The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Massachusetts
MASSACHUSETTS, one of the thirteen original states of the American Union, and one of the New England states, between lat. 41° 15' and 42° 53' N., and lon. 69° 56' and 73° 32' W.; extreme length N. E. and S. W., 160 m.; breadth from 47 to about 90 m.; estimated area, 7,800 sq. m. It is bounded N. by Vermont and New Hampshire, E. by the Atlantic ocean, S. by the Atlantic, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and W. by New York. It is divided into 14 counties, viz.: Barnstable, Berkshire, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, and Worcester. Boston, the commercial centre and the largest city of New England, is the capital; in 1870 it contained 250,526 inhabitants, but by the annexation of Charlestown, Brighton, and West Roxbury, in 1873, its population was, according to assessors' returns, increased to about 360,000 in 1874. The other cities are Cambridge, which in 1870 had 39,634 inhabitants; Chelsea, 18,547; Fall River, 26,766; Fitchburg, 11,260; Gloucester, 15,389; Haverhill, 13,092; Holyoke, 10,733; Lawrence, 28,921; Lowell, 40,928; Lynn, 28,233; New Bedford, 21,320; Newburyport, 12,595; Newton, 12,825; Salem, 24,117; Somerville, 14,685; Springfield, 26,703; Taunton, 18,629; and Worcester, 41,105. The population and rank of the state in the Union, according to the national census, have been:
| YEARS. | Whites. | Colored. | Total. | Rank. |
| 1790 | 373,324 | 5,463 | 378,787 | 4 |
| 1800 | 416,393 | 6,452 | 422,845 | 5 |
| 1810 | 465,308 | 6,737 | 472,040 | 5 |
| 1820 | 516,419 | 6,740 | 523,159 | 7 |
| 1830 | 603,359 | 7,049 | 610,408 | 8 |
| 1840 | 729,030 | 8,669 | 737,699 | 8 |
| 1850 | 985,450 | 9,064 | 994,514 | 6 |
| 1860 | 1,221,432 | 9,602 | 1,231,066 | 7 |
| 1870 | 1,443,156 | 13,947 | 1,457,351 | 7 |
State Seal of Massachusetts.
Included in the total population of 1860 were
32 Indians, and in that of 1870 87 Chinese, 10
Japanese, and 151 Indians. Of the whole
number of inhabitants in 1870, 703,779 were
males and 753,572 females; 1,104,032 were
native and 353,319 foreign born. Of the
natives, 17,313 were born in Connecticut, 55,571
in Maine, 903,297 in Massachusetts, 47,773 in
New Hampshire, 24,628 in New York, 14,356
in Rhode Island, and 22,110 in Vermont; 243,784
persons born in Massachusetts were living
in other states. Of the foreign born, 65,055
were natives of British America, 13,072 of
Germany, 34,099 of England, 216,120 of
Ireland, and 9,003 of Scotland. The average
density of population was 186.84 persons to a
square mile, being greater than that of any
other state. There were 305,534 families, with
an average of 4.77 persons to each, and 236,473
dwellings, with an average of 6.16 persons to
each. The increase of population from 1860 to
1870 was 18.15 per cent. The number of male
citizens 21 years old and upward was 312,770.
There were 74,935 persons 10 years of age
and over unable to read, and 97,742 who could
not write, of whom 89,830 were foreign born;
31,746 of the male adult population, or 7.97
per cent., and 53,940, or 12.27 per cent., of
the female adults, were illiterate. The
number of paupers supported during the year ending
June 1, 1870, was 8,036, at a cost of
$1,121,604; of the number (5,777) receiving
support June 1, 1870, 5,396 were natives and
381 foreigners. There were 1,593 persons
convicted of crime during the year; of the number
(2,526) in prison June 1, 1870, 1,291 were
of native and 1,235 of foreign birth. The state
contained 761 blind, 538 deaf and dumb, 2,662
insane, and 778 idiotic. Of the total
population 10 years of age and over (1,160,666),
there were engaged in all occupations 579,844
persons; in agriculture 72,810, of whom
31,019 were laborers and 39,766 farmers and
planters; in professional and personal services
131,291, including 2,040 clergymen, 45,770
domestic servants, 279 journalists, 50,564
laborers not specified, 1,270 lawyers, 2,047
physicians and surgeons, 7,220 teachers not specified,
847 teachers of music, and 506 professional
musicians; in trade and transportation, 83,078;
in manufactures, mechanical and mining
industries, 292,665, of whom 5,774 were
blacksmiths, 1,102 bookbinders, 48,255 boot and
shoe makers, 23,506 carpenters and joiners,
39,195 cotton null operatives, besides 4,629
mill and factory operatives not specified, 5,311
fishermen and oystermen, 8,273 machinists,
7,887 painters and varnishers, 16,787 tailors
and seamstresses, besides 7,649 milliners and
dress and mantua makers, and 19,863 woollen
mill operatives. The total number of deaths
during the year was 25,859, being 1.77 per
cent. of the entire population. Chief among
the causes of mortality were consumption, from
which 5,157 persons died, and pneumonia, 1,696;
the number of deaths from all causes to 1 from
consumption being 5, and 15.2 to 1 from
pneumonia. There were 1,685 deaths from cholera
infantum, 1,142 from enteric fever, 911 from
scarlet fever, 280 from diphtheria, and 1,114
from diarrhœa, dysentery, and enteritis.—From
the west for about 100 m. Massachusetts has
the regular form of a parallelogram about 50
m. wide; thence it spreads out N. E. and S.
E. on two sides of Massachusetts bay, terminating
S. E. in the long peninsula of Cape Cod,
which, describing to the north and slightly
to the west a segment of a circle, encloses
Cape Cod bay. It also includes several islands,
of which Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket are
the largest. Besides the two mentioned, there
are Buzzard's bay on the S. coast, 30 m. long,
with an average width of 7 m., and Plymouth
bay, a small inlet communicating on the east
with Cape Cod bay. The Elizabeth islands are
a group of 16 off Cape Cod. (See Elizabeth Islands.)
The state has many excellent
harbors, the best of which are at Boston and
New Bedford. No large and navigable rivers,
excepting the Merrimack, find their outlet on
the coast. The Housatonic river, which rises
in the W. part of the state, and the
Connecticut, flow S. through Connecticut into Long
Island sound; the Merrimack, which is
navigable for sloops to Haverhill, 18 m. from its
mouth, flows through the N. E. corner, and
supplies immense water power to Lowell,
Lawrence, and other manufacturing centres. The
falls in the Connecticut afford valuable water
power. The other principal streams are the
Nashua, Taunton, Concord, Blackstone, and
Charles. It contains several small lakes.—The
surface of the state is greatly diversified.
The extreme west is mountainous, having two
ranges of the Green mountains, the Taghkannic
or Taconic and Hoosac ridges, which run
nearly parallel to each other and into Connecticut.
Saddle mountain in the N. W. corner is
3,600 ft. high, and Mt. Washington in the S.
W. corner 2,624 ft. Further E. is the beautiful
and fertile valley of the Connecticut. In
this section are several elevations, detached
members of the White mountain system, the
highest peaks of which are Mt. Tom (about
1,300 ft.) on the W., and Mt. Holyoke (1,120
ft.) near Northampton, on the E. bank of
the Connecticut river, and Wachusett mountain
(2,018 ft.) K of the middle of the state.
The east and northeast are hilly and broken,
and the southeast generally low and sandy.
Massachusetts is eminently a region of
metamorphic rocks. Those in the E. part of the
state especially are largely overspread with
the sands, gravel, and bowlders of the drift
formation; and the long point of land making
the S. E. extremity of the state (see Cape Cod)
is so covered with these loose materials, that
the rocky beds beneath are entirely concealed.
Syenite and granite prevail along the coast, and
extensive quarries of these rocks are worked at
Quincy, Cape Ann, and other points. Around
Boston is a formation of coarse conglomerates
and argillaceous slates of obscure age on
account of the metamorphic action to which
they have been subjected. At Braintree, near
Quincy, the slates contain trilobites, but
generally no fossils have been met with in these
rocks. The fossils would seem to refer the
slates to the lower Silurian period. These
obscure formations are traced in an irregular
belt toward Providence, and near the Rhode
Island line they are connected with coal-bearing
strata, referable, it is supposed, to the true
carboniferous epoch. In many localities in
Bristol and Plymouth counties these strata
contain beds of anthracite, some of which, as
at Mansfield, have been worked for many
years; but they are of little or no value, the
coal always being much crushed, and the beds
very irregular in their production. Gneiss and
talcose and mica slates in broad belts traverse
the state from N. to S. from the E. portion to
the waters of the Housatonic in Berkshire.
Among these rocks are interspersed a few beds
of metamorphic limestone, but no minerals or
ores of value. Along the Connecticut river
valley, in the triassic or new red sandstone
formation, known as the Connecticut valley
area, are found very extensive fossil footprints,
which from their resemblance to the feet of
birds are first called ornithichnites; but they
have since been found by Prof. Edward Hitchcock,
who gave the name, to be not only the
tracks of birds but of other animals. Some of
them indicate that they were made by animals
of gigantic size. (See Fossil Footprints.)
Trap rocks are associated with it, and near the
contact of the sandstone and trap, or of the
sandstone and the gneiss, are found veins of
metallic ores, as of lead, copper, and zinc,
none of which, however, have repaid the
money spent in their exploration. The
principal localities of these ores are at Southampton,
Leverett, Montague, Whately, and a few
other towns. The high lands which traverse
the state from N. to S., dividing the waters
that flow into the Connecticut from those of
the Housatonic, and called the Hoosac
mountains, are chiefly of gneiss and mica slate.
In Middlefield a belt of talcose slate, continued
further N. in the mica slate region, reaches the
gneiss; and here are developed in near
proximity beds of limestone, steatite, and serpentine.
The towns along the Housatonic and on
the same range extending to the N. border of
the state are in the region of the altered
Silurian sandstones and calcareous formations.
This is the most important mineral district of
the state, numerous beds of iron ore having
been worked for many years, and the quartz
rocks affording in their disintegrated beds
bodies of glass sand of unusual purity. In
1874 deposits specially rich in silver, and
containing also lead and gold, were discovered in
Essex co., near Newburyport, where mining
operations have been begun.—In the valleys,
particularly of the Housatonic and Connecticut,
the soil is rich and productive, but a large
portion of the more elevated lands and the
long sandy coast do not repay the husbandman.
The climate near the coast is very
variable, with prevailing E. winds, especially in
spring. The mean annual temperature is about
48°; spring, 43°; summer, 71°; autumn, 51°;
winter, 21°. The annual rainfall is about 55
inches. In the interior it is more equable,
and in the mountainous districts very severe
in winter.—Of the total area of the state,
somewhat less than one half is improved.
