The Town Founder: Ezra Beaman

The Beaman Tavern - back and center

The Clarendon Mill Pond

Squire Ezra Beaman was an ambitious man with a knack for getting things done. He owned all the land on the east side of the current causeway to the Boylston line, now all under water, or on the edge of the water. He was a fervent patriot who rose to the rank of major in the Revolutionary War. He served ten years as selectman of the North Parish of Shrewsbury (before West Boylston was incorporated.)

His vast property contained his home, the Beaman Tavern, the Beaman Oak tree, the Beaman watering trough, and the Beaman cemetery. In the early 19th century, Ezra Beaman with the advice from manufacturing pioneer Samuel Slater, founded the Beaman Manufacturing Company, the first cotton mill in the area, later known as Clarendon Mills on his property. Samuel Slater was known as "the father of the American Industrial Revolution" because he brought knowledge of British textile manufacturing to the US and helped Ezra create the Clarendon Mill Pond long before the Wachusett Reservoir was constructed.

Ezra Beaman was the wealthiest man in West Boylston. His estate was made up in part of 819 acres and valued at $35,000 at the time of his passing.

The Beaman watering trow in its current location

The Beaman oak tree and homestead

The Beaman oak tree that was planted in 1974 is looking pretty beautiful today.