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Weekly Update

4/10/2021

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​Happy Saturday morning to all!  The weather here in Easton has been excellent all week.  Lots of sun and warmth means the real beginning of yard work.  I have been enjoying the bright yellow daffodils that are in full bloom around town.  April showers are soon to follow though, so it looks like indoor spring cleaning will be the order of business this week.
 
Many of our students are returning back to school full time.  Graduation is in the near future, and with that thought in mind, let’s take a look at a rare example of an early Easton graduation.
 
We have in our collection a small booklet from 1882 titled Easton High School – Program of Graduating Exercises.  You have noticed by now that this does not have “Oliver Ames High School” as the school name.  In 1869 the Ames family built a multi-story wood high school building for the Town of Easton.  The building was Italianate in design and included a clock tower (it was from that tower that many of the photos in our new book Easton In Stereo were taken.) This dominant structure stood on the site now occupied by the 1895 Oliver Ames High School on Lincoln Street opposite the Rockery.  When Governor Oliver Ames offered to build the 1895 school, the old Easton High School building was moved to the southwest corner of the schoolhouse lot, and continued to be used as a primary school until it was torn down around 1930 to make room for the classroom wing and gym added on to the high school.
 
Inside the booklet is the order of exercises for graduation, which took place on Friday, June 30, 1882, at 7:30 p.m.  The event probably took place inside the school building which must have included a small auditorium.  The class motto was “Onward and Upward.”  The program features ten orations, essays, or recitations by graduating seniors, interspersed with five musical performances.  The topics of the talks given by students include “As is Life, so is its End”; “Finding our Place in Life”; “Make Life Worth Living”; “Labor and its Reward”; “The Right Use if Things”; and “Short views we take nor see the lengths behind.”  The Class Prophecies were read by Jennie E. Shepardson, and the Valedictory titled “True Manhood” was presented by Thomas H. McCarthy.  Both male and female students are featured speakers.  The evening wrapped up with the presentation of diplomas by Rev. William L. Chaffin representing the School Committee.
 
Although it is nearly impossible to find a complete list of graduates (whose ages ranged from 17-20), this booklet at least contains the names of those who took part in the graduating ceremony.  Of particular interest to us at the Museum is graduate Heman Howard, who some fifty years later would research and write about old houses in Easton.  We have a copy of his research on these early houses, some of which are no longer extant.  Other familiar names include members of the Buck, Selee, Rankin, Finley, Berry, Toothaker, Wade, Young, and Dickerman families.  Unfortunately, the names of those who provided the music are not noted.
 
I am off to get my first Covid vaccine on Monday, one jab closer to some sense of normalcy.  I hope you all stay well, and until next week,
Frank
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Weekly Update

4/3/2021

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Greetings from a very cold Easton!  This morning, the temps were in the 20’s when I headed out to begin my day.  Were there an Easter sunrise service this year we would all be bundled up and sipping hot coffee!
 
On occasion I receive telephone calIs or emails from people who confuse us with other Easton’s around the United States.  Last week I received an email from another Easton!  Andrew Glovas, Director of Operations, Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society in Easton, PA., sent me a note regarding a donation they received from someone in Pennsylvania that detailed the building of a school house.  He was sure that this document belonged to Easton, Massachusetts, and following a brief email exchange for further information, arranged to have it sent to us.  When I received the materials I was very excited to see two handwritten construction contracts for building schools in Easton.  Even more important, these schools were built prior to the Civil War, a period that we do not have many documents from.  Today I have attached a scan of a contract to build a school house in District Number 9, which is the former school building at Easton Center (not to be confused with the current Center School Elementary School still in use).  The old school still stands at 350 Depot Street.  You know it now as The History Room, and it was for many years The Music Machine with Anne DiSanto.  This contract lists the terms and conditions and basic information about the school building, as well as the signees.  If you look up this address on Google Maps you can easily see the old school house.  At one time the school received an addition, so the building you see today is about twice the size as the original building.  A transcript of the document is given here.  You can check out our sister museum in Pennsylvania by visiting their website at Sigalmuseum.org.  We extend our sincere thanks to Andrew Glovas and the Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society for making sure these precious documents made it safely home.
 
