“Here is a revolt worth noting. For all past generations of men since the timepiece and the dial, and the water clock were invented, the time of day has been taken direct from the sun.” So read the Saturday morning issue of the Clinton Courant detailing the change about to occur. In those days, time was a bit different from railroad station to railroad station. Boston had their time, Sterling theirs and Worcester, Providence and New York had theirs. Boston and New York differed by 12 minutes. In fact, every city in the country used a different time standard. There were more than 300 local sun times.
So it was at Noon on November 18, 1883 when the new standard would ring from the Worcester fire alarm bells and time changed forever.
The article continued, “it will throw out of use such things as noon marks, and lines of the sun dial and sunset and sunrise.” It was reporting the change which took affect 133 years ago when all the clocks of the United States instituted a time zone to accommodate the 78,000 miles of rail that existed at the time (140,000 miles exist today). The times were to break at Philadelphia, St. Louis, Denver and Carson City, each being one hour apart. These divisions mark the 75, 90, 105 and 120 degrees of the “great circle of the earth and the time within these divisions is to be everywhere the same. Thus the traveler on the train approaching Columbus, Ohio, carrying Eastern Time. Beyond that station the time becomes instantly one hour slower, and so remains until Denver is reached where another hour slower is recorded.”
“The whole change is in keeping with the progress of the age, and may be moralized upon to any extent, for it means the closer union of the human communities, the strengthening ties that are bringing a closer brotherhood.”
In the summers, between 1852 and 1949, the Sterling Camp Grounds assembled Methodists for 7 to 10 days and nights to share in scripture, food and community. The surrounding Methodist church’s closed their doors during this event. It was grand in every respect attended by more than a thousand people from all over Massachusetts.
Hundreds seated at the open-air pavilion at Sterling Campground
The Boston & Maine Railroad added more trains to service Sterling Junction from Boston, Cambridge and Lowell for the occasion.
Newspapers, local and national,made mention of the event. The Evening Herald of Klamath Falls, Oregon wrote about Rev. R. Osborn forming a canary chorus that whistled familiar hymns in 1914. The Bozeman Avant Courier mentions the preaching at the Sterling Camp Grounds in November of 1877. The Washington Evening Star reported a swindler was in attendance at the 1867 Camp Meeting and again in 1874 when the Camp Meeting was wrecked by Tornado.
The campgrounds contained more than 125 cottages and upwards of 60 society tents. A society tent might have been in the name of a Town, such as Weston or Ware or Societies such as Zion. There were three sermons each day with prayer meetings following. It was reported that as many as 29 people were converted in a single day by the influential evangelists and their powerful sermons.
As many as 1300 people were fed daily at three seating’s with 800 pounds of beef, 10 barrels of flour, 300 pounds of cheese, 400 pounds of butter, fifty pounds of coffee, 30 bushels of potatoes, 150 dozen eggs and 40 pounds of tea.
Alas, these are days gone by. Today, the railroad is gone along with the pavilion. The grounds are mostly tree covered and only those with very long memories can vaguely recall the spectacle, but we can still reminisce.
There are many reports of the September 19, 1919 murder of well-respected Constable George E. Peeso killed in the line of duty at the age of 39 leaving a pregnant wife and four children. However, little is known about his assailant and what followed after his murder.
It began on this Friday night when police were called to a disturbance at the Sterling Inn. David Mahoney, the proprietor of the Inn had been beaten by three men for refusing to serve them alcohol. Responding to the call was Police Chief McDonald Lynch, Officer Charles Lynch (the chief’s son) and Constable George E. Peeso. Two of the men were successfully detained, but the third broke away and ran. Officer Lynch and Constable Peeso took chase heading towards the Town center where he was caught. A fierce battle followed and handcuffs were finally placed on the left wrist of the assailant, but the man drew a revolver from his hip pocket, held it to Constable Peeso’s chest and fired. Peeso was killed at 8:45pm. Officer Lynch emptied his gun in pursuit but was unable to capture the murderer.
Posse’s were organized, guards set up road blocks at all main roads surrounding the area and local farmers were notified that a hatless man, 5’6” tall, weighing between 125 to 140 pounds, wearing a blue coat and gray trousers was on the loose. The man-hunt began.