According to the census of 1870, there were
26,500 farms, of which 1,129 contained
between 3 and 10 acres each, 2,532 between 10
and 20, 8,381 between 20 and 50, 8,727
between 50 and 100, 5,643 between 100 and 500,
and 40 between 500 and 1,000. The number
of acres of improved land on farms was
1,736,221; woodland, 706,714; other
unimproved, 287,348. The cash value of farms
was $116,432,784; of farming implements
and machinery, $5,000,879; total amount of
wages paid during the year, including value
of board, $5,821,032; total estimated value
of all farm productions, including betterments
and additions to stock, $32,192,378; of
orchard products, $989,854; of produce of market
gardens, $1,980,821; of forest products,
$1,616,818; of home manufactures, $79,378;
of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter,
$4,324,658; of all live stock on farms,
$17,049,228. The chief productions were, 17,574
bushels of spring and 17,074 of winter wheat,
239,227 of rye, 1,397,807 of Indian corn, 797,664
of oats, 133,071 of barley, 58,049 of
buckwheat, 24,690 of peas and beans, 3,026,363 of
potatoes, 597,455 tons of hay, 7,312,885 lbs.
of tobacco, 306,659 of wool, 6,559,161 of butter,
2,245,873 of cheese, 61,910 of hops, 399,800
of maple sugar, 25,299 of honey, and
15,284,057 gallons of milk sold. Besides 45,227
horses and 52,263 neat cattle not on farms,
there were 41,039 horses, 114,771 milch cows,
24,430 working oxen, 78,851 other cattle,
78,560 sheep, and 49,178 swine.—As a
manufacturing state, Massachusetts ranks with the
first in the Union. The amount of capital
invested in manufactures, and the value of the
annual products, are greater in New York and
Pennsylvania; but in proportion to the population
the industries of Massachusetts are more
extensive than those of either of the states
named. In 1850 the capital invested in
manufactures amounted to $88,940,292, and the
annual products to $157,743,994; in 1860 the
former had increased to $132,792,327 and the
latter to $255,545,922. In 1870 the amount
of capital invested was $231,677,862, and the
value of annual products $553,912,568; the
materials used were valued at $334,413,982,
while the wages paid amounted to $118,051,886.
There were 13,212 establishments using
2,396 steam engines of 78,502 horse power and
3,157 water wheels of 105,854 horse power, and
employing 279,380 hands, of whom 179,032
were males above 16, 86,229 females above 15,
and 14,119 youth. The aldermen and selectmen
of the various cities and towns are
required by law to ascertain and return
decennially to the state secretary the industrial
statistics of the commonwealth. The value of
the products of all industries as thus returned
amounted to $124,000,000 in 1845, $295,000,000
in 1855, and $577,000,000 in 1865; showing
an increase during the last named decade in
the value of industrial products of 72 per cent.,
while the population during the same period
increased only 3 per cent. The leading products
returned for the year ending May 1, 1865, were:
| PRODUCTS. | Value. | Capital. | Hands. |
| Boots and shoes | $52,915,248 | $10,067,474 | 55,160 |
| Calico and delaine | 25,258,708 | 4,222,000 | 4,208 |
| Clothing | 17,748,894 | 4,634,440 | 24,722 |
| Cotton | 54,436,881 | 33,293,986 | 23,678 |
| Hay | 13,195,274 | ......... | ...... |
| Horses, oxen, and cows. | 19,154,790 | ......... | ...... |
| Mackerel and cod fishery | 4,832,218 | 3,757,761 | 11,518 |
| Printing and newspapers | 5,358,148 | 1,919,400 | 2,409 |
| Rolled and slit iron and nails | 8,836,502 | 2,827,300 | 3,194 |
| Tanning and currying | 15,821,712 | 4,994,933 | 3,847 |
| Whale fishery | 6,618,670 | 5,879,862 | 3,496 |
| Woollen goods | 48,430,671 | 14,785,830 | 18,433 |
In the manufacture of boots and shoes, cordage
and twine, cotton goods, cutlery, chairs,
lasts, straw goods, and woollen goods, as well
as textiles in general, and bleaching and dyeing,
Massachusetts ranks above all other states.
The extent of these industries in this state, as
compared with the United States, in 1870, is
indicated in the following statement:
| INDUSTRIES. | MASSACHUSETTS. | UNITED STATES. | ||
| Capital. | Products. | Capital. | Products. | |
| Bleaching and dyeing | $1,063,650 | $22,252,000 | $5,006,950 | $58,571,493 |
| Boot and shoe findings | 372,030 | 2,161,431 | 858,560 | 3,389,091 |
| Boots and shoes | 19,559,738 | 88,399,583 | 48,994,366 | 181,644,090 |
| Cordage and twine | 666,900 | 2,886,848 | 3,530,470 | 8,979,382 |
| Cotton goods | 42,153,175 | 59,493,153 | 133,238,797 | 177,489,739 |
| Cutlery | 1,135,400 | 1,617,904 | 2,246,830 | 2,882,803 |
| Chairs | 2,636,650 | 3,971,522 | 7,643,884 | 10,567,104 |
| Lasts | 146,000 | 313,768 | 830,800 | 665,703 |
| Paper | 7,723,628 | 12,696,491 | 35,780,514 | 50,842,445 |
| Sails | 111,400 | 503,385 | 583,290 | 2,255,446 |
| Straw goods | 1,361,400 | 4,869,514 | 2,119,350 | 7,282,086 |
| Textiles, including cotton goods, flax and linen goods, | ||||
| carpets, woollen goods, and worsted goods | ||||
| 72,548,475 | 112,763,211 | 265,084,095 | 380,913,815 | |
| Woollen goods | 20,622,400 | 39,489,242 | 97,173,482 | 151,298,196 |
While Massachusetts holds the first rank in respect to the industries named, the state is specially noted for the extent of its manufactures of boots and shoes and cotton and woollen goods. Here are the great centres of these industries in the United States. Of the boot and shoe establishments, 1,123 were each producing annually more than $5,000. In these were employed 7,042 sewing and 636 pegging machines and 51,167 hands. The products embraced 10,129,910 pairs of boots and 29,164,594 pairs of shoes. Nearly one third of the capital invested in the manufacture of cotton goods in the United States was employed in Massachusetts. The machines in use embraced 55,343 looms and 1,255,552 frame and 1,363,989 mule spindles. The cotton consumed amounted to 130,654,040 lbs.; the products included 22,123,147 yards of sheetings, shirtings, and twilled goods, 12,434,858 of lawns and fine muslins, 229,613,105 of print cloths, 2,108,952 lbs. of yarn not woven, 2,595,358 dozens of spool thread, 33,712,996 yards of warps, 3,773,664 lbs. of bats, wicking, and wadding, 6,864,954 yards of flannel, 13,690,000 of ginghams and checks, and 407,527 lbs. of thread. The value of all products increased from $21,394,401 in 1850 to $38,004,255 in 1860, and $59,493,153 in 1870. In the woollen mills were 1,367 cards, with a daily capacity for 159,484 lbs. of carded wool, 4,469 broad and 3,374 narrow looms, and 470,785 spindles; 37,146,190 lbs. of domestic wool were consumed, besides 2,813,449 of cotton and 5,994,110 of shoddy. The products embraced 403,785 pairs of blankets, 21,819,879 yards of cloths, cassimeres, and doeskins, 285,000 of felted cloth, 22,321,684 of flannels, 7,701,880 of satinets, 585,435 shawls, 808,920 yards of tweeds and twills, and 1,235,161 lbs. of yarn. The leading industries of the state, as reported by the census of 1870, are shown in the following table:
| INDUSTRIES. | No. of establishments. |
Steam engines, horse power. |
Water wheels, horse power. |
Hands employed. |
Capital. | Wages. | Value of materials. |
Value of products. |
| Agricultural implements | 37 | 221 | 964 | 477 | $499,400 | $243,112 | $487,460 | $1,033,590 |
| Blacksmithing | 651 | 57 | 109 | 1,852 | 715,667 | 650,058 | 565,587 | 1,932,448 |
| Bleaching and dyeing | 32 | 1,753 | 187 | 1,387 | 1,063,650 | 608,348 | 20,623,653 | 22,252,429 |
| Bookbinding | 65 | 94 | .... | 1,078 | 492,300 | 478,310 | 588,070 | 1,446,073 |
| Boot and shoe findings | 170 | 190 | 6 | 1,612 | 372,030 | 450,358 | 1,204,420 | 2,161,431 |
| Boots and shoes | 2,392 | 2,266 | 94 | 54,831 | 19,559,738 | 27,265,283 | 61,363,406 | 88,399,583 |
| Bread, crackers, and other bakery products | 144 | 220 | .... | 1,087 | 758,650 | 552,215 | 2,128,676 | 3,130,172 |
| Brick | 107 | 823 | 44 | 2,901 | 2,435,310 | 765,168 | 978,508 | 2,251,984 |
| Carpentering and building | 901 | 468 | 112 | 5,825 | 1,880,202 | 3,484,104 | 6,308,115 | 12,429,739 |
| Carpets, other than rag | 6 | 303 | 100 | 2,200 | 3,250,000 | 832,954 | 3,256,628 | 4,487,525 |
| Carriages and wagons | 326 | 119 | 181 | 2,914 | 1,729,091 | 1,486,959 | 1,326,968 | 4,038,656 |
| Cars, freight and passenger | 6 | 280 | .... | 866 | 1,245,000 | 636,760 | 1,486,929 | 2,408,827 |
| Clothing, men's | 446 | 82 | .... | 9,878 | 5,096,764 | 3,815,742 | 11,913,317 | 20,212,407 |
| Clothing, women's | 116 | ... | .... | 959 | 190,820 | 248,268 | 889,731 | 1,512,613 |
| Cordage and twine | 32 | 1,069 | 208 | 988 | 666,900 | 395,273 | 1,961,410 | 2,886,848 |
| Cotton goods, not specified | 159 | 16,700 | 30,398 | 41,446 | 42,148,175 | 12,912,523 | 35,462,617 | 56,257,580 |
| Cotton goods, batting and wadding | 7 | 90 | 120 | 125 | 96,500 | 47,228 | 302,585 | 384,030 |
| Cotton goods, comfortables | 1 | 5 | .... | 9 | 5,000 | 1,500 | 15,000 | 28,000 |
| Cotton goods, thread, twine, and yarn | 27 | 502 | 1,817 | 2,016 | 2,582,700 | 651,674 | 1,705,484 | 3,009,543 |
| Cutlery | 12 | 322 | 532 | 1,140 | 1,135,400 | 601,247 | 1,001,891 | 6,215,325 |
| Drugs and chemicals | 22 | 235 | .... | 8,993 | 4,287,871 | 2,291,370 | 357,238 | 1,617,904 |
| Fisheries, exclusive of the whale fisheries | 237 | ... | .... | 354 | 1,280,800 | 190,545 | 1,152,780 | 1,800,399 |
| Flouring and grist mill products | 316 | 1,810 | 9,013 | 855 | 2,171,314 | 271,248 | 8,768,926 | 9,720,374 |
| Furniture, not specified | 243 | 1,275 | 675 | 4,044 | 3,372,225 | 2,243,980 | 3,146,828 | 7,397,626 |
| Furniture, chairs | 76 | 893 | 1,899 | 5,683 | 2,636,650 | 1,291,371 | 1,681,006 | 3,971,522 |
| Glass, cut | 8 | 21 | .... | 104 | 50,500 | 51,400 | 70,000 | 171,000 |
| Glass, ware | 11 | 164 | .... | 1,570 | 1,203,000 | 669,520 | 531,634 | 1,571,000 |
| Glass, window | 3 | 60 | 110 | 494 | 883,560 | 257,200 | 127,300 | 800,000 |
| Hardware | 119 | 591 | 703 | 1,757 | 1,903,050 | 929,738 | 891,665 | 2,515,429 |
| Hats and caps | 50 | 529 | .... | 3,290 | 855,600 | 985,304 | 1,846,566 | 3,416,191 |
| Hoop skirts and corsets | 13 | 21 | .... | 664 | 197,800 | 170,561 | 349,225 | 710,772 |
| Hosiery | 32 | 408 | 718 | 2,415 | 1,570,500 | 848,864 | 1,515,326 | 3,218,481 |
| India rubber and elastic goods | 16 | 698 | 255 | 1,405 | 1,920,600 | 580,723 | 1,554,006 | 3,183,218 |
| Iron, forged and rolled | 29 | 5,463 | 715 | 2,590 | 2,760,125 | 1,327,675 | 4,538,866 | 6,699,907 |
| Iron, nails and spikes, cut and wrought | 49 | 1,767 | 1,459 | 2,458 | 2,600,850 | 1,059,230 | 4,082,775 | 5,986,144 |
| Iron, pipe, wrought | 5 | 230 | 25 | 335 | 385,000 | 219,500 | 976,218 | 1,407,000 |
