History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

seventy horses, seventy-two oxen, and seven steam-
engines. Twelve thousand barrels of cement were
used in building it.
The subterranean canal under Worthen Street
unites the waters of the New Canal with the old
Merrimack Canal, thus giving all the mills located
on the latter a more reliable supply. Its length
is about one quarter of a mile, width thirty feet,
and depth ten feet. It cost about §100,000.
The people of Ireland this year (1847) were
threatened with starvation, and our country, with
a generous liberality, contributed for their relief.
Meetings were held in this city, committees organ-
ized, and $1,990 contributed for the relief of the
sufferers.
May 1, the number of srliool-children in the city
between the ages of four and sixteen was 0,089.
May 11, the county commissioners purchased a
lot of land on Gorham Street, Chapel Hill, for the
new court-house, at ten cents per foot, and also
five acres of land of Ransom Eeed at S800 per
acre, on which to locate the jail, or house of cor-
rection.
September 12, Patrick Tracy Jackson died at his
seaside residence in Beverly. He was born at
Newburyport, August 14, 1780, the youngest son
of the Hon. Jonathan Jackson. From 1812 to
1817 the life of Mr. Jackson is so interwoven with
that of Francis C. Lowell, that to know one is to
know both. They were engaged in the same pur-
suits, and labored for the same end. Being deprived
of the co-operation of Mr. Lowell, who died in
1817, there was no hesitation, no drawing back on
his part. The experience he had acquired, united
with his sagacity, eminently fitted him for the posi-
tion of manager iu carrying forward to completion
the plans he had the genius to form. From 1831
to the time of his death the history of Lowell is
his history.
The slow process of teaming and boating mer-
chandise from Boston to Lowell and back, tlie in-
convenience of being blockaded with snow in winter
or delayed by heavy rain-storms in summer, must
give way to a more expeditious method, and the
Boston and Lowell Railroad was planned and built.
To do this, surveying had to be done, estimates to
be made, eminent engineers consulted, the objections
of opponents answered, friends assured, grum-
blers pacified, delays explained, and money sub-
scribed. All this Mr. .Jackson accomplished.
After the deatli of Mr. Boott, when it was found
that the stock of the Locks and Canals Company
LOWELL. 83
had depreciated, Jlr. Jackson was placed at the
head of tliat company, and succeeded in bringing
back its palmiest days. This enhanced his previous
reputation, and no great public enterprise was
undertaken without consulting him. During the
last few years of his life he was treasurer and agent
of the Great Falls Manufacturing Company at
Somersworth, New Hampshire. Bad judgment and
injudicious management had made it an unprofitable
concern. The changes lie made and the capabili-
ties he developed soon brought about a different
result. The strain, however, was great; tlie care
and responsibility proved too much for his physical
strength. After a year or two the effects were
exhibited in a gradual prostration. When attacked
by dysentery in the summer of 1847, he sunk under
it. His biography, written by his friend, John A.
Lowell, enters more fully into the beauty and con-
sistency of his character. He possessed a nice
sense of honor, was governed by an enliglitened
conscience, and distinguished by a cheerfulness
and benevolence that attracted and won all with
whom he came in contact.
October 30, the City Institution for Savings was
organized. The Appleton Bank was incorporated
this year, with a capital of §100,000, since increased
to §300,000.
Ayer's New City is the name given to one of the
suburbs of Lowell. Daniel Ayer was its founder.
He purchased the land, a sandy plain near Hale's
Brook, laid out streets and lots, obtained a plan,
and had a monster auction sale, enticing attendance
by the promise of a barbecue, that is, an ox roasted
whole. The occasion drew a crowd of people, but
the unsavory smell spoiled their appetites. Ayer
went into chancery in 1844, owing money to a
number of persons ; but he eventually paid them.
July 4, 1848, there were two celebrations, and
orations were delivered by ElishaJ3artlett and the
Pi«v. John Moore.
Tlie reservoir on Lynde's Hill, in Tewksbury,
was built by the companies tiiis year under the
superintendence of J. B. Francis. It is about one
and one half miles from the city hall. The top of
the embankment is 190 feet above the water-level
in the upper canals. The depth of the reservoir is
18 feet, with 12 feet of water, giving the water
in the reservoir a height of 184 feet. The reser-
voir is 174 feet square at the top and 102 feet at
the bottom. When full it contains 1,201,641
imperial gallons.
It is supplied from the eanal near the machine-