The following day, Ernest Nordenstedt of 48 Belmont Street, Worcester was arrested at the home of Asa Spencer of Rowley Hill. The arrest was the result of the cool headedness of Maude Spencer, Asa’s daughter, who found the wounded man lurking in the backyard when she went out to feed the chickens and recognized him from the description that had spread around town. She invited him inside and treated his injuries while Asa notified police. Constable Warren Rugg quickly arrived and without a struggle arrested Nordenstedt. The jail at the Sterling Town Hall was avoided for fear the gathering mob may take matters into their own hands and he was hurried to the Clinton Police Station and ultimately Clinton Hospital.
A hearing scheduled for Monday, September 22nd was postponed as Nordenstedt was too ill to attend. On November 18th, Nordenstedt was indicted for manslaughter and bail was set at $7,000. A Jury was empaneled and the trial began. He plead not guilty on the grounds of self-defense. He claimed the officers made no mention of their official standing and he thought he was being robbed so he used what force he did to save his own life. The defense claimed he was beaten with a club so severely that if he shot the officer, he did not know what he was doing because of his dazed condition. On November 21, 1919, Ernest Nordenstedt was found not guilty by jury and acquitted.
George E. Peeso was immortalized on a bronze plaque on a granite monument at Memorial Park in Sterling not far from where he died. His name appears on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC. Peeso was an employee of the Sterling Cider Co., Member of the Unitarian Church, Sterling Grange, Sterling Fire Department and a long-time Constable.
Contributing Articles from the Boston Globe, The Boston Post, The Fitchburg Sentinel and The Landmark
I spent the winter of 2014 researching, discovering and pondering the likes of Mr. Edwin Conant, the boy he was and the man he became. I must say that I would be hard pressed to find a pedestal of proper size and stature to hold my respect and admiration for this distinguished gentleman. He was born in Sterling, resided here for a mere twelve years, but left, in perpetuity, a part of his heart, soul and conscience for all of us. Many people know of Edwin Conant, but few know more than his gift, in the name of his daughter Elizabeth Ann Conant, of the Public Library to Sterling in 1885.
Edwin Conant (1810-1891)
There is so much more to know about this man. Even though our research is months old, we have so much more to do and many more places to visit to complete the task.
At 75 years old, Edwin was the benefactor of the Sterling Public Library in the name of Elizabeth Ann Conant, his daughter who died at the age of 48 in 1883.
When Edwin passed in 1891, this gift to our town was followed by a list of other bequests including money, documents, books, writings, furniture, buildings and other property too long to list here.
What sort of man leaves such a remarkable legacy to all the inhabitants of the Town in which he was born but lived so few years? What motivated his generosity? What built his character?
He was amongst a rare breed of men that deeply treasured the gift of freedom , the fight still fresh in their minds, and held all men to the highest standard of moral excellence, responsibility and honor. It is odd indeed that Edwin, such a great citizen, is only briefly mentioned in the History of the Conant Family in England and America written by Frederick Conant in 1887.
So here is a brief account of his life and of his daughter Lizzie.
The Beginning
Edwin Conant made his way into the world on a summer day in Sterling. Relief Conant, wife of Jacob and the daughter of Moses Burpee and Elizabeth Kendall Burpee, just twenty years old, gave birth to Edwin on Monday, August 20, 1810.
In fact, that very same day, Mass General Hospital was conceived by petition drafted by Dr. James Jackson and John Collins Warren in Boston. These were the times of significant accomplishment and remarkable virtue. James Madison was beginning his term as President of the United States following Thomas Jefferson who had just left the office and Abraham Lincoln was born just the year before.
Edwin’s Father Jacob was a well-to-do businessman, farmer and Justice of the Peace representing Sterling. (The term Justice of the Peace originating in England in the 12th century, it was the Attorney of the day). Jacob was very proud and provided Edwin with all the advantages of his wealth and stature.
Sadly, from an early age, Edwin was no stranger to death. He lost his Mother the day after Christmas in 1814 when he was just four-years old and his little sister Elizabeth in 1816 when he was six. The loss of those he loved had a enormous impact on his life.
