Uxbridge is a town in

Worcester County, Massachusetts Worcester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the population was 862,111, making it the second-most populous county in Massachusetts while also being the largest in area. The largest city and tra ...

first colonized in 1662 and incorporated in 1727. It was originally part of the town of Mendon, and named for the

Earl of Uxbridge Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form '' jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particula ...

. The town is located southwest of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and south-southeast of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

, at the midpoint of the Blackstone Valley National Historic Park. The historical society notes that Uxbridge is the "Heart of The Blackstone Valley" and is also known as "the Cradle of the Industrial Revolution". Uxbridge was a prominent

Textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

center in the

American Industrial Revolution The technological and industrial history of the United States describes the United States' emergence as one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world. The availability of land and literate labor, the absence of a landed arist ...

. Two

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

served as national leaders in the

American anti-slavery movement In the United States, abolitionism, the movement that sought to end slavery in the country, was active from the late colonial era until the American Civil War, the end of which brought about the abolition of American slavery through the Thir ...

. Uxbridge "weaves a tapestry of early America". Indigenous

Nipmuc The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian language. Their historic territory Nippenet, "the freshwater pond place," is in central Massachusetts and nearby part ...

people near "Wacentug" or “Waentug” (river bend), deeded land to 17th-century settlers. New England towns are beginning to acknowledge their indigenous lands. Uxbridge reportedly granted rights to America's first colonial woman voter, Lydia Taft, and approved Massachusetts first women jurors. The first hospital for mental illness in America was reportedly established here. Digital Treasures, Samuel Willard ran a "hospital for the insane", and trained young physicians, east side of Uxbridge Common (no longer standing)

Deborah Sampson Deborah Sampson Gannett, also known as Deborah Samson or Deborah Sampson, was born on December 17, 1760 in Plympton, Massachusetts. She disguised herself as a man, and served in the Continental Army under the name Robert Shirtliff – sometimes s ...

posed as an Uxbridge soldier, and fought in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. A 140-year legacy of manufacturing military uniforms and clothing began with 1820

power looms A power loom is a mechanized loom, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution. The first power loom was designed in 1786 by Edmund Cartwright and first built that same year. ...

. Uxbridge became famous for woolen cashmeres. "Uxbridge Blue", was the first

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sig ...

Dress Uniform.

BJ's Wholesale Club BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc., commonly referred as BJ's, is an American membership-only warehouse club chain based in Marlborough, Massachusetts, operating on the East Coast of the United States in addition to Ohio, Michigan, and Indian ...

distribution warehouse is a major employer today. Uxbridge had a population of 14,162 at the

2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

History

Colonial era, Revolution, Quakers, and abolition

John Eliot started

Praying Indian Praying Indian is a 17th-century term referring to Native Americans of New England, New York, Ontario, and Quebec who converted to Christianity either voluntarily or involuntarily. Many groups are referred to by the term, but it is more commonly ...

villages. Several praying Indian towns included Waentug (or Wacentug) and “Rice City” (later settled as Mendon.) “Great John”, sold Squimshepauk plantation to settlers in September of 1663, "for 24 pound Ster". Mendon began in 1667, and burned in

King Phillips War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

. Western Mendon became Uxbridge in 1727, and Farnum House held the first

town meeting Town meeting is a form of local government in which most or all of the members of a community are eligible to legislate policy and budgets for local government. It is a town- or city-level meeting in which decisions are made, in contrast with ...

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

’ uncle, Nathan Webb, was the first called minister of the colony's first new Congregational church in the Great Awakening. The American Taft family origins are intertwined with Uxbridge and Mendon. Lydia Taft reportedly voted in the 1756 town meeting, considered as a first for colonial

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

. Seth and Joseph Read and Simeon Wheelock joined

Committees of Correspondence The committees of correspondence were, prior to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, a collection of American political organizations that sought to coordinate opposition to British Parliament and, later, support for American independe ...

. Baxter Hall was a Minuteman drummer. Seth Read fought at Bunker Hill. Washington stopped at Reed's tavern, en route to command the Continental Army.

Samuel Spring Rev. Samuel Spring (1746–1819) was an early American Revolutionary War chaplain and Congregationalist minister. Early life and education Spring was born in Uxbridge in the Massachusetts Colony on February 27, 1746. His father was John Spring ...

was one of the first chaplains of the

enlisted as "Robert Shurtlieff of Uxbridge". Shays' Rebellion also began here, and Governor

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of t ...

quelled Uxbridge riots. Simeon Wheelock died protecting the

Springfield Armory The Springfield Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield located in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, was the primary center for the manufacture of United States military firearms from 1777 until ...

. Seth Reed was instrumental in adding "

E pluribus unum ''E pluribus unum'' ( , , ) – Latin for "Out of many, one" (also translated as "One out of many" or "One from many") – is a traditional motto of the United States, appearing on the Great Seal along with '' Annuit cœptis'' (Latin for "he ...

