built near the front line of that enclosure. This structure was used until 1S16, when it was sold, and a more commodious meeting-house built near the same place, where it remained until 1852, when it was removed to its present REV. JAMES L, HILL. AMONG THE CHURCHES. 89 location on Silsbee street. The old house passed through various hands, and now serves as an office for the lumber firm of S. N. Breed & Co., on the corner of Beach and Broad streets. Now this location is being improved by the erection of a more commodious structure, and the little historic church will doubtless disappear, though its timbers are as sound as the theology formerly expounded in it. The society at present, though not large as com pared with many others, is active and flourishing and, after the custom of the sect, has several ministers, Micajah M. Binford, William O. Newhall and Abi gail C. Beede. Recent repairs have much improved the appearance of the church, and in its setting of trees, has a quiet, retired settled look quite appropriate to the oldest church building in use as a church in the city. Methodism took early root in Lynn. The Rev. Jesse Lee had introduced this religious system into Connecticut in 1790, establishing a number of classes in the vi cinity of Bridgeport. The following year he came to Boston, where for a time he labored, with poor success. Shortly after he came to Lynn, on invitation of Mr. Benjamin Johnson, one of the foremost men of the town. The time was propi tious in a marked degree. The dissen tions which had crept into the First Cliurch — which, with the Friends' Society, had held the field until that time — caused the many who -were dissatisfied with the exist ing state of things to eagerly welcome any THE OLD BOWERY,' movement which offered them release. Mr. Lee came directly to Mr. Johnson's house, which stood on Market street, on the pres ent site of Exchange building, and there the first Methodist meetings were held, whence the house came to be called the ' ' birthplace of Methodism." Mr. Lee's coming was in February. His first class consisted of eight persons, though hundreds flocked to hear his preaching. A week after, twenty-one were added. In May the number was fifty-one. At that time the class received the sudden ad dition of one hundred and eight persons, who ' ' signed off" from the First Parish . Soon the large dwelling-house of Mr. Johnson became insufficient for the worshippers, and they made his barn their sanctuar)'. The society became prosperous in the highest degree THE FIRST M. E. CHURCH. Soon the society outgrew the barn, and it 90 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. was resolved to build a church. The first Methodist meeting-house was built on the site of Lee Hall, and so great was the zeal of the builders that the house was finished so as to be used for worship in twelve days from the commencement of cutting the trees in the forest, but remained innocent of laths and plaster for a long time. This little house had no front entrance, but was approached by a door on each side, and it stood so that its front projected about eight feet into the street, as the lines now run. It served the purposes of the society until 1812, when the Old Bowery was built, and the little church was removed to West Lynn, -where it afterward became the cradle of a Baptist church, and later still passed into the hands ofthe Catholics. The new church, -with numerous additions and alterations, held its place until the present beautiful edifice was completed in 1879. This building is one hundred and twenty-three feet in length and seventy-three in width, -with a chapel adjoining, ninety- one feet in length by seventy-three feet in -width. The affairs of the parish have always been ably administered, and it is now one of the most prosper ous societies in Lynn. Rev. J. D. Pickles is pastor. St. Paul's Methodist Church, or ganized in 18 II, was the second Meth odist Church in Lynn, and was the first "^ Methodist Church in Massachusetts ' _ that was built with a steeple. The J comfort of worship for many years va- jj.«^^_ ried according to the weather, as no 'nisi. 1 stove was introduced until 1831. In the house no-w standing had been fin ished ready for occupancy. Rev. W. R. Clarke is pastor. The South Street M. E. Church was organized in 1S30, and the house now standing was erected the same year. It was originally a plain, substantial edifice without a steeple. The building has been altered and beautified until it is one of the prettiest churches in the city. The pastor is Rev. Samuel Jackson. The Boston Street M.E. Church was organized in 1853, and the church was erected in 1853. The building has been enlarged from time to time, and the church is one ofthe most active and efficient in the city. Rev. A. McKeown is pastor. The Maple St. M. E. Society was organized in 1851, though religious services had been held in that vicinity for many years. Their church on the corner of Chestnut and Ma ple streets was dedicated in 1872, and is a very neat and convenient edifice. Rev. W. B. Toulmin is pastor. The African Methodist Episcopal Society, oro-an- ized in 1856, has a very comfortable, though plain, house of worship on Mailey -I November, 1859, the house was de- "" stroyed by fire, but within nine months ST. PAUL'S METHODIST CHURCH, AMONG THE CHURCHES. 91 fii- Kb'- 1 »!¦ y 1 I street. Trinity Church, on Tower Hill, is the youngest of the Methodist churches in Lynn, having been formed in 1S73 as a mission enterprise. Rev. Alonzo Sanderson was appointed pastor, and still remains with the society. The church edifice on the corner of Boston and Ashland streets was dedicated in 1874. The Methodist Church, both in number of societies and in membership, outnumbers any other denomination in Lynn. 1 The First Baptist Society was organized | ^f in 1 815, but the Baptist belief found lodg ment in Lynn very soon after the settlement of the to-wn, not, however, -without encoun tering decided opposition. As early as 1630 we find Joseph Rednap being brought to book because he could not accept the doc trine of infant baptism, and for the same reason Lady Deborah Moody, a most esti mable lady, who owned a fine farm in Swampscott, was so beset by the elders of the church that she sold her property and removed to New York, where old Governor Stuyvesant received her hospitably. In 1651 three men, whose names were John Clarke, south street methodist church. John Crandall and Obadiah Holmes, came hither from Newport, R. I., in which state a degree of religious liberty, not dreamed of in Massachusetts, was enjoyed. They went to the house of William Witter in Swampscott, where Mr. Clarke preached, and rebaptized Mr. Witter. This being reported to the authorities, two constables went do-wn to Swampscott and arrested them. That night they were kept under guard at the Old Anchor Tavern, and the next day -were sent to Boston and imprisoned. Ten day, afterward they were brought before the courts and Mr. Holmes was fined thirty pounds, Mr. Clarke twenty, and Mr. Crandall five. The fines ofthe two latter were paid, but Mr. Holmes refused to pay his or allow it to be paid, and was retained in prison until September, when he was publicly whipped, receiving thirty stripes on the bare back . The whip was made of three cords with knotted ends, and the record has it -^::^_^^^^;jw^._^^_.. .