Edwin attended public school in Sterling until he was 12 and was transferred to Leicester Academy in preparation for college. In 1826, at the age of 16 he entered Harvard and graduated among the top of his Class in 1829. He was among the venerable and quite famous “Class of 1829”, sharing the limelight with notables such as Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Edwin was a high-minded thinker. It was evident in his writings, correspondence and speeches. He participated in a conference during Commencement exercises at Harvard in 1829 “Natural, Civil, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History, considered in relation to the Tendency of each to improve and elevate the Intellectual Faculty”.
Conant taught in Sterling for two winter sessions during his tenure at Harvard and was asked to address the Chocksett Hill School on February 24, 1829 at the close of winter studies. He referred to himself as “Old Master” in his written address. He writes:
“This place has been to you the scene of many wayward frolic, of many a childish gam bob. You have here laughed and sported together year after year, caring only for the present, thoughtful of tomorrow and seemingly unconscious that you are never to be troubled with my cares beyond those of the present hour… I knew no other condition, I doubted not that the world was all friendly. But when I was torn from the companions of my childhood, and removed to a distance from kindred and home, and placed among strangers, I found, to my sad disappointment, that I was of little consequence to the world around me, and that none but myself cared for my comfort and welfare. Then it was that I learned to value the joys, and thousand social endearments of home. Then it was, that I learned duly to estimate the consolation which springs from the mature sympathy of school-fellows. Then, and not til then, did I know what it was to want a friend to smooth down the bed of sickness… For it is a law of nature, that we know not the worth of our enjoyments, until the time arrives when they are to be interrupted. Then, and not till then, do we feel the wants of them… I want you to reflect upon the many happy hours you have here enjoyed, that you may, in after years, when surrounded, perhaps with disease, and danger, and death, receive comfort and consolation by the retrospection. It will be so delightful, yet so deeply affecting, when old age is upon you, to tell over the scenes and the frolics of your school-boy days! … I have been acquainted with many village schools, but none did I ever witness so much mutual good will, so great manifestations of true and sincere friendship, as I have witnessed in this. You have always seemed to me, to constitute one great Family; and I have often thought you are indeed a band of Brothers and Sisters!… For my own part, having spent two winters with you, I am, and shall always be ready to bear testimony to your depth of sympathy and kindly feeling as friends, and your faithfulness and diligence as scholars. During the last winter, my attention was so strongly attracted by these qualities, and by the kindness with which I was uniformly treated, that I formed an attachment to you, which not ever time, but death alone can sever… And am I no more to have my ears greeted with the endearing title of Master? – a title which has always suggested to my mind, so many pleasing emotions! … Be assured, I shall not forget you.”
Edwin was 19 years old when he wrote this.
After graduating Harvard, he studied law with Rejoice Newton (1782-1868) and William Lincoln (1801-1843—Author of History of Worcester, Massachusetts From Its Earliest Settlement to September 1836) and at the Harvard Law School in Cambridge.
On Independence Day, July 4, 1831, at the 50th anniversary of the Town of Sterling, Edwin addressed the Towns-people with an oration. It was an inspiring event filled with pomp and circumstance. In the light of the battle for independence, here are a few of his words: “…In the upright and honest discharge of public and private duty within our narrow spheres of action, let us do what we can to avert it. And if the cloud which some have been farsighted, or imaginative enough to believe is gathering over our heads, shall indeed burst in wrath upon us, let us not, like recreant sons of worthier sires, shrink from any exertion which liberty and country may demand at our hands. But may heaven grant, that that demand may never be made, that successive years may but harden and cement the temple which has been reared to freedom, that here the dominion of error may be constantly narrowed and the empire of light and truth extended, that the fair model we hold up for the world to admire and imitate may ever be kept in the freshness of original beauty, that so the consummation of mans highest earthly reign of equal laws and the rightful elevation of moral excellence.”
He returned to reside in Sterling briefly on September 19, 1832, and opened his law office. He was also appointed to the Division of the Militia of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as Quarter Master by Levi Lincoln, the Governor of Massachusetts, an involvement he would honor for many years.