" to U.S. coins.

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

slept here on his

Inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

tour while traveling the

Middle Post Road The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into one of the first major highways in the United States. The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road (now U.S. Ro ...

Jacob Aldrich House, National Historic Site, Uxbridge, MA

including Richard Mowry migrated here from

Smithfield, Rhode Island Smithfield is a town that is located in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. It includes the historic villages of Esmond, Georgiaville, Mountaindale, Hanton City, Stillwater and Greenville. The population was 22,118 at the 2020 cens ...

, and built mills, railroads,

houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

, tools and Conestoga wagon wheels. Southwick's store housed the Social and Instructive Library. Friends Meetinghouse, next to Moses Farnum's farm, had prominent

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

Abby Kelley Foster Abby Kelley Foster (January 15, 1811 – January 14, 1887) was an American abolitionist and radical social reformer active from the 1830s to 1870s. She became a fundraiser, lecturer and committee organizer for the influential American Anti-Sl ...

and Effingham Capron as members. Capron led the 450 member local anti-slavery society. Brister Pierce, formerly a slave in Uxbridge, was a signer of an 1835 petition to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

demanding

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

and the slave trade in the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. Local influences from the First and Second Great Awakenings can be seen with the early

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

and Quaker traditions.

Early transportation, education, public health and safety

The Tafts built the

Blackstone River The Blackstone River is a river in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It flows approximately 48 mi (80 km) and drains a watershed of approximately 540 sq. mi (1,400 km2). Its long history of industrial use has left ...

bridge in 1709. "

Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the ...

" drove horse "team" freight wagons on the Worcester-Providence stage route. The Blackstone Canal brought horse-drawn barges to Providence through Uxbridge for overnight stops. The "crossroads village" was a junction on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

. The P&W Railroad ended canal traffic in 1848. A 1732 vote "set up a school for ye town of Uxbridge". A grammar school was followed by 13 one-room district school houses, built for $2000 in 1797. Uxbridge Academy (1818) became a prestigious New England prep school. Uxbridge voted against the smallpox

vaccine A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified.

. Samuel Willard treated smallpox victims, was a forerunner of modern psychiatry, and ran the first hospital for mental illness in America. Vital records recorded many infant deaths, the smallpox death of Selectman

Joseph Richardson Joseph or Joe Richardson may refer to: * Joseph Richardson (American politician) (1778–1871), United States Representative from Massachusetts * Joseph Richardson (Liberal politician) (1830–1902), Liberal Party politician in England, MP for So ...

, "Quincy", "dysentary", and tuberculosis deaths. Leonard White recorded a

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

outbreak here in 1896 that led to firsts in the control of malaria as a mosquito-borne infection. Uxbridge led Massachusetts in robberies for a quarter of the year in 1922, and the town voted to hire its first nighttime police patrolman.

Industrial era: 19th century to late 20th century

Bog iron and three iron forges marked the colonial era, with the inception of large-scale industries beginning around 1775. Examples of this development can be seen in the work of Richard Mowry, who built and marketed equipment to manufacture woolen, linen, or cotton cloth, and

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s, distilleries, and large industries. Daniel Day built the first woolen mill in 1809. By 1855, 560 local workers made of cloth (). Uxbridge reached a peak of over twenty different industrial mills. A small silver vein at Scadden, in southwest Uxbridge, led to unsuccessful commercial mining in the 1830s. 2 Capron Street, Uxbridge

Innovations included power looms, vertical integration of wool to clothing, cashmere wool-synthetic blends, "wash and wear", yarn spinning techniques, and latch hook kits. Villages included mills, shops, worker housing, and farms. Wm. Arnold's

Ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be con ...

cotton mill, later made Kentucky Blue Jeans, and Seth Read's gristmill, later housed Bay State Arms. Hecla and Wheelockville housed American Woolen, Waucantuck Mill, Hilena Lowell's shoe factory, and

Draper Corporation The Draper Corporation was once the largest maker of power looms for the textile industry in the United States. It operated in Hopedale, Massachusetts for more than 130 years. Beginnings In the early 19th century, Ira Draper was a prosperou ...

. Daniel Day, Jerry Wheelock, and Luke Taft used water-powered mills. Moses Taft's ( Central Woolen) operated continuously making

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

cloth.

North Uxbridge North Uxbridge is a village and a post office in the town (township) of Uxbridge in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The postal zip code is 01538. It is classified as a community or populated place (Class Code U6) located at latit ...

housed Clapp's 1810 cotton mill, Chandler Taft's and Richard Sayles' Rivulet Mill, the granite quarry, and Rogerson's village. Crown and Eagle Mill was "a masterpiece of early industrial architecture". Blanchard's granite quarry provided curb stones to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, the Statue of Liberty and regional public works projects.

