Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop. With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments, but that's weird. Okay, one judgment. Anyway, give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of $45 for three-month plan, equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com.
So we're driving down North Common Road in Westminster, Massachusetts. Yeah, we are. And there's a whole bunch of nice houses here. Lots of nice properties. The homes are pretty spread out and the yards and grounds are pretty big. A lot of this used to be farmland back in the early colonial settlements. Yeah, I could see that. So our destination is coming up at the intersection just ahead. And you can pull over anywhere you see enough room. Got it. Okay. What we're looking for is right over there.
I only see a stone wall. Is that what we're looking for or something on the other side? No, no. The stone wall is the destination. Ray, we've come to Westminster, Massachusetts to explore the Great Wall of Spite.
Hey there, I'm Jeff Belanger. Welcome to episode 398 of the New England Legends podcast. And I'm Ray Ogier. Thank you for joining us on our mission to chronicle every legend in New England, one story at a time. Did you know most of our story leads come from you? This one did. Thanks to Douglas Caron, a school teacher who has been known to share our podcast episodes in his classroom. We love that. We do. Like Douglas, you can reach out to us anytime through our website to share your ideas on future stories. We'll see you next time.
We'll explore the Great Wall of Spite right after this word from our sponsor. Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Jewel Osco. Now through June 24th, score hot summer savings and earn four times the points. Look for in-store tags on items like General Mills cereal, Chobani Greek yogurt, Pillsbury Crescent rolls, cinnamon rolls, and biscuits, Haagen-Dazs ice cream, Lindor chocolate truffles, Tillamook ice cream, and Cove probiotic sodas.
Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event-long savings. Shop in-store or online for easy drive-up and go-pick-up or delivery. Subject to availability. Restrictions apply. Visit JewelOsco.com for more details.
Jeff, this isn't the first construction project that we visited that's built out of spite. No, not at all. If we've learned one thing, it's that Yankees are stubborn. Yeah, we covered Rhode Island's Spite Tower back in episode 289. Yeah, that's right, right. And the Great Wall of Sandwich in New Hampshire, built out of spite for the town. Yes.
There's nothing like anger to fuel a construction project, you know? Here's a little more background on the town of Westminster, Massachusetts. It's located at the base of Mount Wachusett in the northern part of central Mass between Gardner, Fitchburg, and Leominster. The first European settlers came here in 1737, but the town incorporated in 1770. It was mostly farms in those days. I mean, it's still pretty rural today. Yeah, that it is. It's a pretty town. Lots of woods, rolling hills around Mount Wachusett.
But to find out how we got this wall here, let's head back to the year 1852. It's May of 1852 here in Westminster, Massachusetts. Millard Fillmore is the President of the United States and Governor of Massachusetts is George Boutwell. And lots of people are heading out west for the gold rush in California. Here in Massachusetts, industry is booming. And when industry booms, so does everything else. Demand starts at the bottom and works its way up. Always has in economics. When
When things are going well, people spend money, and that increased demand goes all the way to the top. But it starts with farms. Enter Edmund Proctor. The 35-year-old Proctor just moved to Westminster from Lunenburg, about 10 miles northeast from here. He and his wife Mary have eight children together, and each of the eight kids has the same first two initials. You ready for this? There's Augustus Howard.
Right. It's quite the eccentric family, so Proctor just purchased some land and intends to make a go of it at farming in this town.
It's an exciting time, and of course, a lot of work. But Proctor is cut out for it. He doesn't mind. Hard work never scared him in the least. He's willing to do whatever it takes to make his farm a success. That includes working from sunup to sundown. Proctor doesn't mind. He feels invigorated knowing he's giving his all to his land.
Some of his new neighbors are impressed, too. Everyone loves to see someone working hard. I mean, it's inspiring. It is. I mean, look at Proctor out there plowing his field. He told his family that the soil is good, but it's full of rocks. Wow. I guess Proctor has a mouth on him, huh? I think so. Each time Proctor finds another rock, he moves it to the edge of his property, just like countless other New England farmers before him. Eh, who can blame the potty mouth, right?
