THE AUTONOMY OF A PRECINCT. I 89 



Island sawmill was perched upon the east branch of the 

 stream, a few rods from the forge, exactly on the line 

 between the First Division and the Third Division. 



These two industries indicate that the Beechwood dis- 

 trict had already begun to attract laborers, and that a 

 community was forming here which was so far from the 

 accommodations of Hingham as to add much to the Cohas- 

 set claim for a meeting-house and schoolhouse. The agi- 

 tation of this matter was kept up by every thought of the 

 children grovv^ing into maturity without half a chance at 

 school, and by every Sunday that they trudged four or 

 five miles to meeting, or else felt the rebuke for not 

 going. Especially poignant was the reminder when they 

 were compelled to pay every year from their scanty earn- 

 ings, taxes a part of which went to support their unavail- 

 able minister and school-teacher. 



They were willing to build a meeting-house for them- 

 selves and get at least so much headway towards the privi- 

 leges of a precinct. But here was another obstacle. How 

 could the Cohasset settlers use the common land for a 

 public building without the consent of all the grantees to 

 whom the common lands belonged .'' Many of them lived 

 away from Cohasset. Accordingly, some of the most 

 energetic urged a meeting of all the proprietors in 

 Hingham, to gain from them the privilege of erecting a 

 meeting-house upon land that was common property. The 

 meeting was held May 14, 171 3, and the privilege was 

 granted, "that the inhabitants of Conahasset shall have 

 liberty to get up and erect a meeting-house there on that 

 land called the plain." Just when they "got up" and 

 " erected " it, is hard to tell, but probably not for a year 

 or two. 



Their hope to have a minister paid out of the common 

 taxes of the whole town was not getting much encourage- 

 ment. The school-teacher they were even willing to be 

 without, thinking that a minister might do some of that 



