History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

80 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
restoration of the charter of Pentucket Lodge, its
jewels and its property." This jietition was granted,
and it was reopened September 16, at the dwelling-
house of Jesse Phelps, on the Merrnnack Corpora-
tion. October I, the meeting was held for the
first time in Wentworth's Hall.
March 10, 18i6, the former members of Mount
Horeb Eoyal Arch Chapter petitioned for a restora-
tion of their charter, which had been revoked in
1840. This petition was granted, and the first
meeting was held April 6, 1846.
Jane 19, 1852, a dispensation was granted for
a new lodge, called the Ancient York, and Jeffer-
son Bancroft was appointed Master. The charter
bears date June 9, 1853.
October 21, 1855, a charter was granted under
which Pilgrim Encampment was instituted, and its
officers were installed November 8.
December 9, 1856, a charter was granted for the
resuscitation of the Ahasuerus Council. This, origi-
nally a "self-constituted" body, was established
July 6, 1826.
March 1-3, 1867, a charter was granted for the
Kilwiiniing Lodge, and its officers were installed
Marcli 26.
March 11, 1868, another lodge, called the Wil-
liam North, was chartered, and the officers were in-
stalled March 26.
In addition to the above there were the Lowell
Lodge of Perfection, the Lowell Council of Princes
of Jerusalem, and the Mount Calvary Chapter of
Rose Croix, and Massachusetts Consistory thirtytwo
degrees. The consistory was removed to
Boston in 1871. Charters were obtained for these
between 1857 and 1862.
The last meeting held in Masonic Hall on John
Street was January 31, 1872. The number of
members of the different lodges at that time was:
Pentucket 265, Ancient York 196, Kilwinning 43,
William North HI, —total 615.
February 13, 1872, the lodges dedicated the new
Masonic Temple, erected by liocum Hosford, Esc[.,
on Merrimack Street ; on which occasion R. W.
William Sewall Gardner delivered an address, from
which (lie above facts in regard to Masonry in
Lowell have been gleaned.
This year the Rev. H. A. Miles ])ublislied a little
handbook, entitled Lowell us II Wan and an Tl h.
It was very much needed at that time, giving in-
formation Ihat had been can-fidl\ gnlhcriMl from
the best aiilliorilifs, and is iririlv re-
liable.
February 2, 1846, the city council passed an
order remonstrating against a petition to the legis-
lature asking for the annexation of that part of
Dracut called Centralville.
Jefferson Bancroft was mayor this year. He
was born in Warwick, Mass., April 30, 1803. The
Exchange Coffee House on Lowell Street, the store
now occupied by Cook and Taylor on Central Street,
and the first dwelling-house built on Tyler Street
were erected by him. He purchased of the Locks
and Canals Company the Stone House, and leased
it to Major Samuel A. Coburn. When that gen-
tleman relinquished it, he changed it from a hotel
to a private dwelling-house. Eventually it went
into the possession of Dr. J. C. Ayer.
When President Polk visited Lowell, June 30,
1847, Mayor Bancroft said, among other things,
" Although I have the honor, as mayor of the city,
to welcome you among us to-day, some twenty
years ago I commenced my career here, and was
a long time employed as an operative in yonder
mills."
April 14, the venerable judge of the police court,
Hon. Joseph Locke, resigned his office.
Nathan Crosby received the appointment of
judge of the police court in May, and has con-
tinued, from that time to the present, to discharge
the arduous duties of the position acceptably.
The Hamilton Manufacturing Company, finding
that their purchases of cloths for printing were
inferior in quality, erected a new mill on the bank
of the canal in which to manufacture their own
printing cloths. A.\m\ 17, the wall of the new-
mill towards the canal fell with a crash, filling the
canal with the debris.
A new carpet-mill, built for the power-looms,
covering over three quarters of an acre of ground,
being two hundred and seventy-two feet long, one
hundred and thirty-eight feet wide, one story above
the basement, was commenced this year.
The New or Northern Canal was commenced in
June of this year. The necessity of this canal was
felt, from the fact that so many mills were drawing
on the old canal. The loss of head, after running
a few hours in the morning, was about five feet,
compelling the mills to run at a low speed the re-
mainder of the day. The length of this canal is
five thousand feet. The water-way is one hundred
feet witle and fifteen feet dee]). Water was let
into it Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1847.
The canal cost lii!530,000, employing in its con-
struction seven hundred to one thousand persons,