Crystal Street
From Worcester Activist wiki
Simon S. Gates was a Worcester resident who liked the state of Illinois. He was born in Vermont and came to Worcester as a boy to live with an uncle. He inherited the farm on which he lived.
Sober, industrious, God-fearing, Simon was a long-time deacon of Central Church; active in its “Sabbath School” of which he was superintendent. In 1838, he was elected to the State Legislature.
In 1852, he went west-to Illinois. There he founded a fortune in the management of “extensive landed property.”
He was married three times. His oldest daughter married President Andrews of Kenyon College, Ohio.
Gates’ last wife was a sister of General Day.
When Simon returned to Worcester, he laid out two new streets about 1874. He named one Illinois street. It runs from Grand st. southwest to Richards st. The other was Crystal st., which runs from Main street southerly to the Boston & Albany Railroad.
Crystal street was named after Crystal Lake in Illinois. Crystal Lake is also a town, 42 miles from Chicago, with a population now of 3732.
The lake, on the southwest edge of the town, is a summer resort. Simon Gates died at his home in Crystal Lake in June, 1876. He was 76 years old.
The core of this article comes from A History of Your City Streets.
