The Quaker Farmhouse at 34 George Street The age worn farmhouse at the lower end of George Street adjacent to Muddy Brook has reflected the changes in the relevance of agriculture in Mendon's economy and society since its construction in the early 1830's. Once part of a robust Quaker Village of hard working farmers, 34 George Street and the people who have lived there have echoed the changes in Mendon's reliance of making a living by farming. The village was a few hundred yards south of the Mendon center. It included George and Gaskill Streets and the upper part of Providence Road. It was inhabited by Gaskills, Aldriches, and Southwicks. The Quaker neighborhood was part of Mendon's earliest history. George Aldrich, one of the town's founders, settled here in the 1660's. His grandson, Moses Aldrich, was born here in 1690. He became a preacher and did missionary work throughout the colonies. In 1729, a Friends Meeting House was built at the Quaker Cemetery on George Street. There were twenty-six Quakers listed as living here in 1757. The village grew in an agricultural way of life, but it was the settlement of a new family that had a significant impact on the neighborhood. Nahum and Sally (Southwick) Gaskill built a new farmhouse at 16 Providence Road. They raised twelve children who left a positive impact on the village and town. John Southwick Gaskill and Harriet (Staples) Gaskill built, or possibly inherited, a low key New England farmhouse nestled in the verdant pasture next to the brook at 34 George Street. They were hard working farmers and productive citizens. John served as selectman, overseer of the poor, representative to the General Court, and road commissioner. Besides being skillful farmers, all the Gaskill siblings were involved in public service. They were highly regarded and well thought of in the Mendon community. Julia Gaskill, daughter of John and Harriett, married Alexander Viets Pond, and they continued successful farming at 34 George Street. They had three children who grew up on the farm: Arthur, Clara, and Anna Pond. They never married, and as they grew older, and inherited the farm, they became well aware of the challenges of adapting to change. By the 1950's, the Pond family farm had declined to just a few cows and chickens, an aging house, and the realization that they had become elderly with no family heirs to maintain the farm. Elaine Holt, whose family lived on George Street near the Pond family in the 1950's, has pleasant recollections of the house and the people. She and her husband, Dan Malloy, are historians who live in Hopedale. She gave a vivid account of life at the Pond farmhouse from her childhood memories.. Elaine described the kitchen as having an old soapstone sink with no faucet, just a hand pump. There were open shelves, and on the bottom shelf, a wooden bucket was kept. She recalled asking for a drink of water and being handed the bucket and a dipper. She said that the water was wonderful! The living room had a player piano with several piano rolls being stored on shelves of a corner cabinet. The dining room area had a rocking chair and a new refrigerator. Elaine thought that it was unusual that the new appliance was not used to refrigerate food, but to make ice cubes for the ice box. It was evident that Anna, Clara, and Arthur were reluctant to let go of ways of the past. The farmhouse at 34 George Street is a reminder of a thriving agricultural, Quaker neighborhood of the 1830's. Since that time period, many changes have taken place. The last Quaker service was conducted in 1841. The Friends Meeting House was dismantled in 1850, and the wood was sold to Israel Plummer of Northbridge for his train depot. The occupation of farming in Mendon gradually declined as the real estate market focused on farmland. The elderly Pond family passed on. Their farm was left to their very kind and helpful neighbor, Norman Cox, who had been their farmhand. Though change has taken place all around it, the age worn, weather beaten farmhouse has remained in a time period of the past. It is a symbol of a way of life long ago, when farming was the essence of Mendon's culture. Mendon Historical Society -- June 26, 2016 More on the house at the Preservation Mendon site
Mendon's Gaskill Family : Farmers and Public Servants by MHS Mendon Menu . |