Stay well,
Frank
 
 
Contract
         Between Hathaway Leonard of Norton of the first part, and Charles H. Reed, Daniel A. Clark, & Henry Dailey all of Easton (of the second part) a committee authorized by School District No. 9 of Easton to contract with said Leonard of the first part, to build a School house for School District No. 9 in said Easton twenty-seven by thirty-eight feet on the ground otherwise in accordance with the plans and specifications bearing even date with this contract.
         The said Hathaway Leonard of the first part agrees for the sum of seven hundred thirty-nine dollars to build a School house in District No. 9 in Easton Bristol County State of Massachusetts, 27 ft. by 38 ft. the dimensions in other respects to be according to the plans and specifications bearing even date with this Contract.
         The said School house to be finished and ready to be occupied on or before the first day of August eighteen hundred fifty-nine.
         Dated at Easton this thirty first day of January 1859.
         Signed sealed and delivered in     )        Ch. H. Reed
         Presence of                                   )        Daniel A. Clark
         Minot E. Phillips                            )        Henry Dailey
                                                               )        Hathaway Leonard
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Weekly Update

3/27/2021

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Hello!  What a terrific day here in Easton!  Between rain yesterday and rain forecast for tomorrow, we have a sunny day.  Today, the Easton Baptist Church is having a Covid-style Easter Egg Hunt, and next Saturday, Covenant Congregational Church is sponsoring an Easter Scavenger Hunt!  It is so good to see some community activities after such a long time of not much at all going on.
 
Today I thought I would share with you something really special from our archives.  It is a sample of a bandage made for soldiers during the Civil War.  Women played a prominent role in war efforts, though they do not get the recognition they should.  During times of war, many women and women’s groups got together and made bandages and dressings that would be sent to the field in hopes of keeping our soldiers and sailors alive.  We know that many Easton women were doing this during World War I.  And thanks to this small sample, we can see firsthand the excellent work that was performed by women of an earlier generation.
 
The sample we have is about 5” square, and is made of a very fine linen or cotton fabric.  Its weave resembles the gauze bandaging we are all familiar with today.  This material would be woven into long strips, then rolled, and boxed.  From Easton it was probably sent to Boston, and from there, would be sent along established supply lines to anywhere there was a need – and there was plenty of need!  Our sample was mounted with red, white, and blue ribbon onto an old paper, which was then mounted inside a folded paper with the following information hand-written on it: “Surgical Dressing – A sample of the work for wounded soldiers of the Civil War.”  A note at the bottom simply says “Made by L. F. Chamberlain.”
 
I have not been able to find out who L. F. Chamberlain was.  A few Chamberlains appear on our cemetery database, but none are a match for these initials, and lived at a later date.  A search on Find A Grave did not yield any definitive results either, and a look at online genealogy records was inconclusive.  The “History of Easton” does list a Rev. J. Chamberlain who was involved in the First Methodist Society in Easton during the 1820’s, and later moved to Mansfield.  There are a number of Chamberlains in surrounding towns.  Our L. F. Chamberlain remains a mystery.  Perhaps one of our sleuths out there might be able to identify this person.  Fortunately, an example of her life-saving work has survived.


I wish to express special thanks to member Merrick Sokol who took notice of our need for a good camera, and recently surprised us with a Nikon CoolPix camera!  This should serve us for many years to come.  Thank you, Merrick!
 
Until next week,
Stay well,
Frank

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Weekly Update

3/20/2021

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​Happy spring!  Today is the first day of spring, and it sure looks like it in Easton.  The sun feels good, flowers are beginning to push up from below after their long winter’s sleep, and maybe, just maybe, we’ve seen the last snow for the season.  Somehow though, I can’t bring myself to put the ice scraper and snow shovel away just yet!
 