During this period, his Father Jacob was serving in various official posts in Sterling government, which he did the last thirty years of his life.
His Father’s example and Edwin’s fine education would prepare him for a career as Justice of the Peace / Attorney and a very successful businessman. His papers and journals along with the ledgers from the Registry of Deeds contain pages and pages of his mortgages, purchases, loans and deeds. He certainly followed in his Father’s footsteps in this regard.
Edwin took little time to establish himself in the Town and County and moved his residence and practice to Worcester in 1833. Sterling was far too small a Town to contain his aspirations and capabilities. He purchased the estate of his former friend and Sterling resident, Isaac Goodwin, on Lincoln Street.
He later moved to a mansion at the corner of Harvard and State Street which, after his death, was donated to the Natural History Society in 1891 (The Natural History Society changed its name to the Worcester Science Museum in 1960 and eventually the EcoTarium in 1998).
In 1833, the 58th year of independence of the United States of America, Edwin Conant was promoted to Major with the Division of the Militia of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by Governor Levi Lincoln.
Maria Estabrook (daughter of Joseph and Ruth Estabrook of Royalston, became Edwin’s first wife in 1833. They had two children, Elizabeth Ann Conant in 1835 and Helen Maria Conant in 1837.
He always had a soft spot in his heart for Sterling and was so well respected, he was asked in November 1835 to deliver the dedicatory address for the dedication of the Town Hall (1835 Town Hall) which had just been completed.
Tragedy stuck soon thereafter. On the day before Christmas, 1837, his youngest daughter Helen passed away, just 7 months after she was born. Edwin’s Father Jacob, then Treasurer for the Town of Sterling, passed away in the same year, 1837.
In 1842, as part of a Board of five Trustees, Edwin was appointed to the Board of the Worcester State Lunatic Hospital (Worcester State Hospital) by Governor John Davis. The hospital was barely 10 years old.
Maria, Edwin’s wife, was the next to perish. She died at the age of 35 on August 22, 1848, two days after Edwin’s 38th Birthday. Edwin married again on January 29, 1850. His second wife, Elizabeth S. Wheeler was the daughter of a Unitarian Reverend Joseph Wheeler Jr. of Harvard. They were married for 29 years losing her in 1879.
After his second wife died, Edwin was left with only one immediate family member, his daughter Elizabeth Ann. She was t his pride and joy and they were very close. She took over the caring of the household and lived with her father all of her life.
Lizzie, Elizabeth Ann Conant, for whom the Conant Public Library was dedicated, was extremely well educated studying French, Latin, Greek, English Literature, History, Natural Philosophy, Geometry, Poetry, Composition and Religion. She was educated in the finer things in life as well including music, deportment and dance. Her high school days were spent at Classical and English High School in Lincoln Square. This school was once known as the Worcester Latin Grammar School until 1845. John Adams, became the head of this school in 1755 before he went on to become the 2nd President of the United States. To add some historical context, Elizabeth attended High School in Worcester at the time Worcester hosted the first National Convention on Women’s rights in October 1850.
Journals tell us that long after high school, Elizabeth studied religion quite extensively, even into her early thirties in Cambridge under the tutelage of Reverend E. H. Hall.
It is important to note the ever-presence of Edward Henry Hall (1831-1912) who graduated from Harvard in 1851 and Harvard Divinity School in 1855. It was during this time that he also taught religion to Elizabeth Ann Conant in Cambridge. Between 1869 and 1882, Reverend Hall was minister of the Second Congregational Church of Worcester and from 1882 to 1893 of the First Parish and Church in Cambridge as well as Army Chaplain during the Civil War. E. H. Hall gave the Memorial Address for Elizabeth Anne Conant upon her death. He gave the Memorial Address for the Memorial Building, the Conant Public Library and he presented the benediction for Edwin Conant upon his death.
