Mendon in regards to population, economy, and geography. The Industrial Age with its strategic river locations and water powered factories left an impact on the town that created division and separation. It left the town in a period of decline which took many years to begin to recover. A new mode of transportation brought back the beginning of economic recovery at the turn of the century, and it changed forever how the people of Mendon lived their lives and earned a living. Changes in the technology of the 1800’s laid the foundation for a new culture in the town of Mendon. |
The days of glory of Mendon Village Center in the mid 1820’s began to dwindle upon the realization that its aristocratic population was made up of mere mortals, particularly the death of Seth Hastings in 1831. He, more than any other person, was responsible for Mendon’s golden age. His marriage to Chloe Davenport in 1793 brought forth a family of public service, academic excellence, professional affluence, and social elegance. His personal titles of congressman, bank president, attorney, state superior court justice of sessions, state senator, and businessman established a cultural climate that attracted a professional elite group of people to his neighborhood. By 1827, the small triangular village had the titles of eight attorneys, two former congressmen, and an international ambassador. Seth established the only bank between Worcester and Providence. His impact on his village center was immeasurable. His death left an immeasurable void. |
wife’s inherited estate in Milton the previous year. His first wife was Mendon’s Sylvia Ammidon, whom he married in 1804. She passed away in 1811. Jonathan had served as Charge d’Affaires in France in 1811 in the Napoleon era an ambassador to England in 1812. He was a negotiator and signer of the Treaty of Ghent to end the War of 1812. After serving as ambassador to Sweden and Norway, he moved back to Mendon to live at the corner of Emerson Street. He had bought the house from Seth Hastings in 1818. He successfully ran for Congress in 1822. In hopes of promoting Henry Clay as a candidate for president, he publicly criticized John Quincy Adams for a stance he had taken on the Treaty of Ghent. Not a good move!! An incensed Adams retaliated unmercifully through the newspapers, and won the battle of public opinion. Jonathan had had it with Washington politics. The only other office for which he ran was Mendon town moderator in 1827. He won. Jonathan Russell’s death the year after Seth Hastings marked another great loss. Attorney Caleb Hayward, husband of Mary Hastings, also passed away in 1832. He was the second member of the 13 Main Street law firm to die. He was a trustee in the Mendon Bank and had served in several town offices. The loss was devastating, not only to the Hastings family, but also the village center. William Soden Hastings moved to Sulphur Springs in Virginia to become a congressman, like his father. He died in 1844. Charles C.P. Hastings passed away in 1848. The leaders of Mendon’s Golden Age were mortal. It was the end of a special era. With the bank president and a trustee having passed away, the cashier, Ebenezer Hayward, brother of Caleb Hayward, moved the bank to Uxbridge to be near the recently opened Blackstone Canal. The canal‘s purpose was to transport raw materials and manufactured goods between Worcester and Providence more inexpensively than over land. It became the new focus of economic growth for the region. The Industrial Age enabled the magnanimous water power of the Blackstone River and its tributaries to churn out manufactured items in factories and mills in Mendon’s South Precinct. A division of economies became evident, as the town’s North Precinct remained agricultural. By 1845, the precincts had become so diverse that people in Blackstone, as the south was known, wanted to become an independent town. In addition, it should be noted that the forty-five mile canal was dug by hand by Irish immigrants. When it was completed in 1828, many of the Irish settled along the canal, and they became workers in the mills and factories. The separation was contested by many of the people in the north, as they had much to lose. The factories were booming and generating numerous tax dollars for the town treasury located in the North Precinct. An independent Blackstone would mean the end of these financial benefits. Half of the population and half of the land area would be lost. The vote of the legislature in 1845 was after much bitterness and many contentious town meeting debates. Blackstone won its independence, and Mendon was left in devastation. To make matters worse, the Blackstone Canal was shut down in 1848. It was replaced by a new means of transportation, the Providence and Worcester Railroad. It was great for the industrialists, because