Editing Worcester, Massachusetts (section)

===Growth and industry===
In the 1770s, Worcester became a center of [[American Revolution|American revolutionary]] activity. The [[Worcester Revolt]] on September 6, 1774, was an early successful attempt to throw off British rule. British [[General Thomas Gage]] was given information of patriot ammunition stockpiled in Worcester in 1775. That same year, ''[[Massachusetts Spy]]'' publisher [[Isaiah Thomas (publisher)|Isaiah Thomas]] moved his radical newspaper out of British occupied [[Boston]] to Worcester. Thomas would continuously publish his paper throughout the [[American Revolutionary War]]. On July 14, 1776, Thomas performed the first public reading in Massachusetts of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] from the porch of the Old South Church,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hutchins|first1=Fred L.|title=Fixing the Spot|journal=Proceedings of the Worcester Society of Antiquity|date=1899|volume=16|page=88|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1gZFAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA88}}</ref> where the 19th-century Worcester City Hall stands today. He would later go on to form the [[American Antiquarian Society]] in Worcester in 1812.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanantiquarian.org/media/factsheet.doc|title=American Antiquarian Society Fact Sheet|access-date=April 25, 2013|archive-date=April 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418163449/http://www.americanantiquarian.org/media/factsheet.doc|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the turn of the 19th century, Worcester's economy moved into manufacturing. Factories producing textiles, shoes and clothing opened along the nearby [[Blackstone River]].

However, the manufacturing industry in Worcester would not begin to thrive until the opening of the [[Blackstone Canal]] in 1828 and the opening of the [[Boston and Albany Railroad|Worcester and Boston Railroad]] in 1835. The city transformed into a transportation hub and the manufacturing industry flourished.<ref name=trains>{{cite web|title=Transportation|publisher=Worcester Historical Museum|year=2013|url=http://www.worcesterhistory.org/worcesters-history/worcester-in-the-19th-century/transportation/|access-date=December 30, 2013|archive-date=December 31, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231003441/http://www.worcesterhistory.org/worcesters-history/worcester-in-the-19th-century/transportation/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Worcester was officially chartered as a city on February 29, 1848.<ref name="City of Worcester, Massachusetts"/> The city's industries soon attracted immigrants of primarily Irish, Scottish, French, German, and Swedish descent in the mid-19th century and later many immigrants of Lithuanian, Polish, Italian, Greek, Turkish, Armenian, Syrian, and Lebanese descent.<ref name=Washburn />  Immigrants moved into new [[Three-decker (house)|three-decker]] houses (which originated in Worcester) <ref name="Charles Nutt p. 473">Charles Nutt, ''History of Worcester and its people'', pg. 473</ref> lining hundreds of Worcester's expanding streets and neighborhoods.<ref>{{cite web|title=Three Deckers|publisher=Worcester Historical Museum|year=2013|url=http://www.worcesterhistory.org/worcesters-history/worcesters-own/three-deckers/|access-date=December 30, 2013|archive-date=December 31, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231010235/http://www.worcesterhistory.org/worcesters-history/worcesters-own/three-deckers/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1831, [[Ichabod Washburn]] opened the [[Washburn & Moen Company]]. The company would become the largest wire manufacturing in the country and Washburn became one of the leading industrial and philanthropic figures in the city.<ref name=Washburn>{{cite web|title=Washburn and Moen Worcester's Worldwide Wire Manufacturuer|author1=Dan Ricciardi|author2=Kathryn Mahoney|publisher=College of the Holy Cross|year=2013|url=http://college.holycross.edu/projects/worcester/immigration/northworks.htm|access-date=December 30, 2013|archive-date=June 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130629051540/http://college.holycross.edu/projects/worcester/immigration/northworks.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Worcester, MA Driving Tour & Guide to Blackstone Canal Historic Markers|url=http://www.nps.gov/blac/home.htm|access-date=July 23, 2007|archive-date=February 4, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070204124242/http://www.nps.gov/blac/home.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Worcester would become a center of machinery, wire products and power looms and boasted large manufacturers, including Washburn & Moen, [[Wyman-Gordon]] Company, American Steel & Wire, Morgan Construction and the [[Norton Company]]. In 1908, the [[Royal Worcester Corset Company]] was the largest employer of women in the United States.<ref>Gaultney, Bruce (2009). ''Worcester Memories'', pg. 21.
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Worcester would also claim many inventions and firsts. New England [[Candlepin bowling]] was invented in Worcester by Justin White in 1879. [[Esther Howland]] began the first line of [[Valentine's Day]] cards from her Worcester home in 1847. [[Loring Coes]] invented the first [[monkey wrench]] and Russell Hawes created the first envelope folding machine.<ref name=1880s>Gaultney, Bruce (2009). ''Worcester Memories'', pg. 7 (1880s).</ref> On June 12, 1880, [[Lee Richmond]] pitched the first perfect game in Major league baseball history for the [[Worcester Ruby Legs]] at the [[Worcester Agricultural Fairgrounds]].<ref name=1880s /> The first [[Three-decker (house)|three-decker homes]] were built by Francis Gallagher (1830–1911) in Worcester.<ref name="Charles Nutt p. 473"/>