A Brief History of Upton

by Carol Blomquist
of the Upton Historical Society

Upton's beginnings are different from most other towns in the Commonwealth. Instead of being taken from one town, or from common land, it was put together from the outlying areas of four towns.....5,030 acres from Sutton in the NW; 3,130 acres from Hopkinton in the NE; 2,933 acres from Mendon on the SE; and 1,850 acres from Uxbridge on the SW. This piece was originally in Mendon.

The northeastern Hopkinton section had been incorporated in 1715 and was in Middlesex County. This section included what was to become Upton center. Although Hopkinton was organized as a town politically, a trust set by Edward Hopkins, who never saw the town, actually held all title to the land. This land was purchased by Harvard College with money from the Hopkins Trust. The trustees of the bequest leased the land to tenants. Leases for 99 years beginning in 1720 were made with rents of three pence per acre per year. In 1742 the leases were changed to one pence per acre, and the leaseholders, insted of the trustees, were to pay the taxes. With so much land available, men preferred to be freeholders (owners of their own land). They resisted leasing land for many reasons. They were afraid their land could be taken away after it had been improved. They feared arbitrary raising of rents. They felt that tenants did not enjoy the same priveleges as freeholders. They worried about how the lease system would affect their descendants. Nevertheless, there were eventually 27 tenants in the Upton section of "Hopkinstown." There is speculation that some of the original lessees were speculators who probably never saw Hopkinton. Some were men already established in other sections who needed timber, water or meadow. In 1735 there were about 20 families in the Hopkinton section who became the first settlers of Upton. The college had difficulty collecting the rents and in 1882, a settlement was worked out with Harvard and the lease system was discontinued. Finally all of Upton was in Worcester County.

Two landmarks predate incorporation. The oldest is a cave which scholars believe was built in 710AD, possibly by Irish monks, and the second is the Town Pound built close to the center in the Hopkinton section probably about 1720. There were a lot of stray animals in those days.

Many of Upton's first settlers came from Rowley. The Wood family came in 1717 and settled on what is now Upton land. The Wood family is still with us in the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th generations. John Sadler built a house in Mendon in 1723 and became an inhabitant in 1735 when Upton was incorporated. The Sadlers are also still with us.

A cemetary was established. The first town meeting was held in John Sadler's house, possibly because he was an innkeeper, and also because he lived near the place designed to be the meetinghouse spot.

Upton's first settlers, from the minister on down, were farmers. Some had special skills which were put to good use in the new town. There were housewrights, millers, coopers, tanners, and cordwainers (makers of boots and shoes). For it's first 100 years, Upton was known as a boot town. Farmers made boots during the winter season. The town was dotted with small one-room shops where boots were made. One, which remains, was given to the Historical Society.

In the Southeastern part of town, a meetinghouse was built inside the walls of the burying ground. This meant a long trip to chirch for the Westborough farmers who had moved into the northwest of town. They threatened to become a separate parish. Eventually, in 1771, a new meetinghouse was built on what is now the town common. It had been determined that this was the geographical center of Upton.

On June 14, 1735, John Hazeltine rode into Boston to receive Upton's first charter. Upton was described as being entirely filled with inhabitants. There were at most 60 families!

Upton's first minister was Rev. Thomas Weld, born in Roxbury in 1702. He was in Upton in 1735, although he was not ordained until 1738. He was often at odds with his parishoners and was dismissed in 1744. In 1750, the Rev. Elisha Fish accepted the call to Upton to be it's minister. He presided over the location controversy, and was a staunch supporter of the Revolution. He died in 1795 at the age of 70. He is buried in the first cemetary.

Rev. Fish was succeeded by Rev. Benjamin Wood who was a 3rd cousin to the Woods already in Upton. He served for more than 50 years. He and his wife had eight children who have descendants in Upton today. He died at age 77 and is buried in the second cemetary.

Upton had one more lifetime minister, Rev. George S. Ball who became minister of the First Unitarian Society in 1849. He served as a chaplain in the Civil War. He ended his formal ministry in 1892, but continued to serve the town until his death in 1902. He is buried in Maplewood Cemetary.

In 1848 the third meetinghouse, the Congregational Church, was built on the west side of the common. The same year, the Unitarian Society built it's church across the common and Main Street. When William Knowlton lured the Unitarians to West Upton, the building in the center was sold to the Catholic Bishop and became Holy Angels. In 1876, a Methodist Church was built in Upton Center. The Congregational Church and the Methodist Church formed a United Parish in 1971. The Methodist Church was remodeled and is now home to the library and the Historical Society.

Except for the miller's house, built in the first decade of the towns existence, and a 1750 house on Elm Street, with it's builder's initials in the chimney, most of Upton's 18th century houses are in outlying areas, such as a 1770 house in the northwest; a 1775 house in the east; and a 1788 house in the southeast. The owner of a house at the corner of Chestnut and Mendon Streets built the boot shop that now belongs to the Society. This house is the only remaining saltbox that has not been altered. These houses are usually one story, often with a gambrel roof. They all are, or were, center chiney and they faced south. After the 1838 hurricane, many houses lost their roofs and the owners seized the opportunity to add a second story.