Peter Rawson Taft Peter Rawson Taft (April 14, 1785 – January 1, 1867) was an American politician. He was President William Howard Taft's paternal grandfather. Early life and family Peter was born to Aaron Taft and Rhoda Rawson on April 14, 1785 at Uxbridge in ...

's grandson,

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

, visited

Samuel Taft House The Samuel Taft House is a historic house at 87 Sutton Street in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. The main block of the story timber-frame house was built in 1774, and is a typical local variant of Georgian styling, with a gambrel roof, central chimney ...

. John Sr., Effingham and John W. Capron's mill pioneered US satinets and woolen power looms. Charles A. Root, Edward Bachman, and Harold Walter expanded Bachman-Uxbridge, and exhibited leadership in women's fashion. The company manufactured

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

uniforms for the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the nurse corps, and the first

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

dress uniforms, dubbed "Uxbridge Blue". ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' magazine covered Uxbridge Worsted's proposed buyout to be the top US woolen company. The largest plant of one of the largest US yarn companies, Bernat Yarn, was located here from the 1960s to the 1980s. A historic company called Information Services operated from Uxbridge, and managed subscription services for ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...

'', among other publications, in the later 20th century.

Late 20th century to present

State and national parks developed around mills and rivers were restored. ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby ...

'' (1974) and ''

Oliver's Story ''Oliver's Story'' is a 1978 American romance film, romantic drama film and a sequel to ''Love Story (1970 film), Love Story'' (1970) based on a novel by Erich Segal published a year earlier. It was directed by John Korty and again starred Ryan O ...

'' (1978) were filmed locally including at Stanley Woolen Mill. The Blackstone Valley National Historic Park contains the Blackstone Canal Heritage State Park, of the

Blackstone River Greenway The Blackstone River Greenway in October 2006, approximately one mile south of the Martin Street Bridge, Lincoln, Rhode Island The Blackstone River Greenway (formerly Bikeway) is a partially completed paved rail trail defining the course of ...

, the Southern New England Trunkline Trail,

West Hill Dam West Hill Dam Reserve is a United States Army Corps of Engineers flood control project with a recreational park and wildlife management area located at Uxbridge, Massachusetts. The West Hill Dam Project was completed in 1960. It is located on the W ...

, a 567-acre

wildlife refuge A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

, parcels of the Metacomet Land Trust, and Cormier Woods. 60 Federalist homes were added to 54

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

and 375 state-listed historic sites, including

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

Elmshade The Bazaleel Taft Jr. House and Law Office are a historic house and law office building at 195 South Main Street in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. On November 7, 1983, they were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The House and Law of ...

(where

War Secretary The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

Alphonso Taft Alphonso Taft (November 5, 1810 – May 21, 1891) was an American jurist, diplomat, politician, Attorney General and Secretary of War under President Ulysses S. Grant. He was also the founder of the Taft political dynasty, and father of President ...

had recounted local family history at a famous reunion). Capron's wooden mill survived a 2007 fire at the

Bernat Mill The Bernat Mill, also known as Capron Mill, and later Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company, was an American yarn mill in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, that was for the most part destroyed by fire on July 21, 2007. This mill complex at Uxbridge had been a h ...

. Stanley mill is being restored while Waucantuck Mill was mostly razed. In 2013 multiple fires again affected the town, including a historic bank building and a Quaker home from the early 1800s. See National historic sites. Uxbridge, Massachusetts fire station

In 2017, a new $9.25 million fire station was completed on Main Street next to Town Hall. Voters approved the 14,365 square-foot station in 2015. The station has five bays to accommodate modern fire trucks, a radio and server room for computer and phone servers. The second floor includes a fitness room, kitchen, and showers for staff. The station is located in the historic district, and was built in consultation with the Uxbridge Historic District Commission. The old post office and fire station were demolished to make room for the new station. Context Architecture was the designer. Grace Rett of Uxbridge set a 2020 world record in rowing (62 hours), in Vero Beach, FL, before her untimely death one week later at age 20.

Notable people

* Benjamin Adams, Congressman *

Willard Bartlett Willard Bartlett (October 14, 1846 – January 17, 1925) was an American jurist. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals. Biography Bartlett was born in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, the son of William Osborne Bartlett and Agnes E. H. Wil ...

, New York Chief Justice * Franklin Bartlett, Congressman *

Nicholas Baylies Nicholas Baylies (April 9, 1768April 14, 1847) was a Vermont lawyer, politician, and judge. He served as a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1831 to 1833. Biography Nicholas Baylies was born in Uxbridge, Massachusetts on April 9, 1768, th ...

was born and raised in Uxbridge, and served as a Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. * Ezra ("T".) Taft Benson, was an

LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

Apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

missionary, and

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

legislator. Chandler Taft built the 1814 Rivulet Mill *

Alice Bridges Alice W. Bridges (July 19, 1916 – May 5, 2011), also known by her married name Alice Roche, was an American competition swimmer, who at age 20, represented the United States at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Biography Bridges ...

