A beautiful cabinet card recently came into the Local History Room, part of a larger collection. While the contrast in the original is a little faded (and has been adjusted in this scan), the image is otherwise perfect, and the subject — harvesting the cranberry crop — could not be more timely.
Cranberry harvest, possible around 1900
This close-up shows men, women and children at work, dressed more formally than we might expect for such manual labor.
Detail of cranberry harvest, possibly around 1900
But where is this bog? It could be almost anywhere: the blank back of the cabinet card yields no clues. A little sleuthing through the photograph collections however, turns up a second copy, much more worn but bearing a typed caption that tells us that this is indeed a Kingston location.
Keith & Adams Cranberry Bog, Kingston, Mass. possibly around 1900
This week’s study in incongruity comes from the Ruth Forbes Chandler papers. The finding aid for the collection gives the following biographical snippets:
Author of a number of books and short stories for children. Teacher and principal in the New Bedford school system. Moved to Kingston in the 1950s. Lived at at 228 Main Street. Communicant of the Kingston First Parish Church, member and secretary of the Jones River Village Club, and a Friend of the Library.
What it does not tell us is the identities of the these latter-day First Comers, where they were headed, and perhaps most interestingly, what kind of cars did Pilgrims drive?
Or, as Johnny Cash might sing, “I got livestock, I got livestock.”
Walter Faunce and his double yoke on Wapping Road, no date."Patrons of Husbandry" parade float, 1919.Michael McGrath and his team at the Bailey Playground, 1926.Horatio Adams' oxen, no date.Eugene Malone with Joseph Holmes' team on Summer Street, 1900.
Memorial Day parade leaving Evergreen Cemetery, 1946
This month’s exhibit highlights photographs, programs and other documents from Kingston’s Memorial Day celebrations.
Originally called Decoration Day, the holiday originated during the Civil War and spread across the country by the end of the 19th century. After the First World War, Memorial Day expanded to honor the memory of all whose lives were sacrificed in war.
For more information on the history of this solemn holiday, look here and here. To see how Kingston has celebrated the day, stop by the Library!
The original Adams Block consisted of avariety of buildings picked up here and there by Horatio Adams, moved onto Summer Street and joined together in a new kind of retail conglomeration. A novel idea in the 1840s, the business block was a bold experiment. The nature of the structure, however, made it a fire trap and when fire did come, considerable damage resulted.
The Adams Block, showing Farrington the Watchmaker and Breach's Apothecary, circa 1900
The main building shown here sat on the east side of Summer Street on the Stony Brook side of the railroad tracks. In the early part of the 20th century, the apothecary of H.F. Breach, Registered Pharmacist and J.P. Farrington, Watchmaker & “Jeweller” occupied the ground floor of what had previously been Samuel E. Cushman’s barn, previously located on the site of the railroad station (now Solstice restaurant). On the upper floor, Mr. Adams provided rooms for a number of small businesses including dentist Dr. George Baker and ladies tailor George Bradley. In later years, Miss Annie M. Marsh set up her dressmaking concern and Dr. Carl Stegmaier took over the dental office upstairs. Another building (formerly a blacksmith shop) housed the fish market with bins that drained directly into the Stony Brook which ran below the building. Later raised to two stories, this structure housed lawyer John T. Smith’s shoe store.
Harry West’s harness shop and a series of grocery and meat concerns later absorbed by Steele & Farrington, occupied additional buildings in the Adams Block. Upper rooms were rented to the Men’s Social Club and the Arrananuchs Club for boys. Beyond was the G.A.R. Hall, later Esther’s Restaurant and today a hair salon.
The Adams Block fire, December 28, 1911
On the night of December 28, 1911, fire wrecked most of the buildings except the north end. The damaged stores were rebuilt into one continuous single-story building, still standing today. Despite the devastation, Mr. Adam’s experiment certainly proved a success as the “Block” has been the center of Kingston business through god times and bad for more than a century and a half.
Sources: Lantern slide card file, Emily Fuller Drew; Major Bradford’s Town, Doris Johnson Melville (Town of Kingston, 1976).
