xt7q5717q979 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7q5717q979/data/mets.xml Historical Records Survey (Mass.) United States. Work Projects Administration. Division of Community Service Programs. Massachusetts Historical Records Survey (Mass.) United States. Work Projects Administration. Division of Community Service Programs. 1941 iii, 146, [2] p.: ill., charts, maps 27 cm. UK holds archival copy for ASERL Collaborative Federal Depository Library Program libraries and the Federal Information Preservation Network. Call Number FW 4.14:M 382/3/no.10/v.29 books English Boston, Mass.: the Survey This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. Massachusetts Works Progress Administration Publications Public records--Massachusetts--Maynard Archival resources--Massachusetts--Bibliography Archives--Massachusetts--Bibliography. Inventory of City and Town Archives of Massachusetts. No. 10, Middlesex County, Vol.XXIX, Maynard, 1941 text Inventory of City and Town Archives of Massachusetts. No. 10, Middlesex County, Vol.XXIX, Maynard, 1941 1941 1941 2020 true xt7q5717q979 section xt7q5717q979 INVENTORY OF
TOWN AND CITY ARCHIVES

OF
MASSACHUSETTS '\

No.10 Middlesex County
V01. XXIX WDY

IVAF

‘J'\/".:.-‘*< ,9; 4r" I"i':‘ .1"-
"" xv x(INngCF
URINE-2:54:

PREPARED BY
THE HISTORICAL RECORDS SURVEY
DIVISION OF COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAMS
WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION

THE HISTORICAL RECORDS SURVEY
BOSTON. MASS.
1941

ﬁn!

{$61
.17.)“

“writ“.

INVENTORY OF CITY AND TOWN ARCHIVES

OF MASSACHUSETTS

Prepared by
The Historical Records Survey
Division of Community Service Programs
Worc Projects Administration

*****

The Historical Records Survey
Boston, Massachusetts
1941

Records Survey Program

Historical

'“
'5‘»:
£5 9 Surge t B. Child, National Director
)orl f Wanner11ad, Sta to Supervisor of Researcr and
Ro cords Programs in_Massachuc otto
q Aron S. GilmartiL, SIWa 0 Supervisor of the Historical
1 Re co ords Survey in Massachusetts
Division of Community Service Programs

T1o r;nce Kerr, A‘“i“”'ny Commissioner
:5 Rob:_b Y. Philliyo, Regiona1 Supervisor
3 Ka'o1l G. Denney, Sta Director

NQRK PRQJ}~W ”
iowar: “.Ihuwor, Acbing Commissioner
John J. McDonough, Regional Director
Denis U. Delaney, State Ar inisﬁrotor

'ZSTORICAL TECU‘<“" “UFVTV PROTEC‘E IN 1TASSAH TLJ'1LS

11k.

1.
1‘

:rotary of the Commonvreal uh

rn
,
\

Frederic W. Cook,

Hi E1914) 1;

By authority of a Presidential Letter, the Historical Records Survey
was establ'shed in January, 1936, under the national direction of Dr.
Luther H. Evans, as a federally Sponsored project of the Work Projects
Administration. Since August 51, 1989, the sponsorship or the Hcssachusctud
unit of the survey has been undertaken by Frederic W. Cook, Secretary of
tlc Commonwealth. Since March, 1940 the individual state projects of the
Historical Records Survey have been under the national direction of Sargent
h Child, who, as field representative of Dr. Evans, had had technical
suoervision of the work of the survey in New England from its inception,
The present writer has been in direct charge of the project in Massachusetts

from August 1956 to September 1940 when he was succeeded by Aron S. Giiﬂai

The purpose of the project is to surve’, preserve and render acces—
Le historical source materials of all kinds. Its work has fallen
a ‘16 following main divisions: public records, private
u nuscripts, church records, early American imprints, historical portraits
2 newuaaoers. fractically all historical material falls under one or

,-
i

:25
c1-

Q
r‘
H.

of these divisions. ln bringing this material under control

in techniques have been found practicable, depending on the nature

subject matter, and using variously the methods of the inventory,
guide. tLC calendar, the check list or the index in the publication

the result. For public records, church recor s and portraits, the
method of the inventory has worked best; for historical manuscrint~,

, “we or. in rare cases there the materia

l l unusual importance,
for imprints, the check "‘-t; f r newspaper and court rec—
cxe index; and so on.