Besides, farming is hard work, and he has 10 mouths to feed. His work ethic is impressive, motivating even. Well, not every neighbor is inspired, though. Just a few dozen feet from the corner of the Proctor Farm sits the cottage of Farwell Morse, Proctor's closest neighbor. Now, Morse is a devout congregationalist in town.
He's read his Bible, too. He knows it backward and forward, and he knows how people are supposed to act. I guess Proctor's swearing tirades are reaching the ears of his neighbor. They are. Now, swearing's one thing, but something Morse cannot abide is working on Sunday. That's the Lord's Day.
Each time he sees his neighbor Proctor out there in his field toiling on a Sunday, he marches over to give him an earful. That's a tough thing to hear from your next-door neighbor. Yeah, Proctor agrees, too. He tells his neighbor that maybe he should mind his own business and worry about himself. But Morse disagrees. He says the Bible is clear on these matters. Sunday is the Sabbath. No work allowed.
Week after week, this goes on. Proctor's working seven days per week, and each Sunday he catches holy hell from his neighbor, Farwell Morse. Morse yells that he doesn't want to see any man working on the Sabbath. That's when Proctor gets an idea. He'd been clearing rocks for weeks and then moving them to the edge of his property. But now he's carting all of the found rocks down to the corner of his property that borders the Morse land.
Each day, he piles up the rocks, forming a wall. This is not a new idea. New England farmers have been doing this for centuries. Each time Proctor hits a rock with his shovel...
He's reminded of that old Yankee poem that goes, nature in her boundless store piled rock upon rock and did no more. We do have plenty of rocks on the ground around here. We do. Now as weeks pass, dozens of rocks turn into hundreds, and all of them are piling up on the corner of Proctor's lot. Proctor is building a wall along the side of his land that borders his neighbor.
More weeks go by and quickly Proctor's wall grows. It's getting wider in length and getting thicker and taller by the day. Like most New England stone walls, these rocks aren't fitted together to form a perfect wall. They're just sort of piled up in a crude formation. That's no problem if your wall is only two or three feet high. But if you intend to go higher than that, the wall is going to get wider.
And so it does. Within a few months, Proctor's Wall reaches 60 feet in length, 15 feet thick, and 11 feet tall at its highest point. When it's done, it's just enough to block the view of Farwell Morse. The wall is so audacious. Anyone who sees it has to wonder why it's there and why it's so tall. People around these parts have seen countless colonial stone walls. But this is the wall.
But this one is different. Those who know Farwell Morse know he's a religious zealot. So when they hear the reason for the wall, it begins to make more sense. And that brings us back to today. Although the farms are long gone and now developed into houses and lawns, the stone wall still sits here at the corner of North Common Road.
For more than a century and a half, it's best been known as the Spite Wall. There's even a sign in front of the wall. It says, quote, the Spite Wall, built in 1852 by an industrious and somewhat eccentric farmer named Edmund Proctor. This unusual stone wall is 11 feet high at the corner, 15 feet along North Common Road, and 60 feet along the property line. Morse frequently and bitterly criticized Proctor for working on the Sabbath.
Proctor built this formidable wall so Morse would not be able to see him working on Sundays. So there it is. The spite wall for all to see. And to block the view of one man, Farwell Morse. Right. No one likes to have the religious views of others pushed on them. No, they don't. People don't want to change their behavior because someone else thinks it doesn't line up with their own interpretation of their own religion.
Plus, I was always curious what a day off looks like on a farm anyway. I mean, cows still need milking, crops still need water and weeding, no matter what day it is. Farming is an endless job. It is. There's an old expression that good fences make good neighbors. I guess if the fence is big enough to block your neighbor's view, then they can't complain.
Please don't go anywhere because you've reached After the Legend, where we take a deeper dive into this week's story and sometimes veer off course. After the Legend is brought to you by our Patreon patrons. We need each and every one of them, too. I mean, this is a group of insiders who help us financially with our hosting and production costs, travel, all the other expenses it takes to bring you two stories each week. It's only three bucks per month, like buying me and Ray a can of beer that, you know, we'd have to split. Aww.
