This book provides a comprehensive overview of the history of Sturbridge, Massachusetts, from its early settlement to the present day. The author, Joseph S. Clark, draws on a variety of primary sources to present an engaging and insightful account of the town's development, key events, and notable figures. This is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the history of Sturbridge and the region. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Excerpt from An Historical Sketch of Sturbridge, Mass: From Its Settlement to the Present Time The first part of the following sketch, embracing the civil history of the town, is the substance of a centennial address delivered to the citizens of Sturbridge, July 4, 1833, ten days after the one hundredth anniversary of its incorporation as a town. The spirit of the day on which it was delivered, was thought, at the time, to be a sufficient apology for lingering so long on the period of the Revolutionary war. The remaining part, which is a simple narrative of Ecclesiastical affairs, was chiefly embodied in a sermon, and preached on the Sabbath following. The author received from his fellow citizens, by their committee, a polite request for its publication, immediately after its delivery. Feeble health and absence from home rendered it impossible for him at that time to give it such a revision as he desired. And although many important facts have since been added, he regrets that he has been unable to pursue his investisations to the extent which he intended. The history, such as it is, he affectionately tenders to the inhabitants of Sturbridge and that part of Southbridge originally included within its limits, - fully aware that it can awaken but little interest amongst any others. The sources from which the facts have been drawn, are the Town and Church Records, the reminiscences of the aged, and such traditions as could be easily authenticated. The author takes pleasure in acknowledging his obligations to the many friends who have assisted his enquiries, especially to Moses Plimpton, Esq. of Southbridge, for many important items respecting the first settlers, which, with a commendable zeal, he has saved from oblivion. and kindly furnished for this sketch. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.