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........Exploration by the
Pilgrims – Proprietors of the Pamet Lands – Incorporation of Truro – Boundaries – Natural Features – King’s Highway
– Pounds – Industries – The Wreck of the Somerset – The Revolution – Gale of 1841 – Various Town Affairs – Civil
History – Churches – Burying Grounds – Schools – Villages – Biographical Sketches
........The territory comprised
in this town was the home of the Pamets—a tribe of the Nauset nation. Its importance is advanced when the reader
realizes that the Mayflower made her first anchorage within sight of its wooded hills, and that upon its diversified
surface Miles Standish and his followers made their first explorations. November 15, 1620, after signing the compact
in the cabin of the vessel, the captain, with fifteen men, went on shore, camping that night near Stout’s creek,
or perhaps nearer the Wading place where the eastern causeway now stands. The next morning they went to East Harbor,
marching around the Head of the meadow, and as their journal says “through boughs and bushes and under hills and
valleys which tore out very armor in pieces.” In this place they saw deer and found springs of fresh water, from
which they refreshed themselves. The spring now near the marsh, just north of the head of the meadow, is supposed
to be the place where these Pilgrims slaked their thirst. From East harbor they went to the valley now called North
Truro, and at the south of this were the corn lands, embracing fifty acres, on the table land just west of the
old burying ground. From here the Pilgrims went to the shore, thence to the mouth of Pamet river, on the north
side, and then retraced their steps, halting at the pond in North Truro for the night.
........On the morning of the
17th they went easterly to near where the present life saving station is, and here is where William Bradford, one
of the company was so suddenly caught up in the deer trap set by the Indians. A few days after their return to
the Mayflower, the shallop containing in all thirty-four men, started for the mouth of Pamet river, up which the
shallop went following the men who were on the shore, and spending the night in an improvised camp at or near where
Rev. Noble subsequently lived. The next day the expedition, daunted by the hills and snow, returned to the mouth
of the river where, on the north side, eighteen of the men encamped and the remainder returned to the vessel. The
next day Longnook was traversed before the return of the Mayflower, and from the many favorable impressions received
a council was called as to settling there. Reasons for and against the settling of the colony were given, but a
decision to look further led the Pilgrims to Plymouth. Thus near did Tom’s hill and Truro approach toward being
the hallowed ground of New England. To one act of these explorers the Truro people can point with pride, because
of the plentiful supply of grain, for upon these trips the Pilgrims took from pits or graves in the ground not
only nice corn for their present needs, but their first seed corn; and this was done by them, intending to recompense
the poor Indians with trinkets when they could make a better acquaintance. The territory thus trodden by the Pilgrim
band was not settled as early as that nearer to Plymouth, and was really unoccupied until after the incorporation
of Eastham, and then formed the seventh town of the county. The purchase and settlement of Eastham first called
the attention of the pioneers to the body of land beyond the north bounds of what was known to the Pilgrims as
Nauset, and at the time the northern bounds of the latter were being fixed by the settlers and Indians, the territory
of Pamet was formally declared b y the whites as belonging to them. The first settlers of Nauset were subsequently
the original purchasers of Truro. As early as 1689 these proprietors purchased as much of the territory of Truro
as the Indians would sell, and from the first these proprietors of Eastham resolved to control the sale of its
lands, as was declared in a meeting of these men, at which Thomas Paine was made an agent to purchase of the Indians
from time to time all the lands obtainable. In 1696, “ordered b y the proprietors of Pamet lands, that henceforth
there be no cordwood or timber cut upon any of the common or undivided land belonging to Pamet, to be carried off
from said land “under a penalty of 15s. for every cord or proportionable for other timber—and payable to any proprietor
who may sue therefor.” The names of the proprietors who subscribed to this were: Jonathan Paine, Stephen Snow,
Thomas Paine, Caleb Hopkins, Ephraim Doane, John Savage and Israel Cole. These meetings were held at Eastham, where
as yet these original proprietors resided.
........A record of several
divisions of upland and meadow had been made several years previously and very soon after its purchase from the
natives, as we find in the same year a division of ten lots; one to Ensign Jonathan Bangs, on the southerly side
of Eastern harbor, another to William Twining, on the south of Bangs’ lot; the third to Constant Freeman, and to
be next south of Twining’s; Israel Cole was to have the fourth, and next south of Freeman’s; south of the last
was that of Thomas Paine; south of this was the lot of Thomas Clark; Lieutenant Joseph Rogers had the seventh,
next south of Clark’s; John Snow, the next lot south; Thomas Paine, the next one south, and Caleb Hopkins had the
tenth, and next south of the last. These lots extended from the bay easterly, and they are the first recorded of
a division of any portion of the lands of Truro. Not until July 24, 1697, did these proprietors—still residents
of Eastham—hold a meeting to arrange for a removal to this territory, and a settlement of the bounds of their purchases,
at which meeting the bounds were set from Bound brook to Eastern harbor, and described as well as they could be
in that day. A compact was also made with the Indians that the proprietors should have one-eights of all the drift
whales of both shores.
........There is no doubt but
that purchases were made of the Indians prior to 1689, but it was by individuals. The proprietors of Pamet were
tendered a certain sum in a purchase made by Thomas Smith in 1644, which controversy was satisfactorily arranged
the next day by a bid from Mr. Smith of thirty pounds for the right to the land.
........June 4, 1700, the proprietors
made their first declaration to remove to Pamet, the following being the record: “At a meeting of the proprietors
held this day it was agreed that what land at Pamet might be conveniently divided should be divided, and that they
would go thither (God willing) on the last Monday of October next ensuing, and divide accordingly.” That there
were people on the territory previous to this resolution of removal by the proprietors, is shown by a further agreement
at the same meeting which was to give “five-and-twenty shillings” to any of the people of Pamet who would “make
a sufficient fence below Eastern harbor pond to stop the sand and keep the tide out of said pond.” The Eastham
purchasers were the first settlers who gave to the territory its first municipal government, those previously there
being fishermen principally, and all under the jurisdiction of Eastham.
........No record of the removal
of the proprietors was made, or if so, it was lost; but by the records of meetings in October 1700, it seems that
they were in Pamet before the time fixed in their June meeting; and among the first acts of these sterling men
lands for the support of the ministry were laid off at Tashmuit, and near Eastern harbor; a committee was also
appointed to sell lands in behalf of the proprietors. The lands for the support of a learned minister were increased
for three successive years, selections being subsequently made at what is now North Truro, also at Longnook.
........At the proprietors’
meeting of June 16, 1703, Jedediah Lombard, jr., John Snow and Thomas Paine were appointed to run bounds between
the great lots and fix the bounds; also to record the same in the Pamet books of record. The same committee laid
out the first road of the town, which appears on the records of 1703, the road running from the “head of the pond
to the head of Pamet.” This was called a “Drift Highway,” and was laid out in July of that year. The same year
a division of lands near Hog’s Back was made, which reveals the fact that this knoll had been previously named
and was a well-known landmark. Jedediah Lombard, sr., had his lot laid out between Thomas Mulford’s two lots, one
of which was near Hog’s Back and the other toward the pond south of Pamet great river.
........The shells of the shellfish
being needed for the manufacture of lime, in 1705 these proprietors enacted that after June first next no shellfish
should be dug by any person not a resident of Pamet. In 1711 the proprietors voted that no wood be cut within the
limits of the common lands for the burning of lime, except by the rightful owners.
........October 29, 1705, the
territory of Pamet was allowed by the general court the privilege of choosing its own officers, and was called
Dangerfield—a name given by early navigators, but one which was not recognized by the residents in any of the records.