| Iron, castings not specified | 101 | 955 | 650 | 2,749 | 2,496,900 | 1,640,402 | 2,574,320 | 5,265,154 |
| Iron, stoves and hollow ware | 18 | 315 | 114 | 965 | 940,500 | 646,401 | 555,675 | 1,781,548 |
| Jewelry, not specified | 59 | 186 | 62 | 1,642 | 972,500 | 786,650 | 825,523 | 2,342,025 |
| Lasts | 20 | 226 | 12 | 208 | 146,000 | 135,960 | 68,617 | 313,768 |
| Leather, tanned | 138 | 1,584 | 478 | 1,424 | 3,130,850 | 756,467 | 8,025,578 | 9,984,497 |
| Leather, curried | 196 | 1,350 | 85 | 3,194 | 3,163,076 | 1,812,052 | 14,969,920 | 19,211,330 |
| Leather, morocco, tanned and curried | 40 | 299 | 16 | 744 | 998,900 | 450,200 | 2,315,800 | 3,158,020 |
| Lumber, planed | 67 | 2,143 | 218 | 1,156 | 1,686,600 | 753,381 | 3,783,501 | 3,155,370 |
| Lumber, sawed | 638 | 2,019 | 13,900 | 2,258 | 2,031,879 | 558,055 | 2,023,488 | 3,496,320 |
| Machinery, not specified | 200 | 1,731 | 1,274 | 3,626 | 4,105,600 | 2,116,494 | 2,570,666 | 6,733,102 |
| Machinery, cotton and woollen | 95 | 823 | 872 | 2,816 | 2,940,750 | 1,575,917 | 2,258,392 | 4,821,314 |
| Machinery, railroad repairing | 3 | 205 | .... | 1,101 | 708,500 | 635,835 | 812,825 | 1,898,894 |
| Machinery, steam engines and boilers | 42 | 603 | 57 | 1,357 | 1,843,000 | 878,901 | 1,335,073 | 2,973,432 |
| Marble and stone work | 49 | 438 | 10 | 1,365 | 993,500 | 820,111 | 879,838 | 2,178,450 |
| Molasses and sugar refined | 4 | 900 | .... | 460 | 2,200,000 | 226,848 | 6,944,395 | 7,665,485 |
| Musical instruments, organs and materials | 17 | 124 | .... | 745 | 698,000 | 581,556 | 319,050 | 1,374,614 |
| Musical instruments, pianos | 21 | 320 | 23 | 994 | 2,075,711 | 949,133 | 675,759 | 2,581,565 |
| Oil, fish | 9 | 85 | .... | 152 | 482,000 | 57,133 | 1,970,232 | 2,578,176 |
| Oil, linseed | 2 | 215 | .... | 69 | 200,000 | 47,500 | 914,000 | 1,003,610 |
| Paper, not specified | 17 | 188 | 1,177 | 364 | 558,100 | 144,903 | 555,139 | 1,052,784 |
| Paper, printing | 25 | 364 | 3,544 | 1,173 | 1,858,700 | 549,190 | 3,052,971 | 4,319,924 |
| Paper, wrapping | 23 | 410 | 1,548 | 416 | 914,500 | 181,752 | 769,769 | 1.289,178 |
| Paper, writing | 30 | 170 | 3,054 | 2,602 | 4,387,828 | 979,000 | 8,638,470 | 6,025,595 |
| Printing, cotton and woollen goods | 11 | 1,806 | 1,165 | 2,996 | 2,894,653 | 1,110,055 | 15,420,530 | 17,325,150 |
| Printing and publishing, not specified | 18 | 64 | .... | 435 | 520,400 | 268,533 | 308,611 | 1,702,740 |
| Printing and publishing, book | 3 | 60 | .... | 311 | 268,000 | 177,456 | 372,860 | 1,205,000 |
| Printing and publishing, newspaper | 52 | 328 | .... | 1,135 | 2,545,400 | 991,530 | 1,433,835 | 4,005,425 |
| Printing and publishing, job | 89 | 141 | .... | 1,092 | 1,634,650 | 515,916 | 420,544 | 1,477,811 |
| Ship building, repairing, and ship materials | 98 | 387 | .... | 1,166 | 1,192,350 | 727,473 | 902,845 | 2,070,201 |
| Shovels and spades | 5 | 470 | 390 | 654 | 371,100 | 376,000 | 1,080,144 | 1,820,526 |
| Stone | 58 | 189 | .... | 137 | 662,750 | 790,195 | 132,444 | 1,294,148 |
| Straw goods | 39 | 237 | 35 | 11,441 | 1,361,400 | 1,411,350 | 2,503,070 | 4,869,514 |
| Tin, copper, and sheet-iron ware | 300 | 84 | .... | 1,584 | 1,284,900 | 766,485 | 1,384,095 | 2,785,674 |
| Upholstery | 77 | .. | .... | 901 | 978,655 | 461,909 | 1,234,157 | 2,424,457 |
| Watches | 3 | 55 | .... | 758 | 980,000 | 610,024 | 175,909 | 1,281,160 |
| Wire | 6 | 1,100 | 343 | 910 | 1,418,500 | 555,837 | 1,238,822 | 2,354,672 |
| Woollen goods | 182 | 5,421 | 12,230 | 20,541 | 20,622,400 | 7,296,752 | 24,866,118 | 39,489,242 |
| Worsted goods | 35 | 730 | 2,579 | 5,275 | 2,839,500 | 1,678,462 | 5,663,048 | 8,280,541 |
Not included in the above statement for 1870 are the statistics of mining and quarrying, in which the capital invested amounted to $944,250, and the annual products to $1,493,522; and those of fisheries, with $4,287,871 capital and $6,215,325 annual products. The stone quarried, including large quantities of Quincy granite, was valued at $1,294,148.—For commercial purposes, the state is divided into 11 customs districts, of which the ports of entry are given in the following statements. The imports and exports for the year ending June 30, 1874, were as follows:
| PORTS OF ENTRY. | Imports. | Domestic exports. |
Foreign exports. |
| Boston | $52,212,405 | $28,335,627 | $2,275,028 |
| Fall River | 34,974 | ........... | ........... |
| Gloucester | 94,007 | 1,400 | 109 |
| Marblehead | 11,725 | ........... | ........... |
| New Bedford | 95,971 | 30,369 | 233 |
| Newburyport | 227,353 | 39,076 | 3,663 |
| Plymouth | 128 | 34 | ........... |
| Salem and Beverly | 60,717 | 49,009 | 1,744 |
| Total | $52,787,280 | $28,455,515 | $2,280,772 |
The movement of foreign shipping at the various ports, and the numher of vessels registered, enrolled, and licensed, were as follows:
| PORTS OF ENTRY. |
ENTERED. | CLEARED. | REGISTER'D, &C. | |||
| No. | Tons. | No. | Tons. | No. | Tons. | |
| Barnstable | 16 | 1,428 | 20 | 1,786 | 483 | 50,909 |
| Boston | 2,717 | 730,769 | 2,652 | 659,102 | 883 | 274,941 |
| Edgartown | .... | ...... | .... | ....... | 16 | 1,135 |
| Fall River | 16 | 1,956 | 4 | 575 | 147 | 27,291 |
| Gloucester | 121 | 22,710 | 95 | 14,777 | 491 | 28,663 |
| Marblehead | 33 | 3,011 | 39 | 4,284 | 62 | 2,636 |
| Nantucket | .... | ...... | .... | ....... | 7 | 778 |
| New Bedford | 53 | 12,572 | 37 | 7,818 | 233 | 47,371 |
| Newburyp't | 19 | 2,580 | 34 | 7,837 | 67 | 12,865 |
| Plymouth | 1 | 102 | 1 | 102 | 89 | 3,940 |
| Salem and Beverly | 84 | 8,468 | 100 | 11,767 | 85 | 7,844 |
| Total | 3,066 | 783,541 | 2,982 | 708,048 | 2,563 | 458,873 |
Those that entered and cleared as well as those registered were mostly sailing vessels. The number of vessels engaged in the coastwise trade was as follows:
| PORTS OF ENTRY. | COASTWISE TRADE. | |||
| ENTERED. | CLEARED. | |||
| No. | Tons. | No. | Tons. | |
| Barnstable | 24 | 2,966 | 3 | 405 |
| Boston | 1,271 | 1,150,169 | 1,741 | 1,286,866 |
| Edgartown | 28 | 2,085 | 11 | 1,717 |
| Fall River | 486 | 886,647 | 330 | 813,006 |
| Gloucester | 70 | 5,957 | 36 | 8,836 |
| Marblehead | 10 | 1,128 | 7 | 778 |
| Nantucket | 7 | 392 | 3 | 147 |
| New Bedford | 135 | 47,360 | 36 | 8,785 |
| Newburyport | 528 | 59,728 | 491 | 65,756 |
| Plymouth | 3 | 516 | 1 | 122 |
| Salem and Beverly | 98 | 10,448 | 41 | 5,461 |
| Total | 2,655 | 2,167,886 | 2,700 | 2,191,829 |
Besides the above, 105 vessels of 3,677 tons engaged in the general fisheries entered at Newburyport, and 116 of 3,922 tons cleared. For more than a century the fisheries of Massachusetts have constituted one of its leading industries. (See Fisheries.) The most important centres of this industry are Gloucester, which far surpasses any other port of the country in the magnitude of its cod and mackerel fisheries, and New Bedford, which is the leading market in the United States for the produce of the whale. The entire products of the American whale fisheries for the year ending June 30, 1874, amounted to $2,291,896, including sperm oil valued at $1,250,987, other whale oil $775,919, and whalebone $264,990. Nearly all of these were from Massachusetts, where were employed in the whale fisheries about 170 vessels belonging to Barnstable, Edgartown, New Bedford, and Salem and Beverly. Of the 2,099 vessels employed in the cod and mackerel fisheries in the United States, 1,026 of 49,578 tons belonged to Massachusetts. According to the census of 1870, more than half of the products of fisheries in the United States, exclusive of the whale fisheries, were the result of Massachusetts industry. The capital invested in this business was $4,287,871, and the number of persons employed was 8,993. Among the products, which were valued at $6,215,325, were 451,125 quintals of cod, 1,651 tons of halibut, 188,567 barrels of mackerel, $486,596 worth of miscellaneous fish, and 305,049 gallons of oil, valued at $302,790. Ship building is carried on in most of the customs districts; in 1874 there were 77 vessels built, of 31,499 tons, including 5 steamers, of 689 tons. About two thirds of these were built in Boston, Charlestown, and Newburyport.—The first railroad in Massachusetts was opened for use in 1835, since which time an average of about 50 m. has been annually constructed. On Sept. 30, 1874, the entire mileage belonging to Massachusetts companies was 2,418, exclusive of 657 m. of sidings and 626 m. of double track; the length of main track and branches within the commonwealth was 1,782 m., and of double track and sidings 917 m. About 29 per cent, of the main lines are laid with steel rails. Nominally there are 60 corporations, but the railroads of the state are controlled by 31 distinct boards of direction. The average cost of roads has been $56,883 62 a mile, in addition to the cost of equipment, $7,701 a mile. The entire amount directly invested in the railroads reporting to the state is $165,624,136, including $117,066,798 of stock and $48,557,338 of debt. The total earnings returned for the year amounted to $34,632,483, of which about 49 per cent. were from passengers and 46 per cent. from freight. The number of passengers carried was 42,480,494. The whole number of accidents was 279, of which 127 resulted in death; nearly one third were caused by walking on the tracks. The average of casualties for a series of years from causes not attributable to the carelessness of the person injured has been 1 to each 1,400,000 passengers carried; but in 1874 it was only 1 to each 5,300,000. The railroads are under the general supervision of a board of three commissioners, who are appointed by the governor, and are required to report annually upon the condition of the roads and corporations, the causes of accidents, &c. The lines completed at the beginning of 1875 are represented in the following table, omitting those less than 5 m. long:
| CORPORATIONS. | TERMINI. | LENGTH. | Capital stock paid in. |
Cost of road, &c., proportion for Mass. | ||||||||
| From | To | Total. | In Mass. | |||||||||
| Berkshire | Sheffield | W. Stockbridge | 22 | 22 | $600,000 | $606,000 | ||||||
| Boston and Albany | Boston | Albany, N. Y. | 201 | 162 | 19,864,100 | 22,254,339 | ||||||
|
Cottage Farm | East Boston | 9 | 9 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| South Framingham | Milford | 12 | 12 | ........ | ........ | |||||||
| Boston, Barre, and Gardner | Worcester | Winchendon | 36 | 36 | 863,901 | 1,237,688 | ||||||
| Boston, Clinton, and Fitchburg | Fitchburg | South Framingham | 41 | 41 | 872,600 | 2,855,564 | ||||||
| Boston, Hartford and Erie | Boston | Willimantic, Conn. | 85 | 51 | 20,000,000 | 8,275,861 | ||||||
