Some time ago, we came across a reference in an old newspaper to polo in Acton.  Envisioning polo ponies charging through a local field, we filed that information away for another day.  As it turns out, the team was actually playing a different game at a long-vanished West Acton business, a roller skating rink.

In our archives, we found a description of the rink by Percy Wood.  According to him, the West Acton rink was situated approximately at the southeast corner of today’s Spruce and Arlington Streets, a large rectangular building resting on posts several feet above the ground.  Mr. Wood did not know the exact dates of or people involved with the rink, but he heard stories about it from Carrie (Gilmore) Durkee who lived diagonally across from it, at the site of the present-day West Acton Post Office.  Because the rink was a short walk from the West Acton Depot, it was a popular spot for both out-of-town and local patrons.  Conveniently, Carrie’s mother ran a boarding house and was able to provide meals and assistance to skaters, including helping female skaters into their heavy skating costumes.

Wanting to verify and expand on Mr. Wood’s stories, we consulted standard Acton records.  Neither the rink nor the Gilmore boarding house showed up in them.  No nineteenth-century map in our collection shows a building at the rink’s location, and we did not find a mention of the rink in town reports, available directories, or tax valuations.  Our access to the Concord Enterprise starts in 1888, but an online search of that paper yielded nothing.  It happens, however, that our Society owns scattered issues of earlier newspapers, and luckily, the rink was mentioned in some of them, including an ad in the April 18, 1885 Middlesex Recorder [1, newspaper references at end]:

Clearly, the rink was operating in the mid-1880s, but we had to broaden our search to learn more.  Acton’s rink was part of a much larger roller-skating phenomenon that swept the United States.  Massachusetts native James L. Plimpton is credited with innovations that made roller skating a popular pastime.  In 1863, he patented the quad-style roller skate (with two sets of wooden wheels that could be controlled by a skater’s shifting foot angle while all four wheels were still square on the ground, enabling easier turns and “fancy” moves than previous skates had).  Plimpton then promoted the art of skating and started a franchise operation, leasing his skates to others.  He also took his promotion, very successfully, to England and other countries.  Over time, he improved on his own skate design, as did others; according to the Boston Globe, during the next two decades, over 300 roller skate improvement patents were filed, mostly in England and America. [2].  In Massachusetts, the Boston Globe announced in early 1876 that roller skating was gaining in popularity locally, emphasizing that participants included the “best elements of Boston society.” [3]  Plimpton’s original patent ran out in 1880 and other innovations followed.  Roller skating popularity exploded.

Boston and Worcester had rinks, and as the craze spread, more and more local rinks were opened.  The Fitchburg Sentinel reported that Clinton had a rink by 1880 and that Fitchburg’s rink would open in January 1882. [4]  The Globe mentioned new rinks at South Framingham, Hudson, Leominster (two at the same time), and Ayer. [5]  Unfortunately, we found nothing reported about building (or converting) a rink in West Acton or the exact date it opened for business.
 
Photographs and illustrations of roller skating during its first phases of popularity are rare; the best we could find was this 1880 drawing of skating at a rink in Washington, DC, no doubt more fashionable than Acton’s.   (Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Keeping a rink going meant getting patrons.  Managers tried various strategies to attract crowds.  They hired musicians to play during open skating hours, recruiting orchestras, bands, piano players, and even fife and drum corps.  The big, open spaces could also host rallies and other large gatherings.  The most commonly advertised special events at rinks were exhibitions by novelty acts, usually featuring talented, daring, unique, or very young skaters.  In fact, the profit from performing apparently led some youngsters away from education, prompting New York state to pass regulations in 1885. [6]

It was not long before competition was used to draw in skaters and spectators.  Roller skating races were held, and large rinks could even hold bicycle races. [7]  Games on roller skates were promoted, from “rink ball,” a game introduced in Brooklyn, New York and played with hands [8], to “polo on roller skates” played with a hard ball and sticks similar to those used in field hockey, but thinner.  This polo played between stick-wielding skaters was new, and the game’s structure, equipment, and rules were still being worked out during the West Acton rink’s existence.  Early play seems to have favored “rushing” with the ball toward the other team’s side.  When a player rushed with the ball, the opposing team had time to line up in front of their “cage” and wait for the rusher to arrive.  Passing, an innovation mentioned in a November 1885 Globe article, might catch the defense off guard.  An attempt to make face-offs fairer had the referee throwing the ball against the side of the rink. [9]  Other attempted innovations involved painting a stripe on the ball, using alternate materials for skate rollers such as cork, and installing netting to protect spectators. [10] 

Rival leagues had varying requirements.  A Herald article described some of the rules set down by the New England Polo Association for its teams in October 1885.  The game was to be played with six players on a side, competing for three goals out of five.  There were referees who could impose fines for actions such as wearing extra padding, rough play, spitting on the floor, interfering in a dispute, tampering with skates or using profane language.  (Fines went to the rink manager.)  The referees could also expel players if necessary. [11]  Rules seem to have been needed.  The Globe reported that New Hampshire rink managers were disbanding their clubs for doing too much brawling. [12]  Spectators occasionally were “disgraceful” as well.  At one Waltham game, the crowd was calling out for bodily harm to be perpetrated not only on the opposing team but also on the referee.  In addition, local fans were apparently helping out by punching an opposing player when he got to the corners of the rink. [13]         
                                                                                        
Fortunately for our research, intense interest in roller skating and polo in the mid-1880s led Boston newspapers to report on action in outlying areas.  From them we were able to learn something of what went on at the West Acton rink.  The first mention that we found was the Boston Globe report on June 22, 1884 that Jessie Lafone (a teenager well-known for graceful and skillful skating) had performed an exhibition there the previous evening. [14]  The first game of “polo on skates” played at the West Acton Rink was between the West Actons and the South Actons on August 16, 1884.  West Acton’s “home team,” in their new uniforms, won the game with three straight goals in three minutes.  (The object of the game was to reach three goals out of five.)  Such a short show being bad for business, the proprietor asked the captains for a rematch.  The second game was better contested, taking 15 minutes to end with a score of West Acton’s three goals to South Acton’s two.  Player George E. Holton was singled out as an excellent rusher with “astonishing” accuracy in hitting the ball into the goal. [15]

During the fall of 1884, the West Actons’ matches appeared in the news.  The West Actons and South Actons met again on September 27. [16]  Other matches reported in various papers were against the Websters of Boston, the Hudsons, the Leominsters, the Wekepekes (Clinton), the Alphas (South Framingham), and the Fairmounts (Marlborough). [17]  The team joined the newly formed Union Polo League in November with Marlborough, Leominster, Clinton, South Framingham and Hudson. [18]  The Globe mentioned the West Acton team having a game in the week of Dec. 21 1884. [19]  Then without explanation, on Dec. 28, 1884, the Globe announced, “Owing to the disbanding of the West Actons and their withdrawal, the Hudsons lose two games, and the Wekepekes and Naticks lose one each.” [20]  We have not found out the story of what happened to the West Acton team.  Perhaps they were not performing well at that point, as the Globe had reported on the 16th that “The game at West Acton last Saturday evening, between the Wekepekes and West Actons, was won by the former in the remarkably short time of 2 minutes 5 seconds.” [21]   The team also lost to the Naticks by allowing three straight goals on December 18th. [22]   Perhaps West Acton had lost some players to other teams or to other pursuits.  Competition between rinks was increasing; the Herald announced on December 14 that “Rinks are being opened at the rate of almost two a day.” [23]  Close to home, Maynard’s new rink was about open. [24]  

