History of Northampton, Massachusetts, from its settlement in 1654;

—
1674.] MATTERS ECCLESIASTICAL AND EDUCATIONAL. 221
lieve citizens of onerous public duty, as well as to distrib-
ute the honors of citizenship) more evenly, the town voted
in 1674:
'• Wheare as the inhabitants of this Towne bane for sunderrie years
made choice of Townsmen the same that wheare in the yeare before
and it beinge toe greate a burden for the same men toe be soe often imployd
in that worke and others eased the select men takinge the matter
intoe consideration doe order that for tym to come noe man shaU be
chosen toe be a Towns man aboue toe yearse toegether and but on or
toe of them toe be chosen a second tyme nether."
Grants of Saw MiH For sixteeu ycars Northampton had been
Privileges. witliout a saw mill, and when the matter
was first agitated, in 1667, the town made
very generous propositions towards the promotion of such
an enterprise, by offering the builders twenty acres of land,
if the mill should be completed within three years. The
grantees, John King and Medad Pomeroy, however, failed
to carry otit their obligation, and in 1670, the same grant
was made to Joseph Parsons Sr. , with the additional concession
that "the mill was togoe rate free, in all the comon
Towne rates due from him and his heirs soe long as he
keepe the mill goeing for the Townes vse." Rev. Mr. Stoddard,
who had just begun to preach here, seems to have
joined in this venture. They built the mill, on Mill River,
just below "Bakers Meadow," probably in or near the
present "Bay State" village, and received the land offered
for it from the town. Joseph Parsons had "the land for
his father's mill " over Munlian river, and Mr. Stoddard
had what has since been known as "Stoddard's Meadow,"
on Mill River, in the present village of Florence. Mr.
Stoddard sold his right in the "mill place" in 1689, to John
Parsons, but no mill was there at the time. This was the
first saw mill constructed in Northampton.
In 1674, David Wilton, Medad Pomeroy, and John Taylor,
had liberty to "set vp" a saw mill " on the brooke on
the right hand of the Cart waye goinge over Munhan river
on this sid that runs intoe the river and whilese the mill
is in vse theye haue granted them ten or twilf acors of
Land for a pasture." They were also granted "the Liber-
tie of the Commons toe fall timber." This mill was prob-
ably built by the grantees, and was the first one erected
within the present limits of the town of Easthampton.