| Woonsocket division | Brookline | Woonsocket, R. I. | 33 | 32 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Southbridge division | E. Thompson, Conn. | Southbridge | 17 | 10 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Boston and Lowell | Boston | Lowell | 26 | 26 | 3,200,000 | 5,554,785 | ||||||
| Lexington and Arlington | Medford | Lexington | 9 | 9 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Boston and Maine | Boston | Portland, Me. | 116 | 36 | 6,921,274 | 3,815,604 | ||||||
| Boston and Providence | Boston | Providence, R. I. | 44 | 38 | 4,000,000 | 4,534,060 | ||||||
| West Roxbury | Forest Hills Station | Dedham | 5 | 5 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| India Point | Seekonk | Providence, R. I. | 7 | 3 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Cheshire | South Ashburnham | Bellows Falls, Vt. | 58 | 11 | 2,153,300 | 574,432 | ||||||
| Connecticut River | Springfield | South Vernon, Vt. | 50 | 50 | 2,100,000 | 2,684,220 | ||||||
| Danvers | Wakefield Junction | Danvers | 9 | 9 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Duxbury and Cohasset | Cohasset | Kingston | 20 | 20 | 390,000 | 452,378 | ||||||
| Eastern | Boston | State line | 41 | 41 | 4,997,600 | 14,192,653 | ||||||
| Saugus | Revere | Lynn | 9 | 9 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Marblehead | Swampscott | Marblehead | 4 | 4 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Lawrence | Salem | Lawrence | 19 | 19 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Gloucester | Beverly | Gloucester | 17 | 17 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Essex | Wenham | Essex | 5 | 5 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| South Reading | Peabody | Wakefield | 8 | 8 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Fall River, Warren, and Providence | Fall River | Providence, R.I. | 6 | 4 | 150,000 | 210,155 | ||||||
| Fitchburg | Boston | Fitchburg | 50 | 50 | 4,000,000 | 4,559,000 | ||||||
| Watertown Branch | North Cambridge | Waltham | 7 | 7 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Lancaster, Sterling, and Marlboro | South Acton | Marlboro | 12 | 12 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Peterboro and Shirley | Ayer Junction | Mason Village, Vt. | 23 | 14 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Framingham and Lowell | South Framingham | Lowell | 26 | 26 | 511,796 | 1,326,921 | ||||||
| Hanover Branch | North Abington | South Hanover | 8 | 8 | 123,950 | 251,889 | ||||||
| Holyoke and Westfield | Westfield | Holyoke | 10 | 10 | 260,000 | 462,238 | ||||||
| Hopkinton | Milford | Ashland | 11 | 11 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Lowell and Andover | Lowell | Ballardvale | 9 | 9 | 487,280 | 386,680 | ||||||
| Lowell and Lawrence | Lowell | Lawrence | 12 | 12 | 200,000 | 363,153 | ||||||
| Manchester and Lawrence | Manchester, N. H. | Lawrence | 26 | 4 | 1,000,000 | ........ | ||||||
| Mansfield and Framingham | South Framingham | Mansfield | 21 | 21 | 301,580 | 850,974 | ||||||
| Martha's Vineyard | Oak Bluffs | Katama | 8 | 8 | 40,000 | 67,277 | ||||||
| Middlesex Central | Lexington | Concord | 8 | 8 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Monadnock | Winchendon | Peterboro, N. H. | 16 | 2 | 197,864 | 49,881 | ||||||
| Nashua, Acton, and Boston | North Acton | Nashua, N. H. | 20 | 15 | 262,000 | 531,992 | ||||||
| Nashua and Lowell | Lowell | Nashua, N. H. | 14 | 9 | 800,000 | 764,974 | ||||||
| New Bedford | New Bedford | Mansfield | 82 | 82 | 1,678,500 | 2,250,780 | ||||||
| Fairhaven | Fairhaven | Wareham | 15 | 15 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Taunton Junction | Taunton | Attleboro | 8 | 8 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
|
Bradford | Newburyport | 27 | 27 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Georgetown | Danvers | .. | .. | ........ | ........ | |||||||
| New Haven and Northampton | New Haven, Conn. | Williamsburg | 84 | 32 | 2,460,000 | 1,526,772 | ||||||
| New London Northern | New London, Conn. | Miller's Falls | 100 | 44 | 1,500,000 | 895,692 | ||||||
| New York, New Haven, and Hartford | New York, N. Y. | Springfield | 123 | 6 | 15,500,000 | 687,674 | ||||||
| Norwich and Worcester | Worcester | Norwich, Conn. | 59 | 17 | 2,604,400 | 1,142,550 | ||||||
| Old Colony |
|
|
217 | 200 | 6,687,300 | 11,100,126 | ||||||
| Bridgewater | South Abington | Bridgewater | 7 | 7 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Middleboro and Taunton | Middleboro | Taunton | 8 | 8 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Woods' Hole | Cohasset Narrows | Woods' Hole | 17 | 17 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Hyannis | Yarmouth | Hyannis | 5 | 5 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Pittsfield and North Adams | Pittsfield | North Adams | 19 | 19 | 450,000 | 450,000 | ||||||
| Providence and Worcester | Providence, R. I. | Worcester | 43 | 25 | 2,000,000 | 1,558,604 | ||||||
| Salem and Lowell | Tewksbury Junction | Peabody | 17 | 17 | 243,305 | 481,468 | ||||||
| South Shore | Braintree | Cohasset | 11 | 11 | 259,865 | 626,592 | ||||||
| Springfield, Athol, and Northeastern | Springfield | Athol | 48 | 48 | 809,760 | 1,462,668 | ||||||
| Stockbridge and Pittsfield | Stockbridge | Pittsfield | 22 | 22 | 448,700 | 451,250 | ||||||
| Stony Brook | North Chelmsford | Ayer | 13 | 13 | 300,000 | 300,093 | ||||||
|
Greenfield | Hoosac Tunnel | 30 | 30 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| North Adams | State line | 7 | 7 | ........ | ........ | |||||||
| Vermont and Massachusetts | Fitchburg | Greenfield | 56 | 56 | 2,860,000 | 3,307,941 | ||||||
| Brattleboro | Miller's Falls | Brattleboro, Vt. | 21 | 11 | ........ | ........ | ||||||
| Ware River | Palmer | Winchendon | 49 | 49 | 750,000 | 1,066,407 | ||||||
| Worcester and Nashua | Worcester | Nashua, N. H. | 46 | 39 | 1,789,700 | 2,109,629 | ||||||
The transportation facilities will be greatly improved by the completion in 1875 of the tunnel through the Hoosac mountain in the N. W. part of the state. This tunnel, which will have cost the state not less than $14,000,000, including interest, is, next to the Mt. Cenis tunnel, the longest in the world, being about 4¾ m. in length. (See Tunnel.) The 30 street railway corporations in the state have 210 m. of track, including branches and sidings; their capital stock is $5,538,125, exclusive of debt amounting to $2,573,741; the average cost per mile of road and equipment was $32,701; and the number of passengers carried in 1874 was 50,058,979.—The number of national banks in operation Nov. 1, 1874, was 220; paid-in capital, $93,039,350; circulation outstanding, $59,051,019; circulation per head, $40 52; ratio of circulation to wealth, 2.0 per cent.; to capital, 63.05 per cent. Fifty-one of these banks, with a capital of $50,400,000, and an outstanding circulation of $25,294,272, were in Boston. There were 179 savings banks, with 702,099 depositors, and deposits amounting to $217,452,120. The average rate of dividends was 61⁄6 per cent. There were also 4 loan and trust companies, with $1,700,000 capital, and deposits aggregating $6,924,270. On Jan. 1, 1874, there were 127 fire and marine insurance companies transacting business in the state, with a paid-up capital of $52,197,870 and net assets aggregating $86,981,245. The premiums received on risks in 1873 aggregated $84,017,278, while the paid losses amounted to $61,524,120, showing a ratio of paid losses to premium receipts of 73.23.—The executive department of the government consists of a governor, whose annual salary is $5,000; a lieutenant governor, who receives $1,500 for attendance during the regular session of the legislature and $10 a day for extra sessions; a secretary of the commonwealth, $3,500; treasurer and receiver general, $5,000; auditor, $3,500; attorney general, $5,000; and an executive council of eight, each of whom receives $750 for the regular annual session of their board, $5 a day for any subsequent session, and 20 cents a mile for travel. These officers are elected annually by the people. The legislative department consists of 40 senators and 240 representatives elected annually. Their pay is $750 for the regular annual session, and 20 cents a mile for travel. The president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives receive each $1,500 for the session. The judiciary comprises a supreme judicial court, consisting of a chief justice, salary $6,500, and six justices, who receive $6,000 per annum each. This has exclusive cognizance of all capital crimes, exclusive chancery jurisdiction so far as chancery powers are given by statute, and concurrent original jurisdiction of all civil cases where the amount in dispute exceeds $4,000 in Suffolk, and $1,000 in other counties. The superior court has criminal jurisdiction in all except capital cases, exclusive original jurisdiction of complaints for the flowing of land, and original jurisdiction of all civil actions except those confided to the supreme and police courts. Actions cannot be commenced in this court unless the debt or damages exceed $20. The court has a chief justice, salary $5,300, and nine justices, $5,000 each. The legislature in 1858 united the courts of probate and the court of insolvency. For probate and insolvency purposes, frequent courts are held at different places by the judges in the several counties. A judge and a register of probate and insolvency are elected by the voters of each county. In the large cities there are municipal courts for civil and police purposes. All the judges are appointed by the governor for an unlimited time. The election for state officers and members of the legislature is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, and the legislature meets on the first Wednesday of January. Voters are required to be 21 years old, to have resided a year in the state and six months in the town, to pay a poll tax, and to be able to read. Massachusetts has two senators and 11 representatives in congress, and consequently has 13 votes in the electoral college. For several years past the sale of spirituous and intoxicating liquors to be used as a beverage has been prohibited under penalties ranging from $10 fine and 10 days' imprisonment to $50 fine and six months' imprisonment. Ale, porter, strong beer, lager beer, and all wines, as well as distilled spirits, are considered intoxicating. The lawful sale of intoxicating liquors to be used in the arts, or for medicinal, chemical, or mechanical purposes, is vested in a commissioner appointed by the governor. In 1871 permission was given to towns to authorize the sale of ale, porter, strong beer, or lager beer; but in 1873 this law was repealed. For executing the liquor law and general criminal laws a state police was maintained, consisting in 1874 of 100 men, at a cost of $145,000. This force was abolished by a law which was passed Feb. 13, 1875, and went into force March 1, and provision was made for the establishment of a state detective force of 31 men, to be appointed by the governor and council. The state board of health, appointed by the governor, makes regulations concerning the slaughter of swine, and may restrain persons or corporations from carrying on noxious or offensive trades.—The funded debt of the commonwealth, Jan. 1, 1875, amounted to $29,465,204, and was classified as follows: railroad loans, $14,971,016; war loans, $12,936,188; ordinary loans, $1,558,000. Nearly the entire indebtedness of the state is provided for by established sinking funds. The revenue during the year ending Jan. 1, 1875, was $7,009,313; the expenditures were $7,183,247, of which $6,150,391 were ordinary and $1,032,856 special and exceptional. The chief sources of revenue were:
| State tax | $2,000,000 |
| Corporation tax | 1,299,050 |
| Savings bank tax | 1,550,501 |
| National bank tax | 1,132,036 |
| Massachusetts hospital life insurance company | 89,129 |
| Insurance taxes and licenses | 263,552 |
| Gas, coal, and mining companies | 9,893 |
| Troy and Greenfield railroad, rents and interest | 32,333 |
| Interest on deposits and taxes | 116,808 |
| Commissions | 7,875 |
| Hawkers and peddlers | 44,567 |
| Corporation fees | 9,695 |
| Railroad commissioners | 22,683 |
| State police | 18,156 |
| State prison | 107,209 |
| Reform school | 22,798 |
| Industrial school | 7,000 |
| Confiscated liquors | 19,793 |
| New York and New England railroad company | 89,038 |
| Alien estates | 4,065 |
| Premium on exchange and loans | 25,343 |
| Harbor improvements | 16,059 |
The entire taxable property of the state on May 1, 1874, amounted to $2,164,398,548, of which $1,289,308,763 was real estate, $542,292,402 personal estate, $30,569,512 bank stock not included in the valuation of cities and towns, $217,452,120 deposits in savings banks, and $84,775,750 property of corporations above real estate and machinery taxed in cities and towns. The number of polls was 414,800, on whom the tax amounted to $875,486. The total municipal taxation for state, county, city, and town purposes, including highway tax, amounted to $28,700,605. During the decade ending with 1874 the taxable property of the commonwealth increased to the extent of $1,032,678,594. The yearly valuation and the annual increase during this period were as follows:
| YEARS. | Property returned by local assessors. |
Deposits in savings banks. |
Corporate excess above real estate and machinery. |
Total. | Increase. |
| 1865 | $991,841,901 00 | $59,936,482 52 | $79,941,570 77 | $1,131,719,954 29 | $66,287,834 77 |
| 1866 | 1,081,316,001 00 | 67,732,264 31 | 88,015,184 91 | 1,237,063,450 22 | 105,343,495 93 |
| 1867 | 1,165,893,413 00 | 80,431,583 71 | 85,522,968 02 | 1,331,847,964 73 | 94,784,514 51 |
| 1868 | 1,220,498,939 00 | 94,838,336 54 | 92,826,758 60 | 1,407,664,034 14 | 75,816,069 41 |
| 1869 | 1,341,069,403 00 | 112,119,016 64 | 95,167,745 25 | 1,548,356,164 89 | 140,692,130 75 |
| 1870 | 1,417,127,376 00 | 135,745,097 54 | 92,063,976 00 | 1,644,936,449 54 | 96,580,284 65 |
| 1871 | 1,496,678,258 00 | 163,704,077 54 | 101,208,665 00 | 1,761,591,000 54 | 116,654,551 00 |
| 1872 | 1,696,599,969 00 | 184,797,313 92 | 104,757,278 03 | 1,986,154,560 95 | 224,563,560 41 |
| 1873, including bank shares | 1,794,216,110 69 | 202,195,343 70 | 90,938,561 07 | 2,087,350,015 46 | 101,195,454 51 |
| 1874, including bank shares | 1,862,170,677 57 | 217,452,120 84 | 84,775,750 50 | 2,164,398,548 91 | 77,048,533 45 |
All business corporations are taxed for their real estate and machinery in the place where situated, and their capital stock is taxed by the state at its value over and above the local assessment, the proceeds being distributed to the cities and towns wherein stockholders reside. The property exempted from taxation is valued at $55,088,592, distributed as follows: religious societies, $30,455,075; literary, $13,886,791; charitable and benevolent, $7,726,031; scientific, $2,064,200; agricultural, $956,495. The amount exempted in Boston is $18,713,100, of which $10,650,700 is for churches.—The provisions made by the state for the care of the defective and dependent are liberal and systematic. The charitable and correctional institutions are in charge of separate and independent boards of trustees or inspectors, appointed by the governor and council. They are, however, under the general supervision of the board of state charities, comprising seven members, who collect and publish statistical information concerning them, and recommend to the legislature such action as may seem expedient. On Sept. 30, 1874, the wards of the commonwealth, or persons entirely at its charge, exclusive of prisoners, were 3,626; and adding the blind, the deaf mutes, idiots, and others over whom the state exercises some supervision, the total was 4,103. Including the cost of maintaining the county and city prisons, and of supporting and relieving towns' poor, which is not directly borne by the state, more than $2,000,000 was paid in 1874 for purposes of charity, reform, or correction; and this amount does not include $470,000 of state aid to soldiers. The ordinary appropriations for public charitable and correctional institutions amounted to $568,500, besides $270,000 for charitable purposes outside of institutions, half the latter sum being exceptional. Included in the former sum was $95,000 for the insane, $260,500 for the almshouse, workhouse, and juvenile reformatories, $120,000 for the state prison, $30,000 for deaf mutes, $8,500 for the eye and ear infirmary, $30,000 for the blind, and $20,000 for idiots. The total income of the state from these institutions was about $110,000. The institutions, besides the state prison, owned and managed by the state, with the most important statistics for 1874, were as follows:
| INSTITUTIONS. | Established. | Whole No. of inmates in 1874. |
Average number. |
Receipts. | Ordinary expenses. |
| Worcester lunatic hospital | 1833 | 842 | 476 | $320,006 | $107,534 |
| Taunton lunatic hospit'l | 1854 | 858 | 480 | 183,625 | 96,218 |
| Northampton lunatic hospital | 1858 | 621 | 469 | 99,906 | 89,876 |
| Tewksbury almshouse | 1854 | 3,022 | 881 | 96,858 | 88,199 |
| Monson primary school | 1854 | 715 | 480 | 47,209 | 45,601 |
| Bridgewater workhouse | 1854 | 798 | 403 | 49,310 | 46,432 |
| Westborough reform school | 1848 | 456 | 323 | 89,587 | 53,065 |
| Lancaster industrial school | 1856 | 140 | 93 | 33,934 | 21,035 |
| Total | .... | 7,452 | 3,606 | $920,435 | $547,960 |
Of the total receipts, $343,828 was from appropriations for current expenses, while $282,000 was granted for new buildings. The entire expenditures amounted to $885,647. Each of the above named institutions has a farm, the smallest containing 134 and the largest 375 acres. In 1874 they reported a valuation of $2,400,911 on real estate and $608,949 on personal. The institutions at Westborough and Lancaster are reformatories, the former for boys and the latter for girls; admission to both is by sentence of the courts, and for the term of minority. The establishments at Monson and Bridgewater were originally almshouses; the legislation of 1866 converted the one into a primary school and the other into a workhouse; and the almshouse department of each was abolished in 1872. The school at Monson is for children of poverty, boys and girls; admission is granted by the board of state charities. Several hundred children are annually released from these institutions on probation or indenture, and are regularly visited by the state visiting agents. The general duties of this agency are to look after offending and neglected children, and to promote their welfare. The number of children in families outside the state institutions and subject to supervision Sept. 30, 1874, was about 1,400. The following institutions, not under state control, were also aided by the state in 1874, and received state beneficiaries:
| INSTITUTIONS. | Established. | Appropriation. | Whole number of inmates. |
State beneficiaries. | ||||
| The Massachusetts charitable eye and ear infirmary, Boston | 1824 | $8,500 | 6,652 | ... | ||||
| The Massachusetts school for idiots, South Boston | 1848 | 20,000 | 143 | 92 | ||||
| Massachusetts asylum for the blind, South Boston | 1829 | 30,000 | 205 | 81 | ||||
| The American asylum for deaf and dumb, Hartford, Conn. | 1816 |
|
.... | 85 | ||||
| The Clarke institution for deaf mutes, Northampton | 1867 | 57 | 49 | |||||
| The Boston school for deaf mutes, Boston | 1869 | .... | 55 | |||||
| Massachusetts infant asylum, Brookline | 1867 | 4,500 | .... | 51 | ||||
| Aid of discharged prisoners | .... | 4,500 | .... | 427 | ||||
| Relief of disabled soldiers, Boston | .... | 3,000 | .... | ... | ||||
| Total amount appropriated | .... | $100,500 | .... | 840 | ||||