Author Percy Wood did not know who owned or managed the rink, but our newspaper searches revealed that the manager was Thomas O’Brien. [25]  He seems to have been quite enterprising.  For example, West Acton’s innovative thinking was singled out in the Globe on Oct. 26, 1884 when the rink held a “Campaign race” in which all the presidential candidates were impersonated.  To win, the impersonator had to reach the rink’s “presidential chair” first.  The People’s Party was the winner.  The Globe mentioned that “The Belva of the occasion was gorgeously gotten up,” a reference to suffragette Belva Ann Lockwood of the newly-formed Equal Rights Party. [26]

Our own newspaper collection showed that Thomas O’Brien was busy finding ways to keep the rink excitement going in West Acton, even without a “home team” to cheer for.  On February 27,1885, the Littleton Courant reported on a party on Feb. 14 at which all patrons received a valentine, an exhibition of the Milo Brothers’ “fancy skating and other feats,” and a “popular orange race,” (in which contestants would alternate grabbing  an orange from a crate at the center of the rink and doing laps without dropping the oranges retrieved already). [27]  A stained and torn Acton Patriot (April 24) in our collection tells us that J. F. Kaufman and Maud Boyd’s waltzing and fancy skating were “a marvel of grace and beauty, showing long and careful practice.”  They called themselves “The King and Queen of the Rollers,” a title apparently claimed by many.  The same Patriot reported that “Next Saturday at the rink there will be a gold medal race between E. E. Handley and George E. Holton.  An interesting contest expected.”  [28]  Twice during 1885, the West Acton rink hosted games involving the Niagara female polo team, who seem to have been a good draw. [29]

Thomas O’Brien had not given up on local polo teams at that point, because the April 24, 1885 Patriot also announced that “Rink Manager O’Brien has some gold medals he proposes to put up for competition between clubs formed in Acton, West Acton and South Acton and possibly Maynard.  This is an interesting, exciting and scientific game.  The medals will be of substantial style and worth playing for.  Boys, get your sticks and uniforms ready.” [30]  Sadly, we have no more local papers of the period to tell us what happened.  When the Union Polo League planned their organizational meeting for the fall season on October 19, the West Acton rink manager was included.  The Herald reported that the South Actons would be one of the teams, but when the League’s membership was announced the next week, it only included clubs from Arlington, South Framingham, Clinton, Hudson, Marlboro and Maynard. [31]   We were not able to find any mention of a South Acton team’s games.

The rink had other problems besides lack of local polo teams.  Harmless as roller skating seems to us today, the pastime encountered strong objections from some members of the clergy including the minister of West Acton’s Baptist church Rev. C. L. Rhodes.  According to Percy Wood, Rev. Rhodes “strongly warned the young people of [his] church to stay away from what he evidently regarded as a den of iniquity.”  Presumably, some of his flock listened to his warnings and did indeed stay away.  Others seem to have ignored him.  One young man who later became a pillar of the community obeyed his preacher by avoiding the West Acton rink and skating elsewhere instead.

Rev. Rhodes was not alone in his condemnation.  The Lowell Sun reported that “The game of polo originated in the modern den of depravity known as the skating rink, and it has proved itself worthy of its low and demoralizing source.” [32]  Morality was not the only concern.  The Globe quoted a doctor, who, in trying to understand the cause of a large increase in pneumonia deaths, blamed roller skating.  Acknowledging that he was just speculating and that people died of pneumonia without roller skating, he went on to say, “But I can say with certainty that such exposure as the roller skating mania produces is likely to produce pneumonia.  Here are, say 20,000 young people going every night to skating rinks or balls.  They indulge in violent exercise in heated rooms and then go out into the chill air, possibly thinly clad, and the result is fatal inflammation of the lungs.”  A young woman who danced vigorously and then went outside in her ballgown would be considered “very indiscreet,” yet skaters, finding the cool air pleasant, apparently made a habit of walking “through the chilly streets while yet perspiring from their violent exercise.”  [33]

It is hard to say what effect such opinions had on the West Acton rink.  Though it survived 1885, we have found no mention of it after that.  The roller skating craze had probably peaked by then, and increased competition undoubtedly caused a shakeout in the market.  Ads started appearing for rink sales.  In July, 1885, an ad for a rink mentioned “good reasons for selling.” [34]  In November 1885, a “first-class skating rink” an hour from Boston was looking for an infusion of capital, and in December the Globe advertised a skating rink with fixtures “in large town for 1/3 value; good chance to make money; no competition.” [35]  Even more dramatically, the Globe reported that a skating rink built for $17,000 the previous year with a white marble “underpinning,” and $4,000 of skates had been offered for sale at $800. [36]

After the West Acton rink closed, it evidently stood empty.  Percy Wood reported that the rink building “had one narrow escape from destruction from fire on a Fourth of July during which many of the citizens were out of town.  A fire broke out in the storage shed located between the railroad tracks and the present Spruce Street.  Fortunately, the fire was confined to the area in which it started, despite the lack of manpower and only the most primitive fighting equipment.  The rink was, however, seriously threatened and was saved largely by the efforts of a man who was nearly exhausted by his exertions but was revived by a bowl of ginger tea supplied by a kindly neighbor.”  Newspaper searches, unfortunately, did not turn up information about that fire, so we were unable to confirm the date.  Percy Wood continued, “Instead of being left to stand as an eyesore, the building was taken down by Mr. John Hoar, the well known contractor and builder, and was used to construct a house on Central Street in West Concord.  But on the original site Arlington St. in West Acton, there is not a trace of what was once a popular amusement center.” 

Whenever the West Acton rink disappeared, we know that sport and exercise in Acton continued.  The Concord Enterprise reported that the Acton Cycle Club polo team went to Concord and defeated the home team’s “gentlemanly fellows” in February 1895.  [37]  That game may have been played on ice, as “ice polo” teams were forming in the 1890s.  Toward the end of that decade, West Acton had another chance at indoor roller skating.  The ever-enterprising Hanson A. Littlefield announced in the January 6, 1898 Concord Enterprise that Littlefield’s Hall had been fitted for roller skating.  Open skating would cost ten cents, and the facility could be rented by private parties. [38]  We do not know how long that lasted, but the Hall itself burned down in 1904.

The West Acton roller skating rink might have completely escaped our notice if it had not been for Percy Wood’s documenting Acton memories.  Thanks are also due to organizations that are digitizing and sharing old newspapers.  If anyone has pictures or mementos of West Acton’s roller skating rink or Acton’s polo teams that they would be willing to share, donate or scan, we would be very grateful to add them to our archives.