On the 16th of July 1709, Pamet, as it had been previously known, was incorporated as Truro, with full powers of
a town of the county, but a stringent proviso was added—that they support and maintain suitably a “learned orthodox
minister.”
........The records of the
proprietors, distinctive from the records of Eastham, commenced in 1700, and in the meetings as recorded, and in
the admission of freemen from time to time we find the following named persons were residents when the town was
incorporated: Jedediah Lombard, senior and junior, Thomas Lombard, Dr. William Dyer, Benjamin Smalley, Thomas Newcomb,
Isaac Snow, Jonathan Collins, Nathaniel Harding, Joseph Young, David Peter, John Snow, Constant Freeman, Thomas
Paine, senior and junior, Nathaniel Atkins, Francis Small, Lieutenant Jonathan Bangs, John Rogers, John Steele,
Thomas Mulford, Hezekiah Doane, Samuel Treat, jr., Hezekiah Purington, Humphrey Scammon, Beriah Smith, Richard
Stevens, John Myrick, Moses Paine, Jonathan Vickery, Micah Atwood, Josiah Cook, Ebenezer Hurd, Samuel Small, Samuel
Young, Jonathan Paine, Edward Crowell, Ebenezer Smith, Jonathan Dyer, John Savage, Israel Cole, and Thomas Smith.
........In 1711 we find additional
settlers, as may be seen by the names of the residents who were the only cattle owners in Truro that year: Ebenezer
Doane, William Dyer, sr., Jonathan Collins, Jeremy Bickford, Josias Cook, Jedediah Lumbert (perhaps Lombard), Jonathan
Vickery, Constant Freeman, Samuel Treat, John Snow, Thomas Lombard, Hezekiah Purington, Thomas Rogers, Benjamin
Smalley, Richard Webber, Thomas Smith, Daniel Smalley, Christopher Stewart, George Stewart, and William Clark.
........May 6, 1712, the selectmen
of Eastham and Truro met to review the bounds between the towns and perfect the boundary line which had been but
partially made; and in 1714 the following lie was set between the province lands and Truro: “Beginning at the easterly
end of a cliff near the cape harbor, called Cormorant hill at a jaw bone of a whale set in the ground, thence northwesterly
to a high hill on the back side, and thence to the ocean.” The province lands prior to this had been under the
ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Truro, and these lands west of the line were, in 1717, constituted as the precinct
of Cape Cod.
........The following year
the people of Truro, from frequent difficulties arising out of the uncertain municipal powers of the new precinct
of the province lands, asked the general court by Constant Freeman, their representative, to declare the new precinct
either a part or not a part of Truro, that the town could know how to proceed in regard to some persons; but not
until 1727, when Provincetown was incorporated as a town, was the difficulty entirely overcome. Subsequently the
settlers of the eastern part of Provincetown found themselves extending the long street of that town into Truro,
and after frequent petitions to the general court, the present boundary between the towns was established, giving
Provincetown a greater extent of territory.
........The town of Truro is
now bounded east by the Atlantic, south by Wellfleet, west by the bay, and north by Provincetown and the ocean.
Its distance from Boston in a direct line is only fifty-seven miles, but by railroad it is 112. The form of the
township from the curving of its shores, is nearly a spherical triangle, being about eleven miles between the base
and apex, with a base three miles wide. The surface is very uneven, being what Professor Hitchcock calls a moraine,
running nearly north and south; but its elevated ridge has been washed into conical hills two or three hundred
feet high, giving a singular landscape. The township is free from rocks, and the soil is generally sandy, the ancient
Tashmuit, the middle eastern portion, being the richest part.
........Like other towns of
the Cape, the land has been heavily wooded and fertile. The eastern shore is fringed with salt marshes, and these
extend far up on the sides of the rivers and coves that exist on that coast of the town. The east shore is high
above the ocean, and all the waters run westerly to the bay. Small ponds having no visible outlets abound. Long
pond, of twenty-eight acres, Newcomb’s, of thirty-two; Higgins, of seventeen; and one of fourteen, north of the
last, are the chief ones. Mill pond, of seventeen acres, has the Pamet river for its outlet. In the extreme northwest
corner of the town is East harbor, a small, shoal tide-harbor, but by drifting sands its usefulness has ceased,
and the extensive salt marshes around it have been greatly diminished from the same cause. Over the dyke which
the government built along the beach to the westward of the harbor, was a conspicuous settlement in the early history
of the town, but now contains only three residences. East Harbor village, also a prominent community a century
ago, was adjacent at the south, but not a residence remains. From t his little village of twenty-three houses twenty-eight
brave men were killed or died in the service of the colonies during the revolutionary war. South of the last ancient
village is the former Pond village, now called North Truro. One mile south of this is Great Hollow—another small
community, and still southward is the Pamet river and the community known as Truro village. In the southwest part
is another little village known as South Truro, where may be found the heaviest wood land in the town. The healthfulness
of the town compares favorably with any of the Cape, and with the accommodations and advantages presented at the
Highlands, the influx of visitors increases.
........In 1715 the present
King’s highway was laid out through Truro—to connect from Eastham to and through the province lands. It was really
the continuation of the old county road along the Cape. It ran along the back side of the town, around the heads
of the rivers, and, although only used in portions at the present day, its tortuous course is well known through
the town.
........In 1718 the town ordered
the erection of a pound in a central place, and Joseph Young was appointed its keeper. This institution, unlike
the stocks and whipping post erected about the same time, has been kept up to the present, there being at this
writing three separate pounds, one at each village.
........The early industries
of the settlers were fishing and agriculture. It is claimed by some writers that Truro was the first and most prominent
town in the whaling business, but that after a few years Falmouth, Wellfleet, and Provincetown excelled. The whalemen
of Truro were distinguished for their success and enterprise, and as late as the beginning of the present century
the town had nine large vessels in the business, one of which was the Lydia and Sophia, built in Truro, on the
Pamet river, and her timbers were cut from the land of the town. The town records of 1720 speak of Joshua Atwood’s
lance “that he hath made on purpose to kill fin-backs,” describing the peculiarities and mark. Captains David Smith
and Gamaliel Collins are recorded as the first whalemen from here who pursued the whale near the Falkland islands.
The Truro captains were also largely employed in the merchant service. Fishing—the present status of which is given
in the village histories, has since been largely engaged in. The bay coast has been the scene of the slaughter
of the blackfish in considerable schools, the largest being that of 1874, when 1405 were driven ashore. They lay
along the shore for a mile between Great hollow and the Pond landing, and the school yielded twenty-seven thousand
gallons of oil.
........At a meeting of the
town of Truro, December 11, 1711, it was agreed that if Thomas Paine would set up a grist mill within said town,
he could take three quarts in toll for Indian corn and two for “English corn” (probably the other grains), and
the town would give him sixty pounds toward the construction of the mill. The town subsequently had three other
windmills built—one on the hill where the present town hall stands, owned by Freeman Atkins, Allen Hinckley, and
Samuel Rider, one at South Truro near the Wellfleet line, and another at the Highlands. The latter still exists
as a connecting link between the past and present, being built by Isaac Small and owned later by his sons, James
and Joshua. It is a dismantled relic used as a lookout. Its creation does not date back to that of the ocean, but
their first companionship dates back of the memory of man—the huge sails of the mill serving for a welcome sight
to the watching mariners of past generations, and its hulk of a tower now serving the present for an elevated sight
of ocean and land. Some of the old residents have a dim tradition of yet another wind mill at East harbor, which
was erected by Gamaliel Smith, and was demolished before the dawn of the present century. Later than these windmills—in
the later part of last century—a water mill, for grinding, was erected on the south side of Pamet river, and in
1844 a better one was erected upon the site, which in turn was abandoned before 1860 and taken down. The dam is
now, in part, a profitable cranberry bog.