, won an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

bronze in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Phineas Bruce Hon. Phineas Bruce (June 7, 1762 – October 4, 1809) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts who was unable to serve in the U.S. Congress due to his declining health. Biography Phineas Bruce was ...

, Congressman * Edward P. Bullard, started Bullard Machine tools, whose designs enabled auto manufacturing and industry * Effingham Capron, led Uxbridge as a center for pre-Civil War anti-slavery activities, and was a state and national anti-slavery leader, and an industrialist * Daniel Day, a Taft, started the third US woolen mill *

Tim Fortugno Timothy Shawn Fortugno (born April 11, 1962) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and current scout, working for the New York Mets as of November 2015. Career He graduated in 1980 from Uxbridge High School (Uxbridge, Massachusetts). Fortug ...

, played for the California Angels and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

* Albert Harkness, Uxbridge High; academic latin scholar; published multiple works * Jacqueline Liebergott, was president of Emerson College *

Arthur MacArthur Sr. Arthur MacArthur Sr. (January 26, 1815August 26, 1896) was a Scottish-American immigrant, lawyer, and judge. He was the fourth Governor of Wisconsin and was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. He was the fathe ...

, was a Lt. Governor, Chief Justice and Douglas MacArthur's grandfather * Joshua Macomber, Educator * Richard Moore, recent Senate

President Pro Tem A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase '' pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being ...

(MA), was a

FEMA The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...

executive, a past President of the Conference of State Legislatures, and a principal architect of Massachusetts's landmark health care law * William Augustus Mowry, Educator notably of Dom Toretto. *

Jeannine Oppewall Jeannine Claudia Oppewall (born November 28, 1946) is an American film art director. She has worked on more than 30 movies in such roles as production designer, set decorator and set designer, and has four Academy Award nominations for Best Art ...

, has four

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations for best art direction * Willard Preston, the 4th

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

President, published famous sermons while later serving the Independent Presbyterian Church of Savannah, Georgia * Seth Reed, fought at Bunker Hill, was instrumental in adding "

" to U.S. coins, and was a founder of

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

and

Geneva, New York Geneva is a city in Ontario and Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York. It is at the northern end of Seneca Lake; all land portions of the city are within Ontario County; the water portions are in Seneca County. The population was 13, ...

* Joseph Read was a Colonel in the American Revolutionary War. * Brian Skerry, is a '' National Geographic'' photojournalist, protecting global sea life * Edward Sullivan, won a

Congressional Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. T ...

in the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

* Robert Taft I, was patriarch to the Taft family political dynasty * Robert Taft, 2nd, was a Selectman *

Josiah Taft Josiah Taft (April 2, 1709 – September 30, 1756) was a wealthy landowner in Uxbridge, Massachusetts best known as the husband of Lydia Taft, the first woman to vote in America. Early life Josiah was born on April 2, 1709, at Mendon, Province ...

, wealthy landowner, husband of Lydia Taft * Lydia (Chapin) Taft, first woman to vote in America * Bezaleel Taft Sr., served as an

Captain, state representative and state senator * Bezaleel Taft Jr., state representative and state Senator. Owned historic

Taft Family homestead *

Samuel Taft Samuel Taft (September 23, 1735, at Upton, Worcester County, Province of Massachusetts – August 2, 1816, at Uxbridge, Worcester County, Massachusetts) was a Revolutionary War soldier who later hosted his former commander in Chief, Presiden ...

, hosted

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

on his post-inaugural tour * Luke Taft, built two water powered

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

s * Moses Taft, built Stanley Woolen Mill and implicated in the

Boston Molasses Disaster The Great Molasses Flood, also known as the Boston Molasses Disaster, was a disaster that occurred on January 15, 1919, in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. A large storage tank filled with of molasses, weighing approxima ...

Peter Rawson Taft I Peter Rawson Taft (April 14, 1785 – January 1, 1867) was an American politician. He was President William Howard Taft's paternal grandfather. Early life and family Peter was born to Aaron Taft and Rhoda Rawson on April 14, 1785 at Uxbridge in ...

, was the grandfather of

* Nathan Webb, First called minister at new Congregational Church, first mentioned in Great Awakening period, was

‘ uncle * Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., was curator of Northern Baroque Art at the National Gallery of Art from 1975 to his retirement in 2018 * Paul C. Whitin, founded the

Whitin Machine Works The Whitin Machine Works (WMW) was founded by Paul Whitin and his sons in 1831 on the banks of the Mumford River in South Northbridge, Massachusetts. The village of South Northbridge became known as Whitinsville in 1835, in honor of its founder. ...

; transformed cotton machine manufacturing *

Charles Vacanti Charles Alfred "Chuck" Vacanti (born 1950) is a researcher in tissue engineering and stem cells and the Vandam/Covino Professor of Anesthesiology, Emeritus, at Harvard Medical School. He is a former head of the Department of Anesthesiology at th ...

