USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Newton > Comprehensive historical sketch of Crystal Lake in Newton Centre , Massachusetts : > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Gc 974.402 N48nen 1778957
M. L.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
Go
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01067 9352
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/comprehensivehis00newt
A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORICAL SKETCH OF
CRYSTAL LAKE
IN NEWTON CENTRE, MASSACHUSETTS WITH INCIDENTAL REFERENCES TO INTERESTING EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF NEWTON
COMPILED AND PUBLISHED BY THE NEWTON CENTRE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION 1911
1778957
A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRYSTAL LAKE
TAS2025
СЯМАРИИННЯЯМОЮ
СТА БАТBY ЯO
PHOTO D J LINDSAY
THE EAST SHORE OF CRYSTAL LAKE. 1910
844604 .62
... Center, Mass.
A comprehensive historical sketch of Crystal Lake in Newton Centre, Massachusetts, with inci- dental references to interesting events in the history of Newton. [Newton Centre, Mass. ,1911.
SHELF CARD
A 951
Don't think to find within these pages The wisdom of the seven sages; Just read them with a friendly eye And pass their imperfections by.
The Stetson Press, Boston
89yaq gasili didliw ban od afnids d'nod
rov98 side lo mobeiw sdT
a ditw mod! !
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I.
INDIAN TRADITIONS
7
CHAPTER
II. THE COLONIAL PERIOD
13
CHAPTER III. THE MIDDLE AGES 22
CHAPTER
IV. THE MODERN ERA
29
CHAPTER
V. JUDICIAL NOTICE
36
CHAPTER VI. GEOLOGICAL, GEOGRAPHICAL,
HYDROGRAPHICAL, PISCATORIAL,
AND MISCELLANEOUS DETAILS
44
CHAPTER VII. A VISION OF THE FUTURE
58
A 951
ЭТИЛТИОО
ВИОГПОЛИТИКА10 AT МАТЧАНО
00303
IZRA
A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CRYSTAL LAKE
CHAPTER I INDIAN TRADITIONS
There's an undertone of sighing, There's a hush in all the air, And the face of nature, dying, Wears a glow divinely fair; If you listen, listen, listen, In the quiet woodland ways, You will hear the forest singing, You will catch the breath of praise.
MRS. M. A. LATHERBURY
Indian traditions so far as the territory now included in the city of Newton is concerned are few in number and not directly connected with the history of Crystal Lake. In their dealings with the Indians the founders of the Massachu- setts Colony were careful to avoid the least scruple of intrusion. They directed the settlers to pur- chase the title whenever the savages pretended to any or all of the lands granted in their patents. The land north of the Charles River, as far as
[ 7]
CRYSTAL LAKE
the Merrimac, was accordingly bought from an Indian queen in consideration of a new fur-lined overcoat each winter, as long as she lived, and other valuable presents. This was the first tran- saction in fur-lined overcoats in the annals of Massachusetts, and it was certainly a bargain. The queen's example was followed by four Indian chiefs south of the Charles, one of whom was John Eliot's friend, Cutshamekin. This chief lived at Neponset, but his authority included the Indians of Nonantum, the name by which they designated the site of what is now Newton.
Nonantum means rejoicing. Its use by the Indians shows that they had a keen sense of the many good things belonging to their native land. It is generally conceded that the modern Newton is a happy combination of mythical Arcadia and the Forest of Arden, with all the advantages of a large city near at hand. To the Indian nature, where the Happy Hunting Ground figured as the final goal, the ancient Nonantum may have been even more attractive. An Indian was quick to detect the salient features of a landscape. A wilderness of forest, broken by hill and dale, en-
[ 8 ]
INDIAN TRADITIONS
compassed by streams, and enclosing lakes of crystal purity, appealed to him and brought re- joicing to his spirit. All these things he found in abundance up and down the wilds of Nonantum. Whether he roamed the forest in quest of game or fished in the quiet waters of the ponds and streams, the Great Spirit was above him and around him, speaking in the rippling wave, the refreshing breeze, and the placid beauty of the sky. Treated fairly by the colonists in the purchase of their lands, the red-skins kept their peaceful surround- ings and lived on terms of friendship with their white-skinned neighbors, doing their part in making the chronicles of Newton an unbroken record of brotherly affection.
