The Mendon Trolley — Its First Tour
The long-awaited maiden voyage of the Milford – Uxbridge Electric Street Railway was met with jubilation by the people of Mendon on December 19, 1901. The exuberant citizens had waited several months for the tracks, wires, and bridges to be installed and tested. This was in anticipation of the new means of transportation that promised to bring change to their economy and way of life. The arrival of the first trolley car created joy and enthusiasm, and the excited crowd let the passengers know that they were welcome.
The initial ride began in Milford and through Hopedale, Mendon, and Uxbridge. Town officials and dignitaries from each town were invited to board the trolley at designated stops at the entrance to the town centers. Each town along the tracks greeted the decorated vehicle with warmth and cheers, but it was Mendon’s welcome that was one to be remembered.
A large crowd welcomed the trolley. People were dressed in their finest clothing. The houses were adorned with bunting. One hundred fifty school children cheered and waved flags in front of the Town Hall. Ladies waved kerchiefs, and men waved flags. Bells rang at the Union Evangelical (the present Taft Library) and the Unitarian Churches. Surely, the dignitaries had to be impressed with the festive greeting, but there was another element in the celebration that likely left them startled and ready to dive for cover! They were met with gunfire and cannon blasts. After they got over the initial reaction of wondering if they might be under attack, they realized that the apparent military greeting was simply part of the excitement. The townspeople made it extremely clear that the railway would be most welcome.
The new means of transportation marked the beginning of long-term change. Nipmuc Park revitalized the economy on weekends, and new occupational opportunities became available to Mendon farmers. The trolley provided easy access to factories and businesses in neighboring towns. Decisions were made in many families to give up farming as a way of life and to sell off the land for housing development. The trolley system ended in 1928, being replaced by the popularity of the automobile. Throughout the century, Mendon’s population grew as houses replaced farms. The maiden voyage of the electric street railway in December of 1901 was met with jubilation. It was a day that changed the town forever !
Richard Grady — February 3, 2014
(Information for this article was obtained from an article of the Milford Daily Journal, December 20, 1901 – “Milford and Uxbridge Cars Now Running“).
Mendon was joyful and jubilant, Friday afternoon, when car 103 of the Milford & Uxbridge Street Railway line, with Gen. Manager E. W. Goss at the controller handle, swung into Mendon center from North Avenue with a party of invited and hardly less enthusiastic guests from Milford and Hopedale, signalizing the formal opening of the line.
The car was in charge of conductor W. F. Cozzens and motorman B. R. Tobey, but Manager Goss was the car’s pilot on the trip. The start was made from Milford about 1:10 and the run was made slowly, guests being picked up on the way, and thus the full beauty of the charming scenery on the route and especially the line itself, its construction, bridges and the great improvements at Lake Mendon Park were fully inspected and enjoyed. The long bridge over Hopedale Pond; the deep rock cuts between Mendon and Hopedale; the road through Mendon streets and private land; the pretty entrance to Lake Mendon Park, the cozy waiting station, and the power station about opposite; the long bridges in Uxbridge; each were well examined and deservedly praised.
The progress of the car, which was appropriately decorated with flags and followed by two special cars for use of Uxbridge school children, through Mendon was an ovation. Practically every house on the route was decorated in some way, salutes were fired, bells were rung and a general jubilation was evident.
In the center adjoining the track the school children were ranged in cheering ranks, bells were rung, residents waved a welcome from their doors. The occupants of the cars cordially returned the greeting. Salutes were fired by Alderman Cook, Frank Taft and Henry W. Brown – the latter’s cannon taking an extra kick as it was discharged. At the home of A. N. Darling, handbells were vigorously rung and handkerchiefs were waved by the assembled ladies.
The next paragraph of the article lists names of the Mendon people whose homes were decorated for the occasion. They include Taft (4)), Freeman, Dudley (3), Barnes store, Smith, Arsenault, Bartlett, Brown, Hogarth, Kinsley, Cook, Inman, Hoagland, Adams, Darling, Staples, Rhodes (2), Kelley, Hill, Cornwell, and Southwick.
On reaching Uxbridge, the guests invaded the local library and stores for souvenirs and sightseeing during the half-hour stay and the return trip was very merry, to which a lively rubber ball largely contributed. The party reached Milford at 4 P.M.
The next paragraph lists the guests on the trolley, including Cook, Hickey, Jenkins, Williams, Bowker, Billings, Grayson, Holbrook, Remick, Leahy, Blaisdell, Bixby, and Pond of Milford; Jordan and Andrew of Hopedale; Freeman, Kinsley, Taft (2), Hoagland, and Hill of Mendon; Hamilton, Scott (2), Mansfield, Taft, Hobbs, Allen, Sessions, Gunn, Wheelock, Blanchard and Root of Uxbridge.
Mr. Taft of Mendon related a notable bit of local history when he remembered that 70 years ago this month Boston surveyors were at work at Mendon to solve the practicability of use of Mendon Pond as a feeder canal for a proposed Boston and Providence inland canal. Milford Daily Journal, December 21, 1901. Thanks to Dick Grady for sending this article and the map above, and thanks to Bob Heglund for the pictures showing the office and car barn in Milford and those showing the trolley in the center of Uxbridge.
“C. A. Blakesley & Co., contractors for the Milford & Uxbridge St.Ry. are rushing the construction of the railway through Mendon. They have laid tracks through the center as far as the Soldiers’ Monument, this being only a mile from Mendon Pond. It is expected it will require two weeks to reach the pond as but half the way has been graded. There is still a small section to lay at the Hopedale end, and then the company will begin to run the trolley and feed wires.” – Street Railway Journal, September 7, 1901.
