The Ideal Location For Your New Home

 

A Brief History of Leicester, MA

“Purchased in 1686 by a group of businessmen from Roxbury, Leicester was settled and incorporated in February of 1713. The town was first called Towtaid, the name given to this place by the Nipmuc group that had sold the land, and later Strawberry Hill since wild strawberries grew in great quantity. The Name Leicester was finally settled upon, after Leicester, England where the father of the first Selectman, Thomas Green, had originated from. 

The area was abundant with small rivers and streams feeding into both the Blackstone and Quinneboag River Valleys. The abundance of water allowed for the construction of numerous grist and saw mills by the time of the American Revolution. 

During the war for independence, Leicester played a significant role. Its standing Militia Company and its company of minutemen marched to Lexington and Concord to aid in the defeat of the British regulars. The term “minuteman” itself has its origins in Leicester. At a meeting of the Committee of Safety in 1774, Colonel William Henshaw of Leicester first suggested its use when he stated, “we must have companies of men ready to march upon a minute’s notice.” 

The Town of Leicester is a community which epitomizes the farm to factory movement which occurred in the early part of the industrial revolution. As mills were being built all over New England where water power was available, Leicester began to construct larger and better mills to replace the small pre-industrial mills that dotted the landscape.

Leicester had since the mid 1780’s began a focus on the manufacturing of hand cards, tools used in the making of cloth. When Samuel Slater was building his Pawtucket Mill, he could not get his carding machine to operate. He then began to work with Pliny Earle of Leicester, who was engaged in the production of hand cards and known locally as a mechanical tinkerer. Earle built Slater’s carding machine and Slater’s Mill began its production, signaling the beginning of America’s Industrial Revolution. 

By the time of the Civil War, Leicester was an active and vibrant place. There were carding and textile mills operating in villages of Leicester Center, Greenville, Cherry Valley, Rochdale, Mannville and Lakeside.

The 1880’s saw the beginning of the decline of industry in Leicester. At the height of the industrial revolution, one-third of all hand and machine cards made in North America were produced in Leicester. Other famous industrialists such as Elias Howe as well as Henry Graton and Joseph Knight also got their beginnings in Leicester’s carding industry. However, the new cheap labor available in the south forced many companies to sell their businesses and move south.

Yet, most of the mill villages remained active until well after the Second World War. Village pride ran high, each remaining staunchly independent, with their own fire companies, schools and sports teams.

The end of Leicester’s textile industry came in 1991 with the closing of Worcester Spinning & Finishing in Cherry Valley, and although the industry itself is gone, there are constant reminders in the form of mills and housing. These are the legacies of Leicester’s storied past.”
Information from: http://www.leicesterma.org/goverment/about.html

A Brief History of Princeton, MA

“Incorporated in 1759, Princeton was named after the Reverend Thomas Prince, Pastor of the Old South Church in Boston, and one of the first proprietors of the Town.

‘Hide and Seek Town’, as Princeton was called by Helen Hunt Jackson, the novelist, in 1876, has an uncommonly interesting past for a small town, and both old-timers and new residents are justifiably proud of its heritage.

In 1675, long before the town was settled, Mary Rowlandson of Lancaster was ransomed upon our "Redemption Rock" from the Indian chief King Philip after eleven harrowing weeks in captivity.

During the Revolution, Princeton supported its own company of Minute Men, many of whom were forbears of residents today. After the war, the Town was one of the hotbeds of dissension that caused Shays Rebellion in 1786.

Although its population increased five-fold in the 18th century (in 1795 Worcester had only twice as many inhabitants), Princeton's greatest period was in the 1800s.

Many famous names are associated with 19th century Princeton. Edward Savage, the painter, renowned for his portraits of Washington and his family was born here and is buried here. J.G. Whittier visited friends here and immortalized Mount Wachusett in a poem. Earlier, in 1842, Thoreau and a friend walked from Concord to Mt. Wachusett, where he was stirred to write of the mountain, ‘ who like me/standest alone without society.’

With the arrival of the automobile, vacation habits changed. After 1900, small industries such as hat-making, lumbering, and chair-making gradually disappeared. Agriculture, once prominent in the economy - Boston's Parker House once featured "Blueberries from Princeton" on its menu - declined. The hotels closed and many burned, and Princeton became again a quiet country village.

Economic and demographic growth after World War II brought changes to the Town. Princeton today is in the most part residential. Population has been rising, from 1028 in 1950 to 1355 in 1960, and 1681 in 1970. The current population is over 3300.”

Information from: http://town.princeton.ma.us/history.html

A Brief History of Worcester, MA

“Worcester, MA a city in central Massachusetts, seat of Worcester County, on a series of hills overlooking the Blackstone River. Lake Quinsigamond marks the eastern boundary of the city. Worcester is the state's second-largest city after Boston and an important manufacturing, insurance, and transportation center.

Biotechnological research is important to the city's economy. The Massachusetts Biotechnology Research Park accommodates research facilities for numerous companies. The University of Massachusetts Medical School, also home to research, is adjacent to the Park. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is constructing a new center for its Bioengineering Institute in the Gateway Park just north of Main Street. Scientists from the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology developed the birth control pill in the 1950s and Robert Goddard, father of modern rocketry, conducted his first experiments in Worcester in the 1920s. Worcester is an inland port of entry for foreign commerce and major interstate highways (the Massachusetts Turnpike, I-90 offers direct connection to the city and I-290/I-190 run through Worcester). Rail lines traverse the city, including MBTA commuter rail between Boston and Worcester at Worcester’s historic and renovated Union Station. General aviation is also provided through Worcester Regional Airport (ORH).

Worcester is noted for its fine educational and cultural facilities. Among the institutions of higher education are Worcester State College, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Assumption College, Clark University, the College of the Holy Cross, the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Becker College, Quinsigamond Community College and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, which has opened a new campus downtown. The oldest of these is Holy Cross, which opened in 1843.

The city is also home to the headquarters of the American Antiquarian Society (founded in 1812), with a research library specializing in Americana; the Worcester Art Museum, with a wide-ranging collection of Western and Asian art; and the Worcester Historical Museum, emphasizing the city's industrial achievements. Also of interest are the Higgins Armory, a museum of arms and armor, and the EcoTarium, with collections on the biological and physical sciences. The annual Worcester Music Festival dates from 1858.

The Nipmuc people were living in the region when the first European settlers arrived in the 1670s and created a community they called Quinsigamond Plantation. The community was renamed Worcester in 1684, possibly for Worcester, England, as an angry gesture at King Charles II of England, who had suffered defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. Hostility from the Nipmuc twice forced the abandonment of the settlement; the first permanent colonization came in 1713. Incorporated as a town in 1722, major industrial development began after the opening of the Blackstone Canal in 1828, linking Worcester with Providence, Rhode Island. Worcester was incorporated as a city in 1848.

Worcester played an important role in the political development of the United States. During the American Revolution (1775-1783), it was home to pamphleteer Isaiah Thomas, whose words helped unite opposition to the British. The city was active in Shays' Rebellion (1786-1787), a revolt against excessive land taxation that helped spur the creation of the Constitution of the United States. Residents were also early supporters of reform movements such as the abolition of slavery in the United States. The first national women's rights convention was held in Worcester in 1850.

Worcester was home to industrial innovation, including new methods of making wire, textiles, grinding wheels, and envelopes, and, as previously mentioned, rocketry pioneer Robert H. Goddard, a professor at Clark University, fired his first liquid fuel rocket in nearby Auburn in 1926.”
Information from: http://www.ci.worcester.ma.us/history.htm