Posts by Beaman Library
War Time
Risk of War Diaries Civil War Currency World War I Postcards Service Flag Fundraiser Honor Roll Wartime Agriculture …
Read MoreThe Mills and the Reservoir
Beaman Mill Cowee Mill Mill Workers (1800’s) The Flood of 1900 Lake Washacum Tree Removal Laborers Immigrant Workers Italian Immigrant Labor Mill Ruins Reservoir Construction End of Construction Reservoir Finally Finished Reservoir Postcard
Read MoreSteeple View (unknown)
We’ve seen the Old Stone Church from so many different angles that there definitely isn’t one we haven’t seen—right? Well, here’s a new one for you. The below photo was taken from the steeple of the Brick Congregational Church looking west. The Brick Congregational Church was located on East Main Street (now called Beaman Street)…
Read MoreOld Foundations (1900’s)
The Old Stone Church is West Boylston’s most famous landmark. Built just a few years before the construction of the reservoir, the Church remained as a relic of the washed away town. You can see the church on the far right in this photo nestled between St. Anthony’s Church and a house across the street.…
Read MoreSaint Anthony’s (1900’s)
When you visit the Old Stone Church, you might see some rocks poking through the grass and goose droppings. Chances are, these aren’t just rocks—they’re stones from the foundations of long-gone buildings. The stones in these pictures are likely from St. Anthony’s Church which stood directly next to the Old Stone Church. The structure was torn…
Read MoreDavid Lee Child (1794-1874)
Another portrait from our library we’d like to share is, thankfully, labeled, and depicts a figure with national fame. Here’s the plaque given for David Lee Child: “David Lee Child war born in West Boylston, 8 July 1794, in the Jacob Hinds House now (1910) occupied by Elwin J. Chase. Graduated from Harvard College in…
Read MoreOld Stone Church (1890’s)
The Old Stone Church was built in the 1890s and used as a church for only a few years. Below we see three pictures detailing the Church’s life from its construction to modern day. In the first, the oldest, taken sometime in the 1890s or early 1900s, the Church is ready to use, with its…
Read MoreAnn Sylvester (1809)
Sometimes the things we find in our Local History Room are pretty sad. In one issue from 1809, there are a few paragraphs devoted to reporting significant deaths from around the world. In this particular issue, The Massachusetts Spy/Worcester Gazette reports the death of Haydn, the famous Austrian composer noted for his symphonies and developments…
Read MoreLuther Rice (1900’s)
George Calvin Rice donated the land and the money to build the Beaman Memorial Public Library in 1911. He was a direct descendant of town founder Ezra Beaman through Ezra’s daughter Betsy Beaman, who married Luther Rice of Northborough. Luther Rice served in the Ward Regiment during the Revolutionary War. We have Luther’s sword in…
Read MoreBeaman Family Chairs
The West Boylston Room at our library is full of all sorts of stuff accumulated over the last century. We have three chairs in our local history collection that were owned by town founder Maj. Ezra Beaman and gifted to us by his descendants. Pictured below, the chairs have since been reupholstered and the wood…
Read More