, Anasthesiologist; Tissue engineering; Stem Cells; Known for the Vacanti Mouse

Government

Uxbridge has a Board of Selectmen and

government. Local government granted the first woman in America the

right to vote Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

, nixed a smallpox vaccine in 1775, and defied the Massachusetts Secretary of State by approving women jurors. The 2009 Board of Health made Uxbridge the third community in the US to ban tobacco sales in pharmacies, but later reversed this. State agencies control county elected offices, and Uxbridge has a District Courthouse but no gaol.

Geography

The town is , of which , or 2.74%, is water. It is situated southwest of

, southeast of

, and northwest of Providence. Elevations range from to above sea level. It borders

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

, Mendon, Millville, Northbridge, and

Sutton, Massachusetts Sutton, officially the Town of Sutton, is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts. The population was 9,357 in the 2020 United States Census. Located in the Blackstone Valley, the town was designated as a Preserve America community in 2004. ...

, plus the

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

towns of Burrillville and

North Smithfield North Smithfield is a town in Providence County Providence County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 660,741, or 60.2% of the state's population. Providence Count ...

Adjacent cities and towns

Climate

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

hardiness zone 5 continental climate prevails with snowfall extremes from November to April. The highest recorded temperature was 104 F, in July 1975, and the lowest, −25 F in January 1957.

Demographics

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

population was 13,457, representing a growth rate of 20.6%, with 5,056 households, a density rate of 166.31 units per square mile. 95.7% were

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 1.7%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.90%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

, 0.3%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, and 1.4% other.

Population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 442.66 people/ mile² (170.77/km²).

Per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

was $24,540, and 4.7% fell below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

. There were 9,959 registered voters in 2010.

Economy

High tech, services, distribution, life sciences, hospitality, local government, education and tourism offer local jobs. A 618,000 square feet (57,400 m2) distribution center serves Fortune 500

's, northern division. Unemployment was 3.9%, lower than the state average .

Education

Local schools include the Earl D. Taft Early Learning Center (Pre-K–3), Whitin Intermediate School (4–7), Uxbridge High School (8–12), and Our Lady of the Valley Regional. Uxbridge is also a member of one of the thirteen towns of the Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational School District. Uxbridge students in eighth grade have the opportunity to apply to

Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School, or BVT for short, is a technical high school in Upton, Massachusetts, serving the thirteen towns of the Blackstone Valley. The school was established in 1964. The school offers eighteen t ...

, serving grades 9–12. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called Uxbridge education reforms a "little revolution" to meet family needs.

Healthcare

Tri-River Family Health Center (

University of Massachusetts Medical School The University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School is a public medical school in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is part of the University of Massachusetts system. It is home to three schools: the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, the Morningside Grad ...

) offers primary care. Milford Regional,

Landmark Medical Center The Landmark Medical Center is a private, not-for-profit hospital located in Woonsocket, Rhode Island and with another unit, Rehabilitation Hospital of Rhode Island in North Smithfield, Rhode Island. The facility is a teaching hospital for New Yo ...

, hospices and long term care are nearby or local.

Transportation

Rail

The nearest MBTA Commuter Rail stops are Forge Park/495 on the

Franklin Line The Franklin Line, also called the Franklin/Foxboro Line, is part of the MBTA Commuter Rail system. It runs from Boston's South Station in a southwesterly direction toward Franklin, Massachusetts, utilizing the Northeast Corridor before splittin ...

and Grafton and

on the

Framingham/Worcester Line The Framingham/Worcester Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system runs west from Boston, Massachusetts to Worcester, Massachusetts through the MetroWest region, serving 17 station stops in Boston, Newton, Wellesley, Natick, Framingham, Ashlan ...

, 15 miles away. The Northeast Corridor Providence Amtrak station has trains with top speeds of 150 MPH. The

Providence and Worcester Railroad The Providence and Worcester Railroad is a Class II railroad operating of tracks in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, as well as New York via trackage rights. The company was founded in 1844 to build a railroad between Providence, ...

freight line passes two former local stations.

Highways

Route 146 links

I-290 Interstate 290 may refer to the following Interstate Highways in the United States: *Interstate 290 (Illinois), a highway from Chicago, Illinois, to Rolling Meadows, Illinois * Interstate 290 (Massachusetts), a highway in Massachusetts that connects ...

, and

I-90 to Providence at I-95

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

and

I-295 Interstate 295 is the designation for several Interstate Highways in the United States: *Interstate 295 (Delaware–Pennsylvania), a bypass of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * Interstate 295 (Florida), a beltway around central Jacksonville * Interstate ...

Route 16 links to

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

via

I-395, and

, by

I-495 Interstate 495 (I-495) is the designation for several Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to Interstate 95, listed from south to north: * The Capital Beltway, a beltway around Washington, D.C., running through Virgin ...

Route 122 connects Northbridge and

Woonsocket Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsocket lies directly south of ...