^ _— ..ajt ^^^^ ^^^ executioner spat three tiynes on his own f '^'^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ hands, that he might honor justice. And in a BOSTON STREET METHODIST CHURCH, mauuscript left by Governor Joseph Jenks, it is written that "Mr. Holmes was whipped 30 stripes, and in such an unmerciful manner that for many days, if not some weeks, he could not take rest but as he 92 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. lay upon his knees and elbows, not being able to suffer any part of his body to touch the bed." When he was released, two spectators, John Shaw and John Hasel, went up and took hold of his hand to sympathize with him, for which they were fined forty shillings each. William Witter was made of different metal. He was presented at Salem Court for his connection with the affair, and the following record was made: "William Witter, now comeing in, answered humbly, and confessed his Ignorance, and his willingness to see Light, and (upon Mr. Norris, our Elder, his speech) seemed to be staggered. Inasmuch as he came in court meltinglie, sentence — Have called our ordenance of God, a badge ofthe Whore — on some Lecture day, the next 5tli day, being a public fast, To acknowledge his fait, and to ask Mr. Cobbett forgiveness, in saying he spok against his conscience. And enjoined to be heare next court att Salem." After this, the coming of the Quakers and the antics ofthe witches kept the authorities too busy to attend to minor matters of belief. In May, 1815, the First Baptist meeting-house which the Methodist as if to emphasize the change of sen- place, this house was placed on land Congregational Church, in full sight worship — the very church which had and delivered them over to the au- one hundred and This building had _=^_ last of all occupied Society jjurchased the society had vacated, and timent that had taken purchased of the First of their own house of persecuted the Baptists, thorities to be punished, sixty-four years before. a checkered career, being by the Catholics, and was iPir^^V'k S«i W;4^J- 'J?^^ i*^"-^*-" ^ FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH. burned in 1859. The edifice at present occupied by the society was erected in 1867 It IS a commodious and comfortable house. Rev. F. T. Hazlewood is pastor. AMONG THE CHURCHES. 93 The Second or Washington Street Baptist Society was established in 1851. Services were first held in Union Hall on Union street, and in 1858 the church on High street -was dedicated. In 1874 the beautiful church on th&corner of Essex and Washington streets was built, which is one of the finest church edifices in town. The pastor is Rev. Benjamin A. Greene. The Third Baptist Society, in Wyoma, was or ganized in 1858, and services were regu larly maintained until 1876. Since then ~ Jl i-;-;.^ Jh ^ Jl ^^I^P Ki ^¦MKI 'ISbSM^^S^^S^^T '-^ •^^-=:^im. MiwimMjJl WASHINGTON ST. BAPTIST CHURCH. the church has been served by supplies. The East or Fourth Baptist Society was organized April 21, 1874, largely from members withdrawing from the Second Bap tist Society at the time the move from High to Washington street was made. The society in the month of October following purchased the church property of the Free Baptist Soci ety on Union street, and is now known as the East Baptist Church. The pastor is Rev. Henry Hinck ley. The Union Street Freewill Baptist Church was organized Sept. 7, 1871. After the sale of its church property to the East Baptist Society, the church on High street was purchased, and now the society is in a very prosperous condi tion. The pastor is Rev. John ISIalvern. EAST BAPTIST CHURCH, UNION ST. 94 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. The Chestnut Street Church was formed in 1857 by the Baptists, by whom worship was maintained for many years. The church building is now occupied by the Chestnut Street Congregational Society, who have within a year repaired and beautified it, and the society is enjoying a career of prosperity hitherto unknown. Rev. Jay N. Taft is pastor. The Second Congregational Society was organized April 5, 1822, and their first house of worship was dedicated the following year. In the summer of 1852 the church edifice on South Common St. was enlarged and remodeled. This is the only Unitarian Society in Lynn. Rev. Samuel B. Stewart is pastor. 9 A- fi. * P-Wt ^1- • 0\- ¦r^ — - — — ' " ' '*.'-rti; .ii ^*=i3f ^,.^ FIRST UNIVERSALIST CHURCH, NAHANT ST. The First Universalist Society was formed in 1833, though Universalism had been preached in Lynn alternately since 181 1. For three years services were held in the Town Hall, and in 1835 the society built a church on Union street, near Silsbee. In 1850 this house was enlarged and re-dedicated, and in 1864, to meet the growing demands ofthe society, the house was again enlarged. The corner-stone ofthe church on Nahant street was laid in May, 1872, and the church was dedicated Sept. 18, 1873. The tower was not completed until 1886. The cost of the church and site was $140,000. It is one of the finest church structures in New England, and an ornament to the town. This church has had a remarkable growth, and has had some very able men as pastors. AMONG THE CHURCHES. 95 0^ :^^. ^ w, In point of membership and the number of people directly and indirectly con nected with it, it is the largest Universalist church in the world, so far as is known. The Sunday school numbers upwards of seven hundred. Rev.James M. Pullman, D. D., pastor ofthe church, is one of the most prominent clergymen of his denomination in the country. He was born at Portland, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., Au gust 21, 1836, and graduated from St. Lawrence Divinity School, Canton, N. Y., in i860. During the succeeding eight years, he -was pastor of the First Universalist Church, Troy, and from there he -went to the Church of Our Saviour, New^ York city, where he remained until he was called to Lynn in 1885. During this long pastorate of seventeen years, he made a reputation, not only in the pulpit, but in all the depart ments of church work, which placed him in the front rank of American ministers of the Gospel. He has a marked talent for organization, and in this line he has achieved some of his most pronounced successes. During his pas torate in New York, the Church- of Our Saviour was erected. He was the or ganizer and first president of the Young Men's Universalist Association in New York city, and has been prominently connected with the leading educational institutions of his denomination in New York. Since his residence in Lynn, his church, always a strong and active organization, has largely extended its infiuence, and his strong personality is felt in each line of effort put forth by the society. The Second Universalist Church was formed in 1836, and in 1839 it pur chased the church on the corner of So. Common and Commercial streets, formerly the Old Tunnel, which they still occupy. Rev. John C. Mclnerney is pastor. The Christian Church -was organized in 1835. The first church was built the same year on the south side of Silsbee street, next to the railroad bridge. In 1840 the present church was built, and in 1880 this was remodeled and the tower added. Rev. A. A. Williams is the pastor, having been with the society since 1877- For two hundred years after its settlement, the Episcopal system found the New England atmosphere uncongenial. An attempt was made to form a REV. J. M. PULLMAN, O. O, 96 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. CHRIST CHURCH. church here in 1819. Sei-vices were contin ued in the Lynn Academy for some two years, when they were abandoned. In 1834 a society was formed, which took the name of Christ Church. Occasional services were held during that year, and regular service was begun on the first Sunday of January, 1835, at Liberty Hall. These services were continued, with little interruption, for two years, and July 20, 1837, a church edifice which had been erected during the year was consecrated. This modest structure stood on North Common street, between Franklin avenue and Hanover street. Meet ings were maintained until 1841. In 1844 a reorganization was eflfected. The name now INTERIOR OF ST. STEPHEN S. borne by the society adopted, and the church edifice erected in 1837 was bought. This house served the purposes ofthe society until the present beautiful structure was consecrated in 1881. Thisedificewasthegiftto the society of Hon. E. Reding- tonMudge, asamemorial of his son, Charles Redington, a lieutenant-colonel in the AMONG THE CHURCHES. 