_ ‘ ,,

cal (“f-"U L213 '

The actual work of gathering information concerning historical ma—
terials at their place of storage or custody has in most cases been pre—
teded by a mos necessar and, for both the custodian and posteri y, im—
portant task. that of putting records in order; of cleaning, dusting, re—
filing, and treating them; and, in short, doing everything possible to
ensure their preservation. This function of the project, often performed
by its workers under almost indescribable conditions of dust, filth,
dampness, poor ventilation, and even vermin may well be regarded by future
generations as a most important contribution of the survey.

Scarcely less important, however, are the editorial processes to
which all field information must be subjected before publication. Here
gaps and inadequacies are spotted, inconsistencies reconciled, and order
brought out of chaos. 1n the field of public records it has been found
necessary not only to sketch briefly the history of the county or town
and its government but also to preface the inventory of each subordinate
office or institution with an outline of its development, based upon its
own records or upon statutory or other sources. In the inventories of

Preface

church records, similarly, the preparation of the history of each church
constitutes a task equally arduous with that of locating and listing its
records. In Massachusetts two broader works have also been undertaken.
The general historical background, statutory origin and functioning of
county, city, or town offices have been studied with a View to providing
satisfactory accounts of the development of county and municipal governm
ment generally. These latter undertakings are now happily nearing com—
uletion.

The inventory of the town archives of Maynard is the twenty—ninth in
i s of such inventories covering the towns of Hiddlesex County. A
'st of publications of the survey to date appears after the index
end of this book.

The Survey is indebted to the town officials of Maynard for their cc—
operation and to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Frederic w. Cook,
without whose sponsorship this project would not be possible,

Aron S. Gilmartin
State Supervisor of jistorical
Records Survey

0
s.)

FOREWORD

The Inventory 9: the Town and City Archives 9: Massachusetts is one
of a number of bibliographies of historical materials prepared throughout
the United States by workers on the Historical Records Survey of the Work
Projects Administration. The publication herewith presented, an inventory
of the Archives of Maynard in Middlesex County, is volume XXIX of number 10
of the Massachusetts series.

The Historical Records Survey was undertaken in the winter of 1935—36
for the purpose of providing useful employment to needy unemployed histo—
rians, lawyers, teachers, and resear h and clerical workers. In carrying
out this objective, the project was organized to compile inventories of
historical materials, particularly the unpublio. d government documents
and records which are basic in the administration of local government, and
which provide invaluable data for students of political, economic, and
social history. The archival guide herewith presented is intended to meet
the requirements of day-to-day administration by town officials, and also
the needs of lawyers, business men and other citizens who require facts
from the public records for the proper conduct of their affairs. The vol-
ume is so designed that it can be used by the historian in his research
in unprinted sources in the same way he uses the library card catalogue
for printed sources.

the

The inventories produced by the Historical Records Survey attempt to
do more than give merely a list of records»~they attempt further to sketch
in the historical background of the county or other unit of government, and
to describe pre.isely and in detail the organization and functions of the
government agencies whose records they list. The county, town, and city
inventories for the entire country will, when completed, constitute an en—
cyclopedia of local government as well as bibliography of local archives.

The successful conclusion of the work of the Historical Records Survey,
even in a single town, would not be possible without the support of public
officials, historical and legal specialists, and many other groups in the
community. Their cooperation is gratefully acknowledged.

The Survey directed by Luther H. Evans from its inception in January
1936 to March 1, 1940 when he was succeeded by Sargent B. Child formerly
National Field Supervisor. It operates as a nation-wide project in the
Division of Professional and Service Projects, of which Mrs. Florence
Kerr, Assistant Commissioner. is in charge.

Howard 0. Hunter
Acting Commissioner of Work
Proiects Administration

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Pretucc..........................................i

Forétzrd.......................................iii

Pert A. Maynard and its Records System

p
i0‘......-.-..................................

iistorical Sketch.............................. .

