History of Fitchburg Part 21 Rufus Torrey 1st printing 1836


When Cowdin came into this town, he purchased the tavern
stand of Samuel Hunt, who thereupon removed to Worcester.
Cowdin continued to keep a public house here (J. L. Haynes')
for about ten years, when he removed to the Boutelle house,
so called, in the Old City which has lately been taken down.

He owned a great portion of the land included between the
two roads leading to Lunenburg and Baker's brook.  He also
owned a tract on the westerly side of the road leading from
his then dwelling house to Kimball's mills in the Old City.
The first meeting-house built in Fitchburg, was placed on
land given be him, and which was then called his wheat
field.  This meeting-house was nearly on the spot now
covered by the brick school-house.

I have already mentioned the condition of the village at
that period.  It was covered by a forest.  After leaving
Jesse French's house and Kimball's mills, there was not a
single dwelling house before arriving at Leach's (Litch's),
where P. Williams, Esqr., now lives.  The pitch pine trees
afforded an excellent shelter for deer, partridges, and wild
turkeys.  David Boutelle's "muster field" was covered with a
beautiful growth of white pine timber which was not cut down
till 1775, when Thomas Cowdin built a large addition to the
Boutelle house, and opened it as a public house.

A Judge Oliver, of Salem , owned a range of lots, commencing
on Cowdin's land, near the Fox house, so called, and thence
extending on the river to where Phillips's brook unites with
the Nashua.  This tract embraced the whole of the village
and Crockersville.  He also owned a tract a mile square on
Dean hill, so called, in the westerly part of the town.
Judge Oliver or his heirs sold both of these tracts to on
Elias Haskell, who came into this town, and built the house
now owned by Capt. Dean.

This Haskell, by selling lots and loaning his money, was
reputed to be very rich; but he was doomed to experience a
reverse of fortune.  He was compelled to receive his pay in
the pernicious paper currency of the times, which
depreciated so rapidly that it soon came to be but little
better than so much brown paper.  He afterwards purchased a
small sandy farm in the north-easterly part of Lancaster,
where he lived some years, and died in poverty.

Col. Wiolliam Brown and Burnet Brown the one belonging to
Salem, the other to the south, owned a large tract of land
in the region of where Levi Farwell now resides.  In the
westerly part of the town they owned another tract, a part
of which is now included in the Hilton and Sheldon farms.
Another tract was owned by them in the northerly part of
town.

In the south-westerly part, several hundred acres were given
to the committee appointed by the General Court to allot the
original proprietorships.  This committee, it will be
recollected, consisted of William Taylor, Samuel Thaxter,
Francis Fullam, John Shipley, and Benjamin Whittemore.  The
land owned by Col. Timothy Fithb, was in the southerly part
of the town.


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