97 Union forces, who was killed at Gettysburg, and his daugh ter, Fanny Olive, who died July 3, 1879. The corner stone had been laid on the 19th of May, 1880, and in its construction and furnishing nothing was spared that could add to its beauty and completeness. The walls are constructed of reddish-brown sandstone, with facings of ^ brick. The style of architec ture gives a happy combined effect of massive solidity and graceful outline. Viewed from whatever j^oint one may approach it, the impression received is pleasing and in spiring, and St. Stephen's Church of Lynn has come to be reckoned among the fa mous churches ofthe country. The interior is very beautiful. Our view is taken from the rear of the main audience- room, 1 ' .3 t 1 ' ^111 oinnniDi n 1 1 nun E. REDINGTON MUDGE, iiiiiUffloiiiioiiiNiraMmuiiinfflumiuiiiiiraiauiiNiiiimiiiiiiiiimiiiiuiiiui™..!*^^ ST STEPHFN S CHL RCII, SO COMMON s 98 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. Mr. Mudge, at whose hand the society received this costly and beautiful trust, was a son of Rev. Enoch Mudge, a native of Lynn, but for many years resident in Orrington, Maine. His business talent -was of the highest order, and he used his large fortune as a trust to be administered for the benefit of his fellow-men and the city of his adoption. His mental qualities -were such as to easily place him among the foremost in any company. He enjoyed the esteem and respect of his neighbors and friends in a marked degree. The building of St. Stephen's was regarded by him, and proved to be, the crowning work of his life. The work was pushed forward with his whole energy, that his -wife, who -was an invalid and not expected to long survive, might witness its completion. But on Saturday, October i, just as the -work was nearly done, he was taken ill, before noon had died, and his own funeral was the first service held in the nearly completed church. Rev. Frank LouisNor- ton, D. D., is the Rector of St. Stephen's Parish. Dr. Norton -was born in Noi-wich, Conn., and re ceived his education in the public schools, and at Trin ity College, and the Berke ley Divinity School. He began his ministry as the assistant to the Rector of St. Thomas' Church, New York, and has been himself Rector ofthe Church of Our Saviour, Longwood, St. John's Church, Troy, and for the three years previous to his coming to Lynn -was Dean of the Cathedral at Albany, N. Y. Hereceived his degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1884. Always fond of literary pursuits, he has published the " Priest's Book" and " The Excepts REV. F. L. NORTON. D. D. of Our Lord," both of which ran through two editions. As a preacher he is earnest and scholarly, and has always drawn large congregations. Under his ministry the church is enjoying great prosperity. The Church of the Incarnation was organized in 1885 as an offshoot from St. Stephen's Parish. For the first few months the society worshipped in Tem plars' Hall on Market street. On the 25th of September the corner-stone of a new church on the corner of Broad and Estes streets was laid with impressive AMONG THE CHURCHES. 99 CHAPEL OF THE INCARNATION. ceremonies, Bishop. Pad dock and other leading clergymen assisting, and on the 2 1st of the February following the congregation met for worship for the first time in the beautiful stone chapel. The work on the church will go forward as rapidly as possible. While the society were still wor shipping as a mission, a call was extended to Rev. John L. Egbert of Vine- land, N. J., and accepted by him. Though yet a comparatively young man, Mr. Egbert had achieved a reputation as an energetic and efficient worker. He is a native of Missouri, though most of his early life was spent in Kentucky. He completed his education at Kenyon College, in Olrio, and afterward studied law, being admitted to the bar in 1870 ; but a year later he abandoned that pro fession to prepare himself for the __ ministry, and graduated from the General Theological Seminary in New York in 1874, and was ad mitted to the priesthood in 1875. From the time of his graduation until October, 1876, he sei-yed as assistant minister of Christ Church Parish of Springfield, having spe cial charge of the Church of the Good Shepherd, on the west bank of the river. From 1876 to 1881 he w^as Rector of St. Peter's Parish at Bainbridge, Conn., and during 1* that time the church was enlarged J - and beautified and greatly strength ened in numbers. In the latter year W- he went to Vineland, N. J., where |- during the next four years he or- S ganized a strong society, and se cured the building and furnishing of a beautiful stone church. He m REV. JOHN L. EGBERT. entered upon his work in Lynn with the same consecration and energy, and the results of his labors are already apparent. The Parish of the Incarnation has an ample field in the eastern section of the city, and a future full of promise. The first Catholic services were held in Lynn in the year 1835, and there- 100 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. after at intervals, ia various private houses, until 1 848 . In that year Rev. Charles Smith was appointed to the charge of Chelsea and Lynn, who fitted up a small school-house near the Arcade for church pur poses. Hewas succeed ed in 1 85 1 by Rev. Patrick Strain, the pres ent Rector of St. Mary's Church. In 1854 the little church was en larged, but in 1859 11 was burned, and for two years the services were held in Lyceum Hall, -which stood on the site of Odd Fellows' block. St. Mary's Church was built in 1861, and was at that time the finest church structure in Lynn. The society have now,, a large and valu able property, extend- ST. IMARY's CHURCH AND SCHOOL. ing thi'ough ffom South Common to Tremont streets. St. Joseph's Church on Union street was begun in 1875, and has but lately been finished. It is a large and handsome gothic structure, costing upwards of $75,000. Rev. J. C. Harrington is pastor. The following table contains the churches in Lynn in the order in which they were organized : first Church 1632 Friends' Church . . 1698 First M. E. Church 1791 St Paul's M, E. Church ... . . .1811 First Baptist Church 1816 Second Congregational (Unitarian) Church 1822 Maple Street .Methodist Society 1829 South Street M, E. Church 1830 First Universalist Society 1S33 St. Mary's Catholic Church 1835 Christian Church 1835 St. Stephen's Episcopal . 1836 Central Congrenational Church 1850 Washington Street Baptist Church .... 1852 Boston Street M. E. Church 1853 African M. E. Church 1856 Third Baptist Church (Wyoma) 1858 Chestnut Street Church 1868 North Congregational Church . . . . . 1870 Freewill Baptist Church . . . . . 