The Indian whose career was most closely con- nected with the early history of Newton was the famous chief Waban. This well-known Indian was a scion of the Concord tribe. When he grew to manhood he improved his worldly state by marrying a rich wife, the lady's father being the Sachem of Concord. He then moved to Nonantum and became leader of the Nonantum Indians. When the Reverend John Eliot began his mission-
[9]
CRYSTAL LAKE
ary work, he sought out Waban and made him his friend. His influence was soon enlisted to aid Eliot, and under that banner the apostle's labors began to meet with success. The clever chief, however, was not converted until a number of embarrassing questions had been answered to his satisfaction. Eliot's position in the beginning was not unlike that of a modern Sunday-School teacher in charge of the infant class, but as soon as he could recover from surprise at the untutored cleverness of the Indian's curiosity he was equal to the emergency. He was aided at the critical mo- ment by his sensible method of work, teaching, as he did, practical as well as spiritual lessons. His patience was rewarded by seeing Waban's clan rise in time to a commendable plane of civilization. The records speak of the Nonantum Indians as dwelling in compact villages on the slopes of Nonantum Hill. Their wigwams were divided into apartments. They had patches of ground surrounded by ditches and stone walls. They planted orchards and fields of corn. They ac- quired some knowledge of carpentry and other trades. The women advanced in like manner as
[ 10 ]
INDIAN TRADITIONS
their husbands. They learned to spin, to braid baskets, and to make brooms. In spring and summer they sold berries and fish to the white people. In this way the clan accumulated a fund and built a church, where services were held under the guidance of ministers from Boston and the neighboring settlements. In the hunting grounds of Nonantum the rude aborigines thus became amenable for the first time to English law, and replaced their own savage customs with the milder and more equitable system of their white teachers.
Waban lived to a good old age and died, as he had lived, in peace and amity with his neighbors. Waban Hill, near which he received his first lesson from John Eliot, commands a surpassing view of the entire country once subject to his authority. It is a grand and everlasting tribute to a wise and faithful Indian, but it is not the only tribute. His name is also commemorated in the beautiful village of Waban and in many other ways. His greatest monument is the City of Newton.
Crystal Lake, so far as known, was not the centre of any special Indian activities. None the
[ 11 ]
CRYSTAL LAKE
less it is a reasonable conjecture that Waban and his kinsmen sometimes skimmed its surface in . their light canoes and took an occasional fish- dinner from its limpid pools. Their camp fires may have illuminated its wooded shores, and the deer, coming from their forest lair to seek the clear, cold water, may have paid tribute to the unerring aim of an Indian arrow. The Lake, like the forest, was a part of the Indian's existence, and to picture it as it was in the ages of its soli- tude the Indian must be regarded as an essential element.
,
[ 12 ]
CHAPTER II THE COLONIAL PERIOD
Should auld acquaintance be forgot And never brought to min'? Should auld acquaintance be forgot And days o' lang syne?
ROBERT BURNS
The colonial history of the Lake begins with the grant of one thousand acres and a great pond to John Haynes, Esquire, in 1634. In those days land was granted in large tracts, and John Haynes' one thousand acres put him in possession of an estate that began at the northern boundary of the Lake and extended southwesterly to the nearer borders of the Upper Falls. Haynes was a native of the English county of Essex. He came to this country with the Reverend Thomas Hooker in 1633, and settled in Cambridge. In 1635, he was chosen governor of the colony. The next year he went with Hooker and his company on their journey through the wilderness to Hartford, Con- necticut, allured thither by the greener fields and greater extent of open country in the Connecticut
[ 13 ]
CRYSTAL LAKE
valley. In 1639 he was chosen governor of Con- necticut. His death occurred there in 1654.
His one thousand acres, or such part of them as had not been conveyed by him during his lifetime or by his heirs immediately after his death, were leased by Captain Thomas Prentice, who held possession of them for many years either as agent or lessee. Prentice's own land was on Ward Street, in another part of the settlement, and if he ever lived on any part of the Haynes' tract, it was for a short time only and near the close of his life.
