THE OLD-TIME TOWN HALL, LONG SINCE RE PLACED BY A FINE MODERN BRICK BUILDING when the unhallowed sounds of flute and bass viol were heard. Many of the "sings" were held at the different taverns, Endicott's, Vose's, May's, Capen's, Belcher's, the Eagle Inn and the old Cherry Tavern. But chief interest centers about Doty's Tavern, presided over by genial Colonel Tom Doty, who was in 1760 landlord of Lamb's Tavern in Boston (situated on the toon says, in his excellent history of Canton: "The Doty Tavern, where the delegates from the several towns and districts in Suffolk first met, and from which place they adjourned to meet at the house of Richard Woodward at Dedham, and finally at the house of Daniel Vose of Milton, where the memorable 'Suffolk Resolves' were passed -was built in early days. A mar quis slept beneath its roof; a general planned within its walls the freedom of a nation; and a destined president of the United States, John Adams, baited his horse there. There was no stagedriver so ig Congress. It was not long before hostilities were rife 'twixt royal troops and patriots, and the great revolutionary struggle was inaugurated. Paul Revere had learned the goldsmith's trade in his father's shop after leaving school. He was clever with the pencil, skilful with the graving tool and artistic in his tastes, and speedily made a name for design and workmanship in gold and silverware of every description. The cups, the spoons, the pitchers, the mugs, the pots, the kettles and other things which he designed and made are among the most beautiful REV. BRADLEY GILMAN CLASSMATE OF PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT norant as not to know where Doty's Tavern was. He it was who kept the best viands, and could mix the best glass of grog of any landlord in all the country around. His inn was the centre of gossip; around his capacious hearth were wont to congregate on winter evenings the village wiseacres, to discuss over pipe and bowl questions pertaining to town and province." This valued landmark was burned some fifteen years ago to the great sorrow of antiquarians. The Suffolk Resolves, drafted there by General Warren and finally passed, were carried to Philadelphia by Paul Revere where they were approved by the Continental MRS. REBECCA FOSTER GILMAN and precious heirlooms now standing on the sideboards of old New England families. He taught himself the art of copperplate engraving, and then, fired by the political heat of the time, as the crisis of the * From The Bell's Own Story, by Rev. Edward Abbot Revolution drew near, he became a cartoonist. He was the Thomas Nast-the "Judge"-the Opper-of his day. The next step to drawing political cartoons in ridicule of George the Third and his agents in America was to take up active service in the cause of colonial independence. He joined the Sons of Liberty. He became a confidential bearer of dispatches to THE ELDERS OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY ships which were ordered by the government after the Revolution; and he furnished the brass and copper work for the famous frigate "Constitution." In 1801 he became a summer resident of Canton, and, having bought "the old government powder mill property on the east branch of the Neponset River, established a copper rolling mill and foundry for casting bells and can non. From one foundry or the other, and from his hands, came the sheets of shining metal with which the dome of the (Massachusetts) State House was coppered." Business of the Revere Copper Company in Canton was conducted by him or by some lineal descendant for an entire century, lacking a few months. The little wooden house in which he lived still stands and among his relatives may be found. the original Stuart and Copley portraits of Revere and his wife, pieces of his colonial furniture, and such interesting documents as the account of his midnight ride,-in his handsome monument in his memory has been erected by the citizensof Canton. Huntoon eulogized him as "one of the most distinguished. military characters of New England,-renowned for personal bravery, a skilled artillerist, a scientific engineer, a prominent actor in the great events of our country's history." Canton is the birthplace of Com-modore John Downes, courteous. gentleman and a bright star in the United States naval service, whose dying words, "I am ready," were fitting for one who had devoted his whole life to the service of his country, one who had never been found inattentive to her calls. In 1797 the town of Stoughton was divided and, strangely enough, DISTRICT ATTORNEY THOMAS E. GROVER own handwriting; an order for military equipments from Benedict Arnold (when the latter was in good standing) and a letter from Robert Fulton ordering sheets of copper for his steamboats. It was to Canton that the distinguished military hero, Richard Gridley, had retired at the age of sixty-two, to spend the remainder of his life in country quiet. He had commanded His Majesty's army at the siege of Louisburg, had fought by the side of Wolfe at Quebec, but his sympathies and convictions were with the patriots and he stepped once more into service as Major General and Chief Engineer of the Patriot army. His private and public career were enviable and a THE LATE JESSE FENNO the older and longer established part did not retain the old name, but at the suggestion of Elijah Dunbar accepted the not very distinctive one of Canton, and its first representative to the Great and General Court was Elijah Crane, afterwards Major General of the First Division of the Massachusetts militia. Transportation is no small question in a new country. Silas Kinsley was the pioneer in transporting luggage before the days of railroads and his son, Rufus Bent Kinsley, was the founder of the Kinsley Express, which was afterwards consolidated with the Adams Express. KANTON KAMERA KLUB DOING "FIELD WORK" Convenient water power has always made Canton a manufacturing centre. Iron implements, steel, copper, cotton, silk, wool, yarn were all made many years ago in this locality. Most of the enterprises of fifty and a hundred years carried on and the ago are still whirr of machinery can be heard on every side, while tall chimneys tower above the buildings at inter vals, their ascending smoke marking the spots of prominent industries. The Kinsley Iron and Machine Company, established in 1787 by Leonard & Kinsley, where muskets were made for the government in 1812, is yet in active operation and employs nearly three hundred people. The Eureka Silk Manufacturing Company, is not only one of the largest but one of the most successful of its kind in the country. Started nearly seventy years ago, its output steadily increases, and its dyeing department always holds the attention of visitors who are interested in the nicety of colorings. A visit to the fine brick building on Chapman street of the Knitted Mattress Company will reveal the fact that they are kept busy filling |