 
Newspaper References:
[1] Middlesex Recorder, Apr. 18, 1885, page 3 (Jenks Library)
[2] Boston Globe, March 23, 1885, p.4
[3] Boston Globe, Jan. 27, 1876, p. 5
[4] Fitchburg Sentinel, April 7, 1880, p. 3; Dec. 16, 1881, p. 3
[5] Boston Globe, Nov. 18, 1883, p. 6; Jan. 20, 1884, p. 2; March 23, 1884, p. 6
[6] Boston Globe, Apr. 16, 1885, p. 8
[7] Boston Globe, Nov. 27, 1885, p3; Mar. 24, 1887, p. 5
[8] Boston Globe, Jan. 14, 1878, p. 2
[9] Boston Globe, Nov. 19, 1885, p. 3
[10] Boston Globe, Jan. 20, 1884, p. 2; Mar. 23, 1884, p. 6
[11] Boston Herald, October 14, 1885, p. 2
[12] Boston Globe, Jan. 31, 1885, p. 4
[13] Boston Herald, Nov. 25, 1885, p. 3
[14] Boston Globe, June 22, 1884, p. 6
[15] Boston Herald, Aug. 17, 1884, p. 2; Boston Journal, August 19, 1884, p. 3
[16] Boston Journal, Sept. 30, 1884, p. 4
[17] Boston Herald, Aug. 31, 1884, p. 2; Boston Globe, Oct. 24, 1884, p. 2; Boston Herald, Dec. 7, 1884, p. 7; Worcester Daily Spy, Dec. 8, 1884, p. 3; Boston Herald, Dec. 14, 1884, p.4; Boston Globe, Dec. 19, 1884, p. 2 Boston Globe, Dec. 21, 1884, p. 10
[18] Boston Journal, Nov. 24, 1884, p. 3; Boston Globe, Nov. 23, 1884, p. 15
[19] Boston Globe, Dec. 21, 1884, p. 10
[20] Boston Globe, Dec. 28, 1884, p. 10
[21] Boston Globe, Dec. 16, 1884, p. 6
[22] Boston Globe, Dec. 19, 1884, p. 2
[23] Boston Herald, Dec. 14, 1884, p. 4
[24] Boston Globe, Dec. 21, 1884, p. 10
[25] Boston Globe, Nov. 23, 1884, p. 15; Nov. 30, 1884, p. 10
[26] Boston Globe Oct. 26, 1884, p. 14
[27] Littleton Courant, Feb. 27, 1885, p. 1 (Jenks Library)
[28] Acton Patriot, April 24, 1885, p. 4 (Jenks Library)
[29] Boston Globe May 24, 1885, p. 6; Boston Herald, Oct. 11, 1885, p. 15
[20] Acton Patriot, April 24, 1885, p. 4 (Jenks Library)
[31] Boston Herald, Oct. 18, 1885, p. 7; Boston Globe, Oct. 24, 1885, p. 2
[32] Lowell Sun, March 28, 1885, p. 4
[33] Boston Globe, Mar. 19, 1885, p. 6
[34] Boston Globe Jul. 20, 1885, p. 3
[35] Boston Globe, Nov. 17, 1885, p. 7; Dec. 30, 1885, p. 7
[36] Boston Globe Sept. 25, 1885, p. 6
[37] Concord Enterprise, Feb. 7, 1895, p. 4
[38] Concord Enterprise, Jan. 6, 1898, p. 8
 
Other Sources:
 
Though these references do not mention Acton, they give great detail about the history and state of roller skating and roller polo at the height of the 1880s boom:

• The Champion Skate Book and Complete Amateur's Guide (1884)
• Roller Skating Made Easy (1884)
• Spalding's Manual of Roller Skating (c. 1884)
• Henley’s Manual of Roller Skating (1885)
• The Skater’s Companion (1885)
• Wright & Ditson’s Polo Guide for 1885-1886 Season
• Nicholson’s Roller Skating Rink Book (1886, descriptions of attractions, roller ball, and roller polo)

The Society’s collection includes a copy of a picture of two men and a woman looking up at an ancient tree that is believed to have been located on the Hapgood property in East Acton.  All traces of the tree are long-gone.  In former days, however, the tree was quite well-known.  James Fletcher’s Acton in History (pages 279-280) described it as “one of the original settlers of the town,” thriving when Captain Isaac Davis and Acton’s company of minutemen passed by on their way to Concord’s North Bridge in April, 1775.

Thoreau, who had a great appreciation for old trees, apparently was well-acquainted with the Hapgood chestnut.  We have yet to find a mention of it in Thoreau’s writings, but Emerson wrote in his journal on 6 August 1849 that he and Thoreau had walked to Acton the day before and had visited a big chestnut tree on Strawberry Hill.  That jaunt was apparently not Thoreau’s only visit.  According to local historians, townspeople referred to the tree as “Thoreau’s Chestnut” because of his habit of stopping there.  Thoreau was definitely back on the Hapgood land to do surveying in 1853; his woodlot survey is held at Concord Public Library.  Fletcher’s History tells us that Thoreau visited the old chestnut tree with his sister and measured the trunk at twenty-two feet in circumference.

The Thoreau siblings’ visit must have been before May, 1862 when Thoreau died.  The tree continued to grow and, no doubt, attracted more visitors.  In his 1890 History, Fletcher wrote:
“The interior of the tree is hollow.  The cavity is circular, sixty inches in diameter and twenty-five feet in height, through which one may look and see the sky beyond.  An opening has recently been cut at the bottom and entrance can be easily made.  There are worse places for a night’s lodging.  A good crop of chestnuts is yearly produced by its living branches.  The town should get possession of this luscious tablet of the bygones and see that no ruthless axe take it too soon from the eyes of the present generation.”

Our photograph matches Fletcher’s description of a large tree, hollow inside, with an opening at the bottom and a hole up high, through which one could presumably see the sky.  The fact that Fletcher wrote that an opening had been cut at the bottom “recently” might indicate that the picture was taken in the late 1880s-1890, but it is possible that a gap had existed previously and simply had been enlarged.  Our picture shows three people observing the tree; we have not been able to prove their identities.

Despite the tree’s local fame, its end seems to have been unrecorded in town reports and the local newspaper.  The chestnut may have succumbed to a “ruthless axe” or to the devasting effect of the chestnut blight in the early twentieth century.

The chestnut blight, a fungus that destroys the trees above ground and makes it impossible for young trees to mature, was discovered in New York in 1904.  Believed to have been imported on nursery stock, it started spreading, reaching Massachusetts some years later.  We searched the Concord Enterprise for news of local chestnuts.  At first, the few mentions of chestnuts involved “normal” activity and concerns.  For example, in 1907, West Acton lumber dealer Arthur Blanchard sent his portable sawmill operation to South Sudbury to harvest two lots of chestnut that he had purchased.  (Jan. 2, 1907, p. 1)  That fall, Arthur M. Whitcomb was making barrels with chestnut staves in the old overall shop in West Acton.  (Sept. 18, 1907, p.5)  In October 1911, Maynard landowners were complaining that young trespassers, senselessly shooting at small birds, were damaging chestnut trees; “the terrible abuse which the trees are subjected to are simply ruining them and very soon there will be few decent chestnut trees about here if a stop is not put to this practice.”  (Oct. 25, 1911, p. 3)  The landowners were, possibly accidentally, quite prescient; spores of the blight-causing fungus found entry through wounds in chestnut trees’ bark.

