Alexandrovich Farm

Growing up, the Alexandrovich farm and our farm bordered each other and they were our closest neighbors going through the fields. Mrs. Alexandrovich use to cut my sister’s hair. After they left in the mid 1950’s, the Fish family in Berlin were nearest neighbors, about half a mile away and Charlie Sargent and family were our next nearest neighbors, close to a mile away in Northboro. The Alexandrovich house was located at what is the end of Moore Lane now, off of Howard Street. . A picture of this house is on the membership page of the Northborough Historical Society webpage and is also in the book “Images of America NORTHBOROUGH” on page 28 which was published in 2000 and compiled by Ellen Racine and Robert Ellis.

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“WHERE IT ALL BEGAN”

“WHERE IT ALL BEGAN” a presentation given by Linda and Norm Corban at the Northborough Historical Society on May 17, 2007. The first meeting of the Northborough Historical Society was in 1906 at 35 Whitney Street. It was also the home of the first and second presidents of the Northborough Historical Society. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHw5tJ5D3eo

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“Ghosts In The Graveyard” at Northborough’s Howard Street Cemetery

“Ghosts In The Graveyard” at Northborough’s Howard Street Cemetery was a Northboro Historical Society and 250th Committee event on September 24, 2016 videod by Northborough Cable. There were 5 past NHS presidents in this event: Ernest Racine, Forest Lyford, Brian Smith, Mark Bashour, Robert Marchetta.

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Houle to be Applefest Grand Marshall

Louise Houle

By Joan Hope Contributing Writer Advocate 8-23-02

The Applefest Committee has chosen Louise Houle to be Grand Marshal of this year’s Applefest Parade. In a letter nominating her mother for the honor, Kathy Ledoux wrote that, with her “friendly smile and humility,’’ Houle “embodies the true spirit of the community of North borough and she is always willing to lend a helping hand without hesitation.’’
Friends in the community echo Ledoux’s description of Houle.
“She’s always there for everybody,” said Rosalie Hentz, who has been involved in the St. Rose of Lima Women’sClub with Houle. In the 49 years that she has lived in town. Houle has served the community in many ways. She has been involved with the Community Affairs Committee since it was formed in the mid-1980s. Among other events, this committee sponsors the town’s Winter Ball, as well as parties for children at Halloween and during the holiday season. Houle said she serves on this committee because “you have to play together as well as live together.”
Houle has chaired the annual Town Cleanup since it began in 1983. She has been a member of the Northborough Women’s Club since 1959 and the Garden Club since 1969, and has served as president of both those organizations. She has also been active in the Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Art Guild, the Historical Society, and the Northborough District Nurse Association, a group that provides medical supplies and holiday meals to those who need those services.
The bicentennial celebration also included parties with dancing at the former Fish and Game property on Colburn Street. Houle remembers the Bicentennial Celebration as the “best year of people really relaxing, getting to know each other.”
When Houle moved to town 49 years ago, she was impressed by the town’s beauty. She thought the town was small enough that in time she would know everybody. The biggest change she has seen over the years has been how much the town has grown so that she still doesn’t know everybody. But on the day of the Applefest Parade, everyone in town will know Louise Houle.
Houle worked at the polls on election days for many years and as a teller at Town Meeting. She was a member of the Democratic Town Committee for many years and attended five state Democratic Conventions.
Houle has also been very active at St. Rose of Lima Church, where she taught religious education classes for 26 years and serves on the Pastoral Council, among other activities.
Her favorite memories of her involvement in Northborough affairs are of 1966, the year of the town’s bicentennial. She and her husband co-chaired the decorations for the ball held at Algonquin Regional High School. She was also mistress of ceremonies at the bicentennial fashion show.
“We had more fun that year, “ she said.
She particularly remembers how on Friday nights that year, the townspeople gathered on Blake Street dressed in their old-fashioned clothing and listened to bands. The “Keystone Cops” put anyone who forgot the special buttons they were supposed to wear in “jail.” Friends had to bail them out for a small amount of money. Once she and her husband and a group of friends all ended up in jail together.