........The town in 1754 gave
permission to Jonathan Paine to build the first wharf of the town, on the shore of Indian neck, at the foot of
the Thomas Paine lot. The wharves erected since at the mouth of Pamet river, have been ample for the uses of the
people, and a century ago the harborage here was good. In 1837 a stock company built the North wharf, which was
in active use for many years, and previous to this, in 1830, the Union wharf on the south side of the river had
been built. Of the latter some of the piers yet remain. Lower wharf was subsequently built into the harbor at the
mouth of the river, and about 1837, where the Old Colony railroad bridge now crosses Pamet harbor, these wharves
were at the height of their usefulness, crowded with fishing vessels, fifty of which have been seen moored to the
wharves during a single season.
........The stores, sheds and
flakes gave this portion of the town a village-like appearance. All told, the town had sixty-three vessels in the
cod and mackerel fishing, which yielded annually 20,000 quintals of cod and over 15,000 barrels of mackerel, giving
employment to over five hundred men. Here at the mouth of the river fifteen brigs and schooners were built between
the years 1837 and 1851. Henry Rogers was the master builder, assisted by Nathaniel Hopkins, the former a resident
of Boston and the latter of Provincetown. The names of the fourteen others were: brigs Eschol, John A. Paine, Odeon,
E. Paine, 2d, N.I. Night, David Lombard, Laurena, B.A. Baker, L.B. Snow, Tremont, E.M. Shaw, Mary Ellen, Modena
and Allegany. The Modena, built in 1850, was framed from oaks cut within the town, and more or less of the timber
used in the others was cut there. Standing now on the railroad bridge over the very site of the busy wharves, and
where the fifteen fishing and coasting vessels were built, and seeing the present sandy, desolate shores and choked
harbor, it requires a stretch of imagination to realize that so great a change could occur in a single half century.
........Soon after the war
of 1812 the packet lines to Boston were thought to be a wonderful advance of improvement in communication; but
in 1858 the Cape Cod Telegraph Company was a greater step, and soon after the Marine Telegraph Company was organized,
which flashed to the Boston merchant the news of the safe return of vessels as soon as they were visible from the
Highland.
........In 1839 the Truro Breakwater
Company was incorporated with an idea to benefit the harbor; but failing to secure aid from Congress, the undertaking
was abandoned. The harbor at Pond village received the attention of the government and the Truro people very early,
and as late as 1806 another attempt was made to improve it; but the drifting sands rendered every expenditure useless.
The dyke across East harbor is now used b y the railroad, and the high embankments of the road erected in 1873
across the heads of the remaining harbors of the bay shore seriously interfere with the usefulness of the inside
anchorage. The government provided a light for Pamet harbor in 1849, which was discontinued in 1855; and during
the later year rebuilt the Highland lights. The life saving station near these lights was erected in 1872. In the
south part of the town is another station.
........Salt was manufactured
along the bay side of Truro, and was an extensive industry in its day. Among the first to manufacture was Dr. Jason
Ayres, who erected works south of the pond at north Truro, which were subsequently owned by Samuel Coan. Captain
Elisha Paine had works next to Coan on the south, and John Smith erected a plant next north, also purchasing that
of John Grozier adjoining. Next north were the works of Edward Armstrong., and still further north Colonel Joshua
Small owned a plant which is said to have been the first in town. On the bay shore south of Elisha Paine’s were
the works of Sylvanus Nye, and adjoining were those of Jonah Stevens. On the north side of Little Harbor meadows
were located the works of Michael and Thomas Hopkins, the latter works passing into the possession of Doane Rich,
who owned a plant on the south side of the meadows, and both of which were subsequently sold to Solomon Paine.
South of Paine’s were Reuben and Jesse Snow, and on the north side of the Pamet river, near the present railroad
depot, were the extensive works of Michael Snow. Along up the north side of Pamet river were Lewis Lombard, Ephraim
D. Rich, John Kenney, David Lombard, Shubael Snow, David Smith, Elisha Paine, Levi Stevens, Hinks Gross, Jonathan
Whorf, Joseph Collins, Freeman Atkins and Samuel Ryder. On the south side of the river, commencing near the depot,
were Allen Hinckley, Michael Collins, Benjamin Hinckley and Leonard P. Baker; and further up the river, John Smith,
Ephraim Baker and Solomon Davis. On the bay between Pamet river and South Truro Elisha Newcomb had works, also
Benjamin Hinckley; Perez Bangs’ works were about half way between the river and South Truro, and Nehemiah Rich
had a very extensive plant at the latter place. In 1837 Truro had thirty-nine of these works, and the decline of
the business commenced soon after.
........Along the King’s highway
were the usual taverns of the last century, also the old-fashioned stores of that time, where the few necessaries,
of a solid and liquid nature, were kept.
........The early fishing was
profitable, and the manner in which it was conducted engaged more men and vessels than now. The vessels now engaged
are few and small. Weir or trap fishing has become more profitable and along the bay shore are twelve target weirs.
The most northern weir is at Beach point, and S. B. Rich is the agent. There are six very extensive ones along
the shore to the south, the business of which, as well as positions, centers at North Truro. Of these No. 1—off
from the present depot—was built in 1881, and is owned by Atkins Hughes, John G. Thompson and T. L. Mayo &
Co. In 1882 No. 2 was erected by the same parties one mile north of the depot. Ten shareholders in 1883 erected
No. 3, one mile south of No. 1; and the same year No. 4 was erected one mile north of No. 2. In 1885 No. 5 was
erected between the first and third, and is owned by over a score of stockholders; and No. 6 was sandwiched between
the others, forming a combination of companies under the superintendence of Atkins Hughes, who, with J. G. Thompson,
is a shareholder in each. These weirs, the cost of each of which was about six thousand dollars, are each 2500
feet long, extending into deep water. The pound increased the expense to $8,000. Some wonderful catches are reported
from these weirs, and no doubt the same occasional good luck attends others on the Cape. From No. 5 of these traps,
one morning in the season of 1887, forty tons of Pollock were taken, and on another lucky occasion the same weir
furnished in one day 330 barrels of mackerel. South along the bay are four more weirs, of which Richard A. Rich,
S. B Atwood, N. K. Persons and William F. Baker are respectively the captains. At South Truro is still another,
of which D. B. Rich is agent. These weirs give employment to seven persons each, and the salting and packing houses,
and boats, with the necessary appendages for the business, give a more active appearance to the shore than any
other part of the town; and it is well to say that at the present time this fishing is the town’s most important
industry.
........The ocean side of Truro
is probably the most dangerous shore to mariners that the Cape presents, and into the history of Truro many shipwrecks
of home and foreign vessels could be interwoven. That of the British man-of-war, Somerset, in 1778, will not be
forgotten b y the residents, for the hulk occasionally is unearthed by the action of the waves upon the sands;
and canes and other relics are made from the oaken timbers. The 480 men captured from this unfortunate vessel were
marched through Truro on their way to Boston. She previously lay at anchor half way between the Pond landing and
Provincetown for nearly two years, and the residents had been distressed by the exactions of the men, so that when
the vessel was finally cast ashore on the other side of the town, the opportunity for remuneration for past injuries
was welcomed by the Truro people. General Otis said it was the occasion of riotous work at the wreck. The state
took proper measures and the sheriff sold the effects, reserving the cannon.