The Boston Herald  (Jan. 21, 1912, Sunday Magazine, p. 1) reported on the spread of the chestnut fungus and the experience of other states.  At that point, the blight had started to show up in Massachusetts, particularly on the Connecticut border.  Historically, the chestnut had been admired by and useful to the people in its range, providing wood products, abundant nuts in the fall, and shade.  By the time the blight was discovered, chestnut trees, naturally rot-resistant, were the primary local source of telephone poles and railroad ties.  They were also used by furniture makers, carpenters, and tanneries (an important Massachusetts industry).  Ecologically, the loss of the chestnut was even worse, as it was also a major source of food for wildlife.  (For more information about the blight, see a Report by the Forest Service.)

Despite the ecological and economic damage caused by the fungus, there was little mention of it in Acton sources as the blight spread.  The town’s annual Tree Warden reports made no mention of the loss of chestnuts or of the blight during the whole 1904-1940 period. This could be because farmers, fruit growers, and landowners were coping with the arrival of brown-tailed and gypsy moths, San Jose Scale, and the elm leaf beetle.  It could also be that most of Acton’s American chestnuts had already been cut down.

Turning back to the Concord Enterprise for news of local chestnuts, we learned that they did not all go at once.  In November, 1916, children headed out from the West Acton Baptist church “chestnutting” in the towns of Boxboro, Harvard and Stow.  The report was that they were not very successful in their hunt, but they had a good time playing hide and seek.  (Nov. 1, 1916, p. 10)  In December of that year, the Enterprise started  mentioning the blight in general terms.  (Dec. 20, 1916, p.2)  Two months later, it was noted that people were “cutting down the forests at a fearful rate” and that disease and insect pests, including the chestnut blight, were causing great harm.  (Feb. 21, 1917, p. 2)  In April, 1917, the paper discussed the white pine blister rust that appeared set to destroy the pine forests, an extremely alarming prospect for Massachusetts, though it was believed that the rust could be stopped much more easily than chestnut blight. (April 18, 1917, p. 7)

In 1919, the local paper reported that farther west in Massachusetts, a town was so hard-hit that townspeople believed that all the “old spread” chestnuts would be gone within three years.  (March 19, 1919, p. 4)  On Oct. 22, 1919, the Enterprise finally commented directly on the fate of local chestnuts, saying that the blight seemed to be destroying them and that there was no known way to combat it. (p. 2)

As the destruction of chestnut trees began to seem inevitable, experts urged landowners to cut down the trees before they were too far deteriorated to be of economic use.  We do not know if that was the fate of Thoreau’s Chestnut or not.  We do know that its owner Benjamin Hapgood died in 1920, and his farm was auctioned off in 1923.  An ad for the auction advertised, among many other items, a “lot of Chestnut 2x4 and 2x6.”  Where the lumber came from, we have no way of knowing.  (Enterprise, Nov. 14, 1923, p. 1)

Whatever happened to Thoreau’s Chestnut, it is clear that only a few recorded memories are left.  If you have pictures or stories about it, or if you can help us to confirm the identity of the people and the tree in our picture, we would love to hear from you.  Please contact us.

One of New England’s familiar sights is a stone wall in a forest, a remnant of land use in days gone by.  Based on what we can see, many of us assume that farmers would have removed the many rocks from their fields and stacked them in two- to three-foot-high walls to delineate their property from their neighbors’ or to serve as a barrier to animals.  The former landscape that we envision would have been open fields and gardens surrounded, if not by wooden fencing, by relatively low stone walls.  Most of us today have had no experiences to challenge that view.

Visitors to our recently refurbished landscape are surprised to discover that above our stone walls at the Hosmer House are crossed, wooden poles.  Why would we ruin the look of “iconic” stone walls?  As it turns out, while our imagined Massachusetts farm landscape is not entirely fictitious, farmers often supplemented their rock walls with wood to make enclosures higher and less likely to let animals escape.  According to Robert Thorson’s Stone by Stone, a hybrid fence of stone on the bottom and wood on the top was very common.  The stone walls, in many cases, were “linear landfills” to give farmers somewhere to put the rocks cluttering their fields, and the wood raised the height of the fences to the 3.5-5 feet considered necessary to block the movement of animals. 

Farmer’s wooden fence extensions have, of course, rotted away, so we have no way of knowing which of the many stone walls in Acton would have been built up with wood.  It is quite possible that Jonathan and Simon Hosmer and those who came after them on our property built mixed, high walls to keep in their livestock.

The Society’s new walls are a reminder that we need to keep our minds open to learn more about the lives of Acton’s former residents.  Even commonly-held ideas of how things were in earlier days may simply reflect the fact that our frame of reference is very different from theirs.

An unusual note appears in Acton’s 1872 death records, stating that on December 6 of that year, Aaron Wood (also known as Woods) was “murdered for his money.”  We have not found any Acton newspapers from that period, but it was such a sensational event that we uncovered plenty of information about it and some misinformation as well.

A recent donation of a box of old diaries showed us that the town’s news traveled fast even in those days.  On December 7, Martha Ball of Acton wrote in her diary that “Old Aaron Wood was murdered in his hut last night  Horace Hosmer found him  Miss Oliver came in to tell us”

The Boston Globe (Dec. 9, 1872, p. 6) reported that Aaron Wood had been killed the previous Friday evening.  Tracks had been found leading south from the “house,” turning toward a pair of shanties in which railroad workers were living, then crossing the railroad, going through a field and some woods to the “highway” at Gallagher’s crossing, and then disappearing.  The theory was that “some straggler who, being found by Mr. Wood searching for the money which the old man was popularly supposed to keep hidden in his house, knocked him down and stamped upon him.”

The story was picked up by newspapers across the country, with different twists, (mis)interpretations, and some creative embellishments.  Several papers reported that Aaron Wood was considered to be a wealthy old miser with money hidden in his home, while others reported that he was actually poor.  Iowa’s Quad-City Times reported (incorrectly) that he had been shot by an unknown assassin. (Dec. 10, p. 3)  Oregon’s State Rights Democrat placed the event in Acton, Pennsylvania, but mentioned that Aaron Woods was highly esteemed. (Dec. 27, p. 2).  In Kansas, the Atchison Daily Patriot reported that he had lived for years in dirt and squalor. (Dec. 11, p1)  The Springfield Republican (Dec. 9, p. 3 ) reported that Aaron Wood, a man of excellent qualities of heart, after having been “disappointed in a love affair, early in life” had lived in seclusion ever since, devoting himself to horticulture.  A Memphis paper’s telegrapher or its reporter clearly missed some details; its Boston news section stated that “Aaron Wood, an actor, who, five years ago, lived alone in one part of the town, was found dead this morning in his dwelling.  He probably had considerable money.” (Commercial Appeal, Dec. 8, p. 2)  Researching the event nearly 150 years later, we were helped by finding so much written about an Acton story.  However, we clearly have to be careful not to believe everything that we read.

Aaron Woods was born in Acton to Revolutionary War veteran Moses Woods and his second wife Hazadiah Spaulding.  (His surname was spelled with an “s” in birth, baptism and some land records.  It was often spelled without the “s” when townspeople were reporting on him, for example, in his death record, Martha Ball’s diary, and many newspaper reports.  Both spellings could be considered correct.)   Aaron grew up in his father’s house in what is now known as North Acton, on the west side of Main Street.  His father Moses was a blacksmith and farmer who owned a fair amount of acreage in North Acton that included a shop and water rights on at least one brook.  Though Aaron was living alone at the end of his life, he actually had fourteen siblings who were mentioned in town records.  Aaron’s mother died in 1817.  Aaron appears in Acton militia lists, serving under neighbor Uriah Foster during (at least) the 1817-1821 period.  His brother Moses Jr. also served during part of that time.  Moses Senior died in 1837.  Late in his life, he had deeded his shop and water rights to Aaron.  He willed his remaining real estate to two of his children, Aaron and Sally.