1871 Trinity M. E. Church 1873 East or Fourth Baptist Society 1 874 St. Joseph's Catholic Church 1875 Church of the Incarnation, Episcopal . . 1885 Second Universalist Church 1836 Lynn has, accordingly, one church to each eighteen hundred inhabitants. The time has gone by when people were haled to court if they would not attend service in the church, and those who nodded a sleepy assent to sermons which they could not keep awake to hear were rudely awakened by a prod from the AMONG THE CHURCHES. 101 pole of the tithingman. Nevertheless the churches in Lynn afford ample accommodation for all who may desire to worship, and in the nine denomina tions represented it would seem that all shades of religious belief might find agreeable surroundings. Most of the churches are situated on the " fayre plaine " -which lies in semi-circular form around the central cliff, and are for the most part convenient to the principal centres of population. Nearly all have bells, the St. Stephen's tower containing a fine chime placed there within the year, and the mellow harmony of the vesper calls are still " borne on the evening winds across the crimson twilight," even as they were carried in days gone by to the summer home of Longfellow at Nahant, calling into being the following beautiful lines : O curfew of the setting sun ! O Bells of Lynn ! O requiem of the dying day ! O Bells of Lynn ! From the dark belfries of yon cloud-cathedral wafted, Your sounds aerial seem to float, O Bells of Lynn ! Borne on the evening wind across the crimson twilight. O'er land and sea they rise and fall, O Bells of Lynn ! The fisherman in his boat, far out beyond the headland. Listens, and leisurely rows ashore, O Bells of Lynn ! Over the shining sands the wandering cattle homeward Follow each other at your call, O Bells of Lynn ! The distant lighthouse hears, and with his flaming signal Answers you, passing the watchword on, O Bells of Lynn ! And down the darkening coast run the tumultous surges, And clap their hands, and shout to you, O Bells of Lynn ! Till from the shuddering sea, with your wild incantations. Ye summon up the spectral moon, O Bells of Lynn ! And startled at the sight, like the wierd woman of Endor, Ye cry aloud, and then are still, O Bells of Lynn ! F all the places I have seen," said a Lynn man, lately returning from a European trip, "there is none which is more beautifully '¦'p!'' situated or possesses more natural advantages "^ as a place of residence than our own city." Making all allowances for the natural parti ality of a person for the place of his birth, the sentiment will find a response in the heart of every one who has gained a full acquaintance with Lynn and her Surroundings. MAP OF LYNN AS IT WAS FIFTY YEARS AGO. GLIMPSES OF THE TOWN. 103 Thus far our attention has been devoted to historical matters and to many things relating to the business and social life of the city. As we turn now from these to obtain some glimpses of those parfs of the town -where our people have their homes, let us pause for a second look at the town as it was fifty years ago when there was no distinctively business section and the " shoe district " invaded almost every man's door-yard. Then eveiy street was a residence street and many of the places now covered by busy factories or beautiful residences were cultivuted as farms or still unreclaimed from the rocks and bushes. In no way can a more vivid idea of the changes wrought by fifty years be gained than by contrasting this plan of the modest town, with its less than fifty streets, with a map of the modern city with its five hundred and sixty-five streets, lanes and courts. It was along those streets that the Quakers were dragged at the cart's tail, and the witches hurried toward the keeping house until they could be trans ferred to the jail at Salem or Boston. It was from that town that the minute men marched to the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill, and there Moll Pitcher practiced her magic arts. There are but few relics of those times still remaining. Many of our readers will re call the old shed, shown in the initial to this chapter, which stood on the wharf at West Lynn, when the oldest citizen now living was a boy. For many years it seemed to totter upon its aged supports, and in 1885 it finally collapsed. Waite's well on Maple street is one of the old landmarks and one can almost hear the creak of the sweep and hear the splash of the bucket, as — " Quick to the white pebbled bottom it fell; Then soon with the emblem of truth overflowing And dripping with coolness it rose from the well." V/AITE'S WELL, The old Johnson homestead, which stood on the site of City Hall, was re moved to Washington street, __.,n^^ THE BLUE TAVERN. when it found itself in the way of the march of prog ress, and in its new dress looks sufficiently modern ; but the old "blue tavern," which stood a little farther toward Franklin street, still retains its old form in its new location on Liberty street, -where it does humble duty as a tenement. It would be pleasant to go on searching out these relics of 104 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. oH iJI-I<>< s O US;?oo oz GLIMPSES OF THE TOWN. 10.5 LOOKING DOWN MARKET STREET FROM CITY HALL SQUARE. a time gone by, but things of more living interest claim the attention. The City Hall tower offers a fine vantage ground from which to obtain a view THE ROLAND G. USHER HOMESTEAD, CITY HALL SQUARE. 106 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. of West Lynn and the Common, and we get a better idea ofthe general appear- ance of the western part of the city from this point than from any other. In the soldiers' MONUMENT, CITY HALL SQUARE. early days, before the railroad and the shoe machines overturned the old ways, the vicinity of the Common was about the busiest section of the town, with the Old Tunnel Meet- V ^ - t-^ Y ,^ V' ..if*'/ ,t " ' \l =liSfc FROG POND ON THE COMMON ing-House in the center of the Com- '-— mon, and the Town House on South Common s I if* 'lllilllll M and banks, shoe shops and stores located here 1 there. The lower end of the Common, with itsiii'lF" lljsfl"" '"!'¦ li''--^- pleasant walks and beautiful flowers, is a very attractive spot, and the western end, with its flashing fountain, roomy stand and broad campus, ofliers a cool and GLIMPSES OF THE TOWN. 107 pleasant place for band concerts, with which the city entertains the people on pleasant summer evenings, and open-air meetings, which are frequently held ; MARKET SQUARE, WEST LYNN. and here Young America gathers as one boy on Fourth of July evening to see the fireworks. The Soldiers' Monument in City Hall square was erected in 1873, and dedica ted on the 17th of November. The design was by John A. Jackson, a native of THE COMMON, FROM MARKET SQUARE. Maine but resident of Florence, Italy, and the casting was executed in Munich. The cost was $30,000. The monument is not as showy in design as are many of its class, but it is chaste and in good taste, and adapted to the place where it 108 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. Stands. The homestead of Roland G. Usher, which faces the monument, is one of the last remaining of the older residences which once were numerous in this locality. Its neighbors on Market street and the opposite side of the square have been swept away by the tide of iinprovement. At the opposite end of the Common is Market square, which received its __ ^ __ — name before Central square was dreamed of a- '3^.