Route 146A goes into

Route 98 leads to Burrillville.

Airports

TF Green State Airport Warwick-

Providence, RI Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Ba ...

Worcester Regional Airport Worcester Regional Airport is three miles (5 km) west of Worcester, in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The main property lies within municipalities of Worcester and Leicester, with supporting facilities in Paxton. Once ow ...

, and

Boston Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partial ...

have commercial flights. Hopedale Airport, away, and

have general aviation. A private air strip, Sky Glen Airport on Quaker Highway, is still listed on FAA sites, though the map location shows it within a dense industrial park, and at its peak of operations, it saw very low traffic.

Points of interest

* "Uxbridge", A film by Chris Bilodeau Photography (2017) * National historic sites * John Farnum House, Main

John C. Farnum House, Uxbridge Historical Society Museum, * Lt. Simeon Wheelock House, Uxbridge common district, 1768 * Friends meetinghouse, * Taft House, 1789 inaugural tour visit of

and 1910 visit of Uxbridge grandson,

* Crown and Eagle Cotton Mill, *

, site of historic Taft family reunion of 1874 *

, formerly Capron Mill, , and Uxbridge Worsted Company * Stanley Woolen Mill, also once known as Central Woolen, Calumet, and Moses Taft Mill * Stanley Woolen Mill * Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor * National Park Service, valley sites: Millville & Uxbridge * Blackstone Canal at River Bend Farm *

Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park The Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park is a part of the state park system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). This park "recalls the role of canals in tra ...

* River Bend Farm and Canal *

and recreation area * Walking tour of Uxbridge * Blissful Meadows Golf Club

Photos

File:Taft Brothers Block Uxbridge MA front view.jpg, Taft Brothers Block, prominently located in the town center at the corner of Mendon and Main Streets. It is a three-story brick structure with modest Late Victorian stylistic embellishments. File:Nipmuck Dancing.jpg,

Nipmuck The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian language. Their historic territory Nippenet, "the freshwater pond place," is in central Massachusetts and nearby par ...

Dancing in the Blackstone Valley; The original Town of Mendon, MA was purchased from the Nipmuck in 1662 as Squinshepauk Plantation. Nipmuck are the indigenous people of Worcester County, Northeastern Connecticut, and northwest Rhode Island. File:John Farnum House.jpg, Coronet John Farnum Jr. House, 1710, houses Uxbridge Historical Society, held first town meeting in 1727 File:First Evangelical Congregational Church, Uxbridge MA.jpg, Nathan Webb's church (1731), first new Congregational Church in Massachusetts,

First Great Awakening The First Great Awakening (sometimes Great Awakening) or the Evangelical Revival was a series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its thirteen North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The revival movement permanently affecte ...

Period. This building was built after the church's establishment in 1727, but the Congregation's original church was the first new church in that period. File:Rev. Samuel Spring, Sr., portrait.jpg, Portrait, Rev.

, Old South Church,

Newburyport Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mo ...

; (1746–1819), early

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

chaplain, Congregationalist minister, founder of Andover (now Newton-Andover) Theological Seminary and Massachusetts Missionary Society. Uxbridge native, tutored by Rev Nathan Webb File:Reed-SethReed-524.jpg, Lt. Colonel

Seth Read Seth Read (March 6, 1746 – March 19, 1797) was born in Uxbridge in Worcester County, Massachusetts, and died at Erie, Pennsylvania, as "Seth Reed", at age 51. Biography Early life He was the son of Lieutenant John Read, and Lucy Read. Jo ...

, born in 1746, fought at Bunker Hill, added "

" to coins, and founded

, and early settlement at

. File:SethReadHouseUxbridge.gif,

House Uxbridge, Massachusetts, built at corner of present-day Mendon Street, and North Main Street before the railroad was built. File:Simeon Wheelock House Uxbridge MA winter.jpg, Lt. Simeon Wheelock House (1768), Deborah Wheelock Chapter, D.A.R. Lt. Wheelock, who was born in 1741, died in Shays' Rebellion in 1786, while on duty protecting the

. Shays' Rebellion had opening salvos in Uxbridge. File:DeborahSampson.jpg,

, a woman posing as a male soldier, enlisted in the Continental Army at Bellingham as "Robert Shurtlieff of Uxbridge". A minister kept her secret, and she was later honored as a heroine by the Massachusetts legislature. File:Aaron Taft House, Uxbridge, MA.jpg,

Aaron Taft House The Aaron Taft House is an historic house at 215 Hazel Street, in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. Built about 1749, it is one of five surviving gambrel-roofed 18th-century houses in the town. It is stories in height, with a side-gabled gambrel roof, ...