Glenn Parker’s ‘History of Westboro’

Some interesting pictures from former Westboro chief of police Glenn Parker’s ‘History of Westboro’ Facebook page. Glenn and I graduated and played football together at Algonquin. https://www.facebook.com/Westboro-History-458857180947509/?ref=page_internal

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Claire Swan 1933 – 2021

Claire Swan 1933 – 2021
The Northborough Historical Society is saddened to have lost a valued member on March 26, 2021.

Claire Swan was an active volunteer in many organizations and she and her late husband, Parker entertained and served the town and its residents for well over 60 years since moving here in the 1950s. They were honored as Grand Marshals in the Applefest Parade in 2005.

Claire was the first President of the Friends of the Northborough Free Library, teller and checker at Town Meetings for forty-five years and served as Registrar of Voters with Parker as Town Moderator.

She worked on the newly established Northborough Historical Commission in the 1970s and was a life member of the Garden Club. She and Parker organized the 1966 Bicentennial Ball that was a sell-out affair, receiving much publicity in the Worcester newspapers.

Claire and Parker were active members of the Northborough Historical Society. She gave historical bus tours to the 5th graders in town for several years. They often served as a team on the Board of Directors and Museum Trustees and always volunteered and served meals at the Society’s suppers and Fishermen’s Breakfast fundraisers. They also presented several entertaining programs – such as “From the Assabet to the Nile” and “The Magic Touch” which showcased Parker’s skills as a magician with Claire as his assistant.

Claire, with her engaging smile and meticulous dress style, will be sorely missed at the Historical Society.

NHS Facebook House Postings Anniversary

March 30, 2021 – Today we are celebrating 1 year of special postings on our Northborough Historical Society (NHS) Facebook page to highlight some of the historic areas in our town.  In March of 2020, social distancing protocols were put into place making it impossible for us to hold in-person Historical NHS Meetings or to have visitors to our wonderful NHS Museum. We decided to highlight various landmarks in our town that could be seen and enjoyed while keeping in line with social distancing for “a few weeks”.  We focused on historic buildings, historic homes, historic areas, historic monuments, historic markers, and other subjects of historical interest for our town.  

We started on April 1, 2020, by highlighting landmarks that are shown in our NHS website (northboroughhistoricalsociety.org) under “Northborough’s History: A Map Depiction”, created a few years ago by Dan Fishbein, a Boy Scout in Troop 101, Northborough.  In May 2020, we focused on monuments and markers around town.  The monuments honor those who have died in battles to defend our country, in keeping with the spirit of Memorial Day.  The markers are metal plates developed and put up by our Northborough Historical Commission which describe certain areas that are important to our town’s history.  Since then, we have mostly focused on buildings and homes that are on our list of Historic Assets, Northborough.  For April through July, we did a featured posting every day. That turned out to be too hard to sustain for a long period of time (required at least 40 hours of work per week to prepare postings), so we cut back to 2 postings per week on houses (Thursdays and Saturdays), with an additional posting each week by our NHS President, Ken Bennett, on various topics (farms, YouTube presentations of past NHS meetings, etc.). 

For the historic homes, we included a narrative on the historical significance of the home and of the families who lived in the home in the early days.  In some cases, we also added information of the architectural significance of the home.  We included any older photos that we hand on file, along with a current photo of the location.  In some cases, the history had enough significance to include it in our features, even if the building had been demolished.  In a few cases, we were able to get information from the current owner (or other previous owners) to share their personal experiences with the house. And we always were delighted to see Facebook Comments made by people who had fond memories of these homes.  So far, we have featured over 180 homes on our list of Historic Assets in Northborough, and we still have at least 70 homes on the list that we have not yet featured.  The attachments below show the addresses of the buildings and homes we have posted (or are ready to post) through May 13, 2021. 

Thanks to all who have “Liked” our postings, and especially to those who have posted supportive comments either on our NHS Facebook page, on the “I Grew Up In Northborough” FB page, or other “shares” on pages that we do not have access to.   

Cheers! 

Lois Vandekopple-Smith, Member Board of Directors: Laura Ziton, NHS Facebook Administrator: Ken Bennett, current NHS President. 

