The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-07-04
TCHHs OF NEW ENGLAND.
- Herald Cosn1nissso ers nepexs.
FlgonsUEG, (Wor ester Co.. Mass,
June 80 1853


FxcMws-O,Igin Of the Plaee-Joh~ Fach-His
Rsv~~s-Revo ,aiomary Times-IM AMOUNT Of
MONEY! FsYwished by the Iotcn for the Support Of
tie W'w-TM Slop Gros5th of the TosSn Until
ls4O-ks Rapid Increase D,.ri~g the Last Ttcetse
Yaars-Va,ue and Descriptions Of Property
TIE Boston AND Fachbsrg Raitroad-Mr. Crocker
HIS Success in the Construction and Manage
ssews of the Road The Decline Of the Corpora
isos.'s Profits Encouragement Of us Afaws-
Railroads ADORE Fachburg-Losses # MANY IVho
haze been, Concerned IA Ihem-7hs Spectators
SpecwLated om-Ag,iculturat Productions, Src.
The town Of Fitchburg is some fifty miles from
Boston, by the celebrated railroad OF the same name
of which so much has been said OF late years, and
the first success OF which has been the cause of the
construction Of many other roads that nave proved
to be, in the way Of engulfng fortunes, vertable
SerbOnian boys, though highly useful to that class
Of people known as the travelling public. This road
must be the way to dusty DEATH, spoken OF by the
late William Shakespeare poet and player and
poacber; for there is hardly mile of it that is not
CURSED with clouds of minute sand so that you can
ride through sort of Sahara, and that without the
fear Of falling into the hands of anybody but the di-
roctors. who however, are quite bad enough for al
ordinary man taste. No attempt has been made to
introduce into the road any of those useful inventions
which, some others, have been found so excellent
in abatng the dry and choking, and vision destroy
ing nuisance that forms great drawback to the
felicites Of railway travelling; the excuse for which,
presume, is to be found in the fact, that company
whose dividends have fallen in half dozen years,
from ten per cent to six per cent cannot indulge the
travellers by it in Injuries. To all who reach the
place by other routes, would recommend total
abstinence from travelling here by the Boston road
for though the train officers excellent, the dis
comforts from dust are but one remove from the alb
solutely intolerable.
The State of Massachusetts contains not few
names of counties, cities towns, streets, &C., taken
from the revolutionary dynasties and whg states
men Of England indicating what was the dominant
political sentiment in the old times. Among these
is Lunenbmg, q town in Worcester county, which
was incorporated in 1925 1t was named from
ducal title belonging to the then reignng sovereign
OF Great Britain, George H. the second of the Hano
verian line. With characteristic ingenuity the
was enormously spet in the first instance and there
has since been no correction of it 1t should have
been Llneburg, the second being clearsuperdu-
ity. But then, Yankees are not remarkable for their
respect for the photography Of proper names, in.
geniously continuing to make the good bad and the
bad worse The township of which Lunenburg
formed portion was set of in l7l9, and contained
that town, and what is now Fitchburg, and part of
the present town of Ashby, in Middesex county.
The place was then known by the not over elegant
name of Turkey Hills; but what was wanting in ele-
gance was made up in petiuence, for turkeys were
very abundant on the hills. But one man was then
resident in the place with his family. Settlers
gradually came in, and the year 1928 saw the town
receive . corporate existence In 1871, when Wor
cester county was created uLeaburg formed part
OF it. The settlement was a border one, and the
people had good deal of trouble with the Indians,
whose depraved taste for scalps and rum made them
tntoleratle nusances to Christians, who contented
themseWe with simple rum. Stories are told of the
lepredations and attacks of the Indians which are
very interesting but which cannot stop to relate.
The town Of Ftchburg was set off from Lunenberg
and incorporated early in l754. The whole number
of inhabitants was about $50, rather small figure
on which to commence town-keeping. 1t is curious
fact and illustrates the uncertainty Of history that it
Is not known from whom the place was named. Some
say that it was called after Colonel Timothy Fitch,
Boston merchant and who was large landholder in
the new town. but others declare that its godfather
was John Fitch noted character of those times, and
who, were he now living, would be justly entitled
to the appellation of regular brick If "respec
liability" were alone To be considered, should stand
IN for the claims Of Timothy but other matters lead
me to cast the weight of nay authority into the scale
of John. He was an Indian fighter and was seized
by the sayages and carried to Montreal with his
family He returned, became wealthy, then fell
back to poverty and at the patriarchal age of los
,-oors ,1;ad in that institution the alma
house at Ashby. There was enough of matability in
his life to have made him hero of romance. He
had served the pace in the irresponsible Office of
.hog reeve and was employed to burn the woods,
but does not appear that he employed to set
Nashua river on Gre. Mrs. Fitch, his wife, once un
dertook to make candles by the rather novel process
of placing lot of tallow and quantity of wickng
in kettle which she hung over fire, stirring up
"the ingredients, and wondering that the candles
didn't c3me."
The inhabitants of Fitchburg were very pious.
They had committee to ferret out every one who
did not ego to meeting. and fined each Delinquent.
A Mr. Baldwin having been thus punished, at that
part OF the town which is called Old City, he cursed
the place and named it Sodom and it is said that the
cure and the name long continued.
In the Revolution, Fitchburg WAS very forward on
he right side. Not tory ao wed to open his
mouth, and people who were cold in the cause of
liberty we're given to understand that they would be
EARNED up with tar and feathers which mode of ar
yupentation was found to he very eifcacous, and to
tdd 70 the power Of the wings ''s1ch persons, says
the historian, 'had to walk very circurnS specify, to
shelter themselves from ebnlltOns OF popular feel
ing. They were even compelled to mount the head
OF barrel and in that cons clous, though lumblng
condition. promise 90 the assembled majesty Of the
town q greater love fer the American cause, and a
more strict obedience TO the will OF the people"
There was even sort Of regular inqusitor appoint
ed whose duty il WAS to procure and lay before a
special court the evidence that may be bad OF the
inimical disposition towards tbs or any Of the United
States Of any inbabitapt or this town who shall be
charged by the rceholders aud other Inhabitants Of
said town. The defence of t68 stringent mode II
action is 10 be found 10 the nece sty OF the case for
the tories were numerous than il generally sup
posed 70 have been the fact ID the lukewarin who
IIUarz. rnadv IL with the hanrlnln YhaLlnr hia