History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

458 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
ainmunition for small arms and for field, siege,
and sea-coast service. The enlisted force dur-
ing the war was one hundred and ten men; the
present number is twenty-two.
Colonel Theodore T. S. Laidley, of Virginia, a
graduate from West Point in 1842, has been in
command since April 11, 1871. The former commanders
have been : Captain George Talcott, 1816
-1820; Major xVbraham R. Woolley, 1820-1821;
Lieutenant David T.Welch, 1821-1823; Lieuten-
ant John W. Thompson, 1823-1824 ;
Lieutenant
D. Van Ness, 1825; Major H. K. Craig, 1825-
1838; Major M. P. Lomax, 1838-1842; J. A.
Webber, military store-keeper, 1842-1849; Cap-
tain W. A. Thornton, 1849-1851; Major E.
Harding, 1851-1854 ; Lieutenant-Colonel J. W.
Ripley, 1854-1855; Captain R. A. Wainwright,
1855-1859; Captain T. J. Rodman, 1859-1865 ;
Lieutenant-Colonel C. P. Kingsbury, 1865-1870.
The town-hall was dedicated November 6, 1846.
The free public library, established in 1868 and
opened for the delivery of books in March follow-
ing, occupies a portion of the building. It con-
tains 12,000 volumes, nearly as many pamphlets,
and has a well-furnished reading-room. Watertown
lias a National Bank, opened in 1873, and a
fSuviiigs-Bank.
Pc(iuussette Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons,
constituted in January, received its charter Decem-
ber 23, 1857, having thirty-three members. Its
place of meeting until 1870 was in Dana's Block;
its ])resent hall is in Noyes' Block, opposite the
town-hall. Most of the charter members of
Belmont Lodge, and many of Dalhousie Lodge,
Newton, received their degrees in Pequossette
Lodge. Its present membership is one hundred
and twenty-two.
In the early days property was very evenly dis-
tributed. For eighty years after the first settlement
tiiere were not more than one or two inventories
that exceeded £700. Taxation, as in all new
countries, was necessarily heavy. The aimual ex-
pense of snpporiiiiL; llir ministry iilmic in the time
of Rev. Mr. Nlicnn;ni was about lw(, per (viit of
the whole assessed value; of the town. The num-
ber of taxable persons between lii.'iS and l(iS5
fluctuated from 153 to 192. A tax