Aaron never married, and almost all of Aaron’s siblings predeceased him.  Presumably, he lived in his father Moses’ house with Sally until her death, but there is no record of Sally after her appearance in Moses’ probate record.  At some point, Aaron allowed his shop to be used by Ebenezer Wood (no relation) who ran a “round saw” there as part of a pencil manufacturing business.  In 1843, Aaron sold off Moses’ house, barn and 40 acres of land.  It seems likely that Sally had died by that point; the deed does not mention her ownership rights.  Aaron kept land on the east side of Main Street, including the shop.  Aaron grew cash crops such as hay, apples, vegetables, and strawberries.  He cut wood from his forested land, both for sale and for his own use.  For many years, he lived in what had once been the shop, a structure without clapboards or plaster that must have been quite uncomfortable in the winter.  To survive, he would have had his own farm products to eat and whatever animals and fish he hunted or caught on his land.  Cold Spring Brook ran right by his abode.  An 1873 Fitchburg Sentinel article mentioned that “its famous trout are known far and wide.” (July 14, p. 1)  In later years, Aaron did not have a working stove and regularly bought bread and sometimes meat from a neighbor.  It was a spartan, quiet existence until about 1870 when his life changed radically.

The Framingham and Lowell Railroad was incorporated in 1870 to connect those two business centers via South Sudbury, Concord, Acton, Carlisle, Westford and Chelmsford.  The railroad was built right through Aaron Woods’ land.  He became “news” in the summer of 1871 when several papers reported variations of the story that “Aaron Woods who has lived a hermit life for seventy years in the eastern part of Acton, has never seen a train of cars.  His cabin is on the line of the Lowell and Framingham Railroad, and he will soon see them if he don’t move.” (Boston Traveler, July 28, 1871, p. 2)  The railroad began operation later that year.  Aaron Woods’ compensation for the railroad’s “purchase” of a right of way was recorded on March 23, 1872.  

One has to wonder how Aaron felt about the “progress” in North Acton.  The building of the railroad not only brought trains but also many workmen to the area in the early 1870s.  Supposedly, Aaron Woods had issues with theft after they arrived.  Theories about the murder quickly turned to these workers.

Immediately after the discovery of the crime, detectives from Boston were summoned to search for clues and interview witnesses.  The selectmen of Acton offered a $500 reward for the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for Aaron Woods’ murder.  An inquest was held in the town hall.  It was highly attended, because the citizens of Acton were “deeply interested in everything connected with this event, which to them is one of a lifetime.” (Boston Herald, Dec. 21, 1872, p. 1)  Newspaper reports provided an amazing level of detail about the case.  The jury of inquest included W.E. Faulkner (foreman), Henry M. Smith, Moses Taylor, James E. Billings, Charles Hanscom, T. G. F. Jones and E. G. Robbins.

Witnesses were called.  Dr. Harris Cowdrey presented his findings as the medical examiner, and Reverend Franklin P. Wood (no relation to Aaron) testified to having been at the shanty with the doctor while he did his work.  Horace Hosmer, the neighbor who discovered the crime, testified that when Aaron had not shown up to pick up his bread as expected, Mr. Hosmer went to check on him and found the body.  Former neighbor Hugh Cash mentioned that Aaron Woods had said many times that he expected to be murdered and that some years back “that scoundrel” had assaulted him.  The “scoundrel” turned out to be a neighbor with whom Aaron had a land dispute.  That neighbor was called to testify.  He spoke about the land issue, but no one seems to have considered him a real suspect in the murder.

According to news reports, the shanty was on a stretch of track without houses in sight, so there were no eyewitnesses of the crime.  A couple of witnesses saw men in the vicinity around the supposed time of the murder.  A man who was working on the railroad near sundown testified that he saw a young man, about 5’ 8” tall, coming from the direction of Aaron Woods’ shanty, looking backwards and acting suspiciously.  Alice Burnham testified that she saw two men heading from a railroad crossing toward Mr. Woods’ place around 5:15 pm. 

The shanty had been ransacked, giving rise to the theory that the intention of the intruder had been robbery of Aaron Woods’ supposed wealth.  The only real clue to the identity of the perpetrator was the trail of footprints.  Luke Smith testified about finding tracks that had left blood on snow and on the sleepers (railroad ties).  Apparently, the tracks had been made by size 8 boot that did not seem to have been worn much, as the prints were well-defined.  Because railroad workers had been issued boots the previous week and the prints led past the railroad workers’ shanties, suspicion turned to them.  There were 150 men working on the railroad at the time, and despite newspaper reports that two French Canadians were suspects, there was no direct evidence linking any particular worker to the crime.

When reading newspaper reports of the inquest, we were quite surprised that investigators were able to find “bloody tracks for more than a mile.” (Boston Herald, Dec. 9, p. 1)  Allowing for possible exaggeration, the story’s plausibility was bolstered by the diary of the weather-watching Mrs. Ball.  Her decades of diary entries all start with a notation of the weather.  Thanks to her, we know that Thursday, December 5, 1872 started out “pleasant,” but “a snow storm came on,” providing new snow on which tracks and blood evidence would have been obvious.  The investigators had a day to measure and follow the footprints before they would have disappeared on Sunday, December 8, when Mrs. Ball tells us that rain arrived.  Another complication for investigators was that the shanty immediately became a tourist attraction.  On the 8th, Mrs. Ball mentioned that “We all went up to Aaron’s shanty,” presumably before the rain.  Even without precipitation, it would have been impossible to preserve footprint evidence for long with the townspeople traipsing up to view the scene.

Despite the intense interest in the case, the work of investigators, the witnesses, and the reward, at the end of the inquest, the jury’s verdict was that Aaron Wood died December 6, 1872, between four and seven o’clock in the evening from blows received from “some person or persons to the jury unknown.”

Two years later, a crime spree by a local man led townspeople to decide that he must have committed the murder as well.  Acton made the newspapers again.  The perpetrator went to jail for theft and breaking and entry.  Apparently, there was no evidence to pin the murder on him, and he was never charged for it.  The Aaron Woods case was never solved.

Local newspapers have been invaluable in some of our research projects; reporters who were on the scene have provided us with clues about people, places, and events that are not available in any other source.  Sadly, preserving newsprint is a major challenge.  We have been reviewing our collection of local newspapers at Jenks Library with the hope of preserving them and making them more accessible. 

While many of our newspapers are in excellent condition for their age, some of our papers are tattered.  In fact, a few are so incomplete that one’s first impression, aside from recognizing that the papers are old, is that they cannot be of much use.  Objectively, that may be true.  Looking more carefully, however, we were awed to discover that one of our newspaper fragments discussed the state convention held in early 1788 to decide whether Massachusetts would ratify the Federal Constitution. 

To find out more about our paper, we explored online catalogues of historical newspapers.  We were fortunate that a commercial site offered access to digitized issues of the Independent Chronicle and the Universal Advertiser.  The issue dated January 17, 1788 exactly matched the remains of our newspaper and filled in its contents.  A section missing from our copy reported that Acton had sent Asa Parlin to participate in the Convention.

