History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

pastorate, but holds regular services at Perkins'
Hall, on Mechanic Street.
The Emmanuel (Episcopal) Church was organ-
ized in 1871. Services according to the usages of
the Protestant Episcopal Church had been occa-
sionally held in the town during a period of about
twenty-five years. Eev. Samuel R. Slack officiated
as the first rector ; since his resignation in 1873
services have been conducted principally by Eev.
George Walker, of Peabody. This, society wor-
ship in a convenient hall in AVakefield's Block.
A Union Society, in the village of Greenwood,
was formed in 1873, and is gradually accumulating
a fund towards building a chapel. Its pastor is
E«v. Austin S. Garver, a Congregational clergyman,
and its place of worship is in Lyceum Hall.
The nucleus of another religious society was
formed in 1873, in the village of Montrose, by the
organization of a mission Sabbath-scliool undCr
the ausjjices of the Young Men's Christian Asso-
ciation of Wakefield. Its sessions are held in the
Montrose School-house.
The cause of education has not been neglected
in Wakefield. In its early years the school-house
was planted beside the meeting-house, and from
these two sources of New England civilization
have continued to flow rich and pure streams, re-
freshing many generations.
Common schools have furnished about the only
means of education in this town. The South
Reading Academy was incorporated in 18^9, and
exercised an important and useful influence on the
youth of the town, and prepared the way for the
public higli school, which was established in 1845,
when the town contained only about three hundred
families. It has now become one of the cliiefcst
glories of the town. It has for many years had a
complete and well-defined course of study. The
first diplomas were issued to graduates in 1863, the
late Cyrus Wakefield having, with his accustomed
munificence, presented to the town the elegant and
costly engravings. At a later period of his life
he contemplated the gift of a new and improved
diploma. Prevented by his sudden death from
realizing this design, his widow, Mrs. Eliza A.
Wakefield, sought to execute the purpose. Her
greatly lamented decease in 1877 left the kindly
intent still unfulfilled, but it was, in 187S, carried
into full efi'ect by the heirs of Mr. Wakefield.
The public schools of the town are all carefully
graded, and their high rank and efficiency are a
source of pride to the people.
WAKEFIELD. 40. -^
The town supports eighteen schools, with nine
hundred and twenty-one pupils, and twenty teachers.
Hon. Paul II. Sweetser, who died in 187^, was
an especial and earnest friend of education in tlie
town and commonwealth.
Libraries have been well sustained in this town.
The people of South Reading have had the best
reading in all the region round about.
The Social Library was formed in the last cen-
tury, and discontinued in 1836.
The Franklin Library was established in 1831,
and the Prescott Library about 1845, and were
very useful in their day. In 185G was established
the Public Library of South Reading, now known
as tiie Beebe Town Library of Wakefield, in honor
of Lucius Beebe, Esq., its generous and constant
friend, and, with its si.\ty-five hundred well-chosen
volumes, is a radiating centre of good and precious
mfluences. The number of accounts on which
books are charged is si.\ hundred and eighty-two,
and the annual deliveries of books amount to thirty
thousand. A new alphabetical and classified cata-
logue of the library has just been printed.
The first regular weekly newspaper of the town
was T/ie South Beading Gazette, established by
William H. Hutchinson in 1858, though for
years previously a South Reading Department had
been contained in The Middlesex Jonnial, printed
in Woburn.
In 1868 A. Augustus Foster commenced the
publication of The Wahefeld Banner, a weekly
sheet and welcome visitor in the family circle,
which was, September 1, 1872, merged in The
Citizen, a newly established journal issued by the
Citizen Newspaper Company, and which soon attained
a high character and extended influence. A
few months later, a new and struggling sheet, called
The Wakefield Advocate, appropriated the old name
of Wakefield Banner, and sought to divide the
public patronage.
These rival newspapers were united, January 1,
1874, under the name of Wakefield Citizen and
Banner. This consolidated paper is now the only
one of the town, and under the enterprising management
of William H. Tworably, editor and proprietor,
has become one of the necessaries of municipal life.
A free lecture association was organized about
six years ago, and, supported by the liberality of
citizens, is still in operation. The association pro-
vides an aimual course of lectures, generally of a
popular scientific character, free, or nearly so, to
all inhabitants of the town.