Sign Up  /  Login

A Brief History of Uxbridge Mass LbNA #22804 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Jun 6, 2006
Location:
City:Uxbridge
County:Worcester
State:Massachusetts
Boxes:9
Planted by:The 2 Fat Cats
Found by: teamhair na ri (3)
Last found:Mar 22, 2011
Status:FFaFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Last edited:Jun 6, 2006





This series of boxes is intended to give you a glimpse at some of the rich history here in Uxbridge. There are 8 microboxes with no log books or pens/pencils and 1 box that contains everything you need. Along with the clues will be a brief description of where you are. We know that there is a ton of history here in town but we've decided to share some of our favorites. The clues are easy and great for beginners and young children. If you like it, drop us a line, and, who knows, maybe we'll do a brief history of your town sometime.

Taking Rte 146 (north or south), take exit 1 to 146A. Follow 146A North towards Uxbridge. If you just passed the Oyster Cabin on your left, you're gong the right way. Take a left onto Rt98 and make an immediate left into the Quaker Friends Meeting House. You will be using the women's entrance on Aldrich St. Starting with Southern Uxbridge in Quaker City, the Friends Meeting House at 479 Quaker Highway was built in 1770 and served the Quaker community until 1910. It is once again open on special occasions, including some holiday services. Two separate entrances and meeting places followed the Quaker tradition of separating genders. Attendance was often very large so that the balcony was full. As the Revolutionary War broke out, many Quakers refused to pay taxes that would support any fighting, this holding onto the Quaker tenet of peace. Park in the grassy area and face the road. With the building behind you, look to the two trees with two rocks beside them. Go to the trees and look to the edge of the one on the right. Under a rotting tree stump you will find box #1. Exit the parking lot by the men's entrance (in front of the building) and onto 146A north again. Be careful of the blind corner.

Go through the light and continue north. At the stop sign, you should see the Cocke 'n Kettle resturaunt in front of you. The Cocke n Kettle Resturant was once the 1794 Georgian home of the The Honorable Bazaleel Taft Sr. (1750-1839) Taft was a loyal Federalist who served in the Revolutionary War before becoming a State senator and representative to the General Court for over 30 years. His mother, Lydia, a widow was the first legal woman voter in the United States when she voted in support of funding the French and Indian War at Town Meeting. When Bazaleel passed on at the ripe age of 89, his daughter and her husband, Joseph Taft Thayer who was a Brown University graduate in law, and had been a strong proponent and active in the Blackstone Canal and the providence and Worcester Railroad construction. Enter the left parking lot (across from the courthouse) and head left in front of the building to the North parking area. Looking at the street, find the large tree between two bushes. In the tree's mouth will be box #2. Please rehide well and exit the parking area. Take a right onto Rte122N.

You will pass the senior center on the right and the town hall on the left. At the light, take a right on to Mendon St (Rt16E). Follow the road until you come to the Stanely Woolen Mill. Originally known as the Central Woolen Mill in Calumet Village. It is mostly vacant, yet a portion of the huge wooden buildings house a spacious antique store and is the subject of future visioning sessions by State, federal and local partnerships. In 1852, Moses Taft built the mill and leased it to Israel Southwick and Richard Sayles. During the Civil War, 24 hour production of indigo blue uniform cloth was ongoing before the mill was sold to Robert and Jacob Taft in 1865. Soon after, they built a dam at Rice City Pond which considerably increased the water power. In 1866, an 80 horsepower steam engine was installed and production continued to rise dramatically as the mill started producing fancy cassimeres as the name changed to the Calumet Woolen Company. Arthur and Stanley Wheelock bought the mill after 1905 and during WWI, a half million yards of khaki for the US government was produced as well as cloth for the French and Italian governments. This was the longest running family-owned woolen mill in the US until it closed in 1988. Take a left onto Cross St and continue into the small park behind the mill. This is part of the Blackstone Valley Heritage Park system. Turn so that you are facing the back of the mill. Walk towards the old fence. The box #3 is well-hidden along the fenceline. Please rehide well.

Heading out the way you came, take a right onto rt16 (now heading west). Soon you will pass St.'s General Store on your right. Stop in for a snack and a drink if you need one, you still have 6 more boxes to find! Just beyond St. Mary's Church, the road will bend to left. Take a quick right into the parking are for the John Farnum House. The earliest intact structure in town is the John Cornet Farnum House, built around 1710, where the first Uxbridge Town Meeting was held on July 25, 1727,. At that time, Uxbridge was approximately 29 square miles and contained about 50 families. Directly across from this attractive and renovated home is the Prospect Hill Cemetery. Park behind the building and look at the backside of it. In the lower right corner of the foundation there is a rock you can remove. Take it out and find box #4. Carefully replace the box and the stone. Be careful since this a well-manicured area and anything out of place could look suspicious.