Massachusetts has provided most liberally for its insane inhabitants. In addition to the asylum in Worcester, which has a capacity for 400 patients, that in Taunton, 500, and that in Northampton, 325, the Tewksbury almshouse has accommodations for 300 chronic harmless insane, and a new asylum capable of receiving 450 is in process of construction at Danvers. Moreover, the McLean asylum in Somerville, which is chiefly supported by private benefactions, will accommodate about 200 patients, the city asylum in Boston about 200, and the county asylum in Ipswich about 70; making the entire capacity for this class not less than 2,450. The number of insane in the state in 1874 was reported at 3,843, of whom 2,625 were under the care of hospitals or overseers of the poor, Sept. 30. The whole number in the various hospitals of the state during the year was 3,380; average number, 2,167; discharged, recovered, 248; improved, 395; not improved, 279; died, 241. Of the number (2,217) remaining Sept. 30, 1874, 821 were supported by the state, 886 by towns, and 510 by individuals. The Massachusetts general hospital in Boston, founded in 1811, affords medical and surgical treatment free to those unable to pay for it. It is supported by the income of its invested funds, to which the state contributed $75,000, and the gifts of individuals. It receives from 1,500 to 2,000 house patients annually, of whom more than half are treated free of charge, and its average of out patients exceeds 1,000 per month. The state prison in Charlestown, in charge of a warden appointed by the governor, is conducted on the congregate plan, the convicts being separated at meals and at night, but associated at labor during the day. Disciplinary punishments are the withdrawal of privileges, with solitary confinement in a dark cell. Many of the convicts are taught trades, and a portion of them are instructed in day schools. All are required to attend religious exercises, and have the privilege of a library. The labor of the convicts is let to contractors, and for some years the prison was a source of profit to the state. The income of the institution in 1874 was $81,098, including $77,068 earned by the convicts; the total expenses were $123,673. The number of convicts ranged from 586 to 685, the daily average being 647. The site has been selected in Concord for a new state prison, on the completion of which, according to the original plan, the one in Charlestown will be discontinued. In the several counties of the state, under the management of officers elected by the people, there are 19 jails and 15 houses of correction, though there are but 21 different establishments, as in many cases the jail and house of correction are under one roof. In 1873 the legislature authorized the building of a reformatory prison for women, to be erected within two years, and to it when completed most of the female convicts will be sentenced. Men and women convicted of certain minor offences are sent to the workhouse at Bridgewater, while juvenile offenders are confined in the reformatories at Westborough and Lancaster. An agency for aiding discharged convicts is provided by the state, which appropriated $3,000 for this purpose in 1874; and there is a temporary asylum for discharged female prisoners at Dedham, supported by gifts and the income of investments, for the benefit of which the state has lately made an annual appropriation of $1,500. There are also houses of reformation in Boston and Lowell, besides the industrial school at Lawrence, the Plummer farm school at Salem, and truant schools in Worcester, Springfield, and Cambridge; and there are many private organizations for charitable purposes. The whole number confined in state, county, and city prisons in 1874 was 17,856; average number, 3,483. The entire cost of these was $581,643, while their earnings amounted to $195,212. The county and municipal prisons are to a limited extent under the supervision of a board of prison commissioners appointed by the governor. During 1874, 4,888 paupers were entirely supported by the state, at a cost of $268,096; the average number was 2,229. Besides these, there was an average of 4,057 paupers supported by towns, at a cost of $643,440. Including those partially supported by the state and by towns, the entire cost of pauperism was $1,412,780, of which $403,000 was borne by the state. The almshouse in Tewksbury is now the only state establishment for paupers.—The system of public schools in Massachusetts has attained a very high degree of excellence. Every person having under his control a child between the ages of 8 and 14 years is required to send it to school at least 20 weeks annually, under penalty of a fine not exceeding $50. Cities and towns must provide truant schools and appoint truant officers, who shall cause the confinement for instruction of habitual truants between the ages of 7 and 15 years. Moreover, there are laws prohibiting the employment of children in manufactories to the neglect of their education. Two agents are employed in visiting the schools of the state for inspection and improvement. In many of the cities and towns text books are furnished free to the pupils in the public schools. The schools are supported by local taxation. The board of education, consisting of 10 members, including the governor and lieutenant governor, has no direct control over the common schools, but exercises an important influence indirectly. It appoints a secretary, who acts as state superintendent, receiving an annual salary of $3,400, which includes expenses. Most of the cities and towns elect superintendents. The most important information concerning the public schools of the commonwealth for 1873-'4 is given in the following statement:
| Number of public schools | 5,435 |
| Persons between 5 and 15, May 1, 1873 | 292,481 |
| Pupils of all ages in public schools | 297,025 |
| Pupils under 5 years of age | 2,522 |
| Pupils over 15 years | 24,687 |
| Average attendance | 210,248 |
| Ratio of average attendance | |
| to whole number between 5 and 15 | 72 |
| Number of male teachers | 1,078 |
| Number of female teachers | 7,637 |
| Number of teachers who have attended normal schools | 1,674 |
| Average length of public schools | 8 mos. and 8 days. |
| Average monthly wages of male teachers, | |
| including high school teachers | $94 33 |
| Average monthly wages of female teachers | $34 34 |
| Raised by taxation for public schools | $4,253,211 |
| Income of funds appropriated for public schools | |
| at option of towns | $47,316 |
| Voluntary contributions for school purposes | $11,162 |
| Income of local school funds | $98,960 |
| Income of state school fund | $88,032 |
| Salaries of school superintendents | $58,322 |
| Ordinary expenditures | $4,533,553 |
| Expended for school houses, building and repairing | $1,646,670 |
| Number of high schools | 208 |
| Number attending evening schools | 10,194 |
| Number attending state charitable and | |
| reformatory schools | 1,219 |
| Number of incorporated academies | 69 |
| Average number of pupils | 4,663 |
| Amount paid for tuition | $234,149 |
| Number of private schools and academies | 402 |
| Estimated average attendance | 13,144 |
| Estimated amount of tuition paid | $479,395 |
| Total amount paid to maintain public schools, and | |
| for instruction of children in reformatory | |
| institutions and almshouses | $6,180,848 |
| For each person in the state | |
| between 5 and 15 years of age | $21 13 |
Including the attendance upon academies and private schools (17,800), evening schools (10,194), and charitable and reform schools (1,219), the entire attendance, exclusive of higher institutions of learning, was 326,245; and the entire amount paid for popular education is stated at $7,080,000. Evening schools were supported in 33 cities and towns, at a cost of $52,238. According to the census of 1870, Massachusetts contained 5,726 schools, with 1,428 male and 6,133 female teachers, and 169,337 pupils. The total income of all educational institutions was $4,817,939, of which $383,146 was from endowment, $3,183,794 from taxation and public funds, and $1,250,999 from tuition and other sources. The income of the colleges was $408,126; academies, $285,325; private schools, $533,690. While the number of illiterates over 10 years of age is very large in proportion to the entire population, being .067 per cent., exceeding that of any other New England state except Rhode Island, and that of New York, Pennsylvania, or Ohio, the ratio of native illiterates is smaller than in any of these states except New Hampshire. The statistics of illiteracy previously given show that of 97,742 illiterates 89,830 were of foreign birth, and 85,676 were over 21 years of age. The greatest percentage of illiteracy is found in the manufacturing districts. An important feature has been introduced into the system of education, in accordance with the act of the legislature passed in 1870, which makes industrial drawing a part of the instruction to be given in all public schools, while every city and town of not less than 10,000 inhabitants (23 in number) is required to support free evening drawing schools. The plan of the state director of art education comprehends a 13 years' course of instruction in drawing in the public schools, viz.: three in the primary, six in the grammar, and four in the high schools. Specimens of the drawings made by the pupils are shown in annual public exhibitions. For training teachers of drawing, a state normal art school was opened in Boston in 1873, the legislature having appropriated for this purpose $7,500. The pupils, Jan. 1, 1875, included 58 males and 130 females, and came from 43 cities and towns. Instruction is given by lectures and recitations, with practice; the course, when fully organized, will comprise elementary drawing, painting, sculpture, and architectural and engineering drawing. This is the first institution of the kind established in the United States, and is free to those intending to become teachers of drawing in the Massachusetts schools. The most liberal provision is made by Massachusetts for training teachers. Besides the normal school of art there are five state normal schools under the direction of the board of education. No charge for tuition is made to those who become teachers in the public schools of the commonwealth; others are required to pay $30 a year; and $1,000 is annually appropriated by the state to each school to aid indigent pupils of the former class. The regular course of study occupies two years. One of these institutions is the oldest normal school in the United States, having been established at Lexington in 1839, removed to West Newton in 1844, and to Framingham in 1853. It is exclusively for females, as is also the normal school in Salem. The school in Worcester was opened in September, 1874. The following are the statistics of these schools for the year ending Dec. 1, 1874:
| WHERE SITUATED. | Established. | No. of instructors. |
No. of pupils. |
Cost of support. |
| Framingham | 1839 | 11 | 152 | $11,033 31 |
| Westfield | 1839 | 9 | 204 | 13,500 00 |
| Bridgewater | 1840 | 10 | 200 | 12,998 18 |
| Salem | 1854 | 12 | 277 | 12,077 10 |
| Worcester | 1874 | 5 | 69 | 4,816 23 |
| Total | .... | 47 | 902 | $54,424 82 |