V of Town Govcrmnent........................2
}oz;rnmentel Organization and

Records System................‘.........;.....27

Maynard » Special Committees..................36
Housing, Care and Accessibility

of Records....................................59
AAbbreviations, Symbols, and

Explanatory Notes........,....................42

‘

0301,15

Part B. Town Offices and Their Records

,_.
“>-

I. Selectmen.......................................

Minutes and Reports: Licenses and
Permits; Financial Records; Soldiers'
Relief and State Aid; Plans; Miscellaneous

II. Town Clerk......................................53
Minutes and Reports; Vital Statistics;
Mortgages and Petitions; Street
‘Acceptance Records; Plans; Miscellaneous

111- Registrar of Voters.............................59

IV. Bos"d of Assessors..............................60
Minutes and Reports; Valuations and
.Asscssments; Abatements; Motor Vehicle
Excise; Miscellaneous

V. Tax Collector...................................63

Reports; Commitments; Motor Vehicle
Excise; Receipts, Tax Bills

VI. Treasurer.......................................66
Reports; Receipts and Expenditures;
Checks; Notes and Bonds; Tax Title
Records; Warrants

~ adminsgaa 32213;

' 33/

1 VI

VII

VIII .

:ca‘:

133;
A3Kl
3 .31 II
XIII II.
If(IV.
ICC‘CV .
XXXVI,

XIXVII.
IXXVIII.
XXIII.
XL.

rI _
.1.~.3

Board of

DU
IhSyQCuOV
”(V
”1)

T a H!—
(0:31:15):

r;“ -
~L.‘ x.

Reports; General Accounts; Tax

Record

School Physician......u
Attendance Officer............,...,n
Trustees of the Public
Public Uelfare.....3.....111

Town Accountant............1... 1‘.

Finance Committee..........._...o..
School Committee.........“1..,...n
Superintendent of Schools.._...f

School Nurse...........u,..qu...r.

I‘SOuaal'xAy'I

Library..1.

Minutes and Reports; General Cases;

Financial Records;
Aid to Dependent Children; Old
Assistance; Iliscell
NPA Committee....“
Board of Health.....,..c.1. .. .

.c.--.c.r.-,

Minutes and Reports;

Vital Statistics; Licen:;3 Iuﬂ

aCorrespondence

:0;

F Slaugh

ector 01 Animals ..
specter of Plumbing
uetery Commissioners. ,
nerintendent 01 Glenwood Cerez=3y
per erint endent oi Streets.. 1
t

Town Fa

81180113

)rm Record
Age

Health Accords:

"gnard Public Health Asscc1stion

‘JGI’IDF’ 1 .

er Conmicuioners..

i1:Lnutes and Reports

Financial RecordS'

Plant and Service Operation; Plans
Superintendent of Sewers.............
Superintendent of John A. Crowe Parli

Trustees of the Soldiers

Forest Warden......................
Tree Warden........................
Fish and Game Wardenz............
Superintendent of Moth Works.......
Police Department......................

Reports

;

Memoria 1..

Lockup Keeper.........................
Constables................u......
Board of Fire Engineers.........o
Dog Officer......................
Sealer of Weights and Measures.”

Superintendent of Waterworks...........
Sewer Commissioners............
Minutes and Reports;

.....o-..

5 .

, Arrests, Complaints, Accident~‘
Motor Vehicle Records; Miscellaneous

u...-

no...

Column;

3 \2
($1 I—1

CDCDCDNQ\
1400703

.82

.101

.102

.105
.105
.106
.107
,108
.109
.109
.110

.112
.115
.115
.115
.115

REFERENCES

GEo.H.WALKER UTH.Co, BOSTON I559
U5. GaomechL SURVEY MAP l9l7

MAYNARD

MA 5 SACHUSETTS
M l DDLESEX COUNTY

-—1941-—-

LEGEND

Thickly RapulaTed
—— - — Town Boundary

M ﬁ‘eSh WaTer Swamp

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z e“ ’

-,;—,.«.m'.‘?s E\evaTions

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PAtT A. F YNARD AND ITS RECORD SYSTEM
H_STORICAL SKETCH

Maynard, on the Assabet River in Middlesex County, is about 21 miles
west of Boston and is bounded by Acton on the north, Stow on the west, and
Sudbury on the south and east. The town .7 square miles in area and

is a
at thz time of its incorporation was the third smallest in Massachusetts.1
It had i copulation of 7,156 at the time of the last United States census.