I was looking around my yard the other day to see what winter is leaving behind.  Leaves and branches abound, and those branches, once dry, will be collected to get a start on next year’s kindling for the wood stove.  Some of my neighbor’s yards already look pretty good.  Will my yard measure up this year?
 
On the subject of measuring up, today I thought we might take a quick look at one of the most overlooked measuring tools in our collection: the common yardstick.  Do you remember when these ubiquitous items could be found wherever you were?  Each house, basement, sewing room, garage, or workshop always had at least one lurking somewhere.  Many stores and lumber yards kept them handy too.  The three yardsticks I share with you today came from three very different Easton businesses, all of whom chose to use them as advertising giveaways to customers.
 
First up is an old yardstick that was once found at Watt’s Hardware Store, 110 Center Street.  In 1923, Robert G. Watt, a blacksmith and a native of Scotland, purchased the former Wheaton Carriage factory building.  He ran a blacksmith shop there and added the hardware store, which he ran until he sold the building in 1949 to William Ladd.  This yardstick, which probably dates to the early 1940’s, has the store’s phone number, Easton 500, and the store address printed on both sides.
 
Next is a much heavier duty yardstick from William T. Knapp & Sons Fuel Oil.  Knapp had a business for many years at 76 Union Street, on the shores of Knapp’s (sometimes French’s) Pond.  The old familiar CEdar 8 numbers are plainly printed, and the company also reminds the user that they provide burner service.  On the back of the yardstick is a conveniently marked measuring stick used to check the oil level in your tank, as well as a special mark to remind you when to re-order your oil.
 
The third yardstick today is from Mitrano Chevrolet Company, which was located at 101 Main Street for many years.  The building no longer stands.  The familiar Chevrolet chevron logo is featured, but surprisingly no telephone number is given.  On the back of the yardstick, in heavy black lettering, are the words “Putting you first in a big way!”  Mitrano Chevrolet, owned by Paul Mitrano, was in business from the 1950’s (perhaps a little earlier) through the 1980’s, although they were located in Mansfield for a few years at the end.  Mitrano also provided school bus service for Easton students, and I can remember Paul’s brother Dan Mitrano filling in as a driver from time to time.
 
At one time, these useful yardsticks were given out as a reminder of who to call when you needed something.  Today, these yardsticks serve as reminders of Easton’s businesses.  By the way, do you know of any business that still offers yardsticks to their customers?  The last ones I can remember are Frugal Fanny’s or Freddy Farkel’s Fabric Warehouse (I am looking at one now!).  I keep that one right here in the Museum office just in case.  It still comes in quite handy!
 
Wishing you all good health and smiles as spring approaches,
Frank
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Weekly Update

3/13/2021

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​Hello my fellow history lovers!  I hope today finds you well.  After a stretch of beautiful days, the weather has again turned seasonably cool.  As I drove around yesterday, I noted that the ponds are clear of ice, except for Knapp’s Pond on Union Street, which still had a shimmering coating of thin ice across half the pond.  Here are a few items of interest for you.

 
First, remember to “spring ahead” and set your clocks ahead one hour tonight!
 
Second, I have attached the 2021 dues letter and form if you need it.  Since we use a permit for mailing, the hard copy may not be forwarded if you have a winter address.
 
Third, as we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and all things Irish, I call to your attention a program offered by the Society and the Ames Free Library.  On Tuesday, March 16th from 7-8 p.m. Ed Hands will present, via Zoom, a Master Class program on Easton’s Irish in the mid-19th Century.  Pre-registration is required.  You can follow this link for information on how to register, and further information on the program: https://www.amesfreelibrary.org/events/2021/02/25/master-class-online-irish-immigrants-easton-mid-19th-century-edmund-hands .  
 
