The Parade

​It was a perfect summer day, hot but not overwhelmingly so. Spectators arrived early and brought their lawn chairs, strollers, and dogs, congregating on Center Street and Main Street. The parade in honor of Easton’s 300th anniversary went off beautifully; the Tricentennial Committee did themselves proud. As always, the hill in front of NEG was a popular viewing spot. Ice cream and toy vendors were present on Main Street. The Easton Historical Society showed up on a replica trolley car and it was just one of the amazing entries in the parade. 

Easton and the Trolley
It was in 1896 that the electric trolley came to Easton. It was a branch of the Brockton Street Railway Company that was established in 1891and prior to that the same company had operated as a horse-drawn street railway. The company kept a car barn at the corner of Torrey Street and West Street in Brockton and the trolley ran down Torrey Street to Dailey’s Corner on Main Street in Easton, then on to Center Street. I’ve learned that Electric Ave., a right turn just before reaching Hilliard’s if coming from Brockton, was originally the site of a charging station, hence its name. Always thought it was an odd name for a street! Now I know why. Today there are a few houses on the street. The second trolley company (1897) to service Easton was the Taunton and Brockton Street Railway and initially it had 10 passenger cars and 4 snowplows. Four of the passenger cars were enclosed with windows for winter conditions, the others were open with canvas curtains that could be rolled down, and they could seat 70 passengers. The track ran down Belmont Street to Morse’s Corner, then on Washington Street, to Depot Street, and on to Turnpike Street. From there down Broadway Street in Raynham to Bay Street in Taunton. For some time this line provided hourly service from Brockton and Taunton during working hours and was an important line for commuters, although it also delivered mail and freight. A third trolley line provided service between Easton and Mansfield but was never very successful, although for a short time it brought students from Furnace Village to Easton High School. The fourth trolley line, Easton Street Railway, ran from Morse’s Corner to Stoughton and only operated from 1903-4. Trolleys were relatively short-lived and after 1915 automobiles became increasingly popular. In fact, between 1902 and 1914 Alfred Morse (of Easton) built 48 automobiles in his factory on Central Street. For a brief window of time trolleys were a significant means of transportation. 

Anne Wooster Drury

Sources: 
History of Easton, Volume II
Easton Historical Society