it could bring materials between the two cities in less than an hour. The canal trip took two days. The canal was at times impassable due to summer low water levels, and in winter, it often was frozen. The railroad provided an economic surge for the factory owners, but it showed no interest in transporting Mendon’s produce vegetables and agricultural goods. The canal had been an inland seaport for Mendon farmers, who sold their goods along the forty-five mile market. The Davenport and Dudley families were very successful agriculturalists who benefited from the Blackstone Canal market. The closing of the canal was another negative happening for the Mother town. Mendon Village Center entered a period of decline after Blackstone’s separation and the closing of the canal. Gone were the aristocratic titles of bank president, ambassador, and congressman. They were replaced by grain dealer, dairyman, and boot maker. The Town Hall, built by Silas Dudley in 1840, was the last public building to be constructed for 63 years. The town’s population did not increase for 70 years. |
Farming remained as the main occupation during the mid to late 1800’s. The market demand, though diminished, was still significant, as the industrial neighboring towns used Mendon as their supplier of food. There was an increase of dairy farms and apple orchards during this time. The Davenports, Dudleys, Gaskills, and Tafts were among the town’s outstanding families who made their living by agriculture. The village center, though low-key, continued to serve as a stagecoach stop. The Hartford Turnpike connecting Hartford and Boston had a terminal at the Aldrich General Store. The road connecting Worcester and Providence came through the center from North Avenue, Main Street, and Providence Road. It also exchanged passengers at the Aldrich Store. The Civil War brought sadness to our town. Mendon lost twenty of our finest young men. (Check out Civil War monument.) President Lincoln was assassinated. Economic times were difficult. |
Though the surrounding towns’ factories churned out manufactured goods through the water power of the Blackstone, Mumford, and Mill Rivers, they were also creating harmful damage to the towns’ natural resources. Their water and air had become polluted. Their water was no longer suitable for drinking or recreation due to industrial discharges. Air quality was tarnished by emissions of bellowing smokestacks. Some of the detriments of living in a factory centered town would be health risks and finding clean water. MENDON AS A SUMMER RESORT – A GLIMMER OF HOPE It was this contrast in existing environmental conditions that David Adams used for economic advantage. Lake Nipmuc had become a recreational attraction by the end of the Civil War. Its waters were pure and pristine. Its waters were surrounded by trees and fields. It became known as “Nature’s Beauty Sport.” |
David purchased the brick federal style building at 10 Hastings Street in 1860. He had worked here as a baker in the 1840’s when it was Holland Albee’s bakery. He turned it into a country inn, which he called The Adams House. It became a popular summer inn for vacationers. He also operated a livery stable where he rented out horses and carriages for his guests to travel back and forth to Lake Nipmuc. Guests regarded the inn as very comfortable with its piazza and rocking chairs, and credited Mrs. Adams with providing a pleasant atmosphere and warm hospitality. With natural beauty and cleanliness of the lake being promoted in the region, the Adams House was always filled with summer visitors. |
In 1877, Mrs. Adams passed away very suddenly, and the enthusiasm for operating the inn without her greatly diminished. David continued to keep it open until 1885 with assistance from his son and daughter. He sold the building and moved up the street to 23 Hastings Street, the present home of Dan and Joyce Gilmore. He resided there until his death in 1890. Today, the Adams House serves as an apartment building. The piazza with its rocking chairs is no longer there. The livery stable has been replaced by tenants’ automobiles. Vinyl siding covers the aging bricks, and the 350 year old well lies unassumingly beneath a circular concrete cover. The Civil War era is in our distant past, but when neighboring towns dealt with unhealthy air and water, David Adams made use of Mendon’s scenic beauty and unspoiled natural resources to promote his country inn. The Adams House provided an oasis from the remnants of the Industrial Age not far from “Nature’s Beauty Spot.” Another Mendon resident to make use of his property to offer an escape from smokestacks and polluted rivers was Homer Darling. He was a very successful dairy farmer, but it was his role as an inn keeper that enhanced his income and attracted wealthy New York vacationers. In 1866, he and his father, Newbury Darling, purchased the beautiful federal farm house at 73 North Avenue. It had previously been owned by Benjamin Davenport. They converted the large horse barn to summer bedrooms and constructed a large piazza for rocking chairs. Guests could enjoy the beautiful scenic view of the verdant slope leading to Muddy Brook. |