The first actual settler was Thomas Wiswall, who leased from Prentice so much of the Haynes' estate as bordered on the south side of the Lake. Before he came to Newton, Wiswall was a promi- nent citizen and town-officer of Dorchester. His experience in town-government soon brought him to the front in Newton, which, it should be re- membered, was then a part of Cambridge and known as Cambridge Village. With the assist- ance of John Jackson, probably the first settler in Newton, he soon began active measures for a separation from Cambridge in the matter of church dues. His efforts met with strong oppo-
[ 14 ]
THE COLONIAL PERIOD
sition from Cambridge for several years, but he held his ground, and in the end succeeded to the full extent of his wishes. In the new parish then created he performed the duties of elder, assistant pastor, and catechist. He was twice married, but there is some evidence that in his second matrimonial venture he did not use the same good judgment as in the first. The lady appears to have been spirited as well as spiritual, and Wiswall was apparently unable to curb her spirits. It became necessary to resort to the discipline of the Church, and the ecclesiastical dignitaries com- pelled her to retract some of her rash statements. At the same time they drily counselled her "to set a watch before her mouth and keep the door of her lips." In spite of this domestic drawback the elder seems to have gone on his way in peace and prosperity. He built a good house on the south shore of the Lake, beside the Dedham trail. This house stood where the Luther Paul house now stands, and the Dedham trail is now Centre Street.
The Wiswall house was built in 1654, and was the first house on the shore of the Lake or any-
[ 16 ]
--
CRYSTAL LAKE
where near it. It was situated on a high bank above the water, and had pleasant views of the Lake through the intervening trees. It was large for that early period, and divided into comfortable rooms. It was the only house in the neighbor- hood for many years, and, excepting so much of the land as Elder Wiswall saw fit to clear, was surrounded by forest. The Lake soon came to be known as Wiswall's Pond, a name which it kept for almost one hundred and fifty years.
The Elder had seven children, two of whom, Ichabod, born in 1637, and Noah, born in 1638, achieved distinction, the former as a clergyman, the latter as a soldier. Ichabod was ordained pastor of the Duxbury Church in 1676, and was agent for the Plymouth Colony, in England, to obtain a new charter, in 1689. This brought him into a diplomatic controversy with the Reverend Increase Mather, who was exerting himself to obtain a charter that would unite Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Maine under one government. Mather was successful, but Wiswall proved him- self a worthy opponent and a devoted represent- ative of the interests of Plymouth.
[ 16 ]
THE COLONIAL PERIOD
Noah was a selectman in 1685, and an assessor in 1686. In the spring of 1690 Indian depre- dations became frequent in the vicinity of Casco Bay. As captain of a company of infantry, Noah was sent to the front. He overtook the enemy at a place called Wheelwright's Pond. An engage- ment followed, in which Captain Wiswall, with seventeen of his troops, was killed. His bravery received public recognition some years afterwards, when the General Court granted to his heirs several hundred acres of land at the foot of Wachusett Mountain.
This record of service to the community was repeated by the grandsons and the great grand- sons. For example, the martial instinct was so strong in Captain Noah Wiswall of the fourth generation that he could not resist the battle-cry even in extreme old age. On the day of the Battle of Lexington his eagerness to see what the boys were doing, as he expressed it, led him so near the firing-line that he received a serious wound in the hand and returned home a hero, carrying as proof of his value the captured rifle of his dearest enemy. His age at the time of this
[ 17 ]
-
CRYSTAL LAKE
exploit was 76. This sturdy descendant of the original Wiswall tore down the ancient dwelling of his great grandfather in 1744 and replaced it with a more modern house, parts of which re- mained intact until very recent times.
This brief sketch of the Wiswall family will suffice to show that the first settler on Crystal Lake was not only a man of parts himself, but also the progenitor of many excellent people who afterwards tilled the hills and valleys of which he was once almost the sole lord and master.
