Wendell — Industries
Extracted from "History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, Volume II," by Louis H. Everts, 1879.
For fifty years after the incorporation the industrial interests of the town of Wendell were almost exclusively agricultural, and they were, moreover, profitably pursued. Now, although there is much excellent farming-land in the town, it is not cultivated to a very great extent. In 1875 the value of the agricultural products of the town aggregated $46,005. In 1815, John Sawin made chaises, and later manufactured carriages; but that industry closed at his death. J. E. Stone's piano-case manufactory, situated partly in Erving and partly in Wendell, has already been treated of in the history of Erving. There are seven saw-mills in the town, and beyond these there are no manufactories of any description. Palm-leaf hats are braided by a majority of the female portion
of the community, but the yield is small. The total value of manufactures in 1875 was $67,785. The total valuation of the town in 1878 was $169,721,—of which $150,000 was in real estate. The total tax—State, town, and county—was $5058.66; the number of farms, 131 and the number of dwellings, 131,
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