“To the Rescue!” A History of the Northborough Firefighters

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Paul Desautels, a retired firefighter and EMT, and Richard Sargent gave an awesome history lesson on Northborough’s firefighters to the Northborough Historical Society at the Program meeting on March 18th, 2016. Video done by Northborough Cable TV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNU08tRQpbI

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By Joan Hope Contributing Writer Advocate 8-23-02

History of Northborough Table Mats

These History of Northborough 11x17inch durable table mats are the creation of Bob Van Buren who paid for and donated them to the NHS as a fund raiser. At $5 apiece, I bought a bunch for gifts and for personal use. There aren’t any available now, but I think more could be produce if there is interest.

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Northborough Historical Society Report 2018-19

Frank Bisset put together this Northborough Historical Society Annual Report 2018-19. With the cover, Frank has highlighted some of the work that was done by Dave Benton who was president of NHS in 1958-60. I have been told that he took over 2000 pictures from 1960 to 1980.

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Rev. Joseph Allen Family Letters

A Family of Letters – Rev. Joseph Allen Family Letters from May 1820 – November 1847- presented by Northborough Historical Society on February 27,2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsHV8OZarB4

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THE LAST THANKSGIVING 1899

THE LAST THANKSGIVING 1899
Thanksgiving family photo of George and Lucy (Howe) Murray. George died before the next thanksgiving. My father is a 2 year old in this picture. The second picture around 1910 is my father Guerdon Bennett with the bicycle and his grandmother Lucy standing. In the wagon are 2 sisters, Ellen, dad’s mom, and Flora Murray who served in Europe as a nurse during WW 1 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The third picture was taken closer to the 1870s when Lucy and George moved there and the house has been in the family ever since.

Northboro map and work information

This Northboro map and work information are I think from around 1850. Most people were farmers. I grew up on a dairy farm in the 1950s when there still a lot of small farms and by the late 1960s, after 495 and 290 went thru, there was probably only one dairy farm left.

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First Northboro High School

The first Northboro High School opened in 1866 and was originally located in the former town hall building of Northboro which was located on land facing Whitney Street near the current Unitarian Universalist Church. The building burned down in 1870 and a new one was built nearby. My father Guerdon Bennett is in both of these class pictures.

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New Native American trail historic marker in Northboro

New Native American trail historic marker in Northboro
Submitted by Norman Corbin, Northborough Historical Commission
Northborough – Did you know there was an important Native American trail that crossed through Northborough? A new historic marker has been installed to commemorate its history and location. Well before any European colonization of North America, the native population had many trails that acted as routes to food sources and neighboring tribal nations. Some of the major trails can be considered as their form of a super highway. A significant trail passed through lands that are now part of Northborough. It was a loop trail that separated from what the Europeans called the Connecticut Path in Sudbury and reconnected with it in Grafton. The Connecticut Path was the major trail connecting the Massachusetts Bay with the Connecticut River; it travelled south of Northborough. After starting in Sudbury, the loop trail travelled into Marlborough. It roughly proceeded from the current center of Marlborough along the southern shore of Lake Williams then to the base of Ball Hill in Northborough. This section would not be very different from travelling along Route 20 west to Williams Street then Forrest Street in Marlborough to Bartlett Street in Northborough. Just as it entered Northborough, it would have continued southwest over Ball Hill onto the old Westborough State Hospital property. Ball Hill is where there is a new warehouse building, along with the FedEx and A. Duie Pyle, Inc., distribution centers. The trail continued southwest leaving Northborough between Little Chauncy and Chauncy ponds into Westborough and then toward Grafton. One key attribute of this trail is that it connected the native settlements in Marlborough to the one in Grafton. The Marlborough natives were part of the Pennacook Federation of tribes that inhabited the valleys of the Merrimac and Connecticut rivers in Vermont, New Hampshire, and northern Massachusetts. They were closely related with the village of Wamesit which was located where the Concord River emptied into the Merrimack in the current city of Lowell. The Marlborough location was called “Okommakamesit” and their planting field was very near current downtown Marlborough. In 1643 they petitioned and were granted land by the General Court in Boston well before the first European settlers were granted Marlborough land in 1656. Grafton was the royal seat of the Nipmuc Nation. Their territory included central Massachusetts and adjacent portions of Connecticut and Rhode Island along the rivers and streams connected to the Blackstone, Quaboag, Nashua and Quinebaug rivers. It is estimated that there were 5,000 to 6,000 Nipmucs when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in 1620. Today, the Nipmuc Tribe is a “state-acknowledged” tribe and very active in the community. Their reservation land in Grafton is called Hassanamesit and was granted in 1728. The current chief is Sachem Cheryll Toney Holley. Both settlements were converted to “Praying Towns” between 1650 and 1675 by Rev. John Eliot of Roxbury. One can easily imagine Reverend Elliot traversing this trail as he taught the natives Christian values. During King Philip’s War between the colonists and natives (1675 to 1678) this trail became an important route. The new marker is located on the Wachusett Aqueduct Trail just south of where it crosses Bartlett Street near the Marlborough line. The Northborough Historic District Commission would like to express their gratitude to TA Realty for purchasing the sign and MWRA for installing it on their right-of-way. For additional information:
Nipmuc Nation Website: http://www.nipmucnation.org
“The Great Trail of New England” by Harral Ayres, Meador Publishing, 1940