Head out of the parking lot and go directly across the street towards the cemetary. This is Depot St. Park next to the wall and enter the cemetary. In 1737, Daniel Taft donated land to the Town along the west side of South Main Street for a burial place. In 1795 and then again in 1855, the Town purchased parcels of land from Jonathan Farnum and Deacon William Capron for a new cemetery called Prospect Hill at 35 Mendon Street. The remains of the original 1737 burial ground, the site of the Town Hall area, were transferred to Prospect Hill between 1865-1875 to clear the way for the Old Center School, Town Hall and the Methodist Church along south Main Street. The wall and entrance to Prospect Hill Cemetery were added in 1901 with funding from the Ladies Union Association of Uxbridge. Nearby is St Mary's Cemtery and there are or have been 31 other smaller burial grounds in town. There are many historic gravestones at Prospect Hill cemetery, so this is certainly worth a visit if you're any kind of a history buff! Walk down the dirt path past the two trees. Just after the trees, at the third row on the right, find Samual Bullard. Head straight ahead and meet Phebe Taft. Continue straight on and say hello to Capt Edward Seagrave a veteran of the Revolutionary War. Now that you have met some of our friends, look off into the distance and see the mausoleum of 1856. Head towards it and follow the path to the right of it. You should now be standing right on top of the structure. This is some veiw! Turn around and face the woods. Just into the treeline, you'll see a small stump containing box #5. Head back down the dirt path, say good-bye to your new found friends and return to your car.

Exiting Depot St., turn left onto RTE16E again. Look right to see a nice view of the waterfall and remember the flood of '05, when the water tripled it's capacity and threatend the very bridge you just crossed over. Take a right at the light and straight through the next one. Take a quick right into the parking lot between the church and the library. The First Congregational Church at 21 North Main Street was built across the Common in 1834 when a dispute in 1831 separated the First Congregational Society members into Calvinistic or liberal paths and dogma. A wonderful Hook and Hastings pipe organ was donated by relatives in memory of Charles Wheelock.and the first pastor, Rev. Samuel Clark, dedicated this Church in 1835. During WWI, the parishes shared services, but otherwise their beliefs of conservatism vs. moreliberal have kept them entirely separate. Next door to the First Congregational Church is the Thayer Memorial Building at 15 North Main Street, which houses the Free Public Library. George Southwick of Chocolog Village had run the community's first library, originally known as the Uxbridge Social and Instructive Library, at his store from 1775-1812. in 1874, the Town voted to establish a library thanks to the rganizing efforts of Charles Wheelock. The books moved from Barnes Jewelry Store to the new Town Hall in 1880 until the Thayer Memorial building was donated to the town for the library in 1893 by Edward C. Thayer in memory of his parents. Dedication was held on June 20, 1894 with 6,750 books. There are over 45,000 volumes today and the library is filled with portraits of many of Uxbridge's most prominent historical citizens. Park in the lot and be discreet as it can be very busy at times. Go to the handicap parking sign. Look to the right at the base of a large tree and find a stump with 3 trunks. Deep within the stump is box #6. Rehide well.

From here, you can either walk or drive as the last few are very close by. If you are walking, cross the street and enter the Town Common. There are several monuments there. One is dedicated to the men who fought in the Civil War, another is the Roll of Honor from WWII. The most recent is dedicated to the men and women who served in Vietnam. The three benches there are in rememberance of the three men who fell there. There is also a time capsule and a razor(!) burried here. Both buried in 1977, the town's 250th birthday. The razor represents all the men who swore that they would not shave for the entire year! Look for the cannon. Box #7 is hidden somewhere on it. Please rehide and continue on, we're almost done.

In 1818, the first floor of the brick Uxbridge Academy at 10 Court Street was built to house secondary education. In 1819, the second floor was built as the Solomon Temple Lodge of Masons. This partnership of using the building lasted until the Masons purchased the first floor in 1941. The secondary school (academy) went through various forms - all male, all female and co-ed over the years of 1820-55. 35 towns and six states sent students when the academy was under the principalship of Dr. Joseph Macomber who held an exceptional educational reputation. The newly built Center School, at Park and South Main, educated the students after the Academy closed in 1867. For several decades in the 1900s, the 2nd District Court of Southern Worcester County held court on the first floor before moving to its newly built courthouse located near the Cocke n Kettle Restaurant on South Main Street. The upper story has always been the MAsonic Hall while the use changed on the lower level several times. Continue past the lodge until you are in front of the church. Uxbridge Center is filled with historical charm and architecture, starting with the typical New England white-steepled First Evangelical Congregational Church at 8 Court Street built in 1833 along the west side of Uxbridge common. The First Church of Christ Society had initially formed in 1727 and evolved to the First Congregational Society, incorporated in 1797. The abutting building, formerly the Taft stable, is now home to the Uxbridge Natives and Newcomers Club playgroup, an art gallery and community use. It used to house a bowling alley at one time. Face the church and look to the road on the left. Walk up the road and find the 3-trunked tree with the windchimes in it. There you'll find box #8.

Going back across the street, you will see the Simeon Wheelock house. Simeon Wheelock was a prominent blacksmith in the town. His wife Deborah was very much involved in social reform, and when they passed on the house was donated to the D.A.R. or the Daughters of the American Revolution. It is listed on the national register of historic buildings. Facing the house from the street. Go around the right hand side to the back of the house. There just right of the cellar entrance, there is a break in the foundation. Find the last stamp and the log book waiting.

Please stamp and leave us a note of your visit.

We hope that you enjoyed this quick trip through our town and we hope to see you again.