Petition for an Act of Incorporation The most important event of 1810 was the petition for an Act of Incorporation, The township had been settled nearly eight years and had steadily grown in numbers, and there were now (1810) forty ot more families within its limits. It had been favored with an encouraging degree of prosperity, and the prospects indicated continued growth. But its most urgent needs could not be provided for until its inhabitants, in an organized capacity, were invested with the power of levying taxes upon the property of the township. Among their immediate wants of public character, were roads and schools. A meeting of the inhabitants of the township was called early in 1810 to consider the question of the propriety of petitioning the General Court of Massachusetts for an Act of Incorporation. At the appointed time, the legal voters assembled at the house of Joseph Garland, and organized by choosing a chairman and clerk. It was decided to petition for an Act of Incorporation. This important point having been decided in the affirmative, the question--What shall be the name of the prospective town? now confronted the citizens. Standing upon the stone step, which had been fashioned by NatureÕs hand, and placed in front of Joseph GarlandÕs house, Deacon John S. Haskell moved that the word ÒGarlandÓ should be inserted in the petition as indicating the choice of the inhabitants of the township in regard to name. The motion was heard with great satisfaction and carried without opposition.