Maynard’s history begins nearly two and a half centuries before its
incorporation, when the General Court in 1638 voted that a group of English
immigrants " . . . The petitioners, Mr. Pendleton, Mr Noyse, Mr. Brown and
Compa, are allowed to go on their plantation, & such as are assotiated to

[N THOUSFHQD FEET

I
SCALE

,3;

\\____l

them; & Leift Willard, Thomas Bro(wne} and Mr. John Oliver are to set out
the bounds of the said plantation . . ."3 This grant was incorporated a
year later as .‘3udbury;‘L with later additions it extended from the present
limitsﬁof Concord to what became Framingham and from Weston to the Assabet
River.¢ Among these additions wrs the “tw mile grant" in 1649, which

gave Sudbury an additional 2 miles of land to the westward of its boundarie ,

including all of the present Maynard and a partpof Stow, and a grant 6
miles square made by the General Court in 1656.“ The final deed to the
"two mile grant" was not signed until 1684; it bore the names of Peter
Jethro and several other Indians. The Indians referred to themselves as
”the ancient, native, heredita‘y proprietors of the said land."8 Another

tract of 1,000 acres was granted to one Hermon Garrett by the General

Court in a foreclosure action involving Garrett and an Indian.9 T‘is latter

-1
tract is believed to have been within the present 1imits_of Maynard; the
entire Sudbury area eventually included land that later became the towns
of Stow, iaynard, and Wayland, and a part of Hudson.lU

1. William H. Gutteridge, A Brief History 23 Maynard, Massachusetts,
map, frontispiece, and p. 5.

2. Massachusetts General Court, ﬁéﬁﬂgl for the Use 9: the General
Court, 1935, p. 194. Hereinafter cited as General Court Manual.

5. Records 93 Massachusetts Bay, 1, 238.

4. Alfred S. Hudson, The Annuals 23 Sudbury, Wayland, and Maynard,
Middlesex County, Massachusetts, p. 5.

5. Gutteridge, pp. 313.; D. Hamilton Hurd, ed., gistgry 9; Middlesex
County, Massachusetts, II, 458.

6. Records 9: Massachusetts Bay, III, 159; Gutteridge, op. 92;:
frontispiece.

7. Records 9: Massachusetts Bay, III, 405.

8. Hard, pp. 313., II, 445.

9. Records 9g Massachusetts Bay, III,.225,.226.

10. Massachusetts Secretary o: State, Historical Data Relating to

Counties, Cities, and Towns in Massachusetts, p. 46.

)

‘ '3L'l“.'....”..v.....,' Wigsl ‘L'

. us." Join; M...“

Historical

First entry p. 45

The part of Mavnard lies west of the Assabet River was first known
as Pompasittacutt,l and after 1683 was a part of the town of Stow.2
Several other names were given to the area before it finally became known ‘
as Maynard; for some years it was called the northwest district of Sudhu~y%*
later it was called Assabet Village after the river which runs through i; 1
At one time the section was known as "the second and third squadrons" or
the town of Stow.5

There is considerable question concerning the correct spelling or
the name 'Assabet.’ It appears in the early records variously as sabaet
Elsabeth, Assabaeth and otherwise,6 it is generally believed to have been
something approximating its present spelling, however, and to have been
given the more anglicized spelling merely because of the difficulty the

early settlers had in understanding its Indian pronunciation.

The extant records do net distinguish clearly between events which

.
actual”

ly occurred in the Maynard er a and those which took place in the
rest of Sudbury and Stow, but several family names definitely identified

with Assahet Village affairs are found in the early records, and some of
their farms add h mesteads are still to be found within the limits of
Maynard. Among these are the Balcom tamily, which settled in the vicinity
about 1685; the Puffers, of wtich one member, Jabez, owned land in the

Maynard area,V "William Brown in the northwest corner of the Asebath River,"8

ice.9 One member of the family of

_ v

the Levi Smiths, and the tanily of
ary, was born in the section during the early days (about

Maynards) Zaci -
1647) near What is now the site of the Maynard sewageudisposal plant.10

In 1676 the majority of the residents of Sudbury are believed to have
been wiped out by King Philip and his Indian warriors. The section is
said to have been sparsely populated by Indians at the time. lying as it
did among the territories of the Nobscots, the Nashobas, ant the Musketaquii:
The Nobscots. at least. were friendlv. and warned the settlers of the
impending invasion; but the settlers did not evacuate their homes in time.
and on April 21 were attacked. “ It is said that the Indians sat on

Gutteridge. op, cit . man on p. 1.

Records 2: Massachusetts Bay, V. 408. 409.
Gutteridae, pp. 913.. p. 15

Ipid,. p. 59.

Ibid.. p. 15.