........Truro was greatly bereaved
by the gale of October, 1841. The records say: “On the night of that memorable day, October 3, fifty-seven of our
brave seamen were swept from the shores of time, their remains sinking into one common watery grave.” These were
young and middle-aged fishermen, mostly engaged at the time of the storm on the George’s bank. They undertook to
sail to the Highland, but were carried to the southeast upon the Nantucket shoals.
........A breakwater and wharf
was petitioned for in 1848, the first to be 800 feet long and 550 feet from high water mark, and the wharf 400
feet long. This would have afforded shelter for boats and small vessels, but a portion only of the work was constructed,
when it was found that the wood work was being almost immediately destroyed by worms, and the work was abandoned.
Pamet harbor in 1853 received a supposed benefit by the driving of spiles, that the current might deepen the channel;
but after an expenditure of two thousand dollars, this project was also abandoned.
........After years of discussion,
in 1840 cart bridges were built across Great and Little Pamet rivers, and have since been kept up and greatly improved.
These and other advantages of access led to the arrangement for a town h all at Truro village, the church having
been previously used for public gatherings. Sometime prior to 1850 a society of Odd Fellows erected a hall by the
town for town purposes. The records yet recognize in the clerk’s minutes the old name of Union Hall. It stands
on the north bank of the Pamet river, near the churches—a good landmark for seamen and landsmen.
........The poor house now
in use, erected between 1840 and 1845, is also on the north side of Pamet river. The house previously used by the
town was a dwelling, at South Truro, which was sold to John B. Cooper after a larger one was completed, and he
now resides in it. These town buildings and the office of the clerk and treasurer are situated at Truro village,
where the town business has centered. When the fishing business was at its height, the enterprising citizens of
Truro, in the winter of 1840-41, instituted the Truro Marine Insurance Company. The losses in the gale of October,
1841, seriously crippled the association, and after another year of unprofitable business, the affairs were wound
up. The Truro Benevolent Society, established in 1835, has had better fortune and still exists, with a fund of
several hundred dollars in its treasury. It is similar to an insurance in principle, and by the payment of a small
sum annually, the member has a certain amount in sickness, or at death. This society, well administered, has done
much good.
........The first colonial
census, in 1765, gave 924 souls in Truro, and that of 1776 increased the number to 1,227. The United States census
of 1790 gave 1,193 and in 1800 the population had decreased forty-one. In 1810 the salt and fishing interests had
increased the number to 1,200, and then the growth of the population was more rapid. In 1830 it was 1, 547, in
1840 it was 1,920, reaching its highest number, 2,051, in the census of 1850. From this date the decline was as
rapid as the increase; being 1,583 in 1860, only 1,269 in 1870, and in the state census of 1885—the last general
enumeration of the inhabitants—the number was 972.
........The descendants of
the early proprietors still occupy similar positions in the affairs of the town, and in part, the same estates
of those sterling ancestors. In 1800 there were twenty-six families of the name of Rich, fifteen of Lombard, fifteen
of Snow, ten of Paine, and ten of Dyer. There are many old houses of these settlers still extant, although newly
covered and perhaps modernized beyond recognition, the oldest being one on the northerly side of Longnook, built
in 1710 by Lieutenant Jonathan Paine, and now the John Atkins place. Here Lieutenant Paine resided when he sold,
in 1726, his negro boy, Hector, to Benjamin Collins, which was the last bill of sale of slaves made in Truro. The
present valuation of the town is about three hundred thousand dollars, of which two-thirds is real estate. The
yearly expenses of the town are over five thousand dollars. It contains 262 dwelling houses, and an appearance
of thrift, without ostentation, prevails. The financial condition of the town for the year ending December 31,
1889, was very favorable and pleasing. The close of the year 1886 showed a town debt of $1,724.74, with a tax of
twenty dollars on the one thousand dollars. In 1887 the debt was reduced to $288.65, on the same tax rate. On the
last day of December, 1888, the debt had been cancelled and the town had money in the treasury, on a tax rate of
$16.20 on one thousand dollars. The report of December 1889, showed a balance of $808.06 in the treasury, and tax
rate reduced to $14.50.
........CIVIL HISTORY—The action
of the proprietors prior to 1705 cannot be considered as the acts of the body politic so that the civil history
of Truro really dates from 1709, when, by incorporation, the town commenced its municipal government. Many acts
had been voted by the proprietors prior to the incorporation for the preservation of shell fish, the sedge from
the salt marshes and the setting off of lands for the support of the ministry; but the order of the general court,
that town officers be elected on August first of that year, commenced the civil history of the town. At the February
town meeting, 1710, several freemen were admitted, and Jedediah Lombard and Thomas Paine were appointed as a committee
“to buy all the lands of the Indians when, and so often as any of said Indians shall see cause to sell.” The crows
and blackbirds were voted out of the pale of Puritan society because they pulled up and destroyed the young corn,
and in 1711 every housekeeper was compelled to bring eight blackbirds’ heads and two crows’ heads to the selectmen
or pay a fine of three shillings, for the benefit of the poor; a premium upon the heads of additional birds was
also voted. The same year several roads were laid out through the town. In 1713 the first bounty on a wolf’s head
was voted, and three pounds per head was a sum that greatly tended to diminish the number of these thieves in the
town.
........The first burial ground—mentioned
with the churches—was ordered in 1714. The entry was, that “a convenient piece of ground on the north side of the
meeting house be cleared for a burial ground.” In 1715 Thomas Paine and Thomas Mulford were appointed by the town
to meet a committee from Eastham to settle the bounds between the towns, and in 1716 voted “not to send a representative
to general court.” In 1721 the town meeting voted “that the swine belonging to said town might go at large under
such regulations as the law has provided.” The receipt of the bills of credit loaned the town by the province was
voted upon in 1728, and a committee of three was appointed to receive and loan it out again.
........In 1732 there were
thirty-six freemen in the town, and it will be remembered that all heads of families were not freemen, or voters.
The bounty on wolf scalps had been continued, and this pest had been diminished in number; but the value of the
last wolf of two was the foundation of the vote in 1739, for a large reward to any one who “shall kill the wolf
that of late has been prowling about.” It seems that as early as 1745 the boys were not attentive listeners to
the long sermons of the day, for that year the town appointed a committee, in open town meeting, “to take care
of the boys that they don’t play in meeting on the Sabbath.” This important town office was continued and filled
by various personages for many years, and the power to castigate these restless young sprouts was subsequently
given to these officers.
........The use of the common
lands for keeping and feeding cattle was made a topic of discussion and vote in 1745, and the cutting of trees
at East harbor within 160 rods of the high water mark was prohibited. Many of these town enactments look quite
superfluous to the reader, but the time and circumstances made them necessary. Why any boy under ten years of age
should not be engaged to drive blackfish or porpoises seems a strange law, but the town ordered it so in 1753.
........Year after year the
regular and special town meetings provided for the schools, the roads, the elcection of officers and the proper
care of the meeting house until 1773-1774, when the taxes of the mother country became a matter of discussion and
vote, and the town appointed Captain Joshua Atkins, Isaiah Atkins, Dea. Joshua Freeman, Dr. Samuel Adams, Ephraim
Harding, Thacher Rich, Nathaniel Harding, Benjamin Atkins and Hezakiah Harding, a committee to prepare a proper
resolve concerning the introduction of teas subject to duty. This committee reported a long preamble and resolution
which stand on the records as a lasting memorial of the loyalty of the town to know that this strong resolution
was passed without a dissenting voice. The town in its meetings organized military companies, appointed watches
and guards, provided powder and other munitions of war.