In 1875 Kingston celebrated with a Grand Thanksgiving Ball on November 25.
Cover of dance card, Grand Thanksgiving Ball, November 25, 1875
This dance card tells us that Bowle’s Quadrille Band played 17 numbers, 14 of which were listed as quadrilles. This was not as unvaried as it might sound, as there were lots of types of quadrilles: the Grand Thanksgiving Ball offered three Plain, two Lancers and and two Polkas Redowa, along with a Caledonia, a Schottishe, a Portland Fancy, a Ladies’ Choice and a Waltz.
Inside of dance card, Grand Thanksgiving Ball, November 25, 1875
The quadrille is a dance for four couples arranged in a square, a nice description, but to see one in action, take a look at this video from “An American Ballroom Companion, Dance Instruction Manuals, ca. 1490-1920” on the American Memory website of the Library of Congress. The collection overview details the history of social dancing and the rituals of a ball like Kingston’s extravaganza in the section on “Nineteenth Century Social Dance.” Interested parties may investigate and report back in the comments exactly what the floor directors and aids did at the ball. (If you haven’t had the chance to explore it before, American Memory is exceptional and for the history fan, completely addictive!)
Kingston’s Grand Thanksgiving Ball took place at Fuller’s Hall, located on the corner of Main Street and Maple Avenue. Originally built as the first Baptist meeting house in 1806, by 1835 the building housed a foundry. Later the upper gallery was extended to create a full second storey where clothing was manufactured, and by the 1870s this second floor had become a meeting place for groups such as the Temperance Society and a public hall for events like the Grand Thanksgiving Ball.
Fuller’s Hall/First Baptist Meeting House, no date
In this photograph, the belfrey, removed in 1835, has been helpfully penciled back in. Around 1900, Fuller’s Hall burned and within a decade, the residence at 248 Main Street was built.
Sources: Library of Congress, American Memories; Emily Fuller Drew’s notecards on lantern slides.
Over the centuries, Kingston residents have served in the armed forces when necessary, and throughout that time, the town as a whole has honored that service and sacrifice. Here is a brief look at a few of the monuments around town that set in stone the town’s gratitude to its citizen soldiers.
The same spirit that led Kingston to gain independence from Plymouth in 1726 made the town ready to support opposition to British rule fifty years later. In the winter of 1775, Kingston selectmen joined other towns of Plymouth County in signing a remonstrance against the crown, and began to prepare for the crisis soon to come. Men were recruited for a company of “minute men” and when Lexington called, shipbuilders and farmers dropped their tools and marched first to Marshfield, then on to Concord. Kingston sent her full quota to the Continental Army — 61 men, half of the adult male population from a town whose residents numbered just over 900. The town also provided coats for these troops, and sent others to man the fort built in 1777 at the Gurnet alongside men from Duxbury and Plymouth.
Subsequent wars brought equal responses from the town’s citizens. In the War of 1812, 30 Kingston men enlisted, most serving coast guard duty at the Gurnet. With an economy heavily dependent on shipping and ship-building, Kingston’s prosperity was certainly threatened by this war with Britain, and citizen responded once more. In the War of the Rebellion, now more commonly called the Civil War, Kingston sent 189 soldiers to fight, 19 more than the required quota. Of a population of 1626, one in nine served; a total of 14 were casualties of the hostilities. The town treasury paid out more than $11,000 ($5,574 from private donations) in soldier’s relief.
Dedication of the Civil War monument, 11/3/1883
In 1883, a monument was raised on the Town Green, also known as the Training Ground, to honor those Kingstonians who fought for national unity. Mrs. Abigail Adams personally funded the monument, while the Martha Sever Post No. 154 of the Grand Army of the Republic paid for the dedication ceremonies, pictured below.
In 1926, the town honored the 132 doughboys and nurses who fought in World War I with a monument on Patuxet Hill, at the intersection of Green and Summer Streets; the formal dedication took place on Memorial Day, May 30, the following year. The machine guns were donated by the Kingston American Legion.
