In 1656, several families from
Sudbury, Massachusetts, led by Edmund Rice, John Howe, John Ruddock, and John Bent, petitioned the
Massachusetts General Court to create a new town. The proposed town would be located southwest of Sudbury at the intersection of two trails used by local Native American tribes, known as the Nashua Trail and Connecticut path. Its name would be Marlborough, after the market town in
Wiltshire, England
of the same name. The land belonged to a tribe of
Pennacook Native Americans whose population had been decimated by
the introduction of European diseases a few decades prior. In 1656, only 50 or so Pennacooks remained in the area. The Pennacook people spoke an
Algonquian language; this was among the reasons that Howe, a
fur trader who spoke Algonquian, became the first settler to move to the area. The Pennacook, knowing their reduced numbers left them vulnerable to attacks from other Native groups, initially welcomed the settlers in exchange for their assistance protecting the tribe. The
Puritan minister Reverend William Brimstead became the first minister of the First Church of Marlborough, and William Ward the first deacon. Johnathan Johnson was the first
blacksmith. Marlborough was one of the seven
"Praying Indian Towns" because they were converted to
Christianity by the
Rev. John Eliot of
Roxbury. In 1674, a deed was drawn up dividing the land between the settlers and the natives. However, the outbreak of
King Phillip's War in 1675 led to increased tension and distrust between the Native and European residents of Marlborough. Local officials, worried that even friendly tribes might be persuaded to join Metacomet's forces, began rounding up Native Americans residing in the area. They were initially brought to Marlborough, where they were held in what historian John Buczek describes as "a sort of concentration camp." However, the local European population quickly became concerned that there were insufficient guards to protect them if the prisoners revolted, so that winter the prisoners were moved to
Deer Island in
Boston Harbor. The following year, the settlement was almost destroyed by Metacomet's forces. In 1836, Samuel Boyd, known as the "father of the city," and his brother, Joseph, opened the first
shoe manufacturing business - an act that would change the community forever. By 1890, with a population of 14,000, Marlborough had become a major shoe manufacturing center, producing boots for
Union soldiers as well as footwear for the civilian population. Marlborough became so well known for its shoes that when it was incorporated as a city in 1890, its official seal was decorated with a
factory, a
shoe box, and a pair of
boots. The
Civil War resulted in the creation of one of the region's most unusual historical monuments. Legend has it that a company from Marlborough, assigned to
Harpers Ferry, appropriated the bell from the
firehouse where
John Brown last battled for the emancipation of the slaves. The company left the bell in the hands of one Mrs. Elizabeth Snyder for 30 years, returning in 1892 to bring it back to Marlborough. The bell now hangs in a tower at the corner of
Route 85 and Main Street. Around that time, Marlborough is believed to have been the first community in the country to receive a charter for a
streetcar system, edging out
Baltimore by a few months. The system, designed primarily for passenger use, provided access to
Milford to the south and
Concord to the north. As a growing industrialized community, Marlborough began attracting skilled
craftsmen from
Quebec,
Ireland,
Italy, and
Greece. Image:Bird's-eye View from Boyd's Hill, Marlborough, MA.jpg|Bird's-eye view Image:Main Street, Marlborough, with station and streetcar - postcard.jpg|Main Street in 1906 Image:Shoe Factory, Howe Street, Marlborough, MA.jpg|Shoe factory Image:Lincoln Street, French Hill, Marlborough, MA.jpg|Lincoln Street ==Geography==