........The seamen of Truro
filled an important part in the capture of British privateers during the revolutionary war, and many Truro men
were captured and imprisoned by the enemy. The fleet of the enemy constantly menaced the town, which must be protected
by its own citizens. One incident worthy of record occurred near Pond landing. One day the enemy were about to
land a body of men to plunder the town, when the exempts and town militia resorted to stratagem to ward off a blow
which could not otherwise be averted. A small body of these citizens marched to the shore, keeping behind an elevation
of land until prepared to carry out the ruse, which was to continuously march around the knoll, giving the impression
to the marauding party that a large force of soldiers were congregating to oppose t hem. The apparent assembling
of company after company had the desired effect upon the British commander, who judged it prudent not to land.
The town was among the most loyal to instruct its representative “to fall in with the Continental Congress.”
........The records of the
town are filled with the resolves and proceedings of the town meetings during the war of 1812, and the war of the
rebellion; and the standing of the town in the scale of duty during these struggles isone of which the present
generation may justly be proud.
........The town was not represented
in general court until five years after its incorporation, and during the period it was entitled to a representative
it did not always send one. The following list gives the names of the representatives the first year of election,
and the number of years each served if more than one: 1714, Thomas Paine, 5 years; 1715, Constant Freeman; 1717,
Thomas Mulford, 2; 1721, John Snow, 3; 1723, Jonathan Paine, 3; 1757, Barnabas Paine; 1761, Isaiah Atkins; 1774,
Benjamin Atkins; 1775, Samuel Harding; 1776, Reuben Higgins, 2; 1779, Sylvanus Snow, 2; William Thayer, 2; 1785,
Ephraim Harding, 3; 1791, Anthony Snow, Jr., 6; 1800, Levi Stevens; 1810, Israel Lombard, Jr., 1824, James Small,
8; 1831, John Kenney, 2; 1833, Shubael Snow, 4; 1834, Eben L. Davis, 2; 1835, Joshua Small 2; 1836, Henry Stevens,
2; and Solomon davis, 2; 1837, Jonas Stevens, 2; 1838, Freeman Atkins, 2; 1839, Jedediah Shedd, 3; 1840, Michael
Snow; 1842, John Kenney, Jr.; 1843, Hugh Hopkins; 1844, Richard Stevens; 1845, Ebenezer Davis, 3; 1848, Levi Stevens;
1849, Daniel Paine, 2; 1852, James Small; 1853, John Smith; 1855, Samuel H. Smith, Jr.; and in 1856, Adin H. Newton.
........In August, 1709, selectmen
for the remainder of the year were first elected by the town, and the following list contains the names of those
who have since served in that capacity, giving the year of the first election of each and the time of service when
over one year: In 1709, John Snow for 12 years, Thomas Mulford for 9, and Jedediah Lombard, 5; 1710, Benjamin Small,
Isaac Snow, and H. Scammon; 1711, Eben Doane; 1712, Thomas Rigers, and Thomas Paine, 6; 1713, Nathaniel Atkins,
and Josiah Cooke; 1714, Hezekiah Purinton; 1715, Constant Freeman, 7; 1720, Francis Small, 10, Andrew Newcomb,
3, and Richard Stevens; 1723, John Myrick, 15; Jonathan Vickery 3; 1726, Samuel Eldred, and Jonathan Paine, 30;
1727, Elkanah Paine, 10, Exekiel Cushing and William Sargent; 1730, Jeremiah Bickford; 1731, Thomas Smith, 3; 1734,
Edward Covel; 1744, Samuel Rich, 4; 1748, Thomas Cobb, 2, Barnabas Paine, 7, and Eben Dyer, 3; 1750, Zaccheus Rich,
11; 1751, Isaiah Atkins, 20, and Jonathan Dyer, 2; 1753, Joshua Atkins, James Lombard, and John Rich, 2; 1754,
Paul Knowles, Anthony Snow, 3; 1763, Job Arey, 3; 1766, Ephraim Lombard, 3; Eben Rich, 7; 1767, Daniel Paine, 2;
1769, Ambrose Dyer, y, and Benjamin Collins, 7; 1776, Ephraim Harding, 13, and Jedediah Paine, 5; 1777, Barzillai
Smith; 1778, Israel Gross, 3; 1781, Benjamin Atkins, Thomas Paine, 2; 1782, Timothy Nye, 4; 1783, Sylvanus Snow,
5; 1785, Benjamin Hinckley, 2; 1787, Fulk Dyer, Nathaniel Atkins, 9; and Jesse Rich, 8; 1795, David Dyer, 3; 1796,
Caleb Hopkins, 8, and Benjamin A. Upham; 1797, Ambrose Snow, 13, and Levi Stevens, 9; 1802, Jonathan Rich, John
Gross, 2, and Isaac Small; 1804, Joseph Small, 3; 1807, Barnabas Paine, 11; 1809, Paul Dyer, 5; 1810, Israel Lombard,
4; 1811, John Rich, 14; 1812, Allen Hinckley, 2; 1814, Sylvanus Nye, 3; 1816, James Collins, 4, and Eben Atkins,
4; 1818, Reuben O. Paine, 2, and Benjamin Hinckley, Jr.; 1819, Barnabas Paine, 4, and James Small, 10; 1822, Joshua
Small, 5; 1823, Asa Sellew, 9; 1824, John Kenney, 24; 1838, John Smith, 4; 1835, Freeman Atkins, 2; 1836, Jonas
Stevens, 9; 1837, Jedediah Shedd, 11; 1839, Nehemiah Rich, 2; 1841, Solomon Davis, 9; 1843, Daniel Paine, 4; 1846,
Solomon Paine, Jr.; James Hughes, 13; 1847, Samuel Dyer, 2; 1849, Atwood Rich, 4; 1855, Sears Rich, 3; 1858, Freeman
Cobb, 3; 1861, William T. Newcomb, 2; 1863, Abraham C. Small, and Amasa Paine; 1864, John Kenney, 5, James Collins
3, and Nathan K. Whorf; 1866, Smith K. Hopkins, 7, and Ephraim Rich, 8; 1869, Thomas H. Kenney, 6; Elkanah Paine;
1874, Isaac M. Small, 5; 1875, Jesse S. Pendergast, 2; Samuel Dyer, 5, and Obadiah S. Brown, 2; 1877; Benjamin
Coan, 2, and Isaac C. Freeman, 5; 1879, Jeremiah Hopkins, 2; 1880, Josiah F. Rich, 11; 1881, Joseph Hatch, 4; 1887,
Asa C. Paine; 1888, Samuel Dyer, Jr., 2; 1890, Henry B. Holsbery and Edward L. Small.
........The town treasurers
from first to last are given with the year of election, each serving until his successor was elected: 1709, Constant
Freeman; 1710, Thomas Paine, 1721, another Thomas Paine; 1724, John Snow; 1726, Moses Paine; 1745, Joshua Atkins;
1755, Ephraim Lombard; 1763, Richard Collins; 1767, Job Avery; 1770, Israel Gross, 1777; Richard Stevens; 1779,
Benjamin Rich; 1790, Elisha Dyer; 1782, Joshua Freeman; 1787, Sylvanus Snow; 1791, Anthony Snow; 1817, Lewis Lombard;
1835, Barnabas Paine; 1848, Samuel C. Paine; 1879, John B. Dyer.
