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Page 30
The son, Dr. Samuel Bellingham, after the death of his father, contested
the will in court, and had it set aside.
[Illustration: CENTRAL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
Erected A.D. 1871.]
After his death the trustees named in the will brought a suit to carry
into effect the directions of the old governor. One by one they dropped
out of the contest, silenced by death, until at length the town
authorities undertook to maintain their supposed rights. It was not
until 1788, after the close of the Revolution, that the case was finally
decided, and the town was defeated.
After over a century of outlying dependence, and forced attendance in
all weathers at the churches in Boston, the good people of Winnisimmet,
Rumney Marsh, and Pullen Point, having demonstrated their willingness
and ability to support a minister, petitioned for and obtained the
privileges of a new parish and township, named Chelsea.[3] Rumney Marsh
is now known as Revere, and Pullen Point as Winthrop. The new township
also included a strip of land half a mile wide and four miles long,
extending north-westerly through what is now Maiden and Melrose, well
into the town of Wakefield, and at present forming a part of Saugus.
[Illustration: OLD UNITARIAN CHURCH.
Site of present church; moved and used by Bellingham Methodists.]
The old Town House, or meeting-house, built in 1710, and still standing,
was at Rumney Marsh.
The earliest census of the town, on record, was taken in 1776, and
indicated a population of four hundred and thirty-nine.
The Reverend Dr. Tuckerman was settled over the parish, which included
the whole township, in 1801, and for a quarter of a century ministered
to the people of an almost stationary community. During that time, only
three new buildings were erected; and they were built to replace as many
torn down.
In 1802, the Chelsea Bridge was built, to form a part of the turnpike
(Broadway) leading from Charlestown to Salem. Before that time, the only
way to reach Boston from Chelsea, with a loaded team, was through
Malden, Medford, Cambridge, and Roxbury, over the Neck, requiring a
whole day to make the journey.
As late as 1830, Winnisimmet was of no importance except as a
market-garden and thoroughfare. Of the seven hundred and seventy-one
inhabitants of Chelsea, but thirty lived within the present limits of
the city. The original Bellingham subdivisions were known as the Cary,
Carter, Shurtleff, and Williams Farms, and were owned and occupied by
those families. Three years previously, in 1827, the general government
had secured possession of the hospital reservation, which it still
occupies. About 1831, the value of Winnisimmet as the site for a future
city became apparent, and a land company was formed, which secured the
Shurtleff and Williams Farms, and laid out a very attractive city--on
paper.
The ferry accommodations at this date consisted of two sailboats
of about forty tons each. During the following summer the steam
ferry-boats, Boston and Chelsea, were put on the line, and increased the
value of property in Chelsea. These boats were the first of the kind to
navigate the waters of Boston Harbor.
In 1832, John Low built the first store, at the corner of Broadway and
Everett Avenue, and was the pioneer merchant of the city. The newcomers,
known to the older inhabitants as "roosters," settled principally in the
neighborhood of the landing. So many came, that in 1840 there were in
the town twenty-three hundred and ninety inhabitants. In 1832, the
omnibus, "North Ender," commenced running from Chelsea Ferry landing to
Boylston Market; the fare was twelve and one-half cents. The "Governor
Brooks," the first 'bus in Boston, had been running about a week before.
It was twenty years later when an omnibus line was established for the
convenience of the village.
[Illustration: First Baptist Church. Gerrish's Block. First M.E. Church,
Winnisimmet Congregational Church. Park Street.
JUNCTION OF PARK AND WINNISIMMET STREETS--1859.]
To town meetings at Rumney Marsh the settlers at the landing had to
tramp to vote on questions affecting the town. Right bravely would they
attend to their duties as citizens, to find their efforts of no avail on
account of the sharp practices of their neighbors of the Marsh and
Point, who would reverse their action at an adjourned meeting. At
length, in overwhelming numbers, they assembled once upon a time, and
voted a new Town House, near the site of the present Catholic church. As
a consequence, North Chelsea was set off in 1846, and Chelsea shrank to
its present boundaries. In 1850, notwithstanding the loss of so large an
extent of territory, Chelsea numbered sixty-seven hundred and one
inhabitants. Seven years later, in 1857, the town was granted a city
charter; it was divided into four wards, and Colonel Francis B. Fay was
inaugurated the first mayor.
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