World War I Memorial, circa 1950
The monument to those who served in the Second World War was erected in 1953 on Main Street near the bypass over Route 3. Another memorial to veterans of foreign wars, specifically Korea and Vietnam, stands in front of the Faunce School on Green Street, while the newest Kingston monument, this one honoring soldiers missing in action, was dedicated at Gray’s Beach on Patriot’s Day, 2005. Life Scout Joe Gibbons spent a year on the project.
Dedication of the MIA monument, 4/29/2005. Kingston Mariner staff photo/Bert Lane.
Ninety years ago this week, at 11:00 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month, the War to End All Wars, the Great War, now called the First World War, ended. The following year, President Wilson proclaimed Armistice Day, and by 1921, Congress declared the federal holiday.
Kingston celebrated news of the armistice with “the ringing of bells and the blowing of whistles” according to the Old Colony Memorial on the following Friday, November 15, 1918. Businesses and schools closed and patriotic speeches and songs filled the air. The next day, an impromptu victory parade “traversed the principal streets of town…followed by a mass meeting on the Town Green.” Here are two views of the parade.
Riders in the Victory Parade, October 18, 1919Women marchers in the victory parade, October 18, 1919
A more formal recognition of the war’s end took place in 1919. In March, Town Meeting appropriated $500 to celebrate. An appointed “Welcome Home Committee,” visited all returning servicemen and nurses, presenting each with a bronze token of appreciation for service to town and country. In October, a special “Welcome Home Day” was held with a parade, band concert, decorations, speeches and a turkey supper at the Town House.
Ninety years later, Veterans Day honors all who served. Thank a veteran when you have the chance.
With the presidential election upon us, we look back some decades to another. Here is the 1864 National Republican Ticket.
National Republican Ticket, 1864
Running for re-election against General George B. McClellan, a War Democrat known as “Little Mac,” on a platform that included the defeat of the Confederacy and a constitutional amendment to end slavery, Lincoln received 55% of the popular vote and 212 electoral college votes of the possible 233. For background and details on the 1864 election, go here or here.
Below the national candidates, we see John Albion Andrews, called the “Great War-Governor,” also running for a second term. Unlike Lincoln, Andrews did not win. To learn more about this notable Massachusetts governor, go here.
The Kingston connection lies at the very bottom: Cephas Washburn, Jr. of Kingston running for Representative of District No. 5. Did he win? Well, in 1864, election results were slow to get out to the public, so stay tuned for the results, which we’ll post after the elections.
Update: There is no record that Cephas Washburn Jr. won his election.
The Massachusetts Legislature of 1902 passed an act to establish Old Home Week beginning on the last Sunday in July. Events could be financed by an appropriation made by Town Meeting, and in 1903, Kingston voted $100 towards the celebration. A committee was chosen and the week’s activities planned. Guests were invited and local papers — the Old Colony Memorial and the Free Press — advertised the events. In response, letters came in from 11 states and delegates from 200 different towns attended.
There was a children’s parade on Monday, with cake and ice cream following, then a May Pole dance for the more than 400 children in attendance (Kingston’s population totalled around 1900). On Tuesday, several Odd Fellows Lodges enjoyed a ball game with a banquet following. Wednesday was set aside for general exercises at the Town House, which was decorated with portraits of notable from earlier generations. Dinner was served to about 500 people and speeches followed. Thursday featured a clambake at Rocky Nook with games and competitions for entertainment. The celebration closed on Friday with an Old Home Week Dance featuring George H. Clarke’s band. The week’s festivities cost $147.84, and the efforts of many made it a smashing success.
Source: Town of Kingston Annual Report, 1902; Vertical Files Collection
The Massachusetts Legislature of 1902 passed an act to establish Old Home Week beginning on the last Sunday in July. Events could be financed by an appropriation made by Town Meeting, and in 1903, Kingston voted $100 towards the celebration. A committee was chosen and the week’s activities planned. Guests were invited and local papers — the Old Colony Memorial and the Free Press — advertised the events. In response, letters came in from 11 states and delegates from 200 different towns attended.