........The town clerks have
sometimes filled the office of treasurer, but as it has not always been so the following list of clerks is given,
each serving until the election of his successor: 1709, John Snow; 1710, Thomas Paine; 1721, another Thomas Paine;
1745, Moses Paine; 1764, Barnabas Paine; 1769, Daniel Paine; 1785, Sylvanus Snow; 1788, Benjamin A. Upham; 1797,
Levi Stevens; 1799, Anthony Snow; 1817, Lewis Lombard; 1835, Barnabas Paine; 1849, Samuel C. Paine; 1880, John
B. Dyer.
........CHURCHES.—When the
people of Truro asked the general court for the privileges of a town incorporation, it was granted upon condition
that “they procure and settle a learned and godly minister.” This condition was fulfilled as soon as possible,
and the year of the incorporation of the town Rev. John Avery came, and was ordained November 1, 1811, {PLEASE
NOTE; THIS MUST BE A TYPO—transcribed as is.} at which time the Congregational society was organized with seven
members. Some historians assert that
the first meeting house was erected at North Truro (known formerly as Pond village) near the site of the present
Union church. This matter we have thoroughly investigated, and find that the graves near the Union church, which
are so well remembered by old settlers, were those made before a regular burial place was laid out, and from all
the facts in the case we conclude that the first meeting house was at the south of North Truro, on the hill of
storms, in the southwest corner of the present burying ground. Here a primitive meeting house had been erected,
which was succeeded by a new and better one, commenced in 1720 and completed the following year. In the new meeting
house spaces for pews were sold at prices varying from £5, 10s. to £1, 15s. In 1765 this meeting house
was enlarged and remodeled and the pews were sold at enormous prices. In 1792 more pews were built in the gallery,
and here upon the hill, as a beacon for the tempest-tossed mariner, the old church remained until 1840, when, after
several years of disuse, it was taken down. The old burying ground with its first head stone of 1713, remains to
mark the site of the first meeting house and first laid-out ground of Truro.
........Mr. Avery preached
in the house until his death in 1754, and was succeeded by Rev. Caleb Upham ordained October 29, 1755, who was
pastor forty-two years, departing this life in November, 1826. Rev. Stephen Bailey supplied about five years until
the ordination of Silas Baker, in March, 1832. Mr. Baker was dismissed in 1834, and was succeeded in March, 1836,
by Charles Boyter until 1843.
........In 1827 a new church
edifice was erected at Truro village, southwest of the old meeting house, and in which the present distinctive
Congregational society worships and claims to be a continuation of the old. Edward W. Noble was ordained in December,
1849, and continued until 1883, succeeded by Joseph Hammond for three years. Hiram L. Howard and J. K. Closson
successively supplied each a term, and in the autumn of 1889 Rev. T. S. Robie was settled as pastor.
........A portion of the original
society organized themselves into a new society, May 22, 1842, calling themselves the Second Congregaional church,
but the society soon after united with the Methodists in building a meeting house and the two societies were formed
into one, called the Christian Union Society, the pulpit to be supplied one-half the time by a pastor of each of
the original societies. This was done according to the terms of the union, but during the last twenty years the
pulpit has been mostly filled by a Methodist pastor. The pastors have been: 1840, Seth H. Beals; 1842, Benjamin
M. Southgate, and Osborn Myrick; 1845, John D. King; 1847, Arnold Adams, and Thomas Smith; 1849, George W. Rogers;
1851, Samuel J. M. Lord; 1855, Franklin Sears; 1856, Job Cushman; 1859, Abram Holway; 1860, Malcomb D. Herrick;
1861, Joseph C. Bartlett; 1863, Philander Bates; 1866, Charles Stokes; 1869, Jacob W. Price; 1871, Henry W. S.
Packard; 1873, Joel Martin; 1874; Isaac Sherman; 1878, Charles Morgan; 1882, Samuel Morrison; 1884, Benjamin K.
Bosworth; 1887, Frederick C. Crafts; 1888, Christopher P. Flanders.
........The present meeting
house, owned by the Methodist Episcopal Society of Truro, was erected on the high ground on the north side of Pamet
river in 1826, by the society already organized. In 1845 the house was remodeled, and again about fifteen years
ago the galleries were removed and the inside of the house more or less changed. Since 1876 this society and that
of South Truro have been served by the same pastor. The names of the ministers and the year they commenced are:
1827, Warren Wilbur; 1828, Benjamin Keith; 1829, Abraham Holway; 1830, William R. Stone; 1832, William Ramsdell;
1834, Enoch Bradley; 1836, Thomas W. Giles; 1838, J. R. Barswot; 1840, Levi Woods; 1841, Reuben Bowen; 1843, Thomas
Patten; 1844, Charles A. Carter; 1846, Henry Mayo; 1847, Samuel Beadle; 1849, O. Robbins; 1850, T. B. Gurney; 1851,
Thomas D. Blake; 1853, E. B. Hinckley; 1854, L. E. Dunham; 1855, John W. Willett; 1857, William E. Sheldon; 1858,
N. P. Selee; 1860, J. B. Washburn; 1863, Lawton Cady; 1864, A. H. Newton; 1865, Joseph Geery; 1866, H. S. Smith;
186, Jason Gill; 1870 Isaac G. Price; 1871, Isaac Sherman; 1874, Richard Burn; 1876, Virgil W. Mattoon; 1879, Charles
N. Hinckley; 1880, J. S. Fish; 1883, Charles T. Hatch; 1886, John Q. Adams; 1889, John S. Bell.
........The Universalists in
1846 had acquired sufficient strength to undertake the erection of a suitable building for their services, but
a severs storm completely demolished the newly-raised building and the project was abandoned.
........Very early the members
of the Methodist faith were actively engaged in Truro, and after the days of circuit preachers one sockety embraced
all of that faith. After the erection of the meeting house at Truro, the members of the society at South Truro
found it inconvenient to go regularly there for worship. This led to the organization of the South Truro Methodist
Episcopal Society on the 29th day of April, 1829. A church edifice was dedicated December 15, 1831, by Presiding
Elder Benjamin F. Lombard. In 1851 the society had outgrown the house, and a new one erected just west of the first,
is the one now occupying a prominent position upon the hill north of the little village of South Truro. Since 1876
this society and the First society at Truro have been supplied by the same pastor.
........The first pastory,
Rev. Benjamin Keith, was largely instrumental in the organization of Methodism in Truro, and after many years of
service on the circuit was settled ast he pastor of this church in 1831; but a modest monument in the old burial
place of this society, and near by the site of the old house in which he had so faithfully labored, marks the place
of his burial in 1834. He was succeeded in 1833 by Joseph B. Brown; in 1834 by Thomas Dodge for three years; 1839
by Joel Steele; 1841, James Bignall; 1842, Henry H. Smith; 1845, Lozian Pierce; 1846, William Leonard; 1848, Adin
H. Newton; 1850, Ira M. Bidwell; 1851, Anthony Palmer; 1852, William Keller; 1854, William Leonard; 1856, F. A.
Loomis; 1857, Josiah C. Allen; 1860, A. Lathan; 1861, S. B. Chase; 1862, George S. Alexander; 1864, E. M. Anthony;
1866, Messrs. Bowditch and Ayer; 1867, B. L. Sayer; 1870, Wetherbee, Miller and Macomber; 1876, Mr. Butler; the
pastors who have since served are given in the list of the Truro church.
........Of the early preachers
and exhorters in the rise of Methodism in Truro many pleasing things are recorded. Earnestness and, perhaps, eccentricity
were marked in their labors. The local exhorter was a prominent factor in the life of the primitive church, and
with these the Truro society was well supplied. Ephraim doane Rich, Ebenezer L. Davis, Stephen Collins and others
will not be forgotten for their good works in the cause of Methodism. The logic of these plain exhorters was incontrovertible,
although presented in a rude and uncultivated manner.