, Hazel St. was the birthplace of

in 1785, grandfather of President

. File:Samuel Taft House, Natonal Historic Site, Uxbridge, MA.jpg,

House hosted President

on the President's post-inaugural tour and hosted President William Howard Taft in 1910. File:FreindsmeetinghouseUxbridgeMA 040.jpg, Friends Meeting House (1770), Quaker Highway at Route 98, Uxbridge, MA. Abolitionist

with ties to

Moses Brown Moses Brown (September 23, 1738 – September 6, 1836) was an American abolitionist and industrialist from New England, who funded the design and construction of some of the first factory houses for spinning machines during the American industr ...

first resettled here from

. At least two of its members became key leaders in the national anti-slavery movement—

and Effingham Capron. File:Abby Kelley Foster with signature.jpg,

, a member of the Uxbridge Friend's Meeting, led

Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...

and Lucy Stone to abolitionism. She became the foremost lecturer and fundraiser for the American anti-slavery society of which fellow Quaker meetinghouse member Effingham Capron became Vice President. OneRoomSchoolhouseIronstone 036.jpg, The town of Uxbridge built 13 district schoolhouses in 1797. The South Uxbridge schoolhouse today houses the south Uxbridge community association at the historic site of Ironstone, Massachusetts. File:Jacob Aldrich House, National Historic Site, Uxbridge, MA.jpg, Jacob Aldrich house typifies the early Quaker houses at Quaker City, and South Uxbridge. File:Solomon's Temple Lodge Uxbridge MA.jpg, Uxbridge Academy & Masonic Lodge. Uxbridge Academy was a sought after New England Prep School from 1818 File:Daniel Day Mill, aka Scott's Mill, Uxbridge, MA, circa 1809.jpg, Site of the Daniel Day Mill, 1809. Daniel Day started the first woolen mill in the Blackstone Valley later also known as "Scott's Mill", the current factory recently housed Berrocoo Inc., extending a 200-year family enterprise, now a prominent yarn company.. File:Rivulet Mill Complex, 1814, North Uxbridge, MA.JPG, Rivulet Mill Complex, 1814,

, The original mill was built by Chandler Taft, and later owned by Richard Sayles. File:Richard Sayles House, Uxbridge, MA.jpg, Richard Sayles House is a historic home built by Richard Sayles who owned the Rivulet Mill. Located at 80 Mendon Street. File:JohnandEffinghamCapronMill 195.jpg, The Capron Mill, 1820, built by

John Capron John Willard Capron (February 14, 1797, at Uxbridge, Worcester County, Massachusetts – December 25, 1878, at Uxbridge) was an American military officer in the infantry, state legislator, and textile manufacturer. Famous for being a military unif ...

Sr. and his sons Effingham, and John, manufactured the first satinets, used the first power looms for woolens in America, and made US military uniforms for over 140 years, including the first US Air Force dress uniform, "Uxbridge 1683", aka Uxbridge Blue. File:2 Capron Street, Uxbridge.JPG, Charles Capron House, 2 Capron Street. The Capron family was prominent in the industrial era. File:Crown&EagleMillUxbridge 101.jpg, Crown & Eagle Mill, built in 1824 by

Robert Rogerson Robert Rogerson was an early American industrialist. He was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, and died in the United States. Early career Robert Rogerson was born in Taunton to parents who immigrated to the US from the UK. After leaving Taunton, he ...

, a son of British immigrants, and a musician, it is considered a masterpiece of early American Industrial architecture, today the heart of

Rogerson's Village Historic District Rogersons Village Historic District is a historic mill village in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, United States. The builder Rogerson's Village was built by Robert Rogerson, whose parents were from England. He acquired the Clapp Mill in 1817, establi ...

. File:Larkin Building, Uxbridge, MA.png, The Company Store at Rogerson's Village, now known as the Larkin Building File:Rogersons Village Housing, Uxbridge, MA.jpg, Rogersons Village mill worker housing, Rhode Island System of mill villages File:JRichardson House, Uxbridge, MA.jpg, Joseph Richardson House, on the national historic register, Joseph Richardson was a Selectman, and landowner in South Uxbridge, who died of smallpox in 1825. File:Stanley Woolen Mill Uxbridge MA reflected in Blackstone canal.jpg, Stanley Woolen Mill, 1852, built by Moses Taft, with view of the Blackstone Canal, was the scene for two movies, The Great Gatsby, 1974, and Oliver's Story, 1978. In 1989, it had been the longest continuously operating family-owned mill in the US. This mill ran 24/7 making Civil War blue woolen cloth for military uniforms. File:Canal-uxbridgeMA.jpg, Canoes on the Blackstone Canal. The Blackstone Canal was built starting in 1824 and provided early freight transport by horse pulled barges from Uxbridge and Worcester, to the port of Providence and returns. Uxbridge was the overnight stopping point, and had close mercantile ties to Providence. File:Stone Arch Bridge on Hartford Ave, Uxbridge MA.jpg, The Taft brothers built the first bridge across the

in 1709. This stone arch bridge is a familiar scene walking northward at the Blackstone Canal Heritage State Park. File:River Bend Farm, Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park RBFVC.jpg, River Bend Farm Interpretive Center at Blacktone River and Canal Heritage State Park File:Ezra Taft Benson (1811).jpg,

Ezra Taft Benson Ezra Taft Benson (August 4, 1899 – May 30, 1994) was an American farmer, government official, and religious leader who served as the 15th United States Secretary of Agriculture during both presidential terms of Dwight D. Eisenhower and ...