Ipid,. p. 16; Records 9: Massachusetts Bay, III, 225.
Gutteridge. 9p. git.. pp. 17—19.

Ipid,, pp. 16. 17.

Ibid.. pp. 16—19.

10. Ipid., p. 88.

ll. Hurd, 92. 913., II, 442.

n39.-

a- o v

LOCD~JOVUIH>CRNH

7-8
1

Historical Sketch First entry p. 45

Pompasittacutt Hill debating which part of the settlement to attack first.1
One of the garrisons which suffered the fiercest attack was the Walker
garrison, either in or very close to the present boundaries of Maynard.2
Indian relics are still found occasionally on Maynard farms, and one family
has made a collection of them.3

Upon the resettlement of Sudbury after the war the residents of the
Northwest district found themselves facing a problem common to most early
Massachusetts communities: That of being far removed from the centers of
town life. Stow had been incorporated as a town which included much of the
western part of Assabet Village;4 from the center of the northwest district
to the town halls or churches of either Stow or Sudbury was a distance of
several miles, however. Frequently t his journey inc- luded crossing the
Assabet River, sometimes flooded to a half—mile width in spring and covered
with ice in winterﬁ3 In 1707 a petition, signed by residents of the west
side of the river and containing the names of Balcoms, Rices, and Smiths
among its signatories, declared that:

imes wee doe atemn ver our flood, we
are Iorced for to seek our sp.:'1 6 with the peril
Oi our lives Be sides the e1 i,ie travail that many of us
are exposed sum 3 4: 5: 6 miles much more than a day's
journey, by reason of‘ these and many more objections . ..
many of our children and wean persons can rery rarely
attend the public worship,

:i-
O

ihe petition asked for the establi is ament o- a separate precinct in the
nor mwest district.

In November of that year a committee was appointed by the General
Court to "he ear what shall be alleged for and against 'etting off the west
side of the great river as a separate parish or precinct and report what
they think mos t expedient to be done."'7 This committee reported in June
of the following year that it had heard both sides 01 the question of a
separate precinct and had taken consideration of "the badness of the
Causway and the difficulty of the way and the distance they are from the
meeting house," but did not recommend the division.8 The Court ordered,
however, that "if the inhabitants of the west side of the river think
themselves able to erect a meeting house and support a minister and shall
present a subscription amounting to fifty pounds per annum for his
maintenance during the first seven years; that then the prayer of their

bid.

Ibid.

Gutteridse, 9p. git., p. 16.

”ecords 2: Massachusetts Bay, V, 408, 409
Hudsonq 93.,git., pp. 72, 75

Ibid.

Province Acts and Resolves, V, 408, 409.
Ibid., XXI, ch. 26.

mqmwpmmi—J

Historical Sketch

petcon (petition) be granted to be a parish or precinct of themselves and
that they have liberty to invite and procure a learned Orthodox minister
of good conversation to preach to themrnl The court made a similar ruling
in lVlé'when it ordered that "There be a distinct precinct and meeting
house erected for the publick wor31ip of God on the west side of Sudbury
River."

By 1725 preaching services were being held on the west side of the
river, but there were still considerable distances to be traveled by some
of the worshippers, and the villagers faced the same difficulty in regard
to schooling‘5 On April 17, lVlQ, the Sudbury town meeting considered
"whether the town will grant the northwest quarter its petition, they

desiring the schoolmaster some part of the time with them.”4 Not until
l779, hOWever was an appropriation of $l57.50 made for the bu§lding of a

one—room school building on Sudbuiy Road near the Balcom farmv

education of the children of
i H_, as 1757, when it voted ”to give
town its prooortion of schooling."6 One or the
this action taken was the old brick school on

appears substantiated by the presence of John

residence of the Assabet
during one year.7 A private

ttow COdtrituted its snare

"the second and
to each quarter
schools erected
Sunnnei'nitimiet;

Marble, LJKG Brooks and UQpLng Sargent.
Village sectiOu ‘ “

all

school was conducts? place for many veers prior to 1800.8
the beginnine T '; eighteenth century there were many families

sent in 'to *uicti Tn JVOB there is a record of "fifteen

dwellings in ﬂu 'nird squadrons”;9 even before this, in l685;

a '” w oi ' (*e ‘1? “ed tron a resident of Stow and opened

as d *4 on t ton Lancaster stage route and was

known as Lhe Rice ln.l7l5 the first bridge across the Assabet
River within the present limits of Maynard was built;11 it became known later
as "Dr, Wood’s Bridge" and the "New Lancaster Road" crossed it. ‘ In more
recent years it has been called Russell's Bridge; it was one—eighth in Stow
and seven~efgtt" in Assabet Village.15 A sawmill was erected "in the

oil»;

1‘ 19.1.9-

2. lb;_.‘ ch. 83.