~^< a business centre. At one time it was the center )['¦( ^J; LOOKING UP MALL STREET. of considerable business, which has now mostly moved down town. In 1646 the General Courtvoted, " on the motion of the Deputies ofthe towne of Linne : Itisor- dered that there shal be once a weeke a Market kept there on every third day of the weeke, being their lecture day." Market square was then a part of the Common, but as the lecture -was held at the church on Shepard street, it is likely that the gathering of the people for trading would be near by on the Common, and pos- - sibly the modern name is a leg end of the meetings of two hun dred years ago. From the east end ofthe square -we get a view up the Common which is sugges ted in the preceding picture. Looking at the Common from whatever standpoint, it gives the impression of roominess and invites to freedom and rest, though latterly the ' ' please keep off the grass " sign has put in its appearance. Looking up Mall from Boston street we get a pleasant glimpse of the street and the fine lesi- /#^"^ //'-i^^^^^B' '^^'^'^^ °^ J"^^"^ ^- boulton on the left. This is " ^' ^Sw/^^m ^"^^ °^ '^^ oldest streets in the town. The land in breed's pond. " ^'""^ vicinity was a part of the farm of Joseph Armitage, one of the earlier settlers of Lynn, and who led a checkered career as the landlord of the famous Anchor Tavern for many years GLIMPSES OF THE TOWN. 109 afterward. Mall street leads us into Boston street, which is also one of the historic streets, and many pleasant residences on this old-time thoroughfare date back to the time when history verges upon romance. Back of Boston street are many pleasant short streets which run close up to the range of rocky hills which skirt the lllji Biill'illllllill I lllilllll! ill I 1^1 i .. I RESIDENCE OF JUDGE NEWHALL, WALNUT STREET. town. On the sides of these hills are many beautiful residences, and their elevated position not only places them beyond the dust and noise of the city, but affords a charming outlook over the roofs of their neighborsbelow. One of the most pictur esque is the stone cottage of Judge James R. Newhall on Walnut street. The views from the piazzas of this charming place are among the finest in the city. Not far toward the west is Myrtle street, which merges into Dungeon avenue, leading by Breed's Pond into the woods and on to Dungeon Rock, which we visited in an earlier chapter. Breed's Pond, which, if it were not for the dam, would scarcely be a pond at all, is nevertheless one of the prettiest of the many 110 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. pretty little lakes which are so numerous around Lynn. And our interest in it as the source of our water sup ply is C( '•:**. V**^ heightene( or more li.'V *^.T *; ach summer day to its shores, not always to fish. But the water with which it furnishes the city is ENTRANCE TO PINE GRO-VE CEMETERY, abundant and reasonably pure. Indeed, the excellence of the water in and about Lynn early attracted the attention of the settlers, and William Wood, author of New England's Prospect, says : " It isfarr different from the waters of England, being not so sharp, but of a fatty sub stance, and of a more jettie color ; it is thought there can be no better water in the world ; yet dare I not prefer it before good beere, as some have done ; butany man will choose it before bad beere, vyhey or buttermilk." He had doubtless tasted of some of the numeious springs which now receive the added dignity of being called mineial springs. There are many in our day who not only agree with, but practice the doctrine of the old historian. THE GARDEN IN PINE GROVE CEMETERY. GLIMPSES OF THE TOWN. Ill Near the north end of Grove street is Lover's Leap, a beautiful elevation one hundred and thirty-three feet in height; and half a mile west is Pine Hill, two hundred and twenty- four feet high. From the summits of these elevations a beautiful prospect opens to the view, second only to that obtained from High Rock. Returning down Washington street, vye pass many pleasant residences embowered among the at the junction of and Western ave- straight course of winter, the own- friendly contests to \,^K .^'^.,- ^K'^h- • >". ^ '\jWf til' V/ trees, anu standing Washington street nue, we look down the where, in the crisp days ers of fast horses try titles in LOVER'S LEAP. the music of jingling bells. Many of our younger citizens remember the time when they trooped over the Johnson pasture-fence to the circus-field in the days vyhen Washington street existed not even in the dream of a real estate speculator. Now the view .- ¦' ^-¦^^¦>;^i^f5; ^ mi . * ¦*_* JOHN W. healey's RESIDENCE, WASHINGTON ST. 112 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. down the street discovers a constant succession of beautiful residences, but very few vacant lots remaining, and these may not be so long, for houses spring up quickly in these days. CORNER OF WESTERN AVENUE AND WASHINGTON STREET. Highland Square is one of the pleasant places of Lynn and offers many advantages as a place of residence, not the least among -which are the good air and the convenience to the business section of the city. Essex street, of which the square forms a part, was for many years the thoroughfare between VIE-W DOWN WASHINGTON STREET. Lynn and Salem, and its devious direction points backward to the time when streets were only " roads " and were laid out for the convenience of the scattered commu nity rather than by any system of squares and right angles. There are many pleas ant residences on Highland Square, and when the city has arrived at the point GLIMPSES OF THE TOWN. 113 of a new High School building this locality will receive a substantial ornament. At the upper side of the square we take the steps which lead up to the pleasant stone cottage of J W. Hutchinson, which nestles at the very base of old High Rock. Mr. Jesse Hutchinson, one of the famous family of singers, built this cottage in 1847. He was one of the pioneers into the highlands, and the pretty cottage -with its picturesque surroundings, and ; the interesting memories of the band of sweet singers — HIGHLAND SCyjVRE :_ ~ Jesse, Judson, John, Asa and Abbie,yyho in their day -n " ""i- sang their way into the hearts of the northern people — which " - 7_ cluster around it, render this to the stranger, one ofthe most interesting spots in Lynn. The house is now occupied by Mr. J. W. Hutchinson, the last sur- a^s?--,*** ^ijS--sJ '111-, ^ 1 »¦ . I ^ 2r M I .1 1 RESIDENCE OF S. C. NEWHALL, HIGHLAND SQUARE. 114 viving biotliei of the LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. old time favoiites. While so neai we can not forbeac ^ tiking one moie view fiom the summit .of thea-bckV breathing a thank offeiing, as we climb the stairs, to the Hutchinson who placed them there. The Highlands dis- tiict during the iast ten years has been filling up rapidly, and is becoming one ^ ofthe most desirable sections of the city for residence. Hon. James N. Buffum I HUTCHINSON COTTAGE. "~ and Mr. Henry A. Breed were among the first to undertake the yyork of opening up these lands, which has been rapidly pushed during the last few years. High Rock avenue was one of the first streets opened, and soon after High Rock street and Herbert street were built. The residence of A. B. Martin on High Rock avenue and the recently completed house of Mr. Buffiim on Herbert street are among the finest places in the city. Beacon Hill avenue, which strikes boldly up over the cliff next north of High Rock, is just now receiving a good deal of attention, and several fine houses have been erected near the summit during the pastyear. The residence of