Historical Society narrates town tour of boot shop, cemetery

In May, the Upton Historical Society offered the public a ride through more than 250 years of Upton history during the Upton Historical Society's narrated tour of the town's oldest burial ground and the 1788 Seth Wood Boot Shop, which recently had its exterior siding and roof restored.

As the bus rolled through town, guides pointed out landmarks that helped shape Upton's identity, from its bustling industrial village to its quiet town center.

"Upton Center has always been the peaceful, low-key place where people go to church, visit the library, attend town meeting and the cattle show," explained guide Scott Garland, president of the Upton Historical Society. "West Upton is vibrant, industrial, close-knit and has always been the busier destination."

The narration highlighted Upton's rich manufacturing history, including the Knowlton Hat Factory, once the world's largest maker of men's and women's hats.

"This is a big hat town," Garland said while wearing one of the last hats produced at the factory before it closed in 1971. "They made hats here from 1866 to 1971, and we still have about 50 or 60 of the originals."

Old First Cemetery

The first stop was the Old First Cemetery, established in 1735, where American flags marked the graves of Revolutionary War veterans. Upton Historical Commission members Ed Phillips, Joan Burrell, and Russ Wood (a descendant of Col. Ezra Wood) welcomed visitors and shared stories of Upton's earliest residents.

Upton Historical Commission members Ed Phillips, Joan Burrell, and Russ Wood at the Old First Cemetery.  Photo credit: Theresa Knapp

Attendees learned that the town's first meeting house, a modest 30-by-30-foot structure, once stood within the cemetery grounds before disappearing from the landscape years ago. The last burial there took place in 1846.

Seth Wood Boot Shop

(“Ten Footer”)

The tour continued to the Seth Wood Boot Shop, one of the few surviving "Ten Footers" (measuring about 10 feet by 10 feet) in Massachusetts. Built in 1788, the small post-and-beam workshop represents the cottage industries that fueled New England's economy before large factories became common.

Inside the tiny building, visitors crowded around to learn about the skilled craftsmen who once made boots by hand.

By 1837, Upton's 23 boot shops produced 109,580 pairs of boots, roughly 25 percent of all boots and shoes manufactured in the region. Census records from 1850 list 85 bootmakers and three tanners living in town.

Garland explained that preserving buildings like the boot shop is becoming increasingly difficult.

"These little buildings were built on rocks without proper foundations," he said. "Most of them just rot away."

He noted that the Historical Society received the boot shop in 1976 "to preserve forever" and recently completed structural repairs to help it remain standing for future generations.

The shop later served as a blacksmith shop after Clarence Forsberg purchased the building in 1938, giving the historic structure a second life before it was ultimately preserved as a museum.

Visitors also learned that handcrafted bootmaking has become an almost lost art.

"Today, there is literally one expert boot maker in Massachusetts," Garland said. "She was trained by one of the last traditional bootmakers."

For many attendees, the afternoon was a reminder that some of Upton's biggest stories were built inside its smallest buildings.

Garland also reflected on the work required to keep local history alive.

"These little societies survive on three or four active people," he said, encouraging residents to become involved in preserving Upton's past.

To learn more about Upton’s town history or to become involved, visit https://uptonmahistory.org/.