Obviously, the digitized newspaper was much more useful for research purposes than our remnant.  However, despite its condition, there is something about looking at physical evidence of such an important piece of history that stirs the imagination.  It creates a link to an earlier time, helping us to envision the people who once picked up that very sheet of paper to learn how the formation of their new country was progressing.  Even in our digital age, there is a place for things of the past.

We were alerted recently to a wonderful collection of photos on the website of Brookline, New Hampshire's Historical Society.  One of the pictures was of a truck, fully-loaded with barrels.  The truck’s door identifies it as belonging to Davis King Co., West Acton.

One of our members recognized the house in the background as the James W. Hayward house in West Acton.  The photographer would have been standing in front of the Davis King Garage that stood at approximately today’s #576 Massachusetts Avenue, looking across the street.  At the extreme right of the picture, one can see the West Acton depot.  Neither the Hayward house nor the depot is standing today.

Looking through the Brookline photo database, we discovered several other West Acton pictures.  Some of them are duplicates of photographs in our collection of the devastating West Acton fire of 1913.  Other pictures were completely new to us and are used in this article with the kind permission of Brookline’s Historical Society.  In the process of trying to match places and dates of the Brookline pictures with our own photos and information, we learned a good amount about West Acton village in the years immediately before and after the fire.

Starting from the beginning...

Why had pictures of West Acton buildings, barrels, and firefighting ended up in Brookline, NH?  Thanks to a helpful index to the pictures in the Brookline collection, we quickly discovered the connection.  Orville D. Fessenden of Brookline, New Hampshire invested in a barrel-making enterprise in West Acton.  The pictures of buildings, the loaded truck, and the West Acton fire related to his business.

In the Brookline collection are two pictures taken from current-day Spruce Street (then called School Street):

At first, we thought that both of the pictures were taken at approximately at the same time, because the close-up of the barrel shop seemed to be exactly the same building as the one in the background of the wider Spruce Street picture.  Local sources tell us that the July 1913 fire destroyed the barrel shop.  However, the index from Brookline indicates that the pictures were actually taken before and after the fire.  Obviously, the barrel shop was rebuilt; we investigated newspaper and other sources to learn more.  (Unless otherwise noted, all of the articles referenced were in the Concord Enterprise.)

The earliest mention that we can find of Orville D. Fessenden’s business connections to Acton was a May 25, 1910 news item in the Concord Enterprise announcing that O. D. Fessenden had unloaded a carload of barrel hoops for his barrel shop and would have two men making barrels there soon.  (p. 10)  Work started at the shop on June 6.  (Jun. 8, p. 6)  We had found mentions of a cooper shop in West Acton in the vicinity of the site that was built in  1904, burned, and rebuilt in 1905, but we do not know whose it was and whether O. D. Fessenden took it over or started his business from scratch.

The Fessenden business succeeded.  By August 1910, the Enterprise announced that “barrels at the barrel shop are fast disappearing." (Aug. 24, p. 8)   In the first week of September, George Rockwood and Frank Williams made 800 barrels in six days.  (Acton-Concord Enterprise, Sept. 14, 1910, p.8)  By October, it became apparent that Fessenden’s shop could not keep up with the demand.  “There is a great demand for apple barrels and it is hard for the farmers to get enough barrels to use.  The barrel shop does not begin to supply the trade.  During the week several cars of carrels [sic] were shipped from other places.”  (Oct. 10, 1910, p.8)

Experience showed that more barrels needed to be produced and stored ahead of time to meet peak demand.  In 1912, work started in April when Louis Popple and George Rockwood came down from Brookline, NH to start production.  (April 4, 1912, p. 10)  In August of that year, the Enterprise announced that O. D. Fessenden and George W. Burroughs (of Boxborough) had bought from the estate of O. W. Mead the cold storage property near the barrel shop and two tenement houses.  (Aug. 14, 1912, p. 8)   By that time, the operation was able to accommodate large orders such as the purchase by Charles W. Barnes of 1,000 barrels for his Stow fruit farm (September 18, 1912, p. 10)

The April 30, 1913 Concord Enterprise announced that ”Work at the barrel shop will soon commence, to be ready for the large demands for barrels the coming season.” (p. 8)  It was an optimistic time.  In that same month, the pastor of Maynard's Catholic Church thanked non-Catholics who had donated funds for building a Catholic Church in West Acton, close to the storage facility that Fessenden and Burroughs had purchased the year before.  One of the larger donors mentioned was O. D. Fessenden.  (Apr. 23, p. 10)  Everything was going well.  Then came the fire.

The West Acton Fire of 1913

On July 22, 1913, a fire was first noticed at Luke Blanchard’s barn near the corner of today’s Massachusetts Avenue and Windsor Avenue, just west of the railroad tracks.  Soon, it had “jumped the tracks” and spread to the Hutchins house at 556 Massachusetts Avenue.  From there, the fire spread across Massachusetts Avenue to destroy commercial buildings including an ice house, a grain storage shed, and a milk depot.  The next stage was across today’s Spruce Street where the Fessenden barrel shop and cold storage facilities were.  (What at first seemed to be generic pictures of the West Acton fire in the Brookline, NH collection turn out to have featured destroyed remnants of the Fessenden business.)  The final stage of the fire seems to have been east on Massachusetts Avenue where the barn of Walter Gardner was destroyed and his house damaged.

Fighting the fire was a challenge.  The West Acton company went right to work, but they were hampered by equipment problems.  New hose had recently been purchased but was incompatible with the available nozzles, necessitating that the firefighters work with old hose that lost water pressure through leakage.  According to the July 23 Enterprise, “It was early seen that the local department could not possibly cope with the blaze and calls for help were sent to Maynard, Concord, Fitchburg and Ayer, while the companies from South Acton and Acton Center also responded.”  The Maynard company was given most of the credit for saving the depot and St. Elizabeth’s church, and the Concord Junction department saved the school house and some of the nearby homes.  (p. 8)  Later, Maynard’s fire department refused to accept payment for their efforts, suggesting that someday Acton might need to return the favor. (Aug. 31, p. 2)

One of the fascinating features of researching this particular fire is that amateur photographers were on the scene almost immediately.  Fortunately, many of these pictures were saved, giving us visual evidence of the fire’s progression and its aftermath.  What at first might seem to be blurry or overexposed pictures are in fact photographs of people and structures amidst smoke.

In the following photograph of the fire (from our own collection), the Fessenden barrel shop is still standing, while the cold storage facility (on the right) had clearly already been reduced to its brick foundation.  The fire was still being worked on at the time.  Note the railroad crossing sign where a siding went next to the cold storage building and the stone work at the extreme right by the front steps of St. Elizabeth Church:

We might have thought, based upon that picture, that the barrel shop survived the fire.  Written accounts said it was lost, however, and a photo in our collection confirmed it:

Another view of the same scene taken only a few feet away confirms the identification of this building; the wall of what was obviously the barrel shop was still standing, while the rest had been destroyed: 

The damage to Fessenden & Burroughs was obviously large.  They not only lost the shop and storage buildings but also the barrel inventory that had been created in anticipation of the 1913 apple season. 