https://www.communityadvocate.com/2020/11/10/new-native-american-trail-historic-marker-in-northborough/

At Long Last, Women Get to Choose, Too

By Kathy Pierce (Northborough Historical Society Historian)

It was November 2, 1920, and 38-year-old Ida A. Johnson of Main Street was about to do something she had never done before. For the first time, Ida, along with thousands of other women across the country, would cast her vote for the president of the United States. In fact, Ida was the first woman in Northborough that day to check off her choice for that office.

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After 70 years of a hard-fought national campaign, women gained that suffrage right through passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in August 1919. The amendment proclaimed that  the “right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

Another local woman who exercised her new right that day was Rosa Crosby Warren. “It’s town meeting day. In the afternoon, I went down and voted for the first time. Olive (her daughter) went in the forenoon,” Rosa wrote in her Nov. 2 diary entry. 

There was likely a good bit of rejoicing here when the 19th amendment passed as local women had pushed for their right to vote in town elections for decades. Way back in 1881, 1882 and 1883, the warrants for the annual town meeting listed this article: To see whether the Town will, by its vote, or otherwise, ask the Legislature to extend to women, who are citizens, the right to hold Town offices and vote in Town affairs as male citizens. The 1881 warrant says the article was included “by request of Hon. W.T. Bowditch, Lucy Stone and others.”  Bowditch and Ms. Stone were staunch advocates of woman suffrage.

The late Dorothy Burnham Rose, who at 98 was the oldest town resident in 1985, recalled in a newspaper interview that year that she had attended rallies for suffrage as a young woman despite her father’s objections. He thought the suffragettes were a “bad crowd” and he did not favor giving women the vote.  Ms. Rose, however, said she and a friend who accompanied her to the rallies “were quite convinced it was right.”

What may come as a surprise to some is that women had been able to vote for and serve on local school committees for many years before 1920.  In 1879, the Massachusetts legislature agreed to allow women  to vote for and serve as School Committee members. At that time, about 5,000 women in the state registered  to vote. 

It appears, however, that women served on school boards well before the state legislation passed. Likely they were elected by or appointed by male town residents or officials. The 1876 Northborough town report notes that Sarah Allen was paid $53 for service to the School Committee.  Frances Chesborough is listed as a member of the School Committee in 1878. The 1880 town report expressed regrets at her resignation and acknowledged that “her long and valuable services as a member of this committee have done so much to advance the interests of our schools.” 

Following Ms. Chesborough came Harriet Allen, whose term expired in 1882; Elvira Johnson, who served from 1883 to 1889 and Lucy Davis, who served two terms.  Under the recent state law, women voters would have had a say in choosing those three members. By 1892, 161 women were serving on school boards in 112 Massachusetts communities, according to PrimaryResearch.org.

