Centennial Gathering

1660–1667 — Settlement & Founding

The area was first settled around 1660 by unofficial colonists. In September 1662, a deed was signed with Nipmuc leaders known as "Great John" and Quashaamit, purchasing the land — originally called Squinshepauke Plantation — for twenty-four pounds sterling. On May 15, 1667, Mendon was officially incorporated, becoming the second-oldest town in what is now Worcester County.

The land's original inhabitants were the Nipmuc people, whose name means "people of the fresh waters." Two Praying Indian villages established in Mendon's territory during this period reflect the complex relationship between colonists and Native communities in early New England.

1675–1680 — King Philip's War

On July 14, 1675, Mendon became the site of the first settler casualties of King Philip's War in the Massachusetts Colony, when violence reached the town and Benjamin Albee's grist mill — the first water-powered mill in the region, built in 1664 — was destroyed. By early 1676, Mendon had been largely burned to the ground.

The town was resettled and rebuilt beginning in 1680, and it would grow steadily in the years that followed. Among those who settled here after the war was Robert Taft Sr., an ancestor of the prominent Taft political family.

"Mother Mendon"

The original Mendon grant encompassed approximately 64 square miles. Over time, the town was subdivided into at least eight separate municipalities: Milford, Bellingham, Hopedale, Uxbridge, Upton, Blackstone, Northbridge, and Millville. Because of this, Mendon is traditionally called "Mother Mendon."

Bellingham became the first community to separate in 1719; Uxbridge followed in 1727. Despite losing much of its original territory, Mendon retained its distinct agricultural character — rolling hills, stone walls, weathered farm buildings — that distinguishes it from the neighboring industrial towns that grew around it.

1773 — The Mendon Resolves

One of Mendon's most significant contributions to American history came three years before the Declaration of Independence. A letter from Boston's Committee of Correspondence was read at a Mendon town meeting on February 10, 1773, prompting a committee of six ardent Sons of Liberty — Joseph Dorr, Edward Rawson, James Sumner, John Tyler, William Torrey, and Joseph Johnson — to draft a formal response.

On March 1, 1773, Joseph Dorr presented nineteen resolves at a town meeting:

“All men have naturally a right to life, liberty, and property, and … a just and lawful government must originate with the free consent of the people.”

The document also held that quartering an army in peacetime without the people's consent was a violation of the rights of free men.

Three years later, many of the Mendon Resolves' phrases reappeared in Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence. Boston's Sons of Liberty took particular note of the document's eloquence. The Mendon Resolves remain a point of hometown pride — a town that put rights on paper three years before independence.

Lydia Chapin Taft: America's First Woman Voter

Lydia Chapin Taft (February 2, 1712 – November 9, 1778) was born in Mendon and is recognized as the first woman known to legally vote in colonial America. On October 30, 1756, in Uxbridge (a town that had separated from Mendon in 1727), she was permitted to vote at a town meeting in place of her late husband Josiah Taft — whose estate was the town's largest taxpayer — on whether to support the French and Indian War effort.

Under the principle of "no taxation without representation," her vote broke a tie — nearly two centuries before women's suffrage was enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. Since 2004, the Massachusetts legislature has named Route 146A from Uxbridge to the Rhode Island border in her honor.

Historical Landmarks

• 1669
  Old Cemetery established — contains the graves of 40 Revolutionary War soldiers
• 1722
  Milestone marker erected marking "37 miles from Boston" — now in Founders' Park
• 1745
  Ammidon Tavern built
• 1769
  Mendon Meetinghouse built, serving as worship space, town meeting hall, and community center
• 1825
  Bank building constructed, now the Mendon Historical Museum
• Nov 6, 1970
  Rock band Aerosmith performed their first-ever concert at Miscoe Hill School (then Nipmuc Regional High School) in Mendon — locals remember the night & 55 years later
• 1986
  Mendon included in the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor

Troop 1 Mendon: Chartered 1926

Troop 1 of Mendon, Massachusetts was chartered in 1926 — a hometown troop in a small New England town, built on outdoor skills, citizenship, and looking after your neighbor.

Nearly a century later, Troop 1 Mendon remains active and connected to its community. The 1926 Committee — the organizing body of this Centennial Gathering — takes its name from that founding year.

It is a fitting pairing: the town that put "life, liberty, and property" on paper in 1773 has now spent a century teaching citizenship and leadership to its young people. Troop 1's story is Mendon's story — and the next chapter is written October 9–11, 2026, at Inman Hill.

A Living Tradition: Pack 1 to Troop 1

A troop lasts a hundred years only because a new generation keeps crossing into it. For a century, Pack 1 families have grown up and stepped into Troop 1 — and that hand-off is still happening today.

The youngest taking their first steps at Inman Hill in 2026 are the ones who will carry Troop 1 into its second century — so the centennial isn't only a look back at 100 years, it's the next generation stepping into the story.

Roger L. Wood & American Legion Legacy

Troop 1 Mendon history is also tied to the local American Legion tradition and the memory of Roger L. Wood. Across generations, Legion values of service, citizenship, and duty to community have closely aligned with the troop's mission of youth leadership and character development.

That connection remains part of Troop 1 lore today — honoring veterans, civic responsibility, and hometown service. The Centennial Gathering recognizes this American Legion influence as part of the troop's 100-year story.

Since 1926: A Century of Milestones

• 1930s
  Pack 1 Mendon begins serving younger youth alongside Troop 1
• 1952
  Troop archives: canvas tents, camp cooking, and names still on the rolls
• 1953
  Ernest Bouchard begins a documented run of Troop 1 adult leadership
• 1969
  Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the moon
• 2018–2019
  Troop 1 and Pack 1 welcome girls into the hometown program
• 2022
  Troop 1 Mendon's 100th name on the century roll — Brian Dubowik
• 2026
  Troop 1 Mendon celebrates its 100th anniversary at the Centennial Gathering at Inman Hill