Hon. J. C. Ben- ^ ^i*-'^£2_^ili^=^---'"" RESIDENCE OF A. B. MARTIN. nett, situatecl near the base of the cliff", hasaroomy and homelike appearance and a substantial air, quite in contrast with many of the more modern designs in architec- .GLIMPSES OF THE TOWN. 115 o s 5 o V.o c O ^\^ •¦'^i^ 116 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. ture. As the city continues to grow, much ofthe expansion must inevitably be upon the north and east sides. Already Glenmere and Wyoma have lost their former appearance of suburban viUages, and become integral parts of the city. RESIDENCE OF HON. J. N. BUFFUM, HERBERT STREET. The eastern section of the town, while not so picturesque as that which has ^^"^ far had our attention, has the substantial and settled appearance which RESIDENCE OF HON, J. C. BENNETT, BEACON HILL AVE. comes with time. Nahant street, leading from Broad street to the beach was GLIMPSES OF THE TOWN. 117 for many years the only public highway through that section. The Indian sa chems, (originally pronounced " sawkum ") ruled on Sagamore hill, and what NAHANT STREET. on the other side of the street was not unbroken forest, was used by the settlers as farms. The march of improvement set in hereabouts scarcely a generation ago, and there are those now living who, when Ocean street was laid out, pre dicted that it would never be needed. How far this prediction was from the truth can best be seen by a visit to this part of the city. Almost every available LOOKING DOWN NE-WHALL STREET. building spot has been improved, and each season sees some one or more of the older fashioned houses replaced by a handsome modern residence. The us LYNN AND -SURROUNDINGS. beautiful shade trees which adorn nearly all thc streets in the older settled por tions of Lynn add greatly to the attractiveness of the city. The grounds about most of the houses in this section are spacious and tastefully laid out, and contain Al ¦¦¦-¦ *v>-^<"-'--rf*^ LOOKING DOWN BALTIMORE STREET. an abundance of pear and otiier fruit trees, to which the soil hereabouts seems particularly well adapted. The desirability of this section as a place of residence lies not more in the general beauty and quietness which prevail, it being quite out of the patiis of trade and travel, than in the fixed character of the population, a large proportion of the estates being owned by the occupants. The nearness to the beach has both its advantages and disadvantages. The murmurings of the waves upon the sands when' old ¦ ' tudor_street. 6oean is in her pleasant moods, and the thunders pf the billovvs upon the beach- \yhe.n the storm king is abroad, are the every-day music— "each day hearing, yet GLIMPSES .OF THE TOWN. 119 never learning the grand majestic anthem of the ocean" — yet the evening wind from the sea, in the hot days of summer so delightfully cool and refreshing, is sometimes laden with a chill and dampness which strikes to the marrow, unfelt in OCEAN STREET. those parts of the city further back from the water. Man}'- of the best resi dences in this section are' to be found on Ocean street. These are nearly all of modern build. And those on the easterly side have an outlook directly upon the water, and their grounds extend down to the beach. Passing down Nahant street we suddenly find ourselves upon the beach at a point where the whole expanse fl om Red Rock to the i ocks of Nahant pi cscnts itself advantao-eoush tothc-^iew. There is no RESIDENCE OF EUGENE BARRY, NAHANT STREET. more beautiful bit of water scenery upon the whole New England coast than this. Many have likened this bay, lying between Phillip's Point in Swampscott, and East 120 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. RESIDENCE OF F. -W. BREED, OCEAN STREET. Point on Nahant, to the Bay of Naples, lacking perhaps only the peculiar purplish tint so characteristic of that fair haven. The beaches which surround this bay RESIDENCE OF JOHN P. WOODBURY, NAHANT STREET. GLIMPSES OF THE TOWN. 121 have for centuries been the favorite breathing places of the dwellers hereabouts. Before the white men came the Indian youth held their sports there, and doubtless the Indian maidens and their lovers found an evening stroll upon its smooth sands as pleasant as their successors in our own time. The beach, by reason of RESIDENCE OF J. N. SMITH, OCEAN STREET. its extent, is thought to have given the name to this region the root of the name Saugus signifying great, or extended. To the Indians the beach was a constant source of food supply, and to the early settlers a never-failing barometer. William Wood, the early writer before quoted, says of it : " Vpon the South side of the Sandy Beach the sea beateth, which is a true prog nostication to presage stormes and foule -weather, and the breaking up of the Frost. For when a storme hath been or is likely to be, it will roare lilce Thun der, being heard sixe miles ; and after stormes casts up great stores of great Clammes which the Indians, taking out of their shelsj carry home in baskets." The beach is now one of the most popular resorts in the vicinity, the beauty of the place and the conveniences supplied by mine host of the Hotel Nahant attrac ting visitors from all directions. Out on the point of Red Rock, which juts abruptly into the waters, having Deer Cove under its lea and Humphrey's Beach stretching out toward Swampscott on the other side, we get a still better view of the bay and its setting. This has always been a favorite resting spot with the people of Lynn. In the foreground Egg Rock stands up out of the -water seemingly twice its actual height. On either hand is the sandy beach, smooth and hard as a floor with waves constantly dancing forward and backward — the same of which 122 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. Mrs. Sigourney sang, mayhap sitting on this very spot, and with her words we close this chapter of Glimpses of Lynn. "The sand beach and the sea — Who can divine Their mystic intercourse, that day and night Surceaseth not? On comes the thundering surge, Lifting its mountain head, with menace stern To 'whelm the unresisting; but impelled In all the plenitude of kingly power To change its purpose of authority. Breaking its wand of might, doth hurry back; And then, repenting, with new wrath return. Yet still that single silvery line abides Lonely, and fearless, and immutable. God gives it strength. So may He deign to grant The sand-line of our virtues power to cope With all temptation. When some secret snare Doth weave its meshes round o'ur trembling souls, That in their frailty turn to Him alone, So may He give us strength. HOTEL NAHANT AND LYNN BEACH. WqanizationQ . THE person who even casually studies the social developement of Lynn, though he goes no farther or deeper than the pages of the Directory, will be -^ struck by the large number of organizations of different kinds which I have not only the official paraphernalia peculiar to such, but permanent places for holding stated meetings. Not reckoning the municipal and business organizations, there are nearly one hundred and fifty societies, whose range of activities cover nearly every phase of the social life of the city. The charitable institutions should perhaps first claim our attention. The Home for Aged Women is delightfully situated at the upper end of the common, on Market Square. The building, which has a deci dedly classic appearance, was erected in i832forthe Nahant Bank, which went the way of unsuccessful enterprises, four j'ears later. It was occupied by the " Home " in 1876. This worthy charity is under the care of a board of trustees, of whom Mr. George K. Pevear is Presi dent and Hon. Wm. F. Johnson is Secretary. Mrs. Hattie E. Walsh is Matron. HATHORNE HOUSE. 