........After the camp meting
of 1819 at Wellfleet the societies of that town and Truro untied in 1826 in pitching their tents in Truro, a short
distance south of the bridge, on the hill where was a beautiful grove, and where Joshua Smith afterward built a
house. These meetings resulted in the incorporation of the Eastham Camp Meeting Association, and still later of
the present Yarmouth association.
........BURYING GROUNDS—The
oldest burial place of the town is that south of North Truro, where the first Congregational meeting house was
erected. This religious society later opened one at Truro, and more recently have opened still another there. The
Methodists have one at Truro, and the South Truro society have another at South Truro. The Catholics instituted
a burial place at Truro a few years ago, being the sixth in the town.
........SCHOOLS—The first mention
of any provision for the support of schools in Truro was in the town meeting of 1715, when it was voted “that Rev.
Mr. Avery and the selectmen be a committee to procure a suitable person to keep a town school.” This order was
not successful in its result, for the very next year the town was presented for its delinquency in not providing
a teacher, and Jonathan Paine was appointed to appear at the court of general sessions in the town’s behalf. In
1716 the town school began, the sum appropriated being twenty pounds for a half year. The teacher, Samuel Spear,
was hired for the year 1717, having given satisfaction the first six months. His salary was forty pounds and “board
himself.”
........To the credit of the
town, let it be recorded that the citizens preferred a school for the young, to sendinga representative to general
court, and as the expense of both was th ought to be onerous the school went on and the representative remained
at home. In 1719 Samuel Winter was hired for twelve months for forty pounds, and the school was to be moved around.
The first three months it was taught in the house of William Dyer, Jr., the next six months at Captain Constant
Freeman’s or in his neighborhood, and the last three months of theyear at a suitable place near East harbor. No
school houses were yet erected, and for many years the schools were kept in private houses.
........In 1821 [note: another
mistake] Mr. Winter was engaged for one year and three months, the term to commence after his engagement for 1720.
the prosperity of the schools and the increase in pupils led to the purchase, in 1724, of two school house sites,
one near the residence of Richard Stevens, and the other at the northewrly side of Longnook. School houses were
built on these lots, and the last named site at Longnook was used for school houses until 1855.
........From the 26th of June,
1728, Solomon Lombard was the teacher for a year, and after a term of years Mr. Gibson was hired, as we find a
complimentary vote in 1737 in the town records which explains itself: “Voted to give Mr. Gibson the rate of £55
a year in consideration of his support of the ancient people with whom he lived the winter past.” In 1747 sixty
pounds was voted for the schools.
........In 1757 Mr. Woomley
was employed, and although the times were stringent the schools progressed. In 1765 it was thought expedient to
ask the general court to be excused from providing a grammar school, and to be permitted to substitute a good school
for reading and common branches; but after a few years this error was corrected by a vote that Barnabas Paine,
Joshua Atkins and Ebenezer dyer be agents “to get a learned grammar master at once.” In 1798 two hundred dollars
was paid for schools and forty dollars for singing to be taught.
........In 1840 the school
fund from the state gave fresh impulse to the school interests and $750 was appropriated for schools. From th is
a visible improvement was discernable, the appropriation in 1853 being $1,300 and $1,450 in 1855. The next year
$1, 500 was set apart for their support, suitable rules were made for the better regulation and attendance of the
seven schools then kept in as many nice houses throughout the town. Six of thes houses had double rooms, were commodious,
and better provided with teachers than when left to each district to build the houses and provide the necessary
equipments. The interest has continued. Gradation followed, and the eleven discticts were recudced to seven, and
from seven to the present system of four houses in the town. North Truro has one of two departmement; Truro one
with two rooms; Longnook has a good house and South Truro another. The annual appropriation is now $1,600. The
committee in ch arge are efficient school men, and the standing of the schools is a worthy result of the continued
care and expense bestowed.
........VILLAGES—The town has
no large villages, but in the past, as well as present, the several communities have possessed the elements of
New England villages. The East harbor village was situated south of the harbor of that name, and last century it
was the important one of the town. From East harbor southerly to the pond this settlement extended, and there in
the enhoyment of rural avocations, a large community of peaceful, contented citizens dwelt. As soon as the fishing
interests clustered at the Pond, and a post office was extablished there, then Pond village was the center of the
northern part of the town; and north of that there are but few residences at the present time. It is now called
North Truro. The high banks along the bay are intersected by a valley, making from the shore, and this dividing
into two parts, forms a pretty and secluded spot for a village. Early in the century the entrance to the valley
afforded a convenient landing from the bay, and the circuitous bend of land that forms the harbor of Provincetown
sheltered this landing place from the winds, making a chosen spot for the fishing vessels. At this point the Cape
is very narrow, and across to the ocean shore the cheerful homes of the villagers extend, so that the lights and
the lifesaving station may be considered as in the village of North Truro. The situation and surroundings of this
pleasant hamlet excel any other of the town. The first graveyard of the town, and the site of the first church
are visible to the south, and from the surrounding hills may be seen Provincetown and Plymouth.
........In 1835 a post office
was established here, the entire town having had butr one office prior to that, and wh ich was in the center of
the town. David Ayres, appointed June 18, 1835, was the first postmaster, keeping the office at his residence.
Isaiah M. Atkins was appointed September 26, 1835, followed October 25th of the same year by james Small, who kept
the office at the Highlands. July 29, 1941, Edward Armstrong was appointed, removing the office to his house, opposite
the present office. He died, and his widow, Hannah, was appointed April 24, 1845. John Grozier was appointed June
8, 1847, and kept the office about a quarter of a century in his residence, near the pond. June 23, 1873, Captain
Edwin P. Worthen was appointed, and he kept it several years in his house, then in a store building just west of
his present home, In October 1889, Lillian J. Small, the present incumbent, was appointed, who removed it to her
store, where, with an addition to the building for its accommodation, the new case of boxes and drawers are neatly
kept.
........The original store
building in which the post office is kept was erected in 1856 by A. C. Small, who in 1857 began trade in groceries,
continuing until 1881, when his daughter, Lillian J. Small, commenced in dry goods, drugs and fancy articles. The
post office is in the front part—all new except a standing desk that has been in use in the office for fifty years.
Marshall Ayers had an old store when he was postmaster. It stood near Mr. Thompson’s present store, and was moved
to where John Francis lives. Anna Small kept an old store in it after it was moved. That part of the village south
of and near the present Union church contained several stores early in the history of the village. Johana Mercy
had one in her house where Jeremiah Hopkins lives, near the church. Sylvanus Nye had another in the house now the
residence of Atkins Hughes, and prior to that he kept one where Caleb Eastman lives. Frank Small had one south
of the present village, and Eleazer Collins another where Charles Collins lives.
........David D. Smith began,
in 1846, a store in a small building near John G. thompson’s present place of business. In 1851 he erected thompson’s
store, where he continued business till April, 1864, when he sold to Samuel Knowles. In 1865 Sylvanus Hughes purchased
the property, and began a store in June 1866, which he sold out to John g. Thompson in September of the same year.
It was in 1849 that Frank Small opened his store opposite the church, which he continued twenty-one years, and
then sold to J. W. Small, who, after a year, moved the building across next to the church. In 1878 John g. Thompson
purchased the goods and moved them to his store. Mr. Thompson has recently erected a large grain and flour store-house
nearly opposite h is store, and is conducting the largest trade in the north part of the town.
