 Washburn was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1826 , serving two terms ; his only notable activity was in committee work preparing a feasibility study for a railroad from Boston to the Connecticut River . He was a regular supporter of the Western Railroad in its efforts to develop the railroad westward from Boston . Washburn asserted that railroads could " ... ward off the attack of any invader . " He would serve in the state legislature again in 1838 and 1877 . From 1830 to 1834 he served on the staff of Governor Levi Lincoln , Jr . , and in 1841 he was elected to the State Senate , where he served two years . In the second of those years he was chairman of the judiciary committee . In 1844 he was appointed a justice of the Court of Common Pleas , a post he held until 1847 . During these years he also established and maintained what was described by one of his peers , George Frisbie Hoar , as one of the largest and most successful law practices in Worcester County , partnering with John Davis among others . 