The first grant on the north side of the Lake was made to Jonathan Hyde. It consisted of 240 acres and extended north in line with Centre Street as far as Ward Street and west as far as Bullough's Pond and the Newton Cemetery. The house stood some distance back from Centre Street between Homer Street and Commonwealth Avenue. Hyde seems to have devoted his time and labor to clearing and planting his farm. He was also a road-builder, having reserved and laid out a road one rod wide from Centre Street at the Common to that portion of his estate which bordered on Crystal Lake. This road followed
[ 18 ]
THE COLONIAL PERIOD
the general direction of Pelham Street and then turned towards the Lake very much after the manner of the present Lake Avenue. In size of family Hyde's record has never been broken in the Crystal Lake district. He was the father of 21 chil- dren and was able to take good care of all of them.
His son Samuel, by deed of gift, afterwards came into possession of the part of hisfather's estate lying next to the Lake, and there, in 1702, somewhere near the present Moreland Avenue, he built the first house in that neighborhood, He lived in his new house until 1725, when his estate passed to a French- Canadian named Francis Blanden. There had been a previous agreement that the rod-wide way laid out by Jonathan Hyde should remain free "to bring hemp or flax to the pond, and sheep to washing, or such like necessary occasions to come to the pond." The Blanden family continued to reside there dur- ing the greater part of the colonial period.
The Wiswall and Hyde dwellings were the only houses in the immediate vicinity of Crystal Lake for many years. Centre Street and the rod-wide way, first named Pond Street and afterwards Blanden's Lane, were the only public ways. The
[ 19 ]
--
CRYSTAL LAKE
Common, where the schoolhouses now stand, also came into use during the Colonial period. It was given to the parish by Thomas Wiswall and Jonathan Hyde for educational and military purposes. Owing to the danger of Indian raids, followed by the revolutionary struggle, its use until the close of the Revolution was almost entirely that of a training-field. It was also, however, the site of the nooning-houses which were built soon after the Newton brethren had obtained their legal separation from the Church at Cambridge. These noon-day resting places were rudely constructed buildings of one story. They afforded some protection from the heat of summer and the cold of winter, but were devoid of anything more that might be conducive to comfort, with the possible exception of primitive methods for warming the toes. Seated on rough benches the faithful parishioners ate their lunch- eons after the long morning service and fortified themselves for the still longer afternoon service. Yet it is an interesting fact that the long services of these early times did not consume much, if any, more time than Sunday services do today.
[ 20 ]
THE COLONIAL PERIOD
It is in the matter of variety and comfort that the · present generation has such a long lead.
This fleeting chronicle of the Colonial Period shows, when summarized, that the history of the Lake in that period centres in the Wiswall and Hyde families, with a spice of Indian and Revo- lutionary warfare added. Perhaps the most not- able achievement was the progress made in road- building, the Dedham trail being converted into something resembling the modern Centre Street, and a way opened from the Common to and around the northern end of the Lake. Moreover, the growth of the Church should not be forgotten, nor the modest beginning of educational training for the boys and girls. As for the Lake itself, it lay during these years in its woodland setting very much as it had during the centuries of un- written history that made up the past. It may have reflected more clearly the autumnal sunset because of clearings here and there in the forest. It may have afforded a quiet retreat by day for the spiritual meditations of the parish clergy. But it is safe to say that it was none the less by night a welcome haunt of the deer and the owl.
[ 21 ]
CHAPTER III THE MIDDLE AGES
Ah, why
Should we, in the world's riper years, neglect God's ancient sanctuaries, and adore Only among the crowd, and under roofs That our frail hands have raised.
WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT
For the purposes concerned in this narrative the Middle Ages cover the period from the Revo- lution down to the rise of the Newton Centre Improvement Association. It was a period during which the natural attractiveness of Newton began to receive recognition. As early as the year 1757 the Reverend John Cotton said, "From its early settlement Newton has been remarkable for the salubrity of its air and the health and longevity of its inhabitants." In proof of this he cited the many instances of long life among all classes. Of the first fifty settlers in Newton three lived to be over 90, eleven over 80, and several more over 70. Elder Thomas Wiswall died in his 83rd year,and Jonathan Hyde died in his 85th. The Reverend
[ 22 ]
THE MIDDLE AGES
Dr. Homer is authority for the statement that in 1792 a 23rd part of the population of Newton was over 70 years of age. This fine record has. not materially changed down to the present time, the number of aged persons still being remarkably large.