The Historical Society now has a Zoom account, so watch out, I’ll be putting something together for an April Zoom meeting!
 
Here’s a few questions for you.  How many post offices are there in Easton today?  How many Zip Codes?  Can you name them all?  It might be tougher than you think.  For a small town, there has always been multiple post offices, and accordingly, multiple Zip Codes.  Compounding this in the old days was the fact that there could be streets in two different sections of town that had the same name!  Of course, in those old days, no one used street addresses anyway.  A letter was simply addressed to a name and town.  Still, it would find its way to the right person.
 
The Israel Alger house, built about 1785, stood near the northeast corner of the intersection of Turnpike and Foundry Street.  Within this house was Easton’s second post office, known as Easton No. 2, with Israel Alger as Postmaster from 1811 until his death in 1825.  He was followed by John Gilmore as postmaster for three and a half years, followed by Matthew Bolles, a Baptist minister.  By 1829, the No. 2 post office had been renamed the Easton Four Corners Post Office.  Bolles was succeeded only a year later by Bernard Alger, who was postmaster until the office was discontinued in 1841.  At that time the post office was relocated and renamed as the South Easton Post Office.  That was located for a time at the Morse factory on Central Street, and then for many years at the Copeland Store on Washington Street across from Central Street.  The South Easton Post Office moved onto its own building in the 1960’s, and in recent years, has been located in a plaza further south on Washington Street across from Simpson Spring, where my friend and OAHS graduate Steven Guthrie is now Postmaster.  The old Israel Alger house was destroyed by fire in the 1960’s.  Attached is a late 19th century photo of the house.
 
Today, there are three post offices in Easton: North Easton (02356), South Easton (02375) and Easton (02334), and a fourth Zip Code is in use by Stonehill College (02357).  At one time, there was an Eastondale Post Office with its own Zip Code (I think that was also 02357?), and there was an Easton Post Office at the railroad station at Easton Centre in the mid to late 1800’s.  There may have been as many as five post offices operating at the same time in Easton during the 19th century!
 
Stay well, and looking forward to many good things,
Frank
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Weekly Update

3/6/2021

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Greetings from beautiful, sunny Easton!  Sunny, but cold, with temperatures only into the low 30’s.  Still, it is refreshing to see the bright sun, and soaking it up for a few minutes reminds us that spring isn’t far off!
 
Today we will take a look at two South Easton businesses that supported the Brockton, Ma. shoe industry.  We recently received from Burt Lewis a book entitled History of the City of Brockton, Massachusetts with the following byline: Showing Its Industrial and Commercial Interests and Opportunities.  It was published in 1904 by the Brockton Trade Board to promote industrial accomplishments and opportunities within the city of Brockton.  It features a number of buildings and street scenes, but focuses on the Brockton shoe industry and supporting businesses.  There are a number of advertisements throughout that helped to defray the cost of printing.  Among those ads are two from South Easton, the F. H. White Machine Company, and the Ross Heel Company.
 
Along the shores of what was once Dean’s Pond, on the northeast corner of Depot Street and Washington Street, a mill complex arose that could trace its ancestry back to the 1690’s.  The mill we all remember best was the former J. O. Dean Grain Mill, where I purchased my grain for the chickens that I raised for 4-H.  Going north along the dam, there were once two other large buildings.  In 1881, brothers John O. Dean (1835-1912) and Thomas H. Dean (1819-1892) erected a building adjacent to the grain mill and began the Ross Heel Company, which made “Artistic Wood Heels” for the Brockton shoe manufacturers.  The “artistic” adjective was used to point out that these heels were finely finished and intended for use with fancy women’s shoes.  Demand for these perfectly crafted heels increased, and the business flourished.  Among the workers there was a man named Frederick H. White, a machinist who could repair the heel making machinery and make jigs and fixtures as needed to support production.
 
