Book Review: Honor the Past Celebrate the Future

I recently inherited a signed copy of the book Honor the Past Celebrate the Future: A Historical Overview of the Blackstone River Valley, Massachusetts written by David White and published by the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce in 2005. Since the book is celebrating its 20^th birthday, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to not only see what it teaches the reader but also how our understanding of history has changed in the past two decades. The book is divided into eight sections and not only explores how revolution and industry shaped the region but offers a snapshot of important local business from the time of its publication.

The first section, “1 Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares” riffs on a line from the song “Amazing Grace”, reminding the reader how European colonization of the area was motivated in part by religion. Missionary John Eliot committed to converting Nipmuc people to Christianity, which allowed the colonists to more easily manipulate Nipmuc leaders. While some of the language used in the book was dated, the historical facts were accurate and included quotes from primary sources. The section included an obligatory mention of King Philip’s War and a reminder that Mendon was the first English town formed in the region.

The second section described the incorporation of Sutton with land purchased from John Wampus, a story that I had not heard before this book. Colonists had taken Wampus from his family as a child to be raised in a European household, since the colonists believed Europeans to be “a superior race” and were therefore doing the child a favor. In 1679, Wampus died in England at age forty-one, and his land was deeded to Englishman Edward Pratt. The section included a difficult to read description of a historic document about Puritan law in Sutton, as a script font on a bold yellow background was used throughout the book to indicate primary sources.

The third section featured an obligatory picture of the red visitor center at River Bend Farm, the similarly colored Willard House & Clock Museum in Grafton, and Linwood Mill in Whitinsville. These towns, along with Upton and Northbridge, broke off from Mendon, often known as the mother town. Douglas was formed by colonists who had previously lived in Sherborn.

The fourth section covers the American Revolutionary War and abruptly ends with many pages of local businesses. Many of these organizations still exist today, including Vaillancourt Folk Art, Carr Funeral Home (previously featured in several posts about Whitinsville), Riverdale Mills, Alternatives (now part of Open Sky), UniBank (last featured in One Hundred Years of Banking Service, and Whitin Community Center with a special shout-out to Olympic medalist in swimming Alice Bridges. A few notable businesses no longer extant are Cocke ’n Kettle, which closed in 2008; Keown Orchards, which is now owned by Foppema’s Farm; and Capron Corporation Bernat Mill Complex, which burned down in 2007.

Following this litany of businesses came the fifth section, which covered the Industrial Revolution. I already knew much of the history but enjoyed the refresher. I appreciated the attention given to Betsy Fletcher Whitin, who by all accounts ran the Whitin family mill empire, although her husband Paul and four sons acted as fronts. I also liked the connections to the Waters family of Sutton, as I am currently redesigning the website for their homestead turned museum, Waters Farm, along with a mention of their cousins in Millbury, as I volunteered at the Asa Waters Mansion in 2023. The book even detailed the lives of lesser known industrialists who set up their factories in the Blackstone River Valley. Both the Blackstone Canal Corporation and the Providence & Worcester Railroad received their obligatory mentions in this section.

I was not sure what to anticipate for the sixth section, which tied religious views in the early 19^th century to the concept of Manifest Destiny, but I found fascinating and expertly researched information. The author referenced the book To Construct Peace by Michael True, which stated that Mohandas Gandhi and Leo Tolstoy knew the writings of Adin Ballou, the founder of Hopedale. Further reading of To Construct Peace revealed that Ballou was considered an equal to transcendentalists like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Bronson Alcott, along with abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison. Despite the failure of the utopia, as Hopedale would be taken over by Draper Corporation, Ballou is well-remembered among pacifists.

The seventh section opened with stories about the Taft family, which included U.S. President William Howard Taft. However, a better if stranger story covered the life of Levi “Doc” Wilson, who claimed to be the biological son of local millionaire Philip W. Moen and received regular checks from his supposed father. None of Wilson’s neighbors believed him, nor did his biological sister who was raised with him. The author claimed that the mystery was never solved, but I wonder if a modern history detective could figure out what was going on. It would make for a good podcast or book, if anything. By far my favorite subsection was “When the Dutch Came to Whitinsville”, which described the story of the wealthy Whitin family purchasing a herd of Dutch dairy cows in 1886 after their own cattle died of bovine tuberculosis. Teenage farmer John Bosma was sent along with the cows, as labor laws did not exist yet. John’s extended family — which is also my extended family — soon came to join him, and those local to the region described the new arrivals at the “church-loving Frisians”, which is still true among older generations. Immediately following the best subsection was a story about major league baseball games held in East Douglas before the modern MLB.

The eighth and final section described the pollution of the river and its gradual return to health thanks to Zap the Blackstone, which celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2022. My favorite picture in the book appeared in this section, as it featured former National Park Service ranger Suzanne Buchanan, who served as my advisor during my Master’s degree practicum. Overall, this book was expertly researched and filled with engaging stories, beautiful pictures, and plenty of nostalgia. I would love to see an update that explores the last twenty years of the Blackstone Valley, and I would be happy to assist with such a project. You know where to reach me.