But that’s as far as women’s voting rights went until the 19th Amendment passed in 1919. Here in Northborough, 278 women registered to vote in 1920 alone, according to records preserved at the Town Hall and graciously retrieved for this article by Town Clerk Andy Dowd. They brought the total of local women eligible to vote in the national race to 363.

Overall 737 town residents voted that year. Warren G. Harding, the Republican candidate, won locally and nationally to become the new president.

Interestingly,  most of the women who registered before 1920 signed on in 1911. As noted,  they could only vote for School Committee members. Why such a flurry all of a sudden? A look through Historical Society archives found that a contentious School Committee race  that year drew out two opposing factions. An account of that race will make a spicy topic for a future History Corner article.

As for Ida Johnson and other women voters here, it didn’t take them long to jump into local political activities.  The September 1920 meeting minutes of the formerly all-male Northborough branch of the Republican  League noted that the “large audience in attendance included many ladies.”

On January 25, 1921,  Ida was appointed to the nominating committee for the organization’s next slate of officers.  Among those tapped for the positions were Jessie M. Potter for vice president, Almira A. Wadsworth for Membership Committee chairman and Mrs. Walter Brigham, Music Committee chairman.

Soon after, a Mrs. Knowlton of the Republican State Committee gave some wise guidance at the July 1922 meeting of the town Republican League.

“She addressed herself particularly to the women and urged them to ascertain for themselves the honesty, ability and experience of the candidates in order that they might vote intelligently and wisely.”

Sound advice, ladies.

Northborough’s Gale Store Restoration & Conversion to Housing

Congratulations to the team, partners and community behind Northborough’s Gale Store Restoration & Conversion to Housing for receiving a 2020 Robert H. Kuehn, Jr. Award! The Kuehn Award recognizes projects that meld collaborative partnerships with creative and cutting-edge ideas for the rehabilitation and active reuse of historic buildings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2lo8YHe1vo

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ABOUT US

For more than 100 years, we have been dedicated to the study and preservation of the history of our town of Northborough, Massachusetts.Welcome to the Northborough Historical Society

1. Our monthly programs feature a wide variety of excellent speakers on topics of historical interest to our town and our community. These events are open to the public and take place at 7:30 p.m. one Friday each month, September through June. Here are photos from our past meetings and events.
2. Our archive is home to an impressive collection of primary source material concerning the history of the people, the land and the structures of Northborough. Our Curator Ellen Racine can be reached at 508.393.2343 or at Info@NorthboroughHistoricalSociety.org. For historical research, contact Kathleen Pierce at Historian@NorthboroughHistoricalSociety.org
3. Our museum houses a variety of displays of historical artifacts and treasures of Northborough and is open to the public from 2-4 p.m. Sundays in May, June, September and October, and by special arrangement.
4. Our building, located at 52 Main Street, is a former Baptist Church and houses a fully-restored 1874 pipe organ.
5. Membership in the Society is open to all, and tax-deductible yearly dues help to defray the cost of our offerings. Single membership are $20; Student and Senior Citizen memberships are $15. Families can join for $45 and Lifetime Memberships are $250. Additional donations are also accepted. Members enjoy our monthly newsletter; free admission to our programs; inclusion in members-only events; and a 10% discount on merchandise at our museum shop. Go to our MEMBERSHIP PAGE for forms and mailing information.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President: Ken Bennett Vice President: Rick Ferenchick Secretary: Hilary Wilson Treasurer: Dale Williams Membership Secretary: Jean Langley Directors: Mike Duchesneau, Allyn Phelps Jr., Lois Smith, Michael Mills, Chair Trustees: Bill Webster Chair Property Committee: Chuck Liljestrand

Applefest Parade 2016 on Northboro’s 250th Anniversary 

Applefest Parade 2016 on Northborough’s 250th Anniversary  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zwAiV8IDtI

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1915 Northborough Highschool

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Flora Murray Army Nurse in Europe WW1

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1930’s Texco Gas Station and Northboro Hotel

1930’s Texco Gas Station at 35 W. Main St and 3 story Northboro Hotel that burned in 1926 are pictures from the former NHS Historian, Bob Elles’s article ‘A Northborough Common’ in the NHS website. http://northboroughhistoricalsociety.org/historian.html

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