To those above named may be added the girls' high and normal school and the training school in Boston. Teachers' institutes are held under the direction of the secretary of the state board of education, for which the state appropriates $4,000 annually. The sessions are from three to five days each, and from six to ten are held annually. Nearly 2,000 normal school graduates are teaching in the public schools of the commonwealth. The state agricultural college in Amherst, established with the aid of the national endowment, was opened in 1866; it has an extensive farm, well supplied with thoroughbred animals, and with the buildings and apparatus necessary for imparting a thorough industrial education. The course of study occupies four years, on the completion of which the degree of bachelor of science is conferred. There are agricultural, botanical, and veterinary departments. Applicants for admission must be 15 years of age and pass an examination. The tuition fee is $50 a year. The ordinary annual expenses of the institution are about $30,000, while the regular income is about $25,000, including $10,000 from tuition and room rent and $15,000 from the permanent cash fund of $233,333. In 1874-'5 it had 11 instructors and 121 students, a library of 1,500 volumes, and extensive collections in natural history.—Of the leading institutions of learning not under the patronage of the state, Amherst college, Harvard university, and Williams college are described under their respective titles, while Boston college and Boston university are mentioned in the article on that city. The colleges and professional schools of the state are represented in the following statement for 1874-'5, the number of instructors and pupils in the colleges including also those in the professional departments:
| TITLE. | Where situated. | Denomination. | When founded. |
Number of instructors. |
Number of pupils. |
| Amherst college | Amherst | Congregational | 1821 | 22 | 331 |
| Boston college | Boston | Roman Catholic | 1863 | 8 | 155 |
| Boston university | Boston | Methodist | 1869 | 90 | 439 |
| College of the Holy Cross | Worcester | Roman Catholic | 1843 | 14 | 165 |
| Harvard university | Cambridge | Non-sectarian | 1638 | 114 | 1,196 |
| Tufts college | Medford | Universalist | 1855 | 17 | 83 |
| Williams college | Williamstown | Congregational | 1793 | 13 | 160 |
| THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS. | |||||
| Andover theological seminary | Andover | Congregational | 1807 | 11 | 67 |
| Boston university school of theology | Boston | Methodist Episcopal | 1847 | 11 | 89 |
| Divinity school of Harvard university | Cambridge | Unitarian | 1816 | 5 | 20 |
| Episcopal theological school | Cambridge | Episcopal | 1867 | 4 | 13 |
| New Church theological school (1873-'4) | Waltham | New Jerusalem | 1866 | 3 | .. |
| Newton theological institution | Newton | Baptist | 1826 | 6 | 72 |
| Tufts college divinity school | Medford | Universalist | 1867 | 7 | 27 |
| LAW SCHOOLS. | |||||
| Boston university school of law | Boston | 1872 | 12 | 121 | |
| Law school of Harvard university | Cambridge | 1817 | 4 | 139 | |
| MEDICAL SCHOOLS. | |||||
| Boston dental college | Boston | Dental | 1868 | 10 | 25 |
| Boston university school of medicine | Boston | Homœopathic | 1873 | 32 | 130 |
| Dental school of Harvard university | Boston | Dental | 1867 | 15 | 38 |
| Massachusetts college of pharmacy (1873-'4) | Boston | Pharmaceutic | 1823 | 3 | 83 |
| Medical school of Harvard university | Boston | Regular | 1782 | 29 | 192 |
The number of instructors and pupils above given for the Boston university do not include those in the preparatory departments in East Greenwich academy and the New England conservatory of music in Boston. The school of medicine of this university receives pupils of both sexes. The institute of technology in Boston, which is fully described in the articles Boston and Education (vol. vi., p. 431), is one of the most complete institutions of the kind in the United States. The charge for tuition is $200 per annum. In 1874-'5 it had 34 instructors and 283 pupils. The Worcester county free institute of industrial science was organized in Worcester in 1868, for practical education in the arts, agriculture, manufactures, mercantile business, &c. It was founded in 1865 by John Boynton, who gave for the purpose $100,000; $200,000 was also contributed by Stephen Salisbury, and a large sum was given by Ichabod Washburn. No charge is made for tuition to residents of Worcester county, and but a small charge to others. In 1869 a grant of $50,000 was made by the state, in consideration of which the institution will receive 20 pupils annually for the entire course of three years, free of charge. In 1874-'5 it had 10 instructors, 99 pupils, and productive funds amounting to $367,000. Besides these institutions and the agricultural college, special instruction in science is afforded by the Lawrence scientific school and the mining school of Harvard university; in agriculture and horticulture by the Bussey institute, connected with the same institution; and in natural history by the museum of comparative zoölogy in Cambridge and the Anderson school of natural history on Penikese island. (See Harvard University, and Elizabeth Islands.) The university of modern languages at Newburyport has been organized for the purpose of affording to students, without regard to age, sex, or nationality, instruction in European and Asiatic languages, and also modern sciences, by teachers native of the respective countries. The English department is intended for foreign students desiring to learn that language. The endowment fund (1875) exceeds $300,000, which it is intended to increase to $1,000,000, and the buildings for domestic and school purposes are in process of construction. The oriental department is to be first opened. The leading institutions for the superior instruction of females are Abbott academy, Andover; Bradford academy, Bradford; Gannett institute, Boston; Lasell female seminary, Auburndale; Maplewood institute for young ladies, Pittsfield; Mount Holyoke female seminary, South Hadley; Notre Dame academy, Boston Highlands; the Oread institute for young ladies, Worcester; Wheaton female seminary, Norton; Wellesley college, Needham; and Smith college, Northampton.—There are not fewer than 150 libraries other than private in Massachusetts containing more than 1,000 volumes each, and about 50 containing 10,000 or more. The largest are that of Amherst college, about 29,000; Andover theological seminary, 32,000; Boston Athenæum, 103,000; mercantile, 20,000; public, 260,500; state, 34,000; Harvard university, 200,000; free public library, New Bedford, 30,000; Essex institute and Athenæum, Salem, 43,000; city library association, Springfield, 36,000; museum of natural history, Springfield, 28,000; American antiquarian society, Worcester, 55,000; and the public library of Worcester, 35,500. According to the census of 1870, the whole number of libraries was 3,169, with an aggregate of 3,017,813 volumes. Of these, 1,625, with 1,007,204 volumes, were private, and 1,544, with 2,010,609 volumes, other than private, including the state library of 35,000 volumes; 95 town, city, &c., 475,853; 18 court and law, 27,708; 20 school, college, &c., 253,127; 1,042 Sabbath school, 539,609; 164 church, 85,956; 11 of historical, literary, and scientific societies, 186,800; 6 of benevolent and secret associations, 63,000; and 186 circulating, 347,556. The whole number of newspapers and periodicals was 259, having an aggregate circulation of 1,692,124, and issuing annually 129,691,266 copies. There were 21 daily, with a circulation of 231,625; 1 tri-weekly, 800; 16 semi-weekly, 41,484; 153 weekly, 899,465; 11 semi-monthly, 45,200; 48 monthly, 462,150; 9 quarterly, 11,400; and 1 annual, 3,000. In 1874 the total number was reported at 321, including 26 daily, 1 tri-weekly, 10 semi-weekly, 212 weekly, 4 bi-weekly, 2 semi-monthly, 55 month- ly, and 1 bi-monthly. The total number of religious organizations was 1,848, having 1,764 edifices, with 882,317 sittings, and property valued at $24,488,285. The denominations were represented as follows:
| DENOMINATIONS. | Organizations. | Edifices. | Sittings. | Property. |
| Baptist, regular | 271 | 280 | 132,805 | $3,194,298 |
| Baptist, other | 15 | 15 | 6,230 | 136,700 |
| Christian | 31 | 31 | 9,675 | 128,440 |
| Congregational | 500 | 502 | 269,314 | 6,298,327 |
| Episcopal, Protestant | 107 | 99 | 46,245 | 2,304,435 |
| Friends | 29 | 29 | 7,950 | 91,680 |
| Jewish | 5 | 2 | 1,500 | 33,000 |
| Lutheran | 2 | 1 | 450 | 20,000 |
| Methodist | 297 | 290 | 117,325 | 2,904,100 |
| New Jerusalem | 15 | 12 | 3,800 | 199,800 |
| Presbyterian, regular | 13 | 10 | 5,700 | 257,325 |
| Reformed church in the | ||||
| United States | ||||
| (late Ger. Reformed) | 3 | 3 | 950 | 24,000 |
| Roman Catholic | 196 | 162 | 130,415 | 3,581,095 |
| Second Advent | 15 | 12 | 3,400 | 53,540 |
| Shaker | 4 | 4 | 1,550 | 13,600 |
| Spiritualist | 19 | 1 | 400 | 1,400 |
| Unitarian | 180 | 179 | 98,306 | 3,470,575 |
| United Brethren in Christ | 1 | 1 | 100 | 500 |
| Universalist | 97 | 87 | 35,627 | 1,613,000 |
| Unknown (union) | 42 | 44 | 10,575 | 167,470 |
—The first settlement in Massachusetts was
made on the Elizabeth islands in 1602 by
Bartholomew Gosnold and 32 English colonists;
but it was soon abandoned. Other expeditions
visited the coast for the purpose of getting
possession of the country, but with unimportant
results. On Sept. 6, 1620 (O. S.), about
100 English who had sought religious liberty
in Holland, having embarked from Delft
Haven, set sail from Plymouth, England, in the
Mayflower, of 180 tons, for the purpose of
settling in America. They had made terms with
the Virginia company, which had received
from the crown important privileges in America.
They reached Cape Cod Nov. 9, and
anchored in the roadstead of the present
Provincetown. Before landing they drew up and
subscribed a solemn compact or constitution,
by the terms of which they were to be ruled;
and immediately after John Carver was elected
governor for one year. An exploring party
spent some days in searching for a favorable
place to begin the settlement, and they at last
landed at Plymouth, Dec. 11 (O. S.). Here
the severity of the weather, exposure, and bad
food brought on sickness, which reduced their
number nearly one half in about four months.
Three months after landing they made a treaty
of amity with the Indian chief Massasoit and
his people, with whom they long remained
friends. With other chiefs and tribes they had
occasional disputes and skirmishes, but they
were soon freed from serious molestation. In
these matters Capt. Miles Standish achieved
great reputation. In the spring the Mayflower
departed, and shortly after Carver died, and
was succeeded by William Bradford, with Isaac
Allerton as his assistant. Until 1623, when
they had a plentiful harvest, the colony
endured many privations, and were often near
famishing. In that year some changes were
made in the system of labor, and the plan of
common property was abandoned. During
this time the colony received accessions from
abroad, and other settlements were attempted.
A new patent was obtained in 1622 by Mr.
Weston of London, formerly connected with
the Plymouth colonists, under which he
despatched an expedition to settle for him a
plantation in Massachusetts bay. They were
hospitably received at Plymouth, and commenced
a plantation at Wessagusset, now Weymouth.
