When towns were formed and the roadways were being laid out, it was not uncommon to name a road after a person of importance to the town. Even better, some buildings were named to commemorate a person and what they had done for the town. In Auburn there are two roads, and a building named after the Merriam family. The streets came first and can be found on what was originally part of the 400 acres at Oxford gore where the Merriams lived in 1728. Several generations of the Merriam Family resided in this area of town on Merriam Street and Merriam Terrace which are off Bryn Mawr Avenue. 

The Merriam family migrated from Hadlow, County Kent, England where William Merriam was a clothier. William’s three sons sailed on the ship, Castle in 1638 to Massachusetts where Joseph eventually settled in Concord. A descendant of Joseph and Dorothy (Brooks), Josiah and his son, Josiah Jr. aided the cause in Concord by being part of the Captain Joseph Hosmer’s company of Minutemen, as members of the committee to inspect the Minute Men, and members of the Committee of Correspondence for Concord from 1778-1782, and a delegate to the State Convention. 

The Oxford North Gore, that was annexed for Auburn, comprised 738 acres, laying between the north line of Oxford, as it then existed, and the Leicester south line. Around 1785 James Merriam built a simple Cape style farmhouse on the site that was originally part of the “County Gore” which fell between Worcester, Leicester and Oxford. James built the house after he purchased the land from Thomas Gleason in 1783. The Merriam and Gleason families sold the house back and forth for about 100 years until it passed out of the family. That house is located at 36 Merriam Street.  In 1838, Ebenezer Jr. married Clarissa Cummings of Vermont and moved from Vermont to Auburn bringing along their children Leander and Lucy. 

In 1852, Leander enrolled in the military for Oxford according to his vital records. By the 1860 census he was listed as a miller and living on Central Street. The family moved to Millbury by 1865 when the census listed Leander as working at a sawmill. In 1874 he was making deliveries with a team and wagon, which were stolen when Leander left them for a short time on the road in Millbury. The team was found in Hubbardston the next day and the culprit was arrested. 

Another news article in the Worcester Daily Spy, told how Leander and his mother were riding on Millbury Street and were run into by a double team which damaged Leander’s wagon and harness. It was a hit-and-run and the offending driver was never found. 

The Merriams were living in Auburn when Leander’s father, Ebenezer, died in 1891. His mother, Clarissa, was living with her daughter Lucy in Worcester when she died in 1903 at the age of 97. Between 1870 and 1900 the Merriam family cannot be found in the state census, but in the 1900 census Leander was listed as 66 years old and living at 16 Central Street. Through the years he worked as a butter salesman for a local creamer and a produce dealer. It also seemed that he supplemented his income with taking in boarders.

In 1910, Leander donated $8000 to the town of Auburn so that a public library could be built. The dedication of the Merriam library was held on June 27, 1911. Leander wanted the building to be in memory of his parents and sister. It was built on the original Mellish homestead. In the dedication speech given by Reverend William Streeter, a cousin of Leander, it was said, ”the brick and the stone of this building represents three vital principles of the life of the donor. Love of the town, love for kindred, love for humanity……. a gift to the town of Auburn to perpetuate the name of Merriam and to live in the lives of a future generations as an elevating influence.”

Leander became a trustee of the library from 1913 through 1924. There was evidence that Leander was involved with town politics as it was stated in an article on May 17, 1913, that he had been a Republican all his life and he was listed in the Republican caucus posting for January 1921. He was mentioned in another article that same year regarding the Grange and how Leander’s father was one of the members who helped plant the maple trees around the town common. The news article mentioned  that Leander had his great grandfather’s knife which he carried during the Revolutionary War.  

In his will, Leander left the town $5000 with the stipulation that the principals be safely invested and the income used for maintenance of the library in such manner as its trustees or director may determine. Leander was an avid reader and collector of vintage books, and his way of passing on his love of reading was to build the library so the town could enjoy his passion.

In the next installment the longest tenured librarian director, Mona Adshead, will be the point of interest. This article is made possible by the Auburn Historical Society & Museum, 41 South Street. The museum is open Tuesday and Saturday mornings 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and may be reached at [email protected], 508-832-6856 or auburnhistoricalmuseum.org. You can also follow us on Facebook at Auburn Historical.