Following the death of Thomas Dean in 1892, Amasa Heath became a part owner of the business.  He began at least by 1895 a machine shop in partnership with Frederick White in a new building that stood immediately north of the Ross Heel Company building.  It was once known as the Heath and White Machine Company.  Eventually White became the sole owner, and the company was renamed F. H. White Machine Company by 1915 (John Dean died in 1912).  The company billed itself as “Builders of Experimental Machinery” and was aimed at the shoe industry, manufacturing customized machines including piano string machinery (used for crating), rawhide gears, and heel lift skiver machines.  The skiving machines mentioned would be used to smoothly surface shoe leather and shape leather heels.  This company was successful as well, employing many people, and both companies hired J. E. Goss to pick up workers from across town and bring them to their jobs in South Easton.
 
Around 1927, F. H. White sold his company to Ross Heel, who had plans to expand the business.  However, the expansion did not survive the 1929 stock market crash and the beginning of the Great Depression.  By 1934, both buildings were gone, and only the grain mill remained.  Sadly, that too was torn down just a few years ago.
 
In the attachment, I have included the two ads from the Brockton book.  Also included is a nice image of the factories that once stood along the Dean Pond site, now all entirely gone.  From left to right are the F. H. White Machine Company, in the center is the Ross Heel Company Building, and to the right is the former J. O. Dean grain mill.
 
I worked for the Brockton Tool Company, 7 Central Street, South Easton in the 1970’s and 1980’s.  The company made heel and sole injection molds for the shoe industry.  My foreman was a hale fellow named Arthur Perry.  His father, Quentino Perry, was foreman at Ross Heel prior to its closing.  Quentino was hired as a foreman at Brockton Tool and had a long career there, moving with the company to Easton from Brockton around 1947.  As was so often the custom, Quentino hired his son Arthur to run machinery and trained him up to take over as foreman when he eventually retired.  And as so often happened, when Quentino retired, his son Arthur became foreman.  One day during my time there, a heated discussion arose between a worker and Foreman Perry, which quickly reached the point where the worker began packing his tools to walk off the job.  Trying to get the last word in, the irate worker yelled at Perry, “Who retired and made your foreman anyway?”  to which came the truthful reply, “My father!”  All of the old-timers exploded in laughter, which pushed the worker, now completely embarrassed as well as mad, right out the door.  A few days later, he came back begging for his job, which was granted to him, and he returned to his workbench like nothing ever happened.  Brockton Tool was good that way – they always took their workers back.
 
Until next week, stay well,
Frank


-- 
Frank T. Meninno

Curator, Easton Historical Society and Museum
508-238-7774

www.eastonmahistoricalsociety.org

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Weekly Update

2/27/2021

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A hearty hello to my fellow lovers of all things historic!  As we slowly make our way to Spring, my thoughts begin to turn to “tourist season” here in Easton.  You might not think about Easton being a tourist attraction, but it is, and the approaching good weather makes that statement true as visitors begin to wander around, and wander in, discovering our corner of the world.  This past week I had two visitors from out of the area who came to look at Easton’s historic architecture, and they were pleased to be welcomed into the Museum for a visit.
 
When I think about tourism, souvenirs come to mind.  Our Museum Store is a great spot to browse for an appropriate Easton souvenir.  If we went back in time more than one hundred years, would a visitor to Easton be able to purchase a souvenir?  The answer is yes!
 
Thinking about this, one can imagine business travelers coming to Easton to do business with the Ames Shovel Works.  Visitors from other towns, and even from overseas, might come to visit their relatives who arrived from Ireland and Sweden to work and live here.  What might they bring back as a reminder of their time here?
 
