A Overview of Worcester History from 1760 - 1850
By: Evan W.


"With an aspect of newness on every object... All the buildings looked as if they had been built and painted that morning..." Charles Dickens on Worcester in eighteen forty two after staying two days. The city of Worcester has grown in many ways. Its population has increased vastly in the one hundred and fifty five years of being a city and the two hundred and eighty one years of being a town. It has come a long way, from the failing settlements in the sixteen hundreds to eighteen forty-eight, the year Worcester became a city, to today. I will try to sum up Worcester's history into eleven hundred words.
Worcester started in sixteen seventy four when Daniel Gookin traded two coats, four yards of cloth, and a small amount of money in exchange for a deed to eight square miles of land. In sixteen sixty seven a committee was appointed to "lay out, settle, and manage a plantation" in the "lands near Lake Quinsigamond". The chairman of the committee was Daniel Gookin. The committee thought the "lands near Lake Quinsigamond" would make a good city or town was because it lied right between Springfield and Boston and could traveled to from Springfield or Boston in a day. But with the Indian wars and the fighting nearby the first settlement was lost. Everybody fled from the settlement in fear of their lives. Ephraim Curtis survived the hardships and lived there for a year alone. But eventually about five or six families joined him in staying there.
In sixteen seventy eight the committee directed the people to go back to their homes. But no one wanted to go back. Five years later, again threatened, a few courageous families went back and formed the second settlement. In sixteen eighty four the committee, for a reason that hasn't been fully determined, named their new settlement "Worcester". In the past it was called "Quonsigamog", "Quinsiganum", or "Quinsigamond" Village. Many of the towns people didn't really care how the village name was spelled and pronounced because in early town records the village name was spelled as many as twelve different ways. But just because they had a new name didn't mean they had adequate defenses against the Indians. The villagers had to flee to surrounding towns that were armed and ready and some people fled to towns that extended as far as Boston. But one man, Digory Sargent, refused to leave. Twelve soldiers were ordered to remove him from the town they got there too late. The Indians got to him first. The soldiers buried him under his oak tree where Worcester Academy presently stands.
In seventeen thirteen Jonas Rice saved the city of Worcester. He came here and built a house where Digory Sargent had died. He lived there for over a year, just him and his family. Jonas holds the title of "first permanent settler of Worcester", the first school teacher in Worcester, the first town clerk, and the first selectman of Worcester when it was founded in seventeen twenty two. In seventeen thirty one the town took a giant step in becoming a city by becoming a Shire town of the new Worcester County and the center of the new county. Though Worcester didn't have much size it did have great location. Shire towns were known for their holidays of amusement. They held wrestling matches, they permitted horse racing on the main streets, and they even watched the punishment of criminals for fun.
During the Pre-Revolutionary days many towns people would get involved in peoples disputes and quarrels. They take sides and it would rip apart the town. For example when one man introduced choir singing and instrumental music into the church the town became outraged at the thought of change. Most of the villagers were in the agriculture business. They were all of the Puritan religion and believed in working hard with little play.
During the American Revolution twenty percent of Worcester's population participated in the war. The Minutemen were led by Colonel Timothy Bigelow and Captain Benjamin Flagg, both of Worcester. Many of the villagers went into great debt after the Revolutionary war. Cash was very scarce and many people resorted to a bartering system.
Isaiah Thomas did a great deal of things for Worcester, Boston, and Massachusetts. At night Isaiah had his printing press moved across the Charles River. He did this to avoid the British soldiers that he often got into trouble with. He took his printing press to Watertown where a friend lent him a horse. Isaiah then road to Worcester where he set up his printing press in Timothy Bigelow's basement. That is where he printed Worcester's first newspaper. He also founded the largest publishing house in the US, built the first paper mill, he introduced Masonry to Worcester, he planned the Boston to Worcester railroad which was finished in eighteen thirty five, and founded the world famous American Antiquarian Society.
Worcester lost many important and tall buildings due to fire before they had the Worcester Fire Society. One of the society's founders was Isaiah Thomas. The group was limited to thirty members, but the thirty that made it lived a high life. The firefighters held many big social dinners with orations and speeches, but only until the fires were all put out. From the Worcester Fire Society came eleven mayors, three governors of Massachusetts, one US Attorney General, and several United States senators and representatives. The actual fire department made its first appearance in eighteen thirty five.
From eighteen thirty to eighteen forty eight Worcester underwent a big expansion. Two reasons for this expansion was the wave of invention and the forming of railroads. The loom, the sewing machine, the cotton gin, and the lathe were all invented in Worcester. Also Worcester was a center of industry. It was a factory filled city that based its attention on industry. Some of the goods made here were leather goods, firearms, carpets, clocks, watches, coaches, sleighs, and textile mills succeeded. But the biggest industry that helped the town was the making of wire. Wire was demanded in many new inventions and Worcester met those demands by producing it.
In eighteen thirty three there were fifteen streets. By eighteen forty eight there were sixty streets and two years later, eighteen fifty, there were seventy more streets. The town was obviously growing very rapidly. But the question was whether to pave the roads or not. When they were unpaved there was dust in the summer, snow in the winter, and mud in between. But paving and stone blocks were expensive. So they decided to pave Front Street and Main Street. They also decided that a street that crosses Main St. should have a different name on either side.
Worcester was a bustling city with its railroads connecting to many cities including Albany and Providence. The Worcester Spy, a daily Worcester newspaper, called Worcester "Rail Road City." In eighteen forty seven the town fathers decided that the board of selectmen had to be replaced with a better system. Most of Worcesters citizens were in favor of the change, though it did mean higher taxes. On November eighth eighteen forty seven at a town meeting, "on motion of John Milton Earle, it was voted that a committee of ten be appointed to draw up and present to the Legislature a petition for a city charter." On February twenty ninth in eighteen forty eight the governor signed the charter and Worcester became a city. On April eighth the city held its first election for mayor and Levi Lincoln Jr. became first mayor of Worcester. He was born in seventeen eighty two and he died in eighteen sixty eight on Worcester's twentieth anniversary of becoming a city. Levi was a former Massachusetts governor, a former member of the state's Supreme Judicial Court, and a former U.S. Congressman.
According to the report of the Committee on Finance, "The Treasury was empty and a debt outstanding against the city of $99,677. By the charter, the city was to assume all the liabilities of the Town of Worcester, the Centre School District, and the Aqueduct Corporation." And if that wasn't enough Worcester's population would quintuple in the next fifty years making it the second largest city in New England. The city had its work cut out for them.
Indian attacks, an industrial revolution, and an expansion that is quite remarkable, Worcester has survived them all. Over the next years I believe Worcester will continue to grow in population and in business. It was neat learning about how Worcester was founded and formed. Before doing this paper I didn't know who Levi Lincoln Jr. was or why eighteen forty eight was so significant in Worcester history. I have enjoyed learning about Worcester and writing about it.