Soon after the colonies had gained their freedom a financial storm burst upon them and caused great distress. So many persons were unable to pay their debts that the courts were clogged with business. The trouble culminated in rebellion, and Daniel Shay led a band of insurgents one thousand strong through the streets of Worcester. Newton was asked to join the insurrectionary movement. Her response was striking evidence of respect for law and loyalty to government on the part of her people. Among other things the reply said: "The grievances you complain of, mainly, are public taxes, which are occasioned by the public debt, and the payment of private debts, which result from private obligations.
"We cannot consider public taxes grievances; they are burdens, it is true, which bear heavy upon us, but the public debt, which we have
[ 23 ]
CRYSTAL LAKE
voluntarily contracted, is the price of our spirit and independence, and we feel ourselves bound by every principle of justice and every tie of gratitude honorably to discharge it."
While these stirring events were transpiring the Wiswall homestead passed into possession of the Paul family, where it remains to this day, stand- ing on the site of the original dwelling. The Wiswall connection with Crystal Lake thus came to an end, after existing without a break for one hundred and fifty years. The Blanden estate on the opposite shore remained in the Blanden family some years longer, and was then gradually parceled out among various purchasers. Other houses were built in the neighborhood of the Lake, and the romantic atmosphere heretofore dominant began to yield to something resembling the march of modern improvement. In 1765 Newton had 1360 inhabitants. In 1850 the num- ber had risen to 5258, of which the Lake district had its share. The ancient farms of Wiswall and Hyde began to be but a memory. The names of Paul, Parker, Norman, and Murdock became common. Towards the close of the period stage-
[ 24 ]
THE MIDDLE AGES
coaches were running through Newton Centre on their way from the Upper Falls to Boston, the fare from Newton Centre being 372 cents. A railroad from Brookline to Needham soon succeeded the stage-coach, though not without opposition from residents along the line, who feared injury to their gardens and the bringing in of an undesir- able population. The Air Line, as it was called, afterwards became the Charles River Railroad. As such it was merged into the Boston, Hartford, and Erie, which was soon renamed the New York and New England. It was finally bought by the Boston and Albany, which passed by lease a few years ago into control of the New York Central.
On the Common which the early settlers gave to the town, a small powder-house was built, in 1799, at the corner of Lyman and Centre Streets, and served as a rallying-point for such military operations as were needed to keep the martial spirit intact. It was torn down in 1850. The Common has also been the site of some sort of a public school from the year 1700 down to the present era. Its usefulness was increased in 1835 by the erection of a town-hall, where the seat of
[ 25 ]
CRYSTAL LAKE
government was maintained until 1855, when it was removed to West Newton. These uses served to commemorate the foresight and civic spirit of Wiswall and Hyde, and ought to increase the respect in which those benefactors should be held by all to whom their generous gift has brought so many blessings in the present gener- ation.
In the nearer locality of the Lake private schools flourished to some extent during these Middle Ages. The seat of learning was first located on the southern shore, but was afterwards transferred to where the Davis house now stands. The first venture was a so-called classical institute, modeled on the German plan. Not being con- spicuously successful, it was followed by a school approaching the American idea more closely. Next came a girls' school, and when that too had run its course, the cause of learning languished and finally fled to newer fields.
Meantime a movement was in progress on the south shore, which has since resulted in great achievements. A Baptist church was founded, being the first in Newton. In 1729 there were
[ 26 ]
THE MIDDLE AGES
only two Baptists in the whole settlement. In 1753 there were six. But in 1780 Elhanan Win- chester, an eloquent preacher of the new faith, moved into Newton, and under his able leader- ship a church was soon organized with an en- rollment of 73 members. In 1795 a meeting- house was dedicated. It stood between Centre Street and the Lake, on land given to the society by Noah Wiswall. It was necessarily a rude structure. The seats were made of rough boards, and the pulpit of unplaned planks. It remained without a stove for fifteen years. The stove, which was then set up, cost 11{, 14s., and 10d. The first minister was Caleb Blood, and his salary was 60{ a year. He was succeeded, in 1788, by the Reverend Joseph Grafton, who held the charge until 1836 and added a total of 567 persons to the list of members. Father Grafton's successor, the Reverend F. A. Willard, built a larger church as soon as the parish could afford the cost. The first humble sanctuary, however, is still standing, but it has been