Foster Street
From Worcester Activist wiki
Alfred Dwight Foster was another lawyer who made his mark in Worcester in the 1800’s.
He was born in Brookfield and was graduated from Harvard University in 1819. After studying law in the office of Samuel M. Burnside of Worcester, he was admitted to the bar in 1822 and lived in Brookfield until two years later.
In 1825, he settled in Worcester, forming a partnership with Burnside until 1827.
He was elected as a representative to the State Legislature in 1831, 1832, 1833 and was a selectman in 1832.
Other offices were held by Mr. Foster, who rapidly gained a name as a reliable and steady citizen. He was a trustee and treasurer of the State Lunatic Hospital and was elected as a deacon in Union Church in 1836. In 1833, Mr. Foster was named as first president of The Quinsigamond Bank, chartered March 25, 1833, with a capital of $100,000.
He was secretary in 1832 Worcester Lyceum, a society formed Nov. 4, 1829, for “mutual instruction and improvement.” In 1836, he was elected president.
“The institution, sustained by popular favor, has been an example of the successful diffusion of learning by the cheapest possible medium of communication,” wrote historian Lincoln.
He was also a trustee of the Worcester County Horticultural Society-no mean honor in the days when Worcester still looked to the soil for its principal livelihood.
NI 1835, Mr. Foster opened Foster street and apparently named it for himself. He converted his residence, on the corner, into a “public house,” enlarging it by adding wings to the rear.
Eastward on the street at its beginning was “a great sea of meadow grass, with only a flat where Union street now is,” wrote an early historian. “The swamp was a dismal place. It was dark and there were no lights and few houses.”
Alfred Dwight Foster died in August 1852, at 52.
“He was one of our most respected citizens,” wrote Lincoln. “He held many important offices of trust, the duties of which were discharged with ability and fidelity.”
The core of this article comes from A History of Your City Streets.
