History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

Longfellow's picture of this famous tavern, as
quoted by Professor Young and others, is as follows
—
:
"As ancient is tliis hnstch'y
As any in tlie land may be.
Built in tlie old colonial day.
When men lived in a grander way.
With -n-eather stains upon the wall,
And stairways worn and crazy doors.
And creaking and uneven floors.
And chimneys huge and tiled and tall."
The Wayside Inn, as a building, was small at
first ; from time to time additions were made to it
as was needed, till it became a tavern, for such a
locality, of large dimensions. It is on the great
TEWKSBURY. 373
TEWKSBURY.
road from Boston to "VYorcestcr, about midway be-
tween the two cities, and in the days before rail-
roads was usually thronged by travellers of all
classes, while many were drawn tiiere by the repu-
tation of the house for fine entertainments.
The most important parts of this building remain
in the e.\act style of the olden times. The
rooms are as they were, most of them, when Wash-
ington and Lafayette were entertained there over
night. Tlie oaks still standing around it, very
large, sparsely supplied with limbs, and with hollow
trunks, are evidently very aged. Even now many
come from a distance to take a look at tiiis ancient
structure and be conducted through its rooms and
up into the dancing-hall, in which the visitors of
so many years ago were wont to make merry.
BY LEOXARD HUNTRESS, ASSISTED BY J. C. KITTREDGI
* V B ^ ^^ ^''^' territory lying between
^\ "^ ^^%. Andover and AVilmington on
'^^^^^ n— " the east, Wilmington and Bil-
lerica on the soutli, the Con-
cord River on the west, and
the Merrimack River on the
north, was taken from Biller-
ica in 1734, and incorporated
into a new township, bearing
the name of Tewksbury. It
is supposed to have derived its English name from
Tewksbury in the county of Gloucester, in Eng-
land. Its Indian title was Wamesit, from tiie
tribe of that name whose camping-ground was at
the confluence of the above-named rivers. The
area of the town is much less now than when in-
corporated ; for in 1834 nearly one thousand acres,
embracing the village of Belvidere, and in 1874
another considerable tract adjoining, were added to
Lowell. It now comprises some 13,200 acres, and
sixty-five miles of roads lying east of and adjoining
Lowell, and about twenty miles north from Boston.
It is separated from New Hampsliire only by the
Merrimack River and the town of Dracut.
The soil for the most part in the central, eastern,
and southern portions of the town is sandy ; still,
tliere are a few exceptions to tliis rule, where the
land is of the best quality. As we approach the
northern part the ground rises, and assumes a
better character. The beauty of the scenery is
also superior in that part. The surface of the
town is also somewhat uneven, there being several
considerable hills, of which the most conspicuous is
Prospect Hill, near the Andover line, which much
adorns the town ; also Snake Hill, near the line of
Wilmington. In addition to the Merrimack and
Concord rivers, washing its western and northern
banks, the Shawshine runs through the southern
and easterly sections, and with Strongwater and
Beaver brooks, and Long and Round ponds, fur-
nish a good variety and quantity of the small fish
that usually inhabit our New England streams.
There are two saw and grist mills ; one in the
north part of the town, near the Merrimack River,
and the other in the southeast part, on the Shaw-
shine. There are also an extensive tannery, expen-
sive and successful chemical works, and a foundry
and machine-shop doing a large business in tlie
manufacture of cotton machinery. Both of these
last-named establishments are owned and operated
by Lowell jArties.
There are two villages :
one in the centre, where