124 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. Of all our public institutions perhaps the Lynn Hospital appeals most di rectly to the masses of our people. The hospital buildings are pleasantly situa ted on Boston street, near Washington, upon what -was formerly known as the Hawthorne estate. Strawberry brook flows by the door, and in front rise abrupt, woody hills, with here and there a porphyry ledge breaking through the soil. The surroundings are quiet and beautiful. In early times this quarter -was known as Mansfield's end. The old mansion standing at the time the Hospital corporation purchased the property was long ago known as the Deacon Farring- ton house, and afterward it was occupied by Capt. John White of the L^nited States Navy, and is said to have been the house in -which Lafayette was entertained when he visited Lynn. Subsequently it was occupied by Rev. Mr. Barlow, second minister of the Unitarian society, and later still by William Hawthorne, from -whom it took its name. The old house now forms a part ofthe hospital buildings, and with the exception of new sur roundings and a ne-w coat of paint retains its original aspect. The complete A f '¦¦Sfr JIB b ^la . — . .^^i.- -ft.--. L' LYNN HOSPITAL. usefulness of the Hospital is beyond expression. Aside from the case of accident which are almost daily treated, there is the unspeakable comfort of knowing that in the time of greatest need there is a place where the best of care and skill is always at cominand, and the poorest patient in the Hospital receives as good care and attention as the wealthiest citizen can obtain. The institution is maintained entirely from gifts, and has thus far received a generous support. The Associated Charities was formed in 1886 for the purpose of systematizing and regulating the general charitable work of the city. Through the investigations of the Society's agents it has been possible to distin guish between the deserving poor and those who have made it their calling to impose upon the charitably inclined in the community. The Society's head quarters are at Lee Hall, where the Registrar, Miss Hannah M. Todd is in con stant attendance. Cases of destitution reported here, receive prompt attention. ORGANIZATIONS. 125 The Children's Home, on Tower Hill, is a two story wooden building erec ted in 1 88 1, situated in one ofthe most sightly and beautiful spots in Lynn. The purpose of the home is to provide suitable nurture and education for ex- CHILDREN S HOME AND CITY ALMSHOUSE. posed young children, to save them from the stigma of work-house life, and oftentimes from the worse influences of degraded homes. Our view takes in both the Home and the Lynn Almshouse which is situated near ot it. The Massachusetts Society for the Promotion of Temperance and Inebriates' Home is pleasantly located at No. 19 New Ocean street, near the beach, and having an outlook over the bay. The name of the institution expresses its design, vyhich is the care and treatment, -with a view to cure, of those addicted MASSACHUSETTS TEMPERANCE HOME. to the drinking habit. Mr. Frank M. Flynn, who has for many years been prominent in reform temperance movements in Lynn, is superintendent. 126 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. The Grand Army of the Republic occupies a position of large influence and usefulness, having an active membership of one thousand and twenty-nine, and during the nineteen years of its existence fourteen hundred and ninety-two ex-soldiers and sailors have been connected with the organization. When it was first started it met with littie favor. There were but ten charter members, and the first headquarters were in Washington Hall, now remodelled into the Boscobel Hotel. The Post was poor, and its progress during the first few years was slow. So poorly equipped was it that in the initiation of its first recruit, "-Ml LL Hbibw ~^ lit GEN. LANDER POST 5 G. A. R. HEADQUARTERS. Capt. J. G. B. Adams, they had to go to a neighboring house to borrow a bible upon which to administer the obligation ; but perseverance and pluck won the day ; the jsrejudices were overcome and the foundation laid for the wealthiest Post in the country. Post Five now owns the' Coliseum on Summer street, erected in 1882, at a cost for buildings and land of $30,000, and the beautiful new building on Andrew street, erected in 1886, at a cost of $37,000. Both these valuable estates are held by the Gen. Lander Building Asso ciation, free from all incumbrance. In addition to the cost of the build ings the post has, since its organization, disbursed over $75,000 in charily. ORGANIZATIONS. 127 "S^t -*3, ^^ ;^ 'Jt/fn^ SPj^^ ¦' '" * "' The Coliseum is the lar gest public hall in Lynn, and is much in demand for political and social gatherings. The new building on Andrew street is fitted up with every convenience wliich can add to the comfort of the comrades. Post 5 takes its name from Brig. Gen. Frederick WestLan- der, a resident of Lynn, who distinguished him self in the Virginia cam paign of 1861, and whose death in 1862 closed a career that gave promise of great brilliancy. Tlie introduction of Freemasonry into Lynn dates back nearly to the beginning of the present Y. M. c. A. century. Mt. Carmel Lodge -was chartered in 1805, and for many years continued an undisturbed existence. About 1827 the city was in common with many other parts of the country, stirred to its depths by the anti- masonry excitement. On the 1st of April, 1857, ^1'- Jacob Allen of Braintree gave an exhibition of the al leged mysteries of that institution at Liberty Hall, on the corner of Essex and Market streets, and on the 6th the inhabitants in town meeting solemnly voted that they regarded Free masonry "as a great ODD FELLOWS' HALL. 128 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. moral evil," and its existence "as being dangerous to all free governments." An anti-masonry party was formed which for several years run the politics of the town, and a newspaper — The Lynn Record — turned its guns upon the order. The result was that the masons kept very quiet, and several lodges surrendered their charters. Mt. Carmel Lodge discontinued its meetings for about twenty years, when the excitement having cooled, they were resumed. Lynn has now three lodges, one commandery and one chapter, with a large membership. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows was introduced into Lynn in 1844, near the close of the anti- masonry excitement, the founders claiming that it was free from those things which had been deemed objection able in the more ancient so ciety. The Bay State Lodge was the pioneer, and has been followed by Provi dence, West Lynn, Richard W. Drown and Glenmere Lodges, and by Beulah and Myrtle Lodges Daughters of Rebecca ; also, Palestine and Lynn Encampments, and Grand Cantons Lucerne and Palestine, Patriarchs Mill- m tant, a new military degree. B Odd Fellows' Hall on the | corner of Market and Sum mer streets was erected in B 1871-2 by the Odd Fellows' J tiall Association. It occu- J; pies the site of the old Ly- B ceum building, and is one of ¦ the most ornate buildings in RICHARD W. DROWN. morocco town. Richard W. Drown, for many years one of the prominent manufacturers of Lynn, was very active in promoting the principles of Odd' Fel" lowship. He was a Past Grand in Bay State Lodge, and for a long time Degree Master of that body. He also held numerous offices in the Grand Lodge He was chosen Grand Master of the Grand Lodge during what proved to be his last sickness, it being conceded by all inembers of that body that his services to the order merited such recognition, and the Grand Ofiicers came to Lynn and to his bedside to install him. He died in 1877. Richard W. Drown Lodge instituted in 1881, is called after his name. The Knights of Pythias have two large lodges, both organized in 1870 Everett Lodge and Calanthe Lodge. Their hall is in Tremont block, corner of ORGANIZATIONS. 