Elizabeth Ann Conant passed on December 4, 1883. Worcester Spy reported “A light has gone out in many hearts with the death of Miss Conant, and some of us, even outside her home, cannot but feel that life is less worth living in her absence… In her was found a rare union of common and uncommon sense, of judgment in practical affairs, and thoughtful interest in the intellectual and spiritual questions which concern us all most deeply, of constant, untiring devotion to home duties, and earnest activity in helping the needy abroad, of a warm heart and quick sympathies, with a clear, penetrating, and cultivated intellect. To all these were added vivacity and courage, with a vein of fun also, which made her society a delight.”
Edward Henry (E.H.) Hall wrote “Living in an apparently narrow sphere, she made it a large sphere by the energy, the rare intelligence, the unselfish devotion with which she labored in it, and the wide interests which she made her own. Loving first all of her home, and seeming to give entire self to it alone, she yet found an opportunity to share in all the useful activities of the community, while at the same time letting none of the intellectual life of the times pass by unnoticed. None can have become acquainted with her without noting the rare blending in her character of the best practical sagacity and executive capacity with the finest culture of feeling and thought. None saw more promptly or clearly than she in every emergency the exact thing to be done, none knew better the right means to accomplish it… None have ever labored with her without learning invaluable lessons of patient devotion, and at the same time of intelligent and discriminating benevolence. In her death, the poor have lost the best and wisest of friends. In her death, too, the young have lost the most skilled and thoughtful of guides, most keenly alive to their higher needs, most quick to discern whatever was good in them, most intolerant of whatever was shallow or insincere. Outside her home, the poor and the young received the largest portion of her life. With qualities that fitted her for the largest service, she held her best gifts at the command of the obscurest of her fellows… Alas, how well others know what they have lost, – the loyal friendship, the stimulating companionship, the eager mind appreciative of all that was the choicest, the exacting judgement content only with the best that other minds could give, the penetrating intelligence, searching the truth to its depths, the wholly beautiful and self-renouncing life, to be seen and known no more! “
Not long after Elizabeth’s death, Edwin Conant donated a 100 acre parcel of land he owned in Holden to the inhabitant’s of Sterling , the proceeds of which were to be used to begin erecting a memorial building in his daughter’s name. When all was said and done, Edwin donated more than $6,000 to construct the Conant Public Library. The memorial address, again by E. H. Hall ends with; “Why may we not hope that her pure presence will always be felt within the walls which to-day we dedicate, and touch with finer influence all that goes forth from them on errands of enlightenment and cheer?”
There are numerous letters of sympathy in Edwin Conant’s files. Received between Elizabeth’s death in 1883 and the dedication of the Library in 1886. Pictures of Elizabeth along with the Memorial booklet were mailed to friends of Conant. These letters were treasured to the end of his life.
After 1883, Edwin Conant was ill for many years. It was apparent that the death of his daughter, the last member of his immediate family did much to bring about his decline in health. He continued to live in his mansion on State Street in Worcester. At his side all these later years was his nurse, Henry K. Cady, who was also at his side at his funeral.
Edwin Conant died on March 2, 1891. He had been the oldest living member of the Worcester County Bar. His modest funeral was attended by noted Worcester businessman and politicians as well as a contingency from Sterling including Osgood, Bartlett, Heywood, Kendall, Fitch, Wilder, Brown and Houghton (the Sterling attendees were 1/2 hour late due to a train delay).
The legacy he left behind has lasted more than a century with no signs of decline, and rightly so. He was a citizen of incomparable honor, virtue and principle rarely seen in America today.
At a special session of the superior court of Worcester, in his memory, Attorney H.E. Hill, Col. Williams and A.P. Rugg held a memorial service. Judge Emory Aldrich said, “He was a man of rare qualities of mind… There is no man in the city that I know who is possessed of so many noble qualities and of so much wealth, who was little known in the community at large, as was Mr. Conant. He was highly spoken of by his neighbor. I regarded my acquaintance with him as an honor… His rare intelligence, cultivated mind and dignified manner marked him. He was one of the most self-contained men I ever met.”
