Kilby Street
From Worcester Activist wiki
Also BEACON ST.
When General Marquis Marie Joseph Paul Roche Yves Gilbert Motier de Lafayette (Ret.) paid a visit to Worcester in 1824, the County threw every soldier it could find into the reception.
The first brigade of the State Militia galloped out to West Boylston Common to bring him in. As Lafayette passed through Bolton, he got a cavalry escort. In Bolton, he picked up the additional escort of two companies of light infantry.
At West Boylston, another company of cavalry, Capt. James Estabrook commanding, clattered out proudly to join the rest.
Capt. Estabrook-later Colonel-was born in Holden and came to Worcester in 1829. He became a grocer in partnership with Gen. Nathan Heard-a Brigadier-General in the Militia-on Main street, nearly opposite the Court House.
In 1840, Col. Estabrook became assistant chief of the Fire Department. Later he left Worcester and went into the real estate business and made a fortune. He became a director in the Peoples Mutual Fire Insurance Company; alderman in 1848-49 and county sheriff in 1851-52.
When two streets on his property were pushed through, he remembered two graceful Boston streets-Kilby street and Beacon street; transplanted the names to Worcester.
Kilby street, which first appeared in the directories in 1857, reaches from Main street southeast to Tainter street.
Col. Estabrook died at 77 on May 16, 1875.
He left a son, James E. Estabrook, who became a Colonel in the Civil War on the staff of Gen. Devens; postmaster from 1887 to 1891; president of the Common Council 1874-75; state Representative; member of the School Committee; director of the Worcester Public Library.
Col. Estabrook was chairman of the Democratic City Committee and the County Committee; attended Democratic National Conventions for 20 years.
He died at 86 on March 11, 1915. The newspapers said that “one of the old Democratic war horses” was gone.
The core of this article comes from A History of Your City Streets.
