Royalston History
Royalston was the last territory in Worcester County to be parceled out by the colonial government through the early system of grants and charters. Originally called Royal-shire, in honor of one of the proprietors, Isaac Royal, the town was not settled until the first six families arrived in 1762, after the end of the French and Indian War. In 1765, the town was incorporated as Royalston, and by 1767 counted 40 families. Along with the rest of the region, the town experienced rapid growth in the years following the Revolutionary War, growing from 617 in 1776 to 1243 in 1800. Tanneries, grist and sawmills were constructed to process the forest and agricultural products harvested from nearby hills and valleys.
Royalston Center
The location of Royalston’s Center was established in 1762, when ten acres were set aside by the proprietors for the meeting house, burying ground and training field. The first meetinghouse was constructed in 1764, and replaced in 1797. The first school was built in 1777. Other than a few residences for nearby farms, there was probably little else around the common until a real village began to grow there in the early 1800s. From early days, a small mill complex was located around Doane’s Falls, south of the center.
Growth hit a high point from the 1830s to the 1850s, with infill on Main Street and extension north on Frye Hill road and east on South Royalston Road. A third meetinghouse and a town hall were both built in 1841. The meetinghouse was replaced with a Greek Revival structure with Doric portico, pilasters, and tower with spire after a fire in 1851. The town hall was replaced by a Second Empire structure in 1867. A Greek Revival gable end schoolhouse built in 1835 now serves as the post office and offices for the town’s Historical Society.
As the 19th century waned, the center became less important as a commercial focus, though it remained the center of the town’s civic and social life. Prominent families like the Bullocks expanded and improved older structures, celebrating their success in commercial and political life. A Ladies’ Benevolent Society was formed, and supported the construction of a public library in 1880. The current library was built in 1911. At this time the Common itself had changed from a utilitarian space into a public park. Many of the maple trees now reaching the end of their life spans were set out in this period.
Royalston Center is listed both as a National Register Historic District and a Local Historic District, the latter of which has helped to protect the overall character of the village center.
South Royalston
South Royalston was created from portions of Athol and Gerry (now Phillipston) early in the 19th century, to take advantage of water power from the Millers River. The largest operation was the mill built by the Royalston Cotton and Wool Manufacturing Company in 1812, which was destroyed in a fire. The company replaced the burned building with a two and a half story stone mill in 1834. This mill had a gabled roof and clerestory, and a side tower, but the operation was destroyed by fire again in 1892. Part of the foundation remains. American Woolen built a new factory in 1908, and added to it in 1910. Operations had ceased by the 1930s, and the structures have since been torn down.
Chair manufacturing started in the 1830s, and smaller shops and factories joined the larger concerns. Housing for the workers was built on the hill north of the river on Blossom Street and south on River Street. The mills first employed Yankees from the surrounding farm country, and later waves of Irish. In the late 19th century a significant wave of Finnish immigrants settled in the village.
Several churches served the community over the years, including the Second Congregational Church (1837, rebuilt in 1906) and the Methodist Church (1847). Whitney Hall was built as a school and now serves as town offices. Several commercial structures were also built in the 19th and early 20th centuries to meet the needs of village residents.
Changing Times
Like most towns in the region, Royalston began a slow decline in population after the Civil War, as economic opportunities opened up in the agricultural lands of the western states and the booming cities of the east. Small farms continued to provide the backbone of the local economy. After peaking in 1840 with 1,667 residents, by 1900 the population had fallen to 998. By 1900, manufacturing was in serious decline in South Royalston. By the 1930s, Royalston’s population had reached a low of 774 people, and grew only slowly over the next forty years, gradually evolving into the quiet town it remains today.
Royalston Today
Royalston's small-town character has been carefully maintined through land preservation by state, federal and non-profit groups. Flood control projects by the Army Corps of Engineers took thousands of acres for the Tully Dam and Birch Hill Dam, creating well-used recreation areas. The Trustees of Reservations manages a campground at Tully Lake, and has preserved the three waterfalls in Royalston: Doane’s Falls, Royalston Falls and Spirit Falls.
With its waterfalls, Tully Lake, Long Pond, the 21-mile Tully Trail, and several state forest and wildlife management areas, Royalston has become a popular destination for recreation and tourism. Over 16 square miles of land has been permanently protected (nearly 40% of the town), ensuring that much of what is special about Royalston will be preserved for future generations. We invite you to come visit our town and find out for yourself why so many of us are happy to call Royalston our home.
Excerpted from:
Royalston Reconnaissance Report
Upper Quaboag Watershed and North Quabbin Region Landscape Inventory
Massachusetts Heritage Landscape Inventory Program
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission
North Quabbin Regional Landscape Partnership, 2008
Historical Sources: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts. C.F. Jewett and Company, Boston, 1879; Tom Musco, Royalston Open Space & Recreation Plan, 2004; Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report, 1984.