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Page 11 text:
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EARLY INDUSTRIES OF PETERSHAM CFirst Prize! Machinery humming, saws buzzing, the rattle of stagecoach wheels, the shouts of the people working in the fields,the drone of the voices of the factory workers on their way home after a difficult day's work--this was Petersham about one hundred fifty years ago. The most common employment of the people of Petersham, even from the very beginning of their settlement,was that of farming. There were many large farms in various parts of the town, where heads of cattle, flocks of chickens, and goats were raisedg and acres of oats and flax were grown. There were also grist-mills, saw-mills, and blacksmith and wheelwright shops. Many of the saw-mills were located in the Nichewaug area. There were, however, no manufacturing corpora- tions during the early part of the development of Petersham. Industry on a larger scale began in the year 1826 when a Mr. Samuel Witherall introduced the braiding of palm-leaf hats. After procuring the necessary material,he employed alhss Gilbert to teach the'braiding. A room was furnished in Mr. Witherall's home for this purpose. The people taught by Miss Gilbert became teachers of others throughout the town. The first expenses of this new industry were borne by the Witherall R Brown,Merchants. Thereafter, the expenses were obtained by making each of the pupils pay the fee of one dollar to the instructor. Ten years after the introduction of the hats, the gross business amounted to the sum of S24,429.00, the value of 105,525 hats in one year. The making of palm-leaf hats proved to be an important industry in Petersham households for many years. During this same period of Petershamis development another industry appeared, one which became closely allied to the school system. This might be considered, in retrospect, as the begin- ning of the community's awareness of the namifor vocational work for the children. This new industry was the seating of chairs. The frames for the chairs were procured from Gardner, now known as the famous nChair Cityu. Some of the school children were given the task of making a chair seat for their homework. In this way, seats were made, and the children learned at the same time. The adage nNecessity is the mother of inventionn proved to be as true then as now, for it was because of the Revolution that the importance of saltpeter, essential in the manufacture of gun- powder, was realized, and great quantities of it produced.
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Page 12 text:
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ish-1 It was also as an outgrowth of the Revolution and to meet a grave need caused by interrupted commerce, that salt was made at Rochester Shore and brought to Petersham. The enterprise proved unsuccessful, however, and was finally discontinued. This same war was, in addition,the cause of the manufacture of powder kegs. For many years this industry was carried on by Elisha Webb,who employed a small corps of workmen. His workshop was situated over in the southern part of town. This eventually became the largest manufacturing interest of Petersham, and this position was maintained for a great many years. It was during the period following the Revolution that the people of Petersham became interested in industries centerirmg around wood as a material. At one time Paul Rickham manufactured ladders and went about the country selling them.He also invented several small machines to help in his work. Mr. Hiram Gibbs car- ried on the making of staves for pail manufacturing for quite a period of time. Then, too, German Legara, who began making arti- cles of fancy wood-work, and later included plates and bowls, commenced selling his wares to the summer boarders and Untourkxs visiting in Petersham. So even in the early days,people realized that profit might be gained by catering to tourists and sum er trade. From here might also have originated Petersham's great interest in handicrafts. Since farming had always been of prime importance, it was natural to expect that industry connected with the farm or dairy should arise in a community such as Petersham. Thus, it seems very logical when we read that a large cheese factory was erected about three-quarters of a mile south of town. This business was carried on for a while, but was finally discontinued. The build- ing was moved to a spot in back of the Unitarian Church, where it was turned into a roller-skating rink, and finally into a tenement house. Mr. Daniel Broderick is now proprietor of a store in that building. There wasalso a large button factory situated on Main Stnwt, owned by Mr. Stone. Here were made exquisite buttons of all shapes and sizes. Mr. Stone used to travel all over the country selling these beautiful buttons. Mrs. Jenny Smith still has some which she sells as antiques. Buttons of many beautiful designs have been made, a few of which are on exhibition in the Memorial Building. As it is customary when factories grow up for travel and commerce to increase,so at this time Petersham became a thoroug- fare and stopping place for merchants with teams of merchandise, and for Stagecoach passengers. The Stagecoach line ran from Boston through Sudbury, Shrewsbury, Holden, Rutland and Barre,to Athol, Orange, Greenfield, Northfield,Warwick, and to the south- ern part of Vermont. There were four taverns in town for the accommodation of this travel. One of these, situated in theeast- ern part of the town, is now the residence of Leslie W. Bassett.
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