In our collection are four items that feature a very familiar scene.  The attached files show the four items as well as a detail of the scene that is featured on all of them.  (Apologies for less than perfect images - I am adding a good camera to my wish list!)  From the top left, we have a large wood cylinder that originally had a pin cushion for a top; a small, thimble sized wood piece with a small pin cushion on each end; a wood shield shaped item whose velvet sides would also hold pins; and lastly a wood letter opener.  On each item is a street scene featuring the newly opened Oakes Ames Memorial Hall and the Ames Free Library.  The Richardson buildings and Olmsted landscaping not only began to change the feel of North Easton, they became an immediate attraction for visitors.  Of course, given an opportunity, someone would capitalize on that.  A small item in the Easton Journal, dated January 22, 1886, mentions a David Martin who had a jewelry stand inside the old North Easton Post Office building which stood at the time almost directly across from the Library.  This small, almost overlooked tidbit of news also mentions that he was selling souvenirs!  I do not know how long or how many different styles of these souvenirs Martin sold.  I am hopeful that we might find out more about both him and his business someday.  Who knows? Perhaps more of these items will turn up.  The large pin cushion was donated by the late Earl Nichols, and the shield was donated by Bob Vogel.
 
Until next week, stay well!
Frank​

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Souvenir Detail
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Weekly Update

2/20/2021

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​Greetings one and all!  The winter storm that has paralyzed so much of the south and central United States left little more than a mess here in Easton.  Two days of very light snow amounted to not much more than a few inches here, and there is some blue sky above us.  For those of you who choose to spend winter in much warmer climates, I’ve attached a photo taken this morning of Shovel Shop Pond.  The snow on the trees is certainly a pretty sight.  If you look closely, you can see people ice fishing on the snow-covered pond.  During this past week, temps have been cold enough to freeze the ice thick enough for several ice fishermen, and provided skating opportunities for some pond hockey players.
 
Society member and good friend Rich Eastman contacted me following last week’s update, and after he did a little “sleuthing ” was able to track down D. B. White.  Here is what we have found out since.
 
Daniel Billings White (1828-1920) was the 7th child (out of ten children!) born to Colonel Alanson White (1793-1883) and wife Rebecca (Billings) White (1797-1857).  Colonel (in the Easton Militia records, Lt. Colonel) White was born in Easton and lived for many years in a house near the present 104 Turnpike Street / Marisa Drive area.  Unfortunately, his house and surrounding farm no longer survives.  He fought in the War of 1812, and served as a State Representative in 1850.  He served in the Easton Militia Company for many years, and is one of a handful of Easton men to attain a high rank.  Among the couples large family was Guilford White, who had a very successful Boston legal practice, and Daniel, who must have studied medicine, but where and with whom I have not been able to determine.  By the mid 1800’s Daniel was producing or bottling medicine, probably in a room of his father’s house or in a small building on the property.  He met, and married in 1859 Eliza Hatch (1834-1914) and moved to Marshfield, Ma. where his wife was from.  Rich Eastman found a Marshfield census record for August 1865 that lists Daniel, his wife Eliza, and children Danial (6), Lyman (3), both born in Marshfield, and Ella (1) who was born in Abington, Ma.  In the census Daniel is listed as a “dealer in medicine.”  He appears to continue in that line of work until his retirement.  He died in Braintree, Ma and is buried in Hingham, Ma.
 
I have attached a photo of all three of the D. B. White bottles in the Museum’s collection, all from Easton, and with this new research can be dated to the 1850’s.  Two of the bottles have paper labels, and the third bottle features a beautifully done embossing in the glass, and is probably the earliest of the three bottles.  Thanks Rich, for shedding some light on our Eastondale doctor!
 
Until next week,
Frank
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Weekly Update

2/13/2021

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​Hello my fellow history lovers!  Looking back at this weekend in history, we can all remember the great Blizzard of 1978 that covered the area with more snow than I care to see again!  Going back a bit further, another blizzard hit the area in 1940, with snow and near-hurricane force winds.  Eerily similar to the 1978 event, both storms stranded people in their cars, and at Boston Garden too.  Valentine’s Day suffered, for last-minute shoppers were soon snowed out of candy and gift stores for a few days.  Fortunately, we do not see a storm of those proportions bearing down on us this year.
 
