A Page from North Quabbin History: Otter River General Store

Carla Charter pf Phillpston.

Carla Charter pf Phillpston. Paul Franz

On display at the Narragansett Historical Society are photos of Francis and Mary Sawyer Leland as well as the hat Francis wore and a jug from the Otter River General Store which he owned and operated.

On display at the Narragansett Historical Society are photos of Francis and Mary Sawyer Leland as well as the hat Francis wore and a jug from the Otter River General Store which he owned and operated. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NARRAGANSETT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

An 1886 portrait of Francis Leland, who owned and operated the Otter River General Store. The building was where the Otter River Pub and Red Onion Pool Hall was located until the fire on Sept. 27.

An 1886 portrait of Francis Leland, who owned and operated the Otter River General Store. The building was where the Otter River Pub and Red Onion Pool Hall was located until the fire on Sept. 27. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NARRAGANSETT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Above is a photo of the interior of the Otter River General Store, owned and operated by Francis Leland. The building, which had currently housed the Otter River Pub and Red Onion Pool Hall, was burned in a fire on Sept. 27.

Above is a photo of the interior of the Otter River General Store, owned and operated by Francis Leland. The building, which had currently housed the Otter River Pub and Red Onion Pool Hall, was burned in a fire on Sept. 27. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NARRAGANSETT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Published: 10-03-2023 5:00 PM

By Carla Charter

In the 1800s, Baldwinville was a thriving village. There were factories producing furniture, especially chairs, as well as pails, tubs, boxes, paper, and asbestos, according to Brian Tanguay, president of the Narragansett Historical Society. There were a lot of greenhouses raising cucumbers, a foundry and wood mills. There was a train station for the Ware River, Boston and Maine railroads and a Templeton Street Railway.

“It was busier than Gardner,” said Tanguay.

Among the businesses was the Otter River General Store built by Francis Leland in 1881. The same building which housed the Otter River Pub and Red Onion Pool Hall until the fire on Sept. 27. Leland had experience as a store keeper.

Prior to opening his own store, Tanguay said, “He worked with his brother Louis at his general store, located where Cumberland Farms is now. Eventually he broke off and opened his own store.” He was well known in town, Tanguay continued. “He was a store keeper and ran a general store. You know everyone and everyone knows you.”

The building itself, Tanguay suggested, could have been built with bricks from the Otter River Brickyard. “They made the best bricks in New England,” he stated. “The building was all built by hand. There was none of the technology that we have today, everything was done by horse and wagon,” Tanguay continued.

The Narragansett Historical Society has artifacts on display from Leland’s store which were donated by his family. Among the items displayed include his hat, a jug from the store, as well as pictures of the store itself.

“Pictures are a huge addition allowing us to see and preserve what it was like. Thank goodness someone had the smarts to take pictures back then,” Tanguay said.

After the general store closed, uses for the building included serving as a furniture store and quite a few other businesses before the Otter River Pub and Red Onion Pool Hall occupied the building, Tanguay said. Leland’s store building never served as a hotel. The Otter River Hotel was across the street from the Leland store building and burned in 1963, he explained.

Many older brick buildings similar to the building that housed the general store have burnt in the past. Depending on the condition of the building, Tanguay said, many of these buildings have had the third and fourth floor taken off and had it replaced with a flat roof, making the first and second floors usable again. Among those is the bank building in Baldwinville, which originally had four floors.

Tanguay said that everyone who responded to the fire on Wednesday did a great job but it was sad to see.

“It was a sad day to record in the history of Baldwinville,” Tanguay said.

Carla Charter is a freelance writer from Phillipston. Her writing focuses on the history of the North Quabbin area. Contact her at cjfreelancewriter@earthlink.net.