The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 3 | Page 6

travel in any direction. Later the Barre and Gardner
Railroad was built, and the Boston and Worcester consolidated with the
Western Railroad. By this last corporation the Union Passenger Station
was erected, in 1877, which is one of the most costly, elegant, and
convenient edifices devoted to this business in the country. About
seventy-five trains arrive and depart daily. The advantage thus given to
Worcester over other towns in the county was great, and the results
were striking and immediate, as may be seen by reference to the figures
of population above given. The facility of communication thus afforded
caused capitalists to settle here, and manufactures rapidly sprang up
and flourished, drawing to this spot thousands of laborers, who
otherwise would have gone elsewhere. At the present time the chief
interests of the city centre in its manufactures, which embrace almost
every variety of articles made in iron, steel, and wire cotton and
woollen fabrics, leather, wood, and chemicals.
[Illustration: FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.]
Among the multitude of manufactured products it is almost useless to
attempt to specify any particular ones. The same is true of the
manufacturing establishments and corporations. Mention may be made,
however, of the Washburn & Moen Wire Works, which give
employment to about three thousand operatives, established in 1831,
and having a capital of two million dollars. The power used in
manufacturing is almost exclusively steam, but water is used somewhat
in the outskirts, where streams have been dammed to make reservoirs.
Connected with the growth of Worcester it is interesting to note that the
increase in the population has been largely from the ranks of the
laboring classes. The manner in which the city is built shows this to the
most casual observer. There are but few large estates or imposing
residences, surrounded with extensive grounds. The great majority of
the houses are made of wood, are of small size, and stand in small
enclosures. As mechanics have prospered they have bought land, and
built such houses as were suitable to their means, obtaining loans of the

savings-banks, which they have paid off gradually. This has been
especially the case the last few years, during which time the city has
extended in every direction in the manner indicated; and it is said the
greater part of the deposits in the savings-banks, as well as their loans,
have been made by and to people of the laboring class. This shows a
general prosperity, and indicates a permanency of population not seen
in many cities. During the last twenty years many people who began
life with the most modest means, or with none at all, have become
wealthy; and in almost every such case their prosperity has been due to
their connection with manufacturing interests.
[Illustration: THE PRESENT ANTIQUARIAN HALL.]
Worcester is exceptionally fortunate in its water-supply. This is derived
from two large reservoirs fed by running streams, each about five miles
distant from the city. One of these, called the Lynde-Brook Reservoir,
is situated in the township of Leicester. It was built in 1864, has a
water-shed of 1,870 acres, and a storage capacity of 681,000,000
gallons, and an elevation of 481 feet above the City Hall. The dam of
this reservoir gave way in February, 1876, during a freshet, and the
immense mass of water was precipitated, with an unearthly roar, into
the valley below, destroying everything in its path, and carrying rocks,
earth, trees, and débris to a distance of several miles. The other, called
the Holden Reservoir, is in the township of Holden. This was built in
1883, has a water-shed of 3,148 acres, a storage capacity of
450,000,000 gallons, and lies 260 feet above the City Hall. There are
also three distributing reservoirs at elevations of 177 to 184 feet above
the level of Main street, and supplied from the two principal reservoirs.
Thirty-inch mains connect the reservoirs with the city. The height of
the water-supply gives a pressure in the pipes at the City Hall of from
sixty to seventy-five pounds to the square inch, which is sufficient to
throw a stream of water to the tops of the highest buildings,--a great
advantage in case of fire, rendering the employment of steam
fire-engines unnecessary in those parts of the city provided with
hydrants. The water is of excellent quality, being remarkably free from
impurities, either organic or mineral. The total amount expended on the
water-works from 1864 to December 1, 1884, is $1,653,456, and the

income from water-rates for the year ending December, 1884, was
$107,515. The uneven character of the ground upon which Worcester is
built is favorable to drainage, and advantage has been taken of this fact
to construct an excellent system of sewers, which thoroughly drain the
greater parts of the city. All abutters are obliged to enter the sewers;