case business in New York. They were very pleased to escape from the city to enjoy the splendor of Mendon’s country, rural surroundings. They came in their own coaches with private drivers so that they could be escorted around town to enjoy the heralded clean air and water, and, of course, Lake Nipmuc. A third building to be used as a summer resort was at the corner of Emerson Street and Hastings Street, a well- travelled stagecoach route. Albert Darling, Homer’s brother, purchased the former Jonathan Russell house in 1885. He renovated the historic house, adding a wrap-around porch, giving the house a completely new look. It was filled with vacationers all summer long. |
NIPMUC PARK -- THE BEGINNING OF CHANGE AND RECOVERY July 4, 1882 marked the beginning of a new era for Lake Nipmuc. It was a day in which Nipmuc Park had its grand opening. Hundreds of people attended and enjoyed a variety of leisurely activities. There were rides from row boats, sail boats, and a newly licensed steamboat. There were swings, hammocks, and a bowling alley. There was a clam bake at the grove and rocking chairs near Nipmuc Hall where one could relax while listening to Brown’s orchestra. At night, there was a fireworks display from John Gould’s cottage on the island. The beautiful lake and new recreational facilities provided a special day at Nipmuc Park and for every summer weekend for the next several years. |
The Milford – Uxbridge Electric Street Railway opened in December, 1901 and purchased the park. It made improvements and upgrades that made it a regional recreational attraction. Electric lighting, a merry-go- round, a new theater, and a dancing pavilion were installed. Vaudeville and burlesque shows were offered, and soon the park became the most popular resort in the region. The new attractions, plus easy access by trolley, brought several hundred people to Mendon very weekend. |
With the weekend use of the trolley focused on the park, it was the Monday through Friday use that brought significant changes to the people of Mendon and their way of life. It brought new occupational opportunities for Mendon farmers that that would affect the uses of land, housing, and population. Factories, mills, and stores in Milford, Hopedale, and Uxbridge became easily accessible by the new trolley system. Many young adults chose to give up the family business in agriculture to seek a new type of employment out of town. As this trend continued for several years, many families decided that a new economic use of their land would be for housing development. Farm land was sold to builders. New houses replaced pastures. The population grew from 919 in 1890 to 1315 in 1940. Many multi- generational farmers were no longer involved in agriculture. The Milford – Uxbridge Electric Street Railway, a new means of transportation and technology, was the catalyst that helped Mother Mendon recover from the negative effects of the Industrial Age. In 1845, Blackstone, the town’s south precinct, separated to become an independent town. It left Mendon with fewer acres of land, fewer people, and fewer tax dollars for our treasury. The Blackstone Canal closed in 1848 because it was replaced by the Providence and Worcester Railroad. The canal’s closing hurt the inland seaport market for Mendon’s farmers. The town was in a period of decline. It was the good foresight of David Adams, Homer Darling, and Albert Darling that the town’s natural resources and beauty could be turned into economic advantage. The new electric street railway system brought an immediate economic boost to Mendon on weekends, and the weekday use changed the town’s way of life forever. By the end of World War I, the automobile was made affordable for many families. By 1928, the Milford - Uxbridge Electric Street Railway had ceased operations. As Word War II progressed, trolley tracks were retrieved, melted down, and turned into military uses. The recreational use of the park dwindled by the1950s. Mendon’s landscapes of pastures, dairy farms, and orchards are in the past, but during the period of transition, the town had a special place on the western shore of Lake Nipmuc. It was a stimulus of change that laid the foundation for the trolley for a new culture in the town of Mendon. Richard Grady and John Trainor August 13, 2017 John Trainor programs on YouTube - Mendon's Golden Age Mendon, 1845 to 1928 |
Mendon’s Period of Decline and Its Revival by a New Means of Transportation By Richard Grady and John Trainor |