After the Fire

Rebuilding West Acton started right away.  In the words of the Concord Enterprise, “Already plans are being made by the several losers to rebuild at once.” (July 30, 1913, p. 8)  Fessenden and Burroughs had sustained a huge loss that apparently was not insured.  They probably had to raise cash quickly, because the same Enterprise reported that “C. H. Mead has bought a piece of land of Fessenden Burroughs in front of the big cold storage building just burned, where he will build a large storehouse for grain, hay and flour.”  This news item confirms that the C.H. Mead building in the Brookline, NH picture was newly built after the fire, not a replacement of a building previously on that spot. 

By August 11, George Rockwood was back in town, presumably to get the barrel business restarted, although the paper was silent about how and when the barrel shop was rebuilt.  (Aug. 13, p. 8)  Work clearly proceeded, because the November 5 Enterprise reported that barrel shop workers Popple and Rockwood were returning to their homes in Brookline, N. H. and that barrel shop had done “a rushing business all season.” (p. 10)

In the spring of 1914, the cold storage building was rebuilt.  On June 10, the Enterprise reported that O. D. Fessenden “of Townsend” had several carpenters working on a new structure over the “cold storage brick wal[l], where the fire was last summer.  The building will be used to store barrels which are made here.” (June 10, 1914 p. 7).  It seems to have been a good investment.  In October, the paper reported that George Rockwood, foreman, said that he had already sold 10,000 barrels, with more to come.  Several men were working to fill waiting wagons with barrels. (Oct. 14, 1914, p. 10)  The 1915 and 1916 seasons were also described as “rushing,” “prosperous,” and “booming.” (Oct. 20, 1915, p1, Oct. 18, 1916, p. 4)

The aftermath of the fire continued, however.  In January, 1914, Orville D. Fessenden and George W. Burroughs both sued the Boston & Maine Railroad for allegedly setting the fire with sparks from a passing train.  The causes of the fire probably had been debated endlessly in town.  However, despite early rumors of arson, over the following months, the Enterprise was silent about investigative conclusions.  The related lawsuits were for damages from the burning of buildings, (presumably the cold storage building and the barrel shop), barrels, coopers’ supplies and tools.  (Boston Herald, Jan. 8, 1914, p. 12)  The triple-action tort case took three years to come to trial.  Finally, the case was heard at the Superior Court in Lowell.  The Concord Enterprise reported in October 1917 that the jurors had come from Lowell in four autos to view the site where the fire had been and that witnesses from West Acton had been called to testify for both sides of the dispute.  (Oct. 17, p. 8)  On October 23, the Lowell Sun reported that jury found in favor of the railroad; Fessenden and Burroughs must not have been able to provide adequate evidence that a train caused the fire. (p. 3)

Despite the legal setback, the barrel business continued in West Acton for a few more years.  The barrel shop was still in business in the summer of 1919, but the cold storage building was being used for apple storage that year.  (July 23, p. 8; Feb. 5, p. 9)  Apparently the business was wound down in or around 1920.  The cold storage building was sold to A. W. Davis, owner of the truck stacked with barrels pictured above, and C. D. Fletcher in April 1920. (Apr. 14, p. 8)  After the sale by O. D. Fessenden, the cold storage building was renovated in order actually to be used for “cold storage.”  An “elevator” and electric lights were installed.  In the fall of that year, train carloads of apples were arriving for that purpose. (Acton Enterprise, Oct. 13, 1920, p. 6)

Two years later, barrel shop land was also sold to A. W. Davis who built a cement block garage there. (Sept. 27, 1922, p. 7)  The Davis King Garage on Massachusetts Avenue had recently burned down in another West Acton fire.  Though the barrel shop building was not mentioned in the news report, it seems to have been "history" already.  On May 16, 1923, H. S. MacGregor and J. J. Chesbrough ran an ad in the Enterprise for Acton Motor Co.'s “new garage now open on School Street, West Acton Repairing of all kinds at reasonable prices.” (p. 2)

Businesses have come and gone in West Acton.  The O. D. Fessenden barrel shop was only in West Acton for a few years, but it was there during a momentous time in the history of the village.  We are very grateful to the Brookline NH Historical Society for sharing photographs that shed light on that time and place.   

Researching Acton’s July 4th celebrations, we discovered the surprising fact that Acton once had a yacht club.  It is hard for us to imagine, for yacht clubs bring to mind ocean sailing and large vessels owned by wealthy individuals such as Acton descendant Francis Skinner.  However, at the turn of the twentieth century, local enthusiasts brought their sailing excitement to Acton.
 
By the late 1800s, Lake Nagog had become a destination for summer recreation.  Though Acton residents traveled to the ocean and the mountains for vacations, they also spent time at camps on the shores of their local pond.  It is not surprising that they would want to spend time on the water, and races would have provided entertainment for their friends and relatives.
 
The West Acton Yacht Club first shows up in the local paper on August 17, 1899 as the sponsor of a race between the yachts of brothers Frank and Octavus Knowlton, the Evadne and the Wawanda, respectively. (Concord Enterprise, Aug. 17, p. 8)  According to the Sept. 14 Enterprise (p. 8), the West Acton Yacht Club was officially organized on August 24, with officers Delette H. Hall (Commodore), Charles J. Holton (Vice-Commodore), and E. C. Stevens (Treasurer and Secretary).  On the Regatta Committee were Frank R. Knowlton, Frank A. Patch, and Edgar H. Hall.  The Enterprise helpfully listed the other members of the club, many of whom were West Acton businessmen: D. Adelbert Cutler, Sidney Durkee, Fred W. Green, James A. Grimes, Henry L. Haynes, Octavus A. and Roscoe Knowlton, Hanson A. Littlefield, Charles H. Mead, Richard Nichols, E. Wellington Rich, J. Linwood Richardson, Frank H. Stevens, and Arthur, Frank H. and Waldo E. Whitcomb.
 
The yacht club’s first big event seems to have been a race between three boats, Evadne, Alice and Madcap.  The prize was a silk pennant (and bragging rights), won by the Frank R. Knowlton’s Evadne.  After the race, a clambake was held “on the grounds of F. R. Knowlton and Hall Bros.”  The menu consisted of “baked clams, baked stuffed cod, green corn, sweet and Irish potatoes, melons, coffee, lemonade, bread and cake; a bountiful spread, cooked and served a la sea shore.”   (Enterprise, Sept. 14, 1899, p. 8)
 
The Society owns a print of a collage made from a series of glass plate photographs taken by Eugene L. Hall.  It includes scenes from Lake Nagog, including “Know-Hall Grove” where the clambake must have been held.  A boat was moored nearby.  There are a couple of pictures of boats with sails up, but they were tucked under other images in the collage.  Only a partial picture of the Madcap survives, and the other boat picture was only labelled “Wharf Lake Nagog.”  Because the images are very small and come from a photograph of printed photographs, their quality is not ideal.  If anyone has prints of the full images (or the original glass plates), we would be very grateful for copies or scans.

