Uxbridge, Massachusetts
In September of 1663, John Eliot sold the Squimshepauk plantation to settlers for twenty-four pounds sterling. This transaction marked the beginning of colonial settlement on land originally inhabited by Nipmuc people near Wacentug or Waentug. The river bend where they lived became the foundation for what would eventually be Mendon and then Uxbridge. Several praying Indian towns including Rice City were established during this period of early contact. Western Mendon officially separated from its parent town in 1727 to become Uxbridge. Farnum House hosted the first town meeting after incorporation. The name honored the Earl of Uxbridge while acknowledging the deep history of the region.
Lydia Taft reportedly cast a vote in the 1756 town meeting that historians consider America's first recorded instance of a woman voting. Josiah Taft was her husband and a wealthy landowner who facilitated this historic moment. Deborah Sampson enlisted as Robert Shurtlieff of Uxbridge to fight in the American Revolution. She posed as a man to serve alongside local soldiers. Seth Read fought at Bunker Hill and later helped add E pluribus unum to United States coins. Washington stopped at Reed's tavern en route to command the Continental Army. He also slept there during his inaugural tour while traveling the Middle Post Road. Brister Pierce, formerly enslaved in Uxbridge, signed an 1835 petition to Congress demanding abolition of slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia. Capron led a four hundred fifty member local anti-slavery society that included Abby Kelley Foster and Effingham Capron as prominent members.
Daniel Day built the first woolen mill in 1809 using water power from the Blackstone River. By 1855, five hundred sixty local workers produced cloth for national markets. Crown and Eagle Mill stood as a masterpiece of early industrial architecture before suffering a fire in 1971. The mill complex included worker housing, shops, and farms within its village boundaries. Wm. Arnold's Ironstone cotton mill later manufactured Kentucky Blue Jeans. Draper Corporation operated a shoe factory in Wheelockville. Bernat Yarn maintained its largest plant here from the 1960s through the 1980s. Blanchard's granite quarry provided curb stones for New York City and the Statue of Liberty. Uxbridge Blue became the name for the first United States Air Force dress uniforms. Time magazine covered Uxbridge Worsted's proposed buyout which would have made it the top US woolen company.
Samuel Willard ran a hospital for the insane on the east side of Uxbridge Common that no longer stands today. He trained young physicians while treating smallpox victims during an era when many infant deaths occurred from dysentary or tuberculosis. A 1732 vote established a school for the town of Uxbridge followed by thirteen one-room district schools built for two thousand dollars in 1797. Leonard White recorded a malaria outbreak in 1896 that led to breakthroughs in controlling mosquito-borne infections. The town voted against the smallpox vaccine in 1775 despite medical advice. Vital records documented the death of Selectman Joseph Quincy from smallpox. In 1922, Uxbridge led Massachusetts in robberies for a quarter of the year prompting voters to hire their first nighttime police patrolman. Peter Emerick later summarized the history of policing in the community.
A new nine point two five million dollar fire station opened on Main Street next to Town Hall in 2017 after voter approval in 2015. Context Architecture designed the fourteen thousand three hundred sixty-five square-foot facility with five bays for modern trucks and a fitness room for staff. The McCluskey School parking lot served as a setup area for Netflix film crews in 2021. Stanley Woolen Mill is currently being restored while Waucantuck Mill was mostly razed. Sixty Federalist homes joined fifty-four national and three hundred seventy-five state-listed historic sites across the region. The Blackstone Valley National Historic Park contains the Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park plus a five hundred sixty-seven acre wildlife refuge. Five bands of the original indigenous Nipmuck people live in the Worcester County region today. In January of 2026, Police Officer Stephen Laporta died in the line of duty helping a motorist alongside an icy Route 146. Flags flew at half staff across the Commonwealth as the community mourned his loss.
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Common questions
When was Uxbridge Massachusetts officially separated from Mendon?
Western Mendon officially separated from its parent town in 1727 to become Uxbridge. Farnum House hosted the first town meeting after incorporation.
Who cast America's first recorded vote by a woman in Uxbridge Massachusetts?
Lydia Taft reportedly cast a vote in the 1756 town meeting that historians consider America's first recorded instance of a woman voting. Josiah Taft was her husband and a wealthy landowner who facilitated this historic moment.
What industries operated in Uxbridge Massachusetts during the nineteenth century?
Daniel Day built the first woolen mill in 1809 using water power from the Blackstone River. By 1855, five hundred sixty local workers produced cloth for national markets.
Why did Uxbridge Massachusetts lead Massachusetts in robberies in 1922?
In 1922, Uxbridge led Massachusetts in robberies for a quarter of the year prompting voters to hire their first nighttime police patrolman. Peter Emerick later summarized the history of policing in the community.
When did the new fire station open on Main Street in Uxbridge Massachusetts?
A new nine point two five million dollar fire station opened on Main Street next to Town Hall in 2017 after voter approval in 2015. Context Architecture designed the fourteen thousand three hundred sixty-five square-foot facility with five bays for modern trucks and a fitness room for staff.