The Commercial Transition (1768–1803)

About this same time, Central Square acquired a new civic identity. Town records describe the crossroads as "Hawker's Square" — so called for the produce vendors and traders who gathered there, turning the old industrial corner into a rough market square. This marks the moment Central Square shifted from a work site to a gathering place.

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The brook that had powered the Wyman tannery for over a century was eliminated during the construction of the Middlesex Canal. Ground was broken in September 1794; water was diverted in December 1800; and the canal opened fully for commercial business in 1803, connecting Woburn to Boston and bringing New Hampshire tanbark south by barge — launching Woburn's leather boom in earnest.

Source: City of Woburn official history (woburnma.gov); SERC Woburn Industrial History (Carleton College); Middlesex Canal Wikipedia; Miner Descent.