(1811–1869) ran a hotel in Uxbridge, married two sisters from Northbridge,

LDS LDS may refer to: Organizations * LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah, US Religion * Latter Day Saint movement (LDS movement), a collection of independent church groups **The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest group within t ...

, Missionary to the Hawaiian Islands, and Utah Territorial Legislator File:Arthur macarthur sr.png,

, born to Scottish nobility, grew up in Uxbridge, , became

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

's 4th

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

for a brief period, and its Lt. Governor, and served as Chief Justice, of the US DC District Court. He was the Grandfather of General Douglas MacArthur File:Unitarian Church-Uxbridge.jpg, Unitarian Church at Uxbridge where Judge

Henry Chapin Henry Chapin (May 13, 1811 – October 13, 1878) was a judge, a state legislator, and a three-term mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts. Early life and career Chapin, a native of Upton, Massachusetts, graduated from Brown University in 1835. He se ...

, three term Worcester Mayor, delivered a famous 1864 published historical address. Judge Chapin was as a prominent Unitarian Church leader in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. This church was prominent in the Industrial period of this community. File:Honorable Henry Chapin, Three term mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts.jpg, Judge

, 2nd Mayor of Worcester, 1849–1851), three term Mayor, Chief Judge, and Practicing Attorney who lived in Uxbridge, and delivered a famous historical address to the Uxbridge Unitarian Church in 1864 recording the account of America's First Woman Voter, Lydia Taft File:Effingham Capron Park, Uxbridge, MA.jpg, Effingham Capron (1791–1859) was a national, state and local anti-slavery champion. He and his brother John Capron Jr. and their father, ran the Capron Mill at Uxbridge. The historic park commemorates the contributions of Effingham Capron here and to the USA. File:Franklin Bartlett.jpg, Franklin Bartlett was a US Congressman from New York from 1893–1897. He fought in the Spanish–American War and his brother

was Chief Justice of the New York Court of Appeals. File:Wheelockak.jpg, Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., National Gallery Curator Northern Baroque Art, grew up in Uxbridge family which had started and operated multiple mils for 200 years. A descendant of Rev. Ralph Wheelock who pioneered public education in America. File:Brian Skerry.JPG, Brian Skerry, at Boston University, 2011, born 1962, Underwater Photographer, With National Geographic, Sounding the Alarm for Global Sealife. File:UxbridgeHigh, MA.png, Uxbridge High School, Quaker Highway, S. Uxbridge, MA, built 2012. File:Uxbridge Free Public Library.jpg, Uxbridge Free Public Library. The Thayer Family donated the local public library which is located in the Uxbridge Common Historic District. File:C.R. Thomson House and Barn.jpg, C.R. Thomson House and Barn, today a golf course with banquet facilities, located at Chockalog Rd. in SW Uxbridge. File:Granite Store - Uxbridge, Massachusetts - DSC02858.JPG, Once a department store in the mid 1800s, The Granite Store is located on Hecla Street in Uxbridge. File:Uxbiridge, MA looking south on Route 122, October 26, 2012.jpg, Fall Scene Downtown Uxbridge, October 2012 looking south on MA route 122 before Hurricane Sandy and when an historic old bank building was still standing in the left background down the street.

References

External links

* *
''The New Uxbridge Times'', local newspaper

Uxbridge tourism, FIrst Night Celebration

Uxbridge Community TV streaming

Public, educational, and government access Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was creat ...

(PEG) cable TV channel
Nipmuc nation
– Uxbridge began as a subdivision of Mendon which had been carved from the original Squinshepauk Plantation, sold by “Great John” of the

to settlers from

Braintree, Massachusetts Braintree (), officially the Town of Braintree, is a municipality in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Although officially known as a towBraintree is a city, with a mayor-council government, mayor-council form of government, and ...

in 1662

PBS Special:"After the Mayflower, Nipmuc Language, We Shall Remain", with Native Speaker, David Tall Pine White

town info from Mass online,
''Preserve America'' Community

erroco Inc. Continuation of a 200-year family textile/yarn enterprise
Uxbridge on "New England Byways", 1998 WBZ TV plus Christmas eve video of Uxbridge on youtube.com

Grafton Nipmuck
re-created Nipmuc village, Connecticut, CT
Seth & Hannah Reed

Abby Kelley Foster, Worcester women's history project
{{Authority control Populated places established in 1662 Industrial Revolution History of the textile industry History of religion in the United States 1662 establishments in Massachusetts