This is also flu season, though the pandemic has made it a very quiet one for that illness.  Mask wearing, social distancing, sanitizing and staying close to home has practically stopped the transmission of the flu virus, a welcome side effect of all the precautions we are taking because of Covid.
 
One of the collections at the Museum that receives a lot of interest is our collection of old bottles.  Today we will take a look at three medicine bottles from some years ago. *Note: for historical purposes only - not for medical advice!
 
First, and oldest of the group, is the bottle at the top left in the attached photo.  It contains "Dr. White’s Genuine Essence of Spearmint."  The bottle, which features a pontil on the bottom, dates to the Civil War era (1850 – 1870) and has a paper label.  On the label is the guarantee that the contents are “Made of the best Material” and that it is “Manufactured in the Laboratory of D. B. White & Co., of South Easton, Mass.”  Essence of Spearmint, like other mint oils, was used to treat many symptoms ranging from stomach ills and indigestion, soothing skin irritations, and relieving tension headaches when a few drops were rubbed onto your forehead and temples.  Treatments such as these are still in use and I know a number of people who keep mints in their pocket to soothe an upset stomach.  Mint oils are used in aromatherapy today.  Unfortunately, I have no information on our Dr. White.  I strongly suspect that he lived on Turnpike Street in the area between High and Hill Streets, as the 1855 and 1871 maps show a strong presence of the White family there.  D. B. White (if he was actually a doctor at all) does not show up on these maps, nor does a laboratory or other shop where this could have been produced.  His lab could have been no more than a room in his house.  D. B. White does not appear in any cemetery records that I have, so he remains an enigma.
 
The second bottle is more recent, and appears below the one just mentioned.  This bottle of glycerine was sold by Fred L. Reed, Registered Pharmacist.  His store was located at 55 Main Street, North Easton.  This bottle has a screw on cap made of bakelite, and dates from the early 20th Century.  The paper label does not contain a phone number, a hint of its age.  Glycerine, still widely used today as an ingredient used to keep toothpaste and other topical creams from drying out, is also the main ingredient in nitroglycerine!  Yes, that same nitroglycerine that goes “Bang!” is a drug that is given to many heart patients, which when ingested, opens arteries to relieve angina pain.  In former days, it was used to treat glaucoma, skin irritations, and to relieve constipation.  I could not find out much at all about our friendly pharmacist.  Perhaps one you might know something about him?
 
 
 
Lastly, I call your attention to the large brown bottle on the right.  Ernest L. Spooner (1868-1951) is someone we are more familiar with.  As a young man, he clerked for George G. Withington who ran a pharmacy on Center Street for many years.  When Withington retired, Spooner bought the business.  Similar to Withington, the store supplied medicines for prescriptions, commercially produced home remedies, and sundries (everything from note paper and cards to gifts for all occasions) as do today’s drug stores.  This brown bottle (whose coloring may have protected the contents from the effects of sunlight) has a metal screw cap and dates to the early 20th century.  The paper label reads “Spirit of Turpentine” and “Ernest L. Spooner, Pharmacist, 7 Centre Street, North Easton, Mass.”  It does not contain a telephone number.  Spirit of Turpentine was used as a liniment for burns and other skin issues.  The dosing directions are printed on the label, are as follows: “Five to twenty drops on sugar.  When employed as a liniment, it should be used with care and followed by a soothing application.”  The “drops on sugar” got my attention.  It turns out that the same compound used to thin paint (this particular bottle has white paint on it) was once used to treat everything from mood swings to rheumatism, stomach upset, and chronic fatigue.  Thankfully medicine has come a long way!
 
