STOUGHTON HISTORICAL
SKETCH
including facts about Stoughton in 1918
History of Norfolk County
Massachusetts 1622-1918, by Louis A. Cook. (New York, The S.J. Clarke
Publishing Company, 1918).
(Vol. 1, pgs. 265-271)
THE
TOWN OF STOUGHTON
Lying
on the southern border of Norfolk County, about midway between the Atlantic
coast and the State of Rhode Island, is the Town of Stoughton. It is
bounded
on the north by Canton; on the east by Randolph and Avon; on the south by Avon
and Plymouth and Bristol counties; and on the west by the
Town
of Sharon. The central portion is the most elevated, the streams rising in this
section flowing in different directions, some northward into Canton
and
others southward into Plymouth County. Ames Pond, in the southern part, is the
largest body of water. York Pond, which receives the waters of
Beaver
Brook, is on the boundary line between Stoughton and Canton, and in the
northwestern portion there is a chain of smaller ponds drained by Mill
Brook,
which flows in a northerly direction and finally reaches the Neponset River.
Being less hilly than some of the other towns, the soil is better
adapted
to cultivation, and some of the finest farms in Norfolk County are located in
Stoughton.
THE NEW GRANT
The territory now comprising the Town of Stoughton is a part of the extensive
tract known as the "New Grant" to Dorchester, which was made in 1637.
That tract extended from "ye Town House to ye Plymouth Line." Its
north end was near the present village of Readville and its south end was on
what is now the southern boundary line of Norfolk County. The average width was
about ten miles.
EVOLUTION OF STOUGHTON
On December 15, 1715, the region embracing the present Town of Stoughton,
and some of the adjacent towns, was organized as the "Dorchester South
Precinct." Part of this precinct was set off to Wrentham in 1724, and on
December 22, 1726, the territory now embraced in the towns of Canton, Sharon,
Stoughton and the greater part of Foxboro was incorporated as a town by the
name of Stoughton, taking its name from Gov. William Stoughton. On July 2, 1740,
by an act of the General Court, that part now included in Foxboro and Sharon was
established as the Second Precinct. This precinct was made a district called
Stoughtonharn on June 21, 1765. Foxboro was incorporated as a town on June 10,
1778, Sharon followed on February 25, 1783, and the Town of Canton (originally
the First Precinct of Stoughton) was incorporated on February 23, 1797. These
changes reduced Stoughton to its present dimensions and boundaries. The first
town meeting in Stoughton was held on January 2, 1727. The records of that
meeting are not available, but it is known that George Talbot was chosen as one
of the selectmen. Joseph Tucker was the first town clerk.
WILLIAM STOUGHTON
The man for whom the town was named was born in Dorchester in 1631[there
is no record of his birth known to exist - Editor], and was a son of Israel
Stoughton, one of the Dorchester proprietors. He graduated at Harvard College at
the head of the class of 1650, and soon afterward went to England, where he
enjoyed a fellowship at Oxford and completed his studies for the ministry. In
1062 he returned to Massachusetts and followed the profession of a clergyman
until 167T, though he never was pastor of a regularly organized society. In 1686
he became the head of the colonial courts, which position. he held until the
arrival of Governor Andros. judge Stoughton was named as a member of the council
under Andros and by his acceptance he lost much of his popularity. He regained
the confidence of the people to some extent in 1689, when he was the first to
sign the petition to the king demanding that Andros surrender the reins of
government.
Under
the new charter he was made lieutenant-governor under Sir William Phipps,
and when Governor Phipps instituted a special court of Oyer and Terminer for the
trial of the witchcraft cases, Judge Stoughton was appointed chief justice.
Barry describes him as "a Puritan of the commonwealth mould; of phlegmatic
temperament; rigidly attached to the Puritan creed; thoroughly versed in the
knowledge of men; knowing how to accommodate himself to a variety of
circumstances, yet superior to all; lie was one who, in any situation, was
calculated to succeed."
In the witchcraft trials by the special court of which Mr. Stoughton was
chief justice, nineteen persons were convicted and sentenced to death.
Concerning these trials and convictions, Barry says: "As the excitement
subsided the prominent actors in the terrible tragedy began to reflect, and a
few made public acknowledgment of their error. . . . Stoughton alone refused to
retract, and to the day of his death never regretted the part he had
taken."