For that, you get early ad-free access to new episodes, access to our entire archive of shows, plus bonus episodes and content that no one else gets to hear. Just head over to patreon.com slash newenglandlegends to sign up. And if you'd like to see some pictures of the Great Wall of Spiked, click on the link in our episode description. Go to our website and click on episode 398. You ever had issues with neighbors?
Not really. I mean, I've been lucky that way. You know, I mean, some like a couple down the street, which is awkward, but everyone sort of knew. Right, right. That one house. It wasn't just me, which actually makes you feel better. You're like, oh, you're just sort of a jerk to everybody. Yeah. But yeah, no, this...
We live in times where people are always trying to push their religious views, right? Yeah, it's very timely. It is, and you go, oh, yeah. I mean, okay, so he's going to go to hell for working on Sunday. Let him go to hell. That's his prerogative. Yeah, right. You know, I mean, that's a thing. This reminded me, I knew a guy in Danbury, Connecticut, TK. He owned a bar called TK's.
And he was telling me the story when he first started, he was younger and he said, I decided when I opened that I was going to work 365 straight days.
And Saturday, Sundays, holidays, every day I would be in this bar. I slept in the bar, you know, plenty. You know, I'm like, I need to know that I gave it my all. If it fails, then, you know. I didn't take a day off. It's not for a lack of trying. Exactly. And if it succeeds, then I know I got what it takes. And you can never take a day off in your life again. Yeah. Yeah.
Right. Because you just got to replicate what made you. So he did. He made a go of it. I think he opened TK's 2 in New Haven years later and was able to figure out what it took. But I remember him telling me that. He was willing to put in an entire year, birthdays, everything. Now when you're young, that's easier to do. Sure. But at the same time, I respected that. I'm like, I get the work ethic. If I work hard enough and smart enough, I should be successful.
And, uh, and sometimes that means sacrifices like weekends and holidays. Right. And so, uh, so this is one of those stories where you're just like, yeah, well, what does it mean? Like, I don't know. You ever done no work on a Sunday? Out of laziness. Right. Absolutely. Right. Yeah. But like, oh,
Yeah, but it's in the back of our head, though, because I grew up Catholic, right? Yeah. And I don't think the Sabbath is as big as it once was. No, stores are open. Right. When we were kids, they weren't. Oh, that's right. They weren't open. You couldn't grocery shop on a Sunday. Remember? Right. So I think that leads to being lazy on a Sunday. You're not supposed to do anything on a Sunday.
Oh, let's grocery shop. Can't. They're closed. Right. But no, no, they opened at 8 a.m. They're closing at 8 p.m. Yeah, right. So that's where you couldn't buy alcohol. Couldn't buy anything. Blue laws. Yeah. And you couldn't. Yeah. So Sunday you were stuck at home. Well, you went to church. Right. And then you were stuck at home. When you drive around on like Christmas Day. Oh my gosh. Or New Year's Day. Yeah.
Kids, that's what Sunday used to look like. You know when you go by the huge shopping center and there's no cars in there? That's what a Sunday looked like when we were growing up. Yeah. But even now, even holidays, major holidays, there's still some stores open. You could find batteries on Christmas somewhere. Oh, absolutely.
Yeah, no, for sure. Which was the worst thing when your parents didn't get you batteries for all the electronic toys that they got you. They did that once. Oh, we're going to have to do that tomorrow. Yeah. Oh my God, I can't play with my toys? All these toys, you can't use any of them. Yeah, but that's fascinating. The Sabbath isn't as big as it once was, but it's still in the back of our head where you're not supposed to do anything on a Sunday. Yeah.