........Taverns were formerly
kept on the King’s highway, in the eastern part of the village, but the keepers’ names cannot be recalled. The
present hotel, owned by I. Morton Small, is more especially for summer visitors, and has been liberally patronized.
It is properly named the Highland House, from its elevated site on the clay pounds near the lights. Hiram Hatch
was engaged as proprietor for 1890. Near the depot a summer hotel is kept by Mrs. Atwood, and just east Mrs. Green
has opened another.
........The railroad track
runs across the mouth of the valley that opens into the hills, and the high embankment has cut off the tides that
formerly made the Pond a safe anchorage for small craft. On the north side of the valley stands the neat depot
of the Old Colony railroad, of which Isaac Green was the first agent until his death, when Isaac Smith, his son-in-law,
the present agent, was appointed.
........The village has a neat
and thrifty appearance, and since the establishment of the several fishing weirs, of which Atkins Hughes is agent,
it has assumed considerable commercial importance.
........Truro village, sometimes
called Truro Center, is the principal community of the town. The town house, two churches, clerk and treasurer’s
office, an dthe continuation of the oldest post office of the town have centered here, and give to the scattering
community the sobriquet of a village. The valley and banks of the Pamet river, Indian neck, and Longnook are considered
within the limits of the village, and constitute an arca of several square miles of hills and downs, traversed
by sandy, winding roads. The dyke over which the public road passes has stopped the influx of the tide, and above
this the marshes along the river bear English hay, and afford better farming land. On the old stage route around
the head of the marshes were taverns, but none are extant. Of the old stores in which molasses, rum and tobacco
were the staples, none are left, those of the fore part of this century being the connecting link between the past
and present.
........In 1820 Daniel Paine
started a store at Longnook where he had the post office.e Captain Samuel Ryder prior to 1830 had a store on the
bank north-east of the present post office, which he closed in 1851 when he went west. In 1833 Josiah Wilder started
a store near the lower foot bridge, on the south side of the river, and years afterward moved the building to where
Daniel W. Oliver lives, where he continued until 1864. John Smith in 1837 started a store near the present depot,
and on the north bank near the embankment Snow & Paine started another. These were fitting out stores in connection
with the fisheries. Lewis Lombard and Solomon Paine, Jr., continued these stores until the decline of the fishing
business. John M. Gill had a tin and hardware store near Union wharf in 1840, and Nathan K. Whorf also kept a variety
store there. Near this whar4f two sail lofts and one rigger shop were run successfully for years, for it was here
that vessels were built, and there were wharves for vessel and boat building other than has been mentioned in the
town history of Truro. The harbor was excellent between the years 1830 and 1845, but in 1860 the sand had so choked
it that the industries clustered there were discontinued. Then the business naturally moved a mile up the river,
where it is continued, but not so extensively as formerly.
........Samuel C. Paine started
a store at Longnook in 1855, and in December, 1860, moved the building and goods to his present place at the north
end of the dyke, where in march 1861 he opened his present business in drugs and medicines.
........About 1855 Benjamin
Dyer opened a grocery store near the present post office, in which he was succeeded by Amasa Paine and Nathaniel
Dyer as the firm of A. Paine & Co. In 1879 William I. Paine, son of Amasa, took the business, which he continued
until 1886, when he was succeeded by J. L. Dyer, who continues business.
........In 1888, Daniel W.
Oliver moved the school house from theplace called Castle to his present place of business—the south end of the
dyke. The store had been a skating rink when that craze spread over the Cape, and it made an excellent grovery
and dry-good store in which he continues business.
........The last stores at
the wharves, where the railroad embankment is, were company stores, the very latest being run by Elkanah Paine
under the name of E. Paine & co. He was succeeded in 1856 by a company composed of Nathaniel Dyer, Amasa Paine
and Sears Rich, as N. Dyer & Co., which dissolved after a short time. These gentlemen, as did the company composed
of Josiah Wilder and Joseph whorf, moved up the river, and in some individual cases opened other places of business
at the present center. The high embankment now overlooks the sites of these busy wharves and stores of fifty years
ago, and hardly a vestige of the former industries remain. The railroad passed through in 1873, when George S.
Hamilton was appointed the depot agent, which position he filled until 1885, when Isaac C. Freeman was appointed.
........The first postmaster
of Truro was Ephraim Harding, appointed April 1, 1798. July 1, 1803, he was succeeded by Benjamin Harding, who
was followed by Sylvanus Nye, at the Highlands, February 25, 1809. The next incumbent was Daniel Paine, appointed
December 16, 1820. He kept the office at Longnook. December 24, 1830, Hincks Gross was appointed, succeeded March
8, 1847 by Josiah Wilder, at his store. April 9, 1859, Edward Winslow was made postmaster, bu t he resigned in
1861 to enter the army, and Samuel C. Paine was appointed. Mr. Paine kept the office at his store until 1888, when
Daniel W. Oliver was appointed, and he removed the office to his store. In June 1889, Samuel C. Paine was re-appointed,
and the office was removed to the old place.
........The Union Hall Association
was instituted May 1, 1848, by the usual legal warrant issued by Barnabas Paine. Ninety-six of the one hundred
shares of stock issued were taken and by an assessment of $22.78 on each share the Union Hall was erected. The
lower floor was constructed for public use and the upper for the Odd Fellows, sons of Temperanc,e and Cadets, all
of which societies were discontinued after a few years. This building was sold to the town as has been stated.
........The social circles
are well attended and of these this village has its proportion. The Iron Hall, Branch 984, organized Februay 15,
1889, has fifty members.
........The Truro Library Association,
with a good collection of books, and its literary entertainments given in public is indicative of the taste of
the residents. The societies and associations, although meeting at the center, are composed of members from the
entire town.
........South Truro has been
so designated only since the advent of the railroad, and since the citizens of the south part of the town asked
for and received postal facilities. It is situated in the southwest corner of the town, adjoining Bound brook,
and has some commercial importance in the affairs of the town. The pleasant little depot of the Old Colony railroad
is now kept by S. W. Rich, who was appointed in 1882. Walter N. Elliott was the agent for several months previous,
and John Elliott was the first appointee, serving from 1873 to 1881. A post office was asked for, and in March
1874, the South Truro office was instituted with John Elliott as postmaster, who kept it at the depot while he
was agent and then at his store. It is now kept by him in his store a few rods from the depot.
........There had been a small
community here from the early settlement of the town, but the first store within the memory of the present residents
was that of Nehemiah rich, who started it prior to 1835 and continued to about the year 1848. In 1849 some thirty
citizens formed a stock association and opened the Union store, which was continued until about 1860, when Joseph
Whorf, Elisha Rich, Ephraim Rich and Samuel Rich purchased the business. In 1862 Samuel Rich bought out the others
and ran the store until 1864, then moved the building to Provincetown. About 1854 the Union Store Company built
a wharf on the bay shore where a fishing bu siness was carried on, but when the company business at the store was
discontinued the wharf was taken up and reconstructed at Provincetown. Three of the members of the U nion Store
Company, Atwood, Ephraim, and Elisha Rich—each had a small store at their houses subsequent to the dissolution
of the company business.
........In 1846 Joseph S. Cole
started a store in a room at his house, and after three years erected a small store building where Richard T. Cobb
lives. After about two years the store was moved across to his residence, then to the site of the Union store,
and a few years ago he again moved the building to the present site near his house, where he continues his business.
........This post hamlet enjoys
a daily mail, and has the religious advantages of the Methodist Episcopal church half way between this and the
center.
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