5. Province Acts and Resolves, XXI, ch. 83; Hudson, op. git , p. 75.
4. Hudson, op, git., p. 74.

5. lbid.

6. Gutteridge, op. cit., p, 48.
7. lbid.

8. £bid., p. 5.

9. lbid,, p. 13.

lO. lbid,‘ pp. 19, 20.

ll. lbid., p. 22.

12- LEE.

H
03

31’

historical Sketch

men who established it are definitely known to have lived in the Assabet
Village area.l Several families lived at the time along the "Old Marlboro
and Concord Great Road,” then one of the major routes through the vicinity.2

Second or third squadron of the new grant" about 1677, and two of the five

By their family names it is possible to trace a number of the residents

of Assabet Village through the wars of the eighteenth century. In the fight
at Cape Breton in 1760, 4 of the 14 Sudbury men engaged bore the name of
Balcom.5 Five Sudbury companies saw action in the Revolution, two of them
from "the west precinct."4 At the Battle of Concord there were five Rices,
five Maynards, five Puffers, four Brighams, four Willises, three Smiths,

and two Balcoms .5 Daniel Conant, the first man to be wounded at Concord,
was later an OIFicer at tie Bat i:Ie of Bennington.6

”'1

Wren the Rerolulion to the middle of the next century the growth of
the Aissaliet Village s-cr’ ' tan 3.1'd, The Great Road was made considerably
more Lselul by the era ' ” ‘ en Smith Bridge in 1816. A mill had
been built even earlier; . 1161 to at the time as the old mill
It was a combined sawmill, g.11.t _, and cider mill. About 1820 a paper
mill was built by William May; it manufactured paper by the hand method
and utilized watei :rom the vicinity of what is now the cemetery. This

mill was eventually sold 10 the Assahet Woolen Mills.9

_ th: settlement to supersede both Stow and Sudbury
nae began in 18:6, when Amory Maynaid and William Knight began
ations which e anlishod their woolen mi.lls on the Assabet River.
some years had operated a factory at San onville (now a section
HTam n3:\ci}, which 11; had recently closed.lo Maynard left school
i the age or 14 to enter his ‘atner' s sawmill at Fort Meadow. The elder
lyndld div d when Amory was 16; the boy took charge of the mill and within
a short time was employing about 500 men. When the City of Boston took
over the Fort Meadow Pond the mill lost its water rights, and Maynard

turned to Assabet Village as the scene of his further operations.ll Several
tracts of land on both sides of the river were purchased in.M ynard’s ac—
quisition of water rights; during one month alone, in July 1846, 34 deeds
covering his purchases were registered.12 Within a few months title to

1. Hudson, 9p. cit., p, 75.
2. Ibid., p. 76.
5. Hudson. 22. cit., p. 77.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Gutteridge, 93. gi_., p. 26.
7. Ibid., p. 22.
8. Lbid., p. 24
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid., p. 27.

H H
m:-
H
O‘
H.|—h
Q

'LJSL‘JIEJJ

m1]

: z
, 4
“1
1
. i
"6‘
i
~€
a,

10
Historical Sketch

First entry p. 4

. . 1 . . l .
109 acres of chOice land in the Village were acquired; to make the river
a more stable source of power a pond was constructed near the site where
the mill was to be built.

The first mill began operation in the spring of 1847 in a wooden
structure 50 by 100 feet. It manufactured yarns at first, then carpets,
using hand looms!5 It was granted a charter of incorporation by the
General Court in 1849;4 a few years after it opened Knight retired and
Maynard ran the business with the help of his two sons.b The venture
failed during the panic of 1857‘6 but was reorganized in 1862, and thencev
forth the name of Amory Maynard appears as "agent" for the busine‘s. The