All efforts to obtain a patent from the crown
were unavailing, and the Plymouth colonists
were thus obliged to carry on their government
without the royal sanction. They quietly
assumed all the necessary powers and discharged
all the functions of the state. A governor,
with a council at first of five and afterward of
seven assistants, and a legislature consisting at
first of the “whole body of the male
inhabitants,” made and administered the laws by
which the state was ruled. In 1628 an
expedition commanded by John Endicott reached
Salem, having been organized by an English
company which had obtained a grant of
territory lying between the Atlantic and the
Pacific, and extending 3 m. S. of the river Charles
and Massachusetts bay and 3 m. N. of every
part of the river Merrimack. Endicott's safe
arrival excited renewed interest, new associates
joined, and a royal patent was at last obtained
for the company of the Massachusetts Bay.
The charter established a corporation, and the
associates were constituted a body politic. Its
officers were a governor, deputy, and 18 assistants,
to be annually elected. A general
assembly of the freemen, to be held four times
a year or oftener if required, was intrusted
with legislative powers. The question of
religious liberty was avoided in the instrument,
but the making of laws contrary to those of
England was strictly forbidden. In 1629 a
re-enforcement was despatched, consisting of 300
men, 80 women, and 26 children, with victuals,
arms, tools, cattle, and goats; and in the same
year it was determined to transfer the government
and patent of the company from London
to New England. The old officers resigned,
and new officers were appointed from among
those who intended to emigrate, John
Winthrop being made governor. A new emigration
was thus promoted, and soon the colony
received an accession of about 1,000 persons,
who had been conveyed in 17 vessels. Sites
for settlements were promptly selected; and
the names of Charlestown, Boston, Watertown,
Dorchester, Roxbury, Salem, Mystic, Saugus
(Lynn), and others, occur in the history of this
period. This colony suffered great hardships.
Many died, and others returned disheartened
to England. The Massachusetts company
continued to receive additions from England, and
in the exercise of their political and religious
privileges manifested a jealous and vigilant
interest. Intolerance led to the banishment of
Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson in the
early years of the settlement, as it did later to
the persecution of the Quakers. Issues were
made between the magistrates and people on
the construction of the charter in reference
to legislation and representation, the mode of
voting was changed from the show of hands
to the ballot, and a law against arbitrary
taxation was passed; while from 1634 to 1644
a dispute continued concerning the relative
powers of the assistants and deputies. The
Massachusetts colonists for four years after
their settlement had been left to bear their
burdens and work out their own way without
the interference of England. But the
increasing emigration from the latter country,
and a suspicion on the part of the crown that
the colony desired to be independent, led to
an attempt to annul the charter, and the
appointment of a special commission for its
government, at the head of which was Archbishop
Laud. The colony received an order, which
they evaded, to deliver up their charter, and at
a meeting of the general court measures were
taken for the fortification of Boston harbor,
Charlestown, and Dorchester, and arrangements
made for drilling troops. The political
agitations of the mother country preserved the
colony from the dangers which threatened her
from that quarter. A disturbance with the
Pequots led to the Pequot war (1637), the
brunt of which was borne by the settlers in
Connecticut. On the restoration of the Stuarts
new troubles threatened Massachusetts. Its
protest against the injustice of being subject to
the laws of parliament, acquiesced in by the
long parliament, was disregarded by the judges
under the restoration, and it was declared to
be under the legislative supremacy of parliament
without restriction. The colony had
addressed the king on his return, praying for the
continuance of civil and religious liberties; and
Leverett, the agent in London, was urged to
support their application. Much controversy
ensued, and at length in 1662 a commission
sent to England obtained a confirmation of the
charter from the king, and a conditional promise
of an amnesty for all offences during the
late troubles; but the king maintained his right
to interfere in the domestic concerns of the
colony, demanded the repeal of all laws
derogatory to his authority, the taking of the
oath of allegiance, the administration of justice
in his name, the complete toleration of the
church of England, and a concession of the
elective franchise to every inhabitant possessing
a competent estate. These demands were
strongly opposed by one portion of the
community, while the other was willing to yield
for the sake of quiet. Commissioners charged
to investigate the affairs of the colony arrived
in 1664. Massachusetts published an order
prohibiting complaints to them, and a
remonstrance was addressed to the king. After an
unsuccessful attempt to carry put the purposes
of their mission, the commissioners went into
Maine, and were subsequently recalled.
Massachusetts was reproved by the king, while
Bellingham, the governor, Hawthorne, and two
or three others were commanded to appear in
England, but refused. The prosperity of the
colonies received a severe check in the war
with the Indians, called King Philip's war,
which commenced in 1675, and on the part of
the savages was one of desperation. During
this war, which lasted till the latter part of
1676, and was terminated by the death of
Philip, 12 or 13 towns were destroyed, more
than 600 of the colonists perished in the field,
and about 600 houses were burned. Of the
men 1 in 20 had fallen, and of the families 1 in
20 was houseless, while the expenses reached
the enormous sum for that day of $500,000.
Though the war had been conducted without
assistance from England, it had hardly ceased
when an emissary from that country, Edward
Randolph, arrived. His pretensions were
disallowed, and he returned to excite further
hostility against Massachusetts. A committee of
the privy council, at the suit of Mason and
Gorges, subsequently denied her right of
jurisdiction over Maine and New Hampshire, which
thus became separated; but the title to Maine
was purchased and retained by Massachusetts
until 1820. Notwithstanding many concessions,
the colony failed to effect a reconciliation
with the king. In 1684 the high court
of chancery in England gave judgment for
the crown against the governor and company
of Massachusetts, and their charter was
declared forfeited. Joseph Dudley was appointed
president of Massachusetts, the general court
was dissolved, and the new commission
superseded the government under the charter.
On Dec. 20, 1686, Dudley was superseded by
Sir Edmund Andros. The new governor and
his council, in the most arbitrary and illegal
manner, proceeded to make laws and levy taxes;
and this tyrannous rule was submitted to,
not without protest and opposition, for more
than two years. In April, 1689, reports having
been received of the flight of James and
the accession of William and Mary, on a rumor
of an intended massacre by the governor's
guards, the men of Boston, aided by others
from the country, rose in arms, imprisoned
Andros and others who were obnoxious, and
reinstated the old magistrates. Next day
crowds from the country came pouring in; the
people took the castle and the frigate Rose,
and occupied the fortifications; town meetings
were held, representatives chosen, and the
general court was restored. The same spirit
prevailed at Plymouth; Clark, the agent of
Andros, was imprisoned, and Hinckley, the
former governor, reinstated. Massachusetts
took part in 1690 in the intercolonial war
between the possessions of France and England.
A fleet under Sir William Phips captured and
plundered Port Royal. An expedition to
Canada failed, and the colony, being unable to pay
the troops, issued treasury notes, the first
paper money seen in the colonies. A new charter
was given in 1692, by which Plymouth was
united to Massachusetts. At this period
Massachusetts contained a population of about
40,000. It was divided into the counties of
Suffolk, Essex, Middlesex, and Hampshire, and
comprised 55 towns. Plymouth, with a
population of about 7,000, was divided into the
counties of Plymouth, Bristol, and Barnstable,
and comprised 17 towns. Under the new charter,
the governor, lieutenant governor, and
secretary were appointed by the king. No act of
the legislature was to be valid without the
consent of the governor, and he had other important
negative as well as positive powers. Sir
William Phips was appointed first governor.
At about this period occurred the witchcraft
delusion. (See Salem.) In l703-'4 the
province suffered from the French and Indians,
who attacked and burned Deerfield, which had
been rebuilt since King Philip's war. In 1722
war was resumed with the Indians, and
continued until the latter part of 1725, when the
troubles with them were terminated. War
having been declared between England and
France in 1744, the colonial possessions were
at once involved. Massachusetts contributed
largely to the expedition which captured
Louisburg in 1745, and exerted her best energies
in the plans for the conquest of Canada and
other military operations until the conclusion
of peace in 1748. In a few years war again
commenced, and the province once more gave
her sons and her wealth to the cause of the
parent country. The passage of the stamp
act aroused the wildest excitement, and its
repeal the following year was welcomed with
the most extravagant demonstrations of joy.
Further plans for revenue were then proposed
by the home government, which also refused
to withdraw its troops. The arrival of the
Romney man-of-war renewed the excitement,
and Massachusetts issued another circular letter
to the colonies which the ministry in vain
commanded them to rescind. The Boston massacre
in 1770, the destruction of the tea in 1773,
the port bill in 1774, are notable incidents
preceding the revolution. The province was well
represented in the general congress, and the
men of Massachusetts were alive to every act
of aggression. They took possession of the
arsenal at Charlestown, and prepared for the
approaching struggle. The assembly adjourned
to Concord, and organized as a provincial
congress. At Lexington and Concord
Massachusetts made the final appeal to arms.
Throughout the revolutionary war Massachusetts
sustained her former reputation for patriotism
and public spirit, and the details of her
history at this period will be found in the
accounts of those places within her borders which
are of historical interest. The population of
Massachusetts has been estimated at 200,000
in 1750; 220,000, exclusive of slaves, in 1755;
241,000, including 5,200 slaves, in 1763; and
852,000 in 1775. In 1780 a constitution was
framed for the state, which was submitted to the
vote of the people and adopted. It is still the
supreme law of the state, though several times
amended. By a clause in the bill of rights
prefixed to it, slavery was soon decided to have
been abolished. John Hancock was elected
first governor. Six years later, in 1786, civil
disturbances commenced in the centre and
west of the state, caused by the poverty and
distress of a great portion of the people, and
the heavy taxes necessary to pay the state debt.
An insurrection known as Shays's rebellion
from the name of its principal leader, Daniel
Shays, broke out, and was not suppressed
without bloodshed. The federal constitution
was ratified by a state convention, which met
in Boston, Jan. 9, 1788, and gave its assent
by a vote of 187 to 168. After the formation
of the government Massachusetts adhered
generally to the federal party, and was foremost
among the states opposed to the war with
England in 1812, though she furnished great
numbers of seamen to the navy. In 1814 she
sent delegates to the convention of the New
England states which met at Hartford to
confer upon the subject of grievances, and to
take such measures for relief as were “not
repugnant to their obligations as members of
the Union.” Of that convention George Cabot
of Massachusetts was president. In 1820 a
convention to revise the constitution proposed
various amendments, nine of which were ratified
by the popular vote. In the same year
the district of Maine was separated from
Massachusetts, with the consent of the latter, and
erected into a state. In 1857 amendments of
the constitution were made, by which the
district system of choosing representatives and
senators to the state legislature was adopted,
in place of the apportionment by towns and
counties. During the civil war Massachusetts
furnished to the army and navy 159,165 troops,
or 131,116 reduced to the three years' standard,
the latter being a surplus of 13,492 over
all calls by the general government. The losses
included 3,749 killed in action, 9,086 who
died from wounds or disease, 15,645 discharged
for disability contracted in service, and 5,866
not accounted for, of which at least one half
were probably deaths. The total expenditures
by the state on account of the war were
$30,162,200. Since the close of the war a militia
force of about 6,000 men has been maintained,
at an average annual expense of $175,000.