129 Tremont and Market streets. The Knights of Honor, Order of United Friends, United Order of Pilgrim Fathers, Order of United American Mechanics, Ameri can Legion of Honor, and numerous other protective and benefit associations, hold regular meetings in difiierent places. Many of the societies are uniformed, and street parades are always in order, and the accompanying scene on Munroe street is reproduced almost any day in the summer and autumn months. The labor organizations of Lynn are numerous and powerful, and extend to nearly every branch of industry, and all except the Lasters' Union are enrolled with the Knights of Labor. The first assembly of this organization was formed in Lynn June 22, 1878, and was known as Assembly No. 715. There were only eight or ten present at the first meeting, and the organization was kept very secret for some months. There are now thirty-four assemblies -with a member ship of about twelve thousand. The discipline of the organization is very strict, and they have by this means been able practically to dictate prices in many de partments of labor. The Lasters' Union has held aloof from the Knights. Like the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, this organization seeks not only to secure good wages for its members but to educate them in the details of their craft, so they may become good workmen. This organization originated in Lynn in 1879, and there are now about fifty unions in the country, with a membership of some ten thousand. The LynnUnion has been very successful in the holding of fairs and other meth ods of raising mon ey, and they are about to erect a hall for their use on An drew street, near Music Hall. The Shoe & Leather Association is an organization of the manufacturers to meet the demands of the labor unions. The result of these A TYPICAL STREET SCENE. different organiza tions has been that the principle of arbitration has been adopted, and a perma nent committee from each organization now meets whenever any question arises requiring settiement between employers and their workmen. Thus fir system has been found generally satisfactory. The Youno- Men's Christian Association occupies the the second floor' of its 130 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. handsome building on tlie corner of Market and Liberty streets. The Association does a large and good work among j-oung men ; Mr. George C. Herbert is Presi dent, and Mr. John E. Gray is General Secretary. A committee of the Association has' the administering ofthe Tolman temperance fund. The upper stories of this building are occupied by the difierent ISIasonic bodies. Lee Hall stands on the site of the Old Bowery church, and is the head quarters of the Park Club, one ofthe mostprominentso- cial organizations in the city ; the Club occupies pleasant rooms on the second floor, and is frequented chiefly by OLir older business men. /_ t 5WfHi,S }. ¦' ' " -I -/\J ^"''f''"'' ''°"' itng Beocl) Bdss Poibt -«\,K'* FealJlond^' Shng Rocks can gain a foothold only in isolated places — the Maolis Gardens on the north side and Bass Point on the south. The Nahantese cling to their acres with a grip that cash in hand has no power to unloose, and if ever Nahant becomes a popular resort the traditions of half a century will have to be reversed. The beauties of this spot have been sung by so many gifted tongues that we need do nothing more here than to point to tho accompanying chart. "If," saysN. P. Willis, "you can imagine a buried Titan lying along the length ofa continent, with one arm stretched out into the midst of the sea, the spot to to which I -would transport you, reader mine, would be, as it were, to the palm 160 LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. ofthe giant's hand." Whittier also addressed one of his earliest poetic produc tions to this charming spot. Nahant, thy beach is beautiful ! — A dim line through the tossing waves. Along whose verge the spectre gull Her thin and snowy plumage laves. — What time the summer's greenness lingers Within thy sunned and sheltered nooks. And the green vine with twining fingers Creeps up and down thy hanging rocks ! Around — the blue and level main — Above — a sunshine rich, a3 fell Brighl'ning of old, with golden rain, The isle Apollo loved so well. But fairer shores and brighter waters, Gazed on by purer, lovelier daughters. Beneath the light of kindlier skies, The wanderer to the furthest bound Of peopled earth hath never found Than thine — New England's Paradise ! LYNN AND NAHANT. Nahant has always been a favorite resort for those of refined literary tastes ; there being something in its peaceful, quiet life and the character of its scenery which prompts genius to its best efforts. Longfellow constantly came hither for rest and inspiration. A part of "Hiawatha" was written here, and "The LYNN AND SURROUNDINGS. 161 Bells ofLynn," and " The Ladder of St. Augustine " here found their birthplace, and many others of his lyrics in which the presence of the sea is felt by the reader, were also written here uuder its influence. In the Hood Cottage, Motley begun his " Dutch Republic ; " a little beyond stood the cottage where Prescott worked at " Ferdinand and Isabella," and " The Conquest of Mexico ;" on the point beyond, Agassiz produced his " Brazil ;" and Willis, Curtis, Mrs. Sigour ney, and a host of lesser celebrities have sought and found its magnetic inspira tion. And one of her own sons, Henry Cabot Lodge, has well nigh overturned many of the accepted conceptions of early colonial characters by his research and keen analysis. Longfellow and Prescott loved best the southern shore, but Agassiz chose the northern side. The admirably kept roads lead to where the most pleasing sea views are to be had. Notwithstanding the horse car is stopped at the town line, and the excur sion steamer is warned off shore, if one can brave the jolting of a barge, or better still, command a private conveyance, the wondrous beauties ofthe ragged riven shores may be easily reached. It almost takes one's breath away to watch and almost feel the mighty rush and roar of the eternal surges among the resounding sides of these cliffs and caverns. The tawney rocks wear coats of grass-green velvet above the water line, and the nodding plumes of the sweet fern and col umbine wave from the niches and hollows where they can gain a foothold. The sea gulls sail through the air over our heads or swoop upon their prey almost at our feet, and the white sails of the numerous water-craft pass and repass before our view. Midway between us and the Swampscott shore, rising sturdily above the waves which dash' around it, stands Egg Rock, as fair in the sunlight as when the ardent youth sought to pluck from it the Floure of Souvenance for his Lady Alice who was seated, perdhance, on the same promontory on -which we are. And with this quiet scene before the view we bid farewell to the friends who have accompanied us thus far in our excursions in Lynn and Surroundings.