The retelling of a his time with us would not be complete without the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes who wrote “A Story of Twenty Nine”. The concluding verses were:
As nearer still and nearer
The Fatal stars appear,
The living shall be dearer
With each encircling year
Till a few old men shall say,
“We remember ‘tis the day –
Let it pass with a glass
For the Class of ‘29”
As one by one is falling
Beneath the leaves of snows,
Each memory still recalling,
The broken ring shall close,
Till the night winds softly pass
O’er the green and growing grass,
Where it waves on the graves
Of the Boys of ‘29
When I heard the off-handed suggestion by one of our selectmen, “We could sell it…” in reference to our Town Hall (reference below), it sent a chill through me that I couldn’t explain. Somehow a sense that history has lost its way here in Sterling. A feeling that the structures built by our forefathers hold little or no meaning. It was a blow to what I treasure most about our small Town. I treasure the history of our Town, our esteemed town elders past that built our Town and our historic buildings represent that history. It is a testament to our distinguished past and the people that helped shape our Community. Selling the Town Hall simply to relieve ourselves of the financial responsibility seems depraved. And, at what cost? It relegates our past to rubble to be forever forgotten.
But that seems to be the trend. You can see it in the Sterling Inn which is falling into a state of disrepair from which it may never recover. You can see it in the Town Hall’s neighbor at 33 Main Street, a once grand Congregational Church and later a fully-rented office building which has sadly lost its purpose and casts a shadow on our Town Common. You can see it in the West Sterling River District School House that is badly in need of painting and repair. You can see it in the unreadable signs to our historic cemeteries. You can see it in the exhausting struggle to affect repairs to the Town Hall.
Have we lost our way? Has history lost its value? What is it that I have grown to understand? Why does history mean so much to me and why was the Town Hall so valuable — in my eyes? What value does the memory and legacy of our forefathers have for me? And why doesn’t everyone share the same sense of history.
With a handful of citizens concerned about the history of our Town including members of the 1835 Town Hall Committee, members of the Sterling Historical Commission, our Town Clerk, our Library Director and a precious few citizens, we struggle with this very issue. What can be done about this seemingly harsh disparity of values?
How do you describe what is lost when an historic building or site falls into disrepair, deteriorates and disappears? What is the big deal anyway and why should we care?
We should care, else we forget…
We forget our past.
We forget how we got to this place of freedom and independence.
We forget how strong a community we once had here in Sterling.
We forget about the sacrifices our forefathers made which helped create this place we call home.
We forget the generous gestures of past benefactors and overlook the conditions of their donations.
We should care, else we lose sight…
We lose sight of the labors and struggles of past generations
We lose sight of what makes this Town special.
We lose sight of our values and why they are important
We should care, else we forever lose…
We lose some of our character, charm and appeal.
We lose a bit of our pride in our heritage.
We lose the spirit of what has made our Town special and unique.
We lose our sense of place
Our Town Hall is quite special. It is built on land donated in 1799 by Ebenezer Pope to the inhabitants of the Town of Sterling forever to be used for Town affairs. Upon that land, the first Townhouse in Worcester County was erected in 1800. How advanced were our forefathers that, ahead of all other Towns, they should construct the first Townhouse separating Church from State in all of Worcester County. It later became too small and was moved down the street where it stands to this day and was replaced by our current Town Hall built in 1835. The dedication was a gala event and the dedicatory speech was delivered by Edwin Conant, who was one of Sterling’s most a proud citizen, noted attorney, generous benefactor and eloquent speaker. The building is constructed of large timbers, hand crafted columns, with many wonderful features temporarily hidden by recent renovations. It has hosted great men and events including a visit by Lafayette as he ceremoniously travelled through Sterling. It hosted grand exhibitions, ballroom dances, orchestras, auctions and meetings too numerous to count. It has been home to the library, fire house, police station, jail, meetinghouse, public works department and town government. It has stood at the center of our Common along with impressive churches of past and present. And after almost 2 centuries, it is still used every day for community and recreational events. It is in the Department of Interior’s National Register of Historic Places. Thanks to a few industrious and caring people that recognize the value of this old and wonderful building, it is part of the fabric of our lives.
So what do we do to rekindle the interest in history and devotion to our Town Hall and other historic sites? How do we inspire leadership to take a stake in protecting the value of history in our Town? Deep down, we all share the same love of history, especially our history. It’s not that people don’t care, they do. The people of our Town care deeply. But people are busy. They are raising families, earning a living, making ends meet. They don’t have time. They need to pick their battles. We all have experience with the loss of time. And busy people are often silent in the community. For 30 years, I was one of those silent people. I was busy. I get it. History, we can put that on the back burner, right?
