Rutland County herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1848-1850, 1848-10-18
Growth of New England Town

nc eRe OF romance has not vet passed
away. This mailer.oliacl ninetcenlh cen
Iury abounds ia wonders as many aud great
as any paa age on which the lima inslop
loves TO dwell The resliiies Of the present
are as sirikipg as The fiction ofaucieni days.
In our youth We were wont 10 follow
with eegcr interest the hero Of The seven
league boots, aud 10 in our manhood he
70 appears, who puts the objcc, ofoas youth.
fol imagination entirely in the back ground;
giant, Telegraph by name, whose strides
are measured, not BY leagues, but by tho
earih's circumference. Everywhere around
us, 10 one OF smother form, VIC find the
dream ofpaa ages converted into substantial
fealiiics.
Our mind has been mneh interested Of
late 10 some facts which were given US in
illustration ofihe apid growth Of a four
ishiug town in New Eugland, New Fog.
land. lbs, land Of rocks and ice. whore soil
would seem very unproplt,ous Tor any mag
zeal productions Bul really, The rise Of
the town. TO which we aliude, seems like
the work OF magic. Two years ago few
farm houses stood on or near the spo, where
now stands the town Of Lawrence. The
Merr imack, whose waters, farther down in
IFS course, had become obedieni servants 10
men, cheerful co.workers with him in bull.
ding up the famous city Of Lowell, here
rolled on in primitive idleness and indepen-
dance. But the keen eye Of Industry res
ted upon those glsncing, merry waters, and
the days Of play were numbered. Hence
forward the river must work.
Some reluctance being manifested by his
majesty, Sir Merrimrck, at this change in
his life, liule gentle force was applied to
ensure bis compliance. lie foolishiy ,ho'l
1t seems, tina, because the waters had gone
on lcaping and frolicking since creations
dawn, he nigh, defy the will OF man -
But he soon learned his mistake. When at
first a few stones were thrown into the
stream, he laughed al these manifestations,
as he imagined them, OF mans impolcnt
rage but when after few days toll be saw
solid wall rising through his very heart
he grew serious, and when, finally, tina,
wall became dam, nine hundred and sixty
feet long, twenty-five feet high, thirty feet
thick at the base and twelve at the top, his
courage failed and he yielded calmly to his
fate.
But we are speaking Of matters of fac,
and we must talk in mater OF "a CT style
Dropping then all fguralive language, we
add few plain statements.
Where q few years ago few persons
lived, almost in solitude now stands the
town Of Lawrence, with eight thousand in
habiants. Where some lonely farm houses
were then seen, now you behold machine
shop four hundred feet long, eighty feet
wide, and four stories high. or the immense
faeiory-buildipgs Of The Atlantic or Bay
State, or othcr companies. with their CAPT
tails Of hundreds of,bousands or millions of
dollars, and giving employment 10 lhous-
ands OF persons.
Nor nre the buildings erected for toll and
profit the only ones which meet the eye Of
the visler. He sees public hall, or Town
house, built OF cost OF thirty thousand dol
lars, beautiful churches literally aided by
the various companies, and twelve public
school houses, some Of which cost thirteen
thousand dollars apiece.
These, certainly, are astonishing results
10 be effected in the brief space oflwo years
and il is interesting n know how they could
be effected M so short a lims. Why, says
. one, il is easy enough 10 see how Il was all
done. Large capitals. such ne belong 10
the founders ofthal town, mskc such results
easy. Would that We nigh, see such re-
suits accomplished by the capital Of our ci-
| ~ and State.
| Bot. admitting The almos. unlimiied pow
Or Of capital, whence dad this eapiial comet
Not from inheritance. for moa Of the men
y'riding Il were once poor mrn. II came
from industry, free labor, iu,elligen, labor.
respectable and respected lsbor n that