' ieed and new machinery installed. .As the Assabet

the eon?e*r drorred the manufaclure of carpets and
‘ ' ' ' otl r 0 0th, Large govern”

mpany io undertake an ex~

original building was
Manufactuiiny " r

.1: *I'I‘L (ME ‘1

J l l]; l
. -u p as “ workers became so great Thai
i ellclnwll?t-'VL 7H3t1ib 'cr‘ ‘ ; stJ‘ewv s ivel‘e :Lajii
out and Er en? fr factory, An idea or

the, giowmi (.2!’ 1e firearms:

the fact thai when the miiss a ‘

$l50,000, 'u ‘ a ”he 1"i'rzie r“ «me death of Amory Maynard; the mills
and DTOTJITleb ) a la a' 3 e a mi l‘cr and a half dollars,

' y seriously hampered by inadequate
was no railroad; freight was teamed in
was poor.9 In l849 the Marlboro Branch

towrlo and was soon followed by a

:2: L1. O’L‘Jt
transpoi“ a; v
from 5 :M2

0 w h :,- i .
0;, tho 1 “mm,

if 501A

numbe: o* new . , ,:3 due of these was an ice storage
house M‘f ' urﬁ ‘Vu au‘ :5“ ‘wv ’ _~ Ibo millpond and shipped as much as

.l c 7h91‘ noiﬂrts.~

L-

{3:0 0171-7; " (may ,. _ MI. ‘EC,‘),’—1.":;;

~ ‘ . . . - ")O‘ 1 l' view-1.1371 "h! J. i’ige grew complai nt

about the distance to the town centers became general, The village had
already outgrown the rest of Stow and Sudbury; it was predominantly
industrial while the parent communities remained largely agricultural.
The movement to withdraw and form a separate town began to crystalize

1. 113-13? '” ‘ “M __, ,-____,
2. r03;

8. lbid,

4. AQZE’ 1849, ch. 167.

5. Gutteridge, 9p._git., pp. 28—52.
6‘» Laid

’7. .lhid

Historical Sketch First entry p. 45

about 1869.1 The idea was actively opposed by Sudbury and to a lesser
degree by Stow. Sudbury appointed committees to oppose the withdrawal
before the General Court; the village protested to the court that it

needed police protection, sidewalks, street lights, better school facili-
ties and many other advantages it had not received in the past.2 Several
hearings were held on the petition and finally, on April 19, 1871. a charter
was granted and Assabet Village became the Town of Maynard.5 The name

was adopted out of tribute to its leading citizen and also because Maynard
was the name of one of the oldest families in the vicinity; jealous nearby
towns, however, imputed other and more selfish motives to the choice. The
Hudson Pioneer, in an issue published soon after the incorporation, hinted
editorially that "there might be some pecuniary motive in this christening."4

The act of incorporation gave the new town:

All of the territory now within the towns of Stow
and Sudbury, comprised within the following limits, that
is to say, beginning at the northwesterly corner of said
territory, at the northwesterly corner bound of land of
the late Daniel Whitney. and in the town line between Acton
and Stow; thence southerly in a straight line to a stake
and stones at the northeasterly corner of land of William
Carr, at land of Benjamin Smith, on the top of Carr's Hill,
so called; thence southeasterlv in a straight line to a
stone monument in the town line between Stow and Sudbury,
at land of Winthrop Puffer; thence easterly in a straight
line to the guide~post at the Iron Works Causeway, so—
called; thence northerly to a stone monument at the corner
of Acton and Concord town lines in the Sudbury town line;
thence northwesterly by the town line of Acton and Sudbury,
and Acton and Stow town line to the point of beginning . . .

Nineteen hundred acres of land were taken from Sudbury in establish—
ing the new town, and 1,3000 acres from Stow. For this and other corporate
properties Maynard agreed to pay Sudbury the sum of $20,835.28 and Stow
$6,500.6 The act of incorporation ordered that schools and other corporate
property belonging to Stow and Sudbury but within the Maynard lines should
become the property of the latter town; a noteworthy exception was the
Stow poorhouse, which remained the property of that community. Stock in
the Framingham and Lowell Railroad Company owned by the town of Sudbury

. Ibid., pp. 7, 8.

. Ibid., pp. 5, 8.

. Ibid.; Agts, 1871, ch. 198, sec. 1.

. Hudson, Pioneep, Apr. 29, 1871.

. Massachusetts Archives, Act to Incorporate the Town of Maynard,
Apr. 15—19, 1871, see the appendix, entry 8.

6. Minutes of Town Meetings, vol. A, p. 17, see entry 20; Acts, 1871,
ch. 198, sec. 4.

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