Stay well (especially after reading this!) and until next week,
Frank
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Weekly Update

2/6/2021

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​Hello!  For all you fans of winter, it looks like there is something to look forward to!  The recent snow and arctic cold snap brought opportunities for sledding, ice skating, and even a little ice fishing today on Shovel Shop Pond.  As I write this, we are getting ready for another storm Sunday.  Get your snowshoes out, we’re going to need them!
 
Today’s historical item has to do with building a road.  Roads in Easton, like many other towns, came by way of necessity.  The early maps of Easton show the early roads (there are not many) and a close look reveals roads that are no longer in use, or roads whose paths changed over time.
 
Our case in point today is Depot Street.  Running from the Five Corners easterly to Turnpike Street, it was built up in sections as it was needed.  The earliest part of Depot Street was in existence by 1703, running from South Easton Green (where Depot Street intersects Washington Street) east to about where Pine Street begins today.  That makes sense, as that area was the first part of town settled, and would run by the homestead of our first settler Clement Briggs.  As a matter of fact, it probably began as a cart path from the Briggs home near Pine Street to the early mills at the former Dean Pond.  By 1716, the road was extended west to the area of Easton Center where it would intersect with Center Street.  The section of road from the Five Corners as far east as Black Brook was in place by 1752, and by 1838 a connecting cart path completed Depot Street, making it possible to travel a more direct route from Easton Furnace Village, past the Town Hall near Center Street, crossing Washington Street at the Green, and finally ending at Pine Street.
 
By the 1840’s a small mill and a few small shoe shops were built near the Shoddy Mill site on Turnpike Street.  That, coupled with a need to get to North Bridgewater (now Brockton) for business purposes, brought the immediate neighborhood together to try and get a road built that would connect between Pine Street and Turnpike Street.  In 1847 a number of residents began the process of petitioning for the extension of Depot Street to Turnpike Street.  A hand written paper was sent to the Bristol County Commissioners, requesting a hearing on the possible extension of the road.  A newspaper posting was made, as well as a notice of the petition being posted in town, and County Commissioners came to Easton to view the land over which the road would run.  More than likely, there was already a cart path along the same general direction where the new road would run.  Once approved by the County Commissioners, who would also oversee any surveying and laying out of the road way, the Town would be asked to approve the road at Town Meeting and fund its construction.  The new road was completed in 1848, and what we know today as Depot Street was finished.  I do not know the cost to build the road, and the earliest example I could find in a Town Report referred to building part of Williams Street from Main Street to about Reynolds Street at a cost of $500 in 1871.
 
Attached is a scan of the handwritten document to the County Commissioners, as well as the original printed notice.  Note that there were no street names in those days, and the description of the roadway refers to places where the road would run from, go to, and where it would pass by.  This can be pretty confusing to follow!  A list of the signers is included below.  Also attached is a scan of two maps.  The 1825 map details the area around Washington Street and Turnpike Street, showing that Depot Street ended where Pine Street begins today.  Residents would be required to take a more circuitous route to get to Brockton.  The 1855 map details the same area with the addition of the new extension to Depot Street, providing a more direct route to the Turnpike.
 
I hope you all stay well and safe as we prepare for more stormy weather.
 
Until next week, all the best,
Frank
 
Signers:
Barzillai Dean, William Reed, Jacob Williams, Thomas H. Dean, Samuel Simpson, Daniel Randall, Solomon Stone, Silas Phillips, Napoleon B. Dawes(?), James Guild, Samuel Guild, Edwin A. Randall, Lucius Howard, Rotheus Reed, Joshua Littlefield, Abijah Read, Bernard Alger, Cyrus Alger, Nahun Pratt, Leander Ripley, Edward Dean, John Pool, S. W. Morse, B. F. Johnson, Alanson White, Caleb Lothrop, Albert Lothrop, Joseph Lothrop, Caleb S. Lothrop, John B. Lothrop, Martin Guild, Lincoln Drake, Thomas F. Davidson, H. W. Wrightman, Daniel Edson.
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    Curator: Frank Meninno

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