Let's face it. I mean, I know you're not supposed to compare sins. However, we sure do, don't we? We do. Like, for example, you know, taking the Lord's name in vain, you don't go to jail for that. Right. Murder? Sure. Yeah. Right? Stealing? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So of the top 10 commandments there... Is that a big one? Like, is that the one where you'd be like, hey, remember when you cut your lawn on that Sunday? Yeah. He wasn't murdering people in the fields. I feel like it's not...
apples to apples. Right. You know, like, I mean, that's... You gotta prioritize, I think. That's the thing you're gonna latch onto, this hardworking guy that's taking care of his family, working his land, and you're like, not on Sunday, pal. Probably providing for the town, right? Yeah. Because he probably raises cattle and sells his vegetables and all that. So he's giving back to the community, and this guy's just giving him a hard time for being a hard worker. On a Sunday. On a Sunday. But that's the thing. I think sometimes when you're a deeply religious person,
you, you have to, you have to, you grasp onto something and, and to validate your faith, you literally lash out at others as opposed to just having your faith be your faith. Right. And if you don't want to work on a Sunday, by all means do not. Right. Like, of course, no one's telling you you have to work on a Sunday. Although how many times have you opened or looked out the window and said, this idiot is mowing at 8am. Okay. That's rude. Yeah.
Right? Where's the Bible stand on that? Maybe this guy's just trying to enjoy his Sunday, and he keeps peeking out the window. Oh, my God, he's working. We're not supposed to work. I'm in bed at 8 a.m. on a Sunday, and I can't have you cutting your lawn. That's rude. Wait till noon. Cracking noon is fine. If it was more of a gripe about that, then I think he'd have a legit argument. Yeah. Hey, Proctor, I'm totally hungover. It's 8 a.m. on a Sunday. You're out here swearing.
Yeah. Can you give it a couple hours? Fair. Right. You know what? I'll work the other side of the property and then I'll come back here later in the afternoon. Right. Cool. We've worked it out. All good. Right. But to be told you're going to hell because you're working on a Sunday. I don't want to see you working at all. Um, yeah, that's always a tricky thing when you impose your religious views on others. You can't behave this way because I'm told I can't behave this way. Right. It's like, how about you just don't behave this way? You know, it's okay. Uh,
But yeah, we, I think sometimes people, people need to latch on, especially in confusing, scary times. We want to say like, well, I've, I've bought into these things and that's that, you know, I don't want new information. I just want to focus on this. Then you just keep that to yourself. Well, right. I will find what I find in my own, my own way. Live your life, life your way. And I'll live mine my way. And, you know, maybe we can all find some common ground, but, uh, but
But no, I can't help it because I know like I have workaholic tendencies, you know. And, you know, as we record this, I just worked through the entire holiday weekend because I had to. Yeah. Because of deadlines. And that's when I had to do it. You're dedicated to your craft. Well, right. And I needed the money. Well, that too. Yeah. But you just, I'm like, I get it. I worked on the Sabbath. I worked on Memorial Day. You know, like that's how it had to go this time. That's all right.
I hear hell is nice in August. Yeah, but that's the reason I'll go like, oh, you were trying to provide for your family on a Sunday? Oh. Get in the pit. Get in the pit. Really? Oh, man. Because there's lots of other things I could, you know, look at these, my phone memes alone. Like, sure, I get that. Yeah. But working on a Sunday. Okay. You know what the pit is, by the way, in hell? Do tell. It's a mosh pit. Right. Set to the music of Christopher Cross. Oh. Yeah. I don't know.
Could you get into it? I'd get for a little while. I'm sure it would get old, you know? Oh, it's the same song. It's sailing over and over and over again. I figured sailing. Yeah. Right. Not one of the B-sides. It's not even cool like Ride Like the Wind. Ride Like the Wind. Yeah. Very good. I know you've got them on your mind. Arthur's theme over and over and over again. Love it. Well, hey, be a good neighbor, I guess. And if you don't have a good neighbor, have a good fence.
Please be sure to subscribe to our podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Also, if you take a minute to post a review for us or share this episode with a friend or two, we'll have even more people in our community looking out for strange tales that may make it into a future episode. You should also check out our New England Legends Facebook group. There's more than 10,000 members in there sharing even more high strangeness.
And please don't forget to tell others about us. That's how we grow. We'd like to thank our Patreon patrons. Thank you so much to our sponsors. And our theme music is by Jon Judd. Until next time, remember, the bizarre is closer than you think. ♪