Wrong.
It is time for the silent people to weigh in and speak out on behalf of history. if only for a moment. Reach out and share your voice. Join us in saving a piece of history, our history.
The 1835 Town Hall has a new meeting room perfect for a small meeting. With the contribution of a conference table from the Sterling Historical Commission, chairs donated by Transportation Resources, Inc. and labor provided by Bob Jones, Ron Pichierri and Rob Barwise, the Veteran’s Office has been cleared making way for a very nice home for the Sterling Historical Commission and a general use conference room capable of seating 7 individuals and a few spectators. The room has been decorated with historic photographs from the Sterling Historical Society archives. The room is now available for use for both public and private meetings.
The Sterling Historical Commission is pleased to host an open house at the one-room schoolhouse in West Sterling on Saturday, June 11, 2016 between 10:00am and 1:00pm. This is your opportunity to go back in time and see inside the River District School House at 288 Princeton Road in Sterling. The school house is one of a very few one-room school houses still standing in Massachusetts. It has been preserved in much the same condition as it was in the late 19th century.
Pictures from the 2014 visit to the Sterling Town Hall by Chocksett 3rd Graders. Everyone had a great time visiting the West Sterling one-room school house, the Sterling Historical Society and the 1835 Town Hall plus some historic sites along the way.
One hundred and eighty years after its dedication, the purpose and meaning of the Town Hall is still clear. It represented the forward thinking citizens of Sterling in the early 19th century. People whose names we are all familiar with; Kendall, Rugg, Conant, Burpee, Tuttle, Pratt, Sawyer and others. Today, it represents the historical and cultural landmark standing at the center of our town and a focal point of the Sterling Center Historic District registered with the United States Department of the Interior and the Massachusetts Historic Commission.
It is the view of the 1835 Town Hall Committee and was the view of the Selectmen and Towns-people that voted to establish and empower the Committee that our Town Hall is a testament to our history and heritage and should continue to be a useful and vibrant beacon overlooking our town common and center of our community.
In order to properly discuss the Town Hall and the Committee charged with its care, it is important to fully understand the history of the Town Hall, its usage over the past half century and the effectiveness of the volunteers that support the 1835 Town Hall Committee.
Our Town Hall was built in 1835 on the site of the first Town House in Worcester County separating Church from State. The land presented by Ebenezer Pope to the Town of Sterling (Book 168, Page 66) was deeded for the sole purpose of Town use. It was dedicated in November of 1835 with great pomp and circumstance. The dedicatory address was given by the esteemed Edwin Conant, Esq. Singers from Boston and New York came to Sterling to provide the musical entertainment for the gala celebration. For one-hundred and fifty years, it stood as a central meeting place for community and civic events.
Through the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s, the Town Hall was used for town offices, selectmen’s office and meeting rooms. It has gone through periods of extensive modifications over the years to suit those purposes. The addition of dropped ceilings, partitions and fluorescent lighting; the replacement of bathrooms and stairway; and an improved heating system were all required. In 1997, the Butterick School (replaced by the Houghton – Chocksett School) was repurposed and became the Town Municipal building. As such, the Town offices relocated from the Town Hall to the Butterick Municipal Building leaving the old Town Hall without a tenant and for a moment, without a purpose.
The condition of the old Town Hall was disheveled, carpeting was missing, windows broken, paint was chipping, ceiling tiles missing and trash abounding. The Town had to do something to save the old Town Hall. Recognizing the urgency of the problem, the Selectmen commissioned the Old Town Hall Committee to find a solution. The Sterling Historical Commission along with the newly formed committee conducted a study to determine the buildings long-term use. In 2001, the 1835 Town Hall Committee was formed by the Town to plan and coordinate maintenance and facilitate the use of the building.
