The Bay State Monthly — Volume 1, No. 6, June, 1884Various
History
The Bay State Monthly — Volume 1, No. 6, June, 1884
Various
Massachusetts -- Periodicals; New England -- Periodicals
_Voted_, That one thousand seven hundred Acres of the
unappropriated Lands of the Province be and hereby is given and
granted to the Proprietors or Grantees of the Township lately
granted to sixty Inhabitants of the Town of _Ipswich_, as an
Equivalent for about that quantity being taken off their Plat by
the Proprietors of the Common Lands of _Groton_, and that the
_Ipswich_ Grantees be allowed to lay out the same on the Northern
or Westerly Line of the said new Township or on both sides.
Sent up for Concurrence.
[Journal of the House of Representatives (page 108), January 12,
1736.]
[Illustration: Groton Gore in 1884]
The record of the grant clearly marks the boundaries of Groton Gore, and
by it they can easily be identified. Dram Cup Hill, near Souhegan River,
the old northwest corner of Dunstable, is in the present territory of
Milford, New Hampshire. From that point the line ran south for six or
seven miles, following the western boundary of Dunstable, until it came
to the old Townsend line; then it turned and ran northwesterly six miles
or more, when turning again it made for the original starting-place at
Dunstable northwest corner. These lines enclosed a triangular district
which became known as Groton Gore; in fact, the word _gore_ means a lot
of land of triangular shape. This territory is now entirely within the
State of New Hampshire, lying mostly in Mason, but partly in Brookline,
Wilton, Milford, and Greenville. It touches in no place the tract,
hitherto erroneously supposed to comprise the Gore. It was destined,
however, to remain only a few years in the possession of the
proprietors; but during this short period it was used by them for
pasturing cattle. Mr. John B. Hill, in his History of the Town of Mason,
New Hampshire, says:--
Under this grant, the inhabitants of Groton took possession of, and
occupied the territory. It was their custom to cut the hay upon the
meadows, and stack it, and early in the spring to send up their
young cattle to be fed upon the hay, under the care of Boad, the
negro slave. They would cause the woods to be fired, as it was
called, that is, burnt over in the spring; after which fresh and
succulent herbage springing up, furnished good store of the finest
feed, upon which the cattle would thrive and fatten through the
season. Boad's camp was upon the east side of the meadow, near the
residence of the late Joel Ames. (Page 26.)
In connection with the loss of the Gore, a brief statement of the
boundary question between Massachusetts and New Hampshire is here given.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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