History of Fitchburg Part 43 Rufus Torrey 1st printing 1836


Thus it appears that the west was now in a minority -- the
peace-makers having voted with the east, to prevent the
latter from carrying into execution their threat of joining
Lunenburg. The men of the west immediatedly resorted to
their old scheme of having a new town or parish among
themselves.  They called a town meeeting, "to see if the
town would set off the north-westerly part of said town, as
a town, beginning on Westminister line," etc.  "Or, if the
town should not see fit to comply with the above request, we
should earnestly request of the town that they would set us
off as a parish, upon honorable terms, as may be agreed upon
with being annexed with adjacent parties."  By reason of the
rare attendance of the "requesters," this meeting was
uncommonly peaceable, and the article was dismissed.  July
2nd, 1789, another town meeting was called, to act upon the
following article -- "To see if the town would set off the
westerly part of said town, as a parish, upon supposition
that the north part of Westminster, the east part of
Ashburnham, and a small part of Ashby will consent to be
annexed to this stown."  This was an old game and well
understood.  The request was answered with a prompt denial.

The east still holding the ascendancy, on the 2nd day of
November, 1789, the town voted to build a new meeting-house
on the land purchased of Thomas Boynotn, and chose a
committee with full power, for this purpose.  But on the
16th of the same month, the tables were turned.  A vote was
passed to reconsider all former votes -- so that after four
years of hard labor in endeavoring to erect a new
meeting-house, the town found itself precisely where it
began, with the exception of owning 22 acres of real estate.
This last decision was probably effected by the circumstance
that the people of the west, together with those of the
northerly part of Westminster, and a part of Ashburnham and
Ashby, had laid before the General Court a powerful
petition, for an act of incorporation into a town.

This petition set forth in glowing colors the delightful
situation of the contemplated town -- how nature had
lavished all her skill upon it -- how admirably adapted for
a township by itself was the nobel swell of land -- and that
nothing in nature or in art could exceed the grand and
imposing spectacle of a meeting-house towering from its
summit, while beneath the said swell was a region of low,
sunken land, which almost cut off the petitioners from
intercourse with the rest of mankind.  All this looked
exceedingly well on paper, and was presented to the General
Court in 1790.  An order of court was sent to this town, and
to the others interested, to show cause, if any they had,
why the prayer of said petiton should not be granted.

The town now saw the necessity of going to work in earnest.
After conferring with committees from Westminster,
Ashburnham and Ashby the people of Fitchburg drew up a
spirited remonstrance.  In this remonstrance they denied
every statement set forth in the petition -- alleging that
the latter was entirely the work of fancy, and a specimen or
outrageous poetical license, that the petitioners were
actuated solely by interested views, that their object was
to escape from the onerous burden of contribution their just
proportion towards the maintenance of some of the most
expensive bridges that were ever created.  They declared
that if the petioners should succeed in their object, the
remaining portion of the town would be completely
overwhelmed by that grievous nuisance, the North branch of
the Nashua river.

It will be perceived that both parties understood the art of
using extravagant language; and so equally balanced were
matters when they came before the General Court, that it was
finally decided to let them remain as they were -- and so no
new town was erected on that beautiful hill.

In Sepember, 1791, the town, having recovered breath after
this valorous contest, began to adopt measures for building
a new meeting house.  The old favorite motion -- to erect a
meeting house in the centre of the town, or "in the nearest
convenientest place thereto" -- was made in town meeting,
and carried -- yeas 41, nays 23.  A committee was chosen to
report to the town the plan of such a house as it might be
thought advisable to build.  The report of this committee
recommending three years to be allowed in which to build the
house, and that individuals might have an opportunity to pay
for their pews with materials and labor upon it, was
accepted.  A committee was chosen in October to clear a
place for its situation near the pound, and had full power
to proceed and finish it.  At another meeting in December,
the town, acting with is usual consistency, dismissed this
committee from any further service.  So they were again as
in the beginning.

In May, 1793, an attempt was made to repair the old meeting
house; but the town would not listen to such a proposition.

The inhabitants commenced operations anew in September,
1794, by voting "to erect a meeting house in the centre of
said town, or in the nearest convenientest place thereto, to
accommodate the inhabitants thereof for devine worship."
Three distintested individuals not belonging to the town --
viz. Josiah Stearns, Esqr. and David Kilburn of Lunenburg,
and Benjamin Kimball, Esqr. of Harvard, were chosen "to
centre the town," as the record says, and to ascertain that
hitherto undiscovered point, "the nearest convenientest
place" to said centre.  They found the center of the twon to
be not far from the summit of the hill, nearly seventy rods
to the northeast of the present town pound.  But taking all
things into consideration, they decided that the house
should stand a little to the rear of Messrs. Thurston &
Battis' present bellow shop.  The town rejected this report,
yeas 29, nays 36.  So the opinions of interested and
disinterested persons were treated precisely alike -- as
good for nothing.

(the story goes on --)

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