A huge undertaking ensued. Twenty six truckloads of rubbish were removed through the help of the Nick Staudaher Eagle Scout Project, temporary walls were taken down from both the first and second floors, open meeting space was created on both levels, floors were repaired and carpeted, broken windows and window panes were repaired, roof repairs were done, unwanted articles were removed and auctioned, the building was furnished by recycling items from the school and library renovations, walls were patched and painted, and tile and wooden floors were cleaned and waxed. This work was done with a small annual maintenance budget, a lot of elbow grease by committee members, community volunteers and frequent requests to the Scouts. After a significant amount of work, the space was finally ready for use by any group or member of the community that needed it.
In 2005 the town, aided by a grant from the state, commissioned an “Architectural/Structural Assessment and Feasibility Study for Universal Accessibility of the Sterling 1835 Town Hall”. The study found that the building was structurally sound, needed some immediate maintenance and provided a plan for accessibility. The immediate maintenance included roof repairs, furnace and chimney repairs, painting of the exterior, replacing storm windows, repairs to the exterior plaster on the portico, and re-glazing of the window panes. One of the reasons for the study was to determine the best way to provide universal accessibility to the second floor. The study suggested an addition to the side of the building to house an elevator.
Over the last few years, the building has provided a temporary home for a number of public services: EMS 2002-2003, Library 2003-2004, Fire Department 2004-2005 and the DPW 2007-2008 while their facilities were being renovated. It is currently home to the town recreation department, as well as the Veterans Office. Community and nonprofit functions are held here and it is often rented for private functions. It is used regularly by scouting groups, 4-H, town committees, guitar lessons, a children’s music program and hosts various community clubs. Periodic events such as the Candidates Forum, cultural events, and informational presentations are also held here.
In 2012, a detailed rehabilitation, preservation and restoration plan was prepared which protected the original significance of the structure and complies with the preservation restriction placed on the old Town Hall by the Massachusetts Historical Commission in 2005. It also included the addition of an elevator to provide universal access, kitchen to support meetings, dinners, and social events, new compliant bathrooms, installation of a much needed sprinkler system, removal of 2nd floor dropped ceiling returning the cathedral space to the great hall and much more. This plan was presented to the Board of Selectmen by the Committee in a presentation July 2013. The Board of Selectman decided to table the proposal lacking a plan and associated cost to tie in the Town Hall septage into the Fire Station septic as was originally planned.
The 1835 Town Hall Committee has not forsaken this plan and continues to work to maintain and preserve the space for use by the community and it continues to research funding sources for repairs, accessibility renovations, restorations and opening up the great hall ceiling and gallery. It is researching grant opportunities along with creating a non-profit entity to promote and secure donations. We have created a web site (www.sterling1835townhall.org) to support these efforts and provide information about the Town Hall, its history and usability.
The mission of the 1835 Town Hall Committee remains the same;
It shall be the duty of the Committee to make recommendations for the refurbishment, restoration, and maintenance of the 1835 Town Hall, and to oversee the use of the 1835 Town Hall as a Community Center for public open meeting-space and limited municipal offices. In that effort, the Committee seeks out and nominates responsible, talented and dedicated individuals that share a common purpose, preservation of the Town Hall in its original splendor.
The 1835 Town Hall Committee congratulates Kristen Dietel as the new Recreation Director for Sterling. Her appointment was unanimously approved by the Board of Selectmen last Month beating out more than two dozen applicants for the position.
Kristen Dietel; Sterling Recreation Director
Kristin is the new face of the 1835 Town Hall as the Recreation Department is based here and keeps the rooms occupied with all sorts of activities.
Kristen who resides in Sterling has a keen familiarity with Sterling and the children of the Town. She has the experience to fill the void left by Judy Janda who retired in September. Working with Judy for some time as Assistant Director, she well understands the responsibility and the duties of the position.
We are so fortunate to have Kristen take up the reigns and wish her the best in this very important role for the Town and the 1835 Town Hall.
Kristin is happy to help with scheduling events in the 1835 Town Hall. Stop in or give her a call at 978-422-3041.
was a bit different from railroad station to railroad station. Boston had their time, Sterling theirs and Worcester, Providence and New York had theirs. Boston and New York differed by 12 minutes. In fact, every city in the country used a different time standard. There were more than 300 local sun times.