When. the Superior
Court was organized he was made chief justice, his commission being dated
December 22, 1692. His commission was renewed in 1695 and he continued as chief
justice until only a short time before his death, also holding the office of
lieutenantgovernor at the same time. Upon the removal of Governor Phipps in
1694, Stoughton became Governor and served until the arrival of Lord Bellamont
in June, 1697. Lord Bellamont died in March, 1701, and Stoughton again became
governor, somewhat reluctantly on account of his age and the state of his
health, and served until his own death on July 7, 1701. Governor Stoughton was a
benefactor of Harvard College. Before his death he erected at his own expense
the building known as "Stoughton Hall," and in his will be left a
legacy of a thousand pounds to his Alma Mater.
THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD
During
the first half century of Stoughton's corporate existence little out of the
ordinary took place. The people were busily engaged in building better houses,
developing their farms, establishing schools for their children, opening
highways, etc. With the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765, the dawning of the
spirit of independence began to be felt. Early in 1773 a letter from the Boston
Committee of Correspondence was sent to all the towns of Suffolk County. At a
town meeting in Stoughton on March 1, 1773, this letter Was read and it was
voted to send a reply, setting forth the opinion that the rights of the
colonists had been seriously infringed upon, violated by' arbitrary will and
power, and that the people of Stoughton were apprehensive that in the future
this might prove fatal to them and their posterity by reducing them to a state
of slavery.
On September 26, 1774, Thomas Crane, who lived in the First Parish, afterward
set off as the Town of Canton, was elected representative to the Great and
,General Court to be held at Salem, and was given the following instructions:
"Sir - As we have now chosen you to Represent us in the Great and General
Court to be holden at Salem on Wednesday ye 5th day of October next ensuing We
do hereby Instruct you that in all your Doings as a member of the House of
Representatives you adhere firmly to the Charter of this Province granted 'by
their Majesties King William and Queen Mary & that you do. no act that can
possibly be construed into an acknowledgement of ye validity of ye Act of the ye
British Parliament for altering ye Government of Massachusetts Bay. More
Especially that you acknowledge ye Honourable Board of Counsellors elected by ye
General Court at their Session in May last as ye only rightfull &
Constitutional Counsel of this Province: And as we have reason to believe that a
Conscientious Discharge of your Duty will Produce your Disolution as an House of
Representatives We do hereby Impower and Instruct you to join with ye members
who may be sent from this and ye Other Towns in ye Province & to meet 'With
them at a time to be agreed upon in a General Provincial Congress to act - upon
such Matters as may come before you in such manner as may appear to You most
Conducive to ye true Interest of this Town & Province as most Likely to
Preserve the Liberties of all North America."
When the Suffolk Congress met on August 16, 1774, at Doty's Tavern (then in the
Town of Stoughton) several citizens of the town were in attendance, but it does
not appear that they were chosen by any action of the voters of the town. That
meeting was opened with a prayer by Rev. Samuel Dunbar, pastor of the First
Parish Church - a prayer which Bancroft says "breathed forth among them the
spirit of liberty, and the venerable man seemed inspired with the most divine
and prophetical enthusiasm." The action of that meeting acted as a spur to
the people of Stoughton, for on August 29th, at a town meeting called for the
purpose, it was
"Voted,
That a Committee be chosen to Represent ye Town in a County Convention of ye
Towns and Districts of this County to be holden at ye house of
Richard Woodward at Dedham on Tuesday ye 6th day of September next
with full power of adjourning acting & Doing all such Matters & things
in said Convention or in a general Convention of ye Countys of this
Province as to them may appear of Publick Utility in this day of Publick
and General Distress.
"Voted,
That five persons be chosen for. this Purpose & also that John Withingtion,
Theophilus Curtis, John Kenney, Jedediah Southworth and Josiah Pratt be this
Committee; That this Committee be directed to Endeavor to obtain a County
Indemnification for all such Persons as may be fined or otherwise have suffered
by a non‑compliance with a Late Act of ye British Parliament inititled 'An
Act for the Better Regulation of the Government of the Massachusetts Bay in
North America.' That this Committee be also a
Committee of Correspondence to advise and Correspond with ye other Towns
in this Province about all such Matters & Things as may appear to, them
likely in any way to affect the Publick."
On May 22, 1776, six weeks before the Declaration of Independence was adopted by
the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, that event was foreshadowed by a town
meeting in Stoughton, which declared by an almost unanimous vote' "That if
the Honourable Continental Congress should for the safety of the Colonies
declare us independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain, we the Inhabitants of
Stoughton will solemnly engage with our lives and fortunes to' support them in
the measure."