The summer of 1900 saw a series of Acton yacht races.  More boats participated; one race reportedly had six entrants, O. A. Knowlton’s, F. R. Knowlton’s, D. H. Hall's, E. C. Stevens’, Jas. Grimes’ and S. T. Blood’s (Enterprise, Aug. 16, 1900, p.8 )  However, sailing on Lake Nagog seems not to have been as simple as one might expect.  The July 4th race saw various mishaps, and only the Hall boat reached the finish line.  (Enterprise, July 12, 1900 p. 8)  In September, a good race was held in which the two Knowltons’ boats and others survived, but the Hall brothers’ boat had to withdraw, completely disabled.  (Enterprise, Sept. 6, 1900 p. 8)  In the only 1901 mention of local yachting that we could find, on September 4, the Enterprise reported “The yacht race at Nagog Monday was not a success, the wind not being favorable.  But the dinner was all that could be desired.  Steamed clams, corn and all the accessories ...  About one hundred enjoyed this feature.”  (p. 8)
 
We found no reports of the West Acton Yacht Club after 1901.  Perhaps the dispiriting winds of that Labor Day race cooled enthusiasm for the venture.  Sailors presumably found other sites for their boats.  A few years later, Nagog water would be piped to Concord, and recreational use of the pond would eventually cease.

When one is trying to understand Acton's history, a large challenge is envisioning what the town looked like in different eras.  Often, one is imagining a mill complex in a spot that has now reverted to nature.  The challenge is different in Acton center.  Today, it is almost entirely residential, but in the nineteenth century, it had a shoe factory, a hotel, a blacksmith, and a number of other businesses.  It is tempting to picture the center “village” at that time as a commercial/residential center with businesses and houses close together.  However, reading through land transactions for our blog post on John Fletcher, we discovered that until relatively recently, even in the "Centre village," there were farms, orchards, and pastures.  We found a picture in our collection that, though not very sharp, shows how rural Acton Center was.

This "Bird's Eye View" of Acton Center was taken from behind Main Street.  Fortunately, some landmarks are obvious: the town hall, the monument, and the Congregational Church after its steeple was rebuilt in 1898.  Where today we would expect to see houses, the picture shows trees, fields, and numerous stone walls.

We have many photos and postcards of Acton Center landmarks, but pictures taken from the back, away from the usual sights, are few and far between.  We're lucky that someone thought to record a different view.

Recently, the Society received the generous donation of a remarkably well-preserved pair of boots from the factory of John Fletcher and Sons.  John Fletcher’s name was very well-known in Acton in the 1800s, and his “Boot and Shoe Manufactory” was a town-center landmark that employed a significant number of townspeople.  He left many traces in the written records of the era, some of which gave contradictory impressions of who he was as a person.  We set out to learn more about him.

Early Life

John Fletcher was born in Acton to James (a young Revolutionary War soldier) and Lydia (White) Fletcher on July 21, 1790.  In Acton’s vital records, we found siblings Betsy (b.1786), James (b. 1788), Daniel (1797-1799), Lydia (b. 1800), and several who died young and whose names were not recorded.  James (the father) was involved in the business of Acton and donated a piece of his land in 1806 to be part of the Town Common.  The family first lived on what is now Hammond Street but then moved to a farm near the first meeting house (off of Nagog Hill Road near what was then the Brooks Tavern).  John’s son, (Rev. James), later wrote about their home site, “Here stood for many years, from 1794 on, the Fletcher homestead, where James Fletcher, the father of Deacon John Fletcher, and his brother James and Betsey, the sister, lived during childhood up to the years of maturity.  A few feet from this ancient cellar hole to the west is the site of the first Fletcher russet apple-tree.  Childhood’s memories easily recall the ancient unpainted cottage, the quaint old chimney with the brick-oven on the side, and the fire-place large enough for the burning of logs of size and length, and in front to the southeast a vegetable garden unmatched at the time for its culture and richness, and a large chestnut-tree to the south, planted by Deacon John, in early life.”  (Acton in History, p. 247) 

Though records of John Fletcher’s youth are hard to come by, we do have a physical description (from much later military pension records) that he had fair skin, black hair, and brown eyes.  He no doubt attended the school nearby and would have helped on his father’s farm.  As he got older, records show that he and his brother James Jr. served in the local militia.  In April, 1808, John was already serving as a corporal in Capt. Simon Hosmer’s Company that became known as the Davis Blues.  In 1810, John was chosen to be sergeant, and in 1813, he became the company clerk.  By that time the country was at war.  When the governor of Massachusetts called for troops to defend Boston in the fall of 1814, John Fletcher served as sergeant and clerk of what was by then Capt. Silas Jones’ Company.  Brother James Fletcher was a corporal.  According to Fletcher’s History, (p. 277-278) the company was first to report to headquarters and met with an enthusiastic reception as it marched through the streets of Boston.  The British never attacked, however, and the company saw no action.  The War of 1812 concluded soon thereafter.  John continued to serve in the militia and eventually was made captain.  Town meeting records refer to him as Captain John Fletcher in the years 1821 and 1822.

In June 1812, John’s brother James was initiated into the Masonic Lodge in Concord, and John followed in June 1813.  Both men were proposed for membership by Simon Hosmer.  In 1814, father James and James Jr. bought a farm from neighbor Paul Brooks, including a house, barn and cooper shop.  Presumably, the intention was to expand the father’s farming operation and/or to establish James on a farm of his own.  Unfortunately, James Sr. died on Dec. 9, 1815 by the falling of a tree (according to his tombstone and Fletcher’s History, p. 246), an event that must have shocked and greatly changed life for the family.

By 1814, we know that John Fletcher was already in the shoe business, as he listed his occupation as shoemaker when called up to serve in the War.  In 1815, the town of Acton paid him $4.67 for providing shoes for the poor.  We have not yet discovered details of the early years of his shoe enterprise, such as how he learned the trade, his sources of materials, and when he started hiring outside labor.

In March 1819, James Fletcher Jr. sold to his brother John for $250 a half of his share of the land he held, including his father’s two farms, a woodlot, and “all other lots of every kind which I am now in posion [possession] of”.  The records of the brothers’ buying, borrowing, and selling of property are voluminous and hard to pin down completely, but the impression one gets is that John managed to pay off his debts but James may have had more trouble and needed cash infusions at times. 

John and his brother James established a store together.  Its exact beginnings are a little unclear from the records, but it was definitely operating before 1822 and probably by 1820 when James Fletcher’s census listing included two household members engaged in commerce.  According to John’s son Rev. James Fletcher’s History (p. 272), the brothers’ first store was on the site of the present-day Memorial Library.  We found from a deed dated Sept. 28, 1820 that James and John Fletcher, traders, bought a store near the meetinghouse from Francis Tuttle for $325.  It was apparently quitclaimed by Widow Dorothy Jones on Dec. 7, 1821. (Land Records, Vol. 308, p. 232 & 233)

In January 1822, Worcester’s Massachusetts Spy ran an ad offering a reward to be paid by James and John Fletcher to help track down the criminal(s) who, on the morning of January 22, burned their store “after having been robbed (as is supposed) of its contents.”  The brothers would pay $100 for “the detection of the Incendiary or Incendiaries, and the recovery of the Property -- or $50 for either.” (Jan. 30, 1822, p. 4)  Surette’s History of Corinthian Lodge noted that on Feb. 4, 1822, “Bros. John & James Fletcher, of Acton, having met with a severe loss by fire, requested assistance from the Lodge, and a subscription paper was opened and signed by the members present.” (p. 128)  Fletcher’s History says specifically that the store was on the library site when it “was burnt.”(p. 267)