Holden Town

Worcester County, Massachusetts

Holden Town Hall is located at 1204 Main Street, Holden, MA 01520.
Phone: 508‑829‑0265.

Neighborhoods

Holden was first settled about 1723 and incorporated in 1741. When it was incorporated the name was changed from "North Half" in honor of Samuel Holden, a London merchant whose philanthropies aided the Colonies. As in many other rural towns of the State, there were some small industries in the early days, including a brickyard, 2 potash works, plus several saw mills and grist mills. During the first part of the 19th century the town's woolen mills had an extensive market; the competition from mills in States with lower wages cause them to eventually close. In the 1930s the principal agricultural pursuits were truck gardening, fruit growing and poultry raising. Holden was the home of Captain Webb in whose company a descendant of Governor Bradford, Deborah Sampson, disguised as a young man, served during the Revolutionary War. [1]

1. Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration for Massachusetts, Massachusetts: A Guide to Its Places and People, American Guide Series, The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1937.

Nearby Towns: Princeton Town • West Boylston Town • Worcester City •