An Historical, Geographical, Commercial, and Philosophical View of the United States of America, and of the European Settlements in America and the West-Indies

nineteen miles N. W. of Bofton, and is alfo a pleafant, healthy, thriving town. The Provincial Congrels fat in Concord in 1774, and the general court have frequently held their feflions here when contageous difcafes have prevailed in the capital. This town is rendered famous in hiftory by its being the place where the first oppofition was made to the British troops, on the memorable 19th of April, 1775. The public buildings are a congregational church, a fpacious ftone gaol, the best in NewEngland, and a county court house. The town is accommodated with three handfome bridges, one of which is two hundred and eight feet long, and eighteen feet wide, fupported by twelve piers, built after the manner of Charles river bridge; in 1791, there were one thousand five hundred and ninety inhabitants in this town, eighty of whom were upwards of leventy years old. For thirteen years paft, the average number of deaths has been feventeen, one in four of whom were feventy years old and upwards.

PLYMOUTH.

Plymouth, the principal town in the county of the fame name, and the capital of the old colony, fo called, is forty-two miles S. E. of Bolton, and contains about three hundred houses. Before the war, the inhabitants of this town employed ninety fail of wef 15, chiefly in the fishing bufinefs. But in the course

war, they were moftly taken or deftroyed by the enemy, and their feamen captured, and many of the inhabitants reduced to indigence. They have fince, in a great meafure, emerged from their diftreffed state. The harbour is fpacious, but the water is not deep. The town is famous for being the first place fettled by the pious ancestors of the New-Englanders, in 16:0.

WORCESTER.

Worcester, the fhire town of the county of the fame name, is the largest inland town in New-England, and is fituated about forty-seven miles weftward of Boston. The public buildings in this town, are two congregational churches, a court houfe, and a strong stone gaol. The inhabitants carry on a large inland trade, and maunfacture pot and pearl afh, cotton and linen goods, befides fome other articles.

Printing, in its various branches, is carried on very exten fively in this town, by Haiah Thomas, who, in the year 1791, rough his preffes two editions of the Bible, the one quarto, the firft of that kind publifhed in Amea large folio, with fifty copper plates, befides fe

́veral other books of confequence. His printing apparatus confifts of ten printing preffes, with types in proportion; and he is now making preparations for the printing of bibles of various fmaller kinds, which will caufe him to make a great addition to his works, of both preffes and types. This printing appa, ratus is now the largest in America.

On Connecticut river in the county of Hampshire, there are a number of very pleafant towns, among which are Springfield and Hadley, on the eaft fide of the river; Northampton, Hatfield and Deerfield on the west. Courts are held in all these places in their turn, except Hatfield. Springfield is the oldest of these towns, having been fettled as early as 1636. Its public buildings are a congregational church, court houfe, and gaol, A large proportion of the military ftores of the Commonwealth are lodged here. A clear meandring brook runs through the town from north to fouth, and adds much to its beauty and pleafantnefs.

Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Lenox, are the principal towns in Berkshire county, and lie from forty-five to fifty-miles W. N. W. from Springfield. Befides thefe, there are many other towns in Maffachusetts that are in a rapid ftate of improvement, to enumerate the particulars of which would extend this work far beyond the bounds propofed. A pretty correct idea of their magnitude and importance will, however, be formed by the following account of their population, trade, &c.

It may be observed that the State of Maffachusetts, in point of improvement, is no way inferior to any of the other States in the Union. Arts and Sciences have here made confiderable progrefs. The first American Geography was published in this State by the Rev. Jedediah Morfe: a judicious work, of the greatet utility to the citizens of a free country, and deservedly held in estimation by the Literati of the old World,

POPULATION.

The number of inhabitants, &c. in this State, according to the fenfus taken in 1790, was as follows:

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