A STATE GOVERNMENT
In September, 1776, the General Court sent out to the various towns of the state
a communication relative to the formation of a state constitution and t
inauguration of a new form of government. On the last day of the month a town
meeting was held in Stoughton to take action on the communication. John Kenney,
Christopher Wadsworth, Jonathan Capen, Abner Crane and Elijah Dunbar were
appointed a committee to draft the town's reply. Following is the report of the
committee:
"We the subscribers, being chosen a committee by this town at a town
meeting legally assembled at Stoughton on the 30th of September last, to draft a
vote upon and article in ye town warrant respecting chosing ye present Gen'l
Court to form a plan of Government for ye State have attended to that Service to
report the following resolutions viz
"1 - Resolved That 'good Government is the basis of liberty &
absolutely necessary to the safety & Wellfare of a People.
" 2 - Resolved That as the end of Government is the Happiness of ye people
so ye sole Power & Right of forming and establishing a plan thereof is
essentially in ye People.
"3 -Resolved That as this State is at Present destitute of a fixed &
Established form of Government it is Absolutely necessary that one Immediately
be formed Agreeable to the recommendation of ye Grand Congress.
"4 - Resolved That as the present House of Representatives have passed a
resolve to see if ye Severall Toens in this State would empower them, the said
House of Representatives together with the Council, to enact a plan of Govern -
for this State it appears to us unadvisable & Irrational & a measure
that ought not by any mean& to be Complied with f or these reasons viz -
That we are tot ally unacquainted
with the Capacities & Patriotism & Character of ye members that compose
ye said. House & Council excepting our own member Also because they were
Never elected by ye people for that purpose & also because the present
Embarrassed State of our Publick Affairs calls for the steady attention of every
member of ye said House and Council.
"5 - Resolved That it is the Duty & Interest of this Town immediately
to choose one or more members to join. with the members of the Other Towns in
this State to form & Publish a plan of Government for said State.
" 6 - Resolved That in order to Carry ye foregoing Resolutions into
Execution as soon as ye Importance of the matter may admit it appears to, us
best that the members of ye Severall Towns in this State Chosen for ye express
purpose afore said should meet together by Them selves or by their Committee in
a State Convention or Congress & compare the severall forms of Government
together whereby the Wisdom of the whole State may be collected & a form of
Government be Extracted.
"7 - Resolved That it appears to us Absolutely necessary for the Liberty
& safety of this State that the plan of Government when formed and Published
should not be Established till ye People of this State have had time &
Opportunity of thoroughly examining the same & shall consent that it be
established by the said State Convention or Congress.
"All of which is humbly submitted by us.
John Kenney
Christopher Wadsworth
Jonathan Capen
Abner Crane
Elijah Dunbar
Such
was the idea of the people of Stoughton regarding a state constitution and the
manner of its formation and adoption. If the reader will now turn to the chapter
on Bellingham and note the action of that town on the same subject, he will be
impressed with the similarity of the theories advanced by those two towns, and
that without any collusion between them. For years the town meeting had been
educating the people to the notion that government in any form should derive its
just powers from the consent of the governed‑a sentiment which found
expression in the Declaration of Independence and has been the dominating idea
in the formation of all our state constitutions.
SALTPETRE
Gunpowder
was quite an item in 1776, and at a town meeting in Stoughton on March 4, 1776,
an article in the warrant was "To see if the town will take
any
method to encourage the manufacture of saltpetre." At the meeting it was
Voted that a committee be appointed to begin the manufacture of that article.
Adam Blackman, Jonathan Capen, Esquire Dunbar, Samuel Osgood and George Crossman
were appointed as the committee. These
men set to work upon the project and in June their factory‑ was ready to
begin operations.. The first saltpetre from this c6mmittee was sent to the
powder‑mill in Milton about the time of the adoption of the above
resolutions, or perhaps a little earlier. (See also the chapter on the
Revolution.)
WATERWORKS
The
first move toward providing a water supply for the inhabitants of Stoughton was
made on May 28, 1886, when the governor approved an act of the Legislature
incorporating "John G. Phinney, Charles W. Lunn, E. Morton Elmes, Charles
W. Welch, Charles E. Parker, their associates and successors, as the Stoughton
Water Company."
By the provisions of the act the company's authorized capital stock was not to
exceed $50,000, and it was given power to take water from Knowles' Brook, Muddy
Pond Brook, Porter's Brook and the Drake School House well, "and take by
purchase and hold the Hill and Drake well, so called, situated on land of the
heirs of Henry Drake," etc.
Section 10 of the act provided that the Town of Stoughton might "at any
time purchase of said corporation its franchise, corporate property and all its
rights and privileges, at a price which may be mutually agreed upon, etc.,
whenever two-thirds of the voters give their assent thereto, and in the
event of such purchase the town was authorized to, issue bonds in any sum not to
exceed $100,000, to pay for the same.
In 1887 the Stoughton
Fire District was organized. It was incorporated by the act of April 30, 1888,
with power to purchase the rights and privileges of the Stoughton Water Company,
provided that the Town of Stoughton did not within one year exercise its right
of purchase under the act of May 28, 1886. This stimulated the town to action
and before the expiration of the twelve months it was voted to, issue the
necessary bonds and acquire the franchise of the Stoughton Water Company. The
town was also given the right to, acquire the franchise and property of the
Stoughton Fire District, in the act incorporating said district.
By the act of June 3,
1892, the town was authorized to issue bonds to the amount of $150,000 for the
completion of the waterworks and the extension of the mains to all parts of the
town, with the provision that a sinking fund should be established to guarantee
the payment of the bonds when they became due. The sinking fund provision was
changed by the act of March 17, 1893, which gave to the town the privilege of
making annual payments on the water loan instead of establishing a sinking fund,
Under the liberal legislation of the above mentioned acts, Stoughton has a
system of waterworks second to none in Norfolk County.
According to the report
of the water commissioners for the year ending on December 31, 1916, the total
cost of the works up. to that time had been $352,193.73, and the net expense for
maintenance, $184,675.35. The total income from bonds was $303,407.28, and from
water rates $222,506.23. During the year 126,564,000 gallons of water were
pumped and distributed through nearly thirty-one miles of mains to 1,528
families, 3 hotels, IS factories, 19 business buildings and 330 street hydrants.
The amount received for water rates was $14,688, exclusive of meter rentals and
the $6,6oo paid by the town for the use of hydrants in case of fire. During the
year the bonded debt was reduced $17,000, leaving the amount of bonds
outstanding at the close of the year $134,000.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Stoughton's fire
department is in keeping with the' town's general progress. The board of fire
engineers for 1916 was made up of James J. Pye, chief; Henry M. Bird, first
assistant and clerk; James E. Reilly, second assistant; Cornelius Healy, Jr.,
George W. Pratt and George E. Malcolm. From their annual report it is learned
that the department consists of four companies, to wit: Stoughton Steamer
Company, in connection with which is kept the auto combination truck, numbers
sixteen men; Washington Hook and Ladder Company, ten men; North Stoughton Hose
Company, six men; West Stoughton Hose Company, eight men, a total (including the
six members of the board of engineers) of forty-six men.
The
cost of maintenance for the year 1916 was $6,150.51, considerably more than half
of which was used in paying the salaries of the members of the I department.
During the year fifty-six alarms were answered, sixteen of which were forest
fires. The fire alarm system consists of twenty-two boxes, stationed at
convenient places in all parts of the town, so that no time need be lost in
calling the department.
TOWN OFFICERS
Following is a list of the principal town officials at the beginning of the year
1917: George W. Pratt, Cornelius Healy, Jr., and George E. Malcolm, selectmen
and overseers of the poor; Cornelius Healy, Jr., George W. Pratt and James E.
Reilly, assessors; George 0. Wentworth, clerk and treasurer; Henry Fitzpatrick,
tax collector; George P. Curtis, G. A. Sprague, Jr., Ernest E. Randall, water
commissioners; John W. Wood, Edgar F. Leonard and Dennis W. Toomey, school
committee; Jerome F. Murphy, Ralph S. Blake and Arthur R. Jenkins, auditors;
Daniel F. Vaughn, highway surveyor; George H. Coward, Michael F. Powers and
Arthur L. Holmes, park commissioners; Richard Vanston, Anson L. Favor, James J.
Pye and Daniel F. O'Connor, constables.
THE PRESENT STOUGHTON [1918]
Between the years 1910 and 1915 the increase in population in Stoughton was 666,
the United States census of the former year giving the town a population of
6,316 and the state census of the latter year reporting 6,982. The assessed
valuation of property on April 1, 1916, according to the report of the
assessors, was $4,747,017, an increase over the assessment of the preceding year
of $525,585. Stoughton has a bank (the Stoughton Trust Company), two weekly
newspapers (the News and Sentinel), eleven public school buildings and employs
thirty three teachers, Baptist, Catholic, Congregational, Methodist Episcopal
and Universalist churches, a number of thriving manufacturing establishments,
well stocked stores that handle practically all lines of merchandise, good roads
and sidewalks, and many handsome residences. The town is lighted with
electricity by contract with the Edison Company and recently an effort has been
made to have the Brockton Gas and Illuminating Company extend its lines into the
town. Two divisions of the New York, New Haven & Hartford unite at Stoughton
junction. The railroad stations in the town are North Stoughton, West Stoughton,
South Stoughton and Stoughton. Electric railway lines connect the town with
Brockton, Randolph, and East Sharon, where other lines are connected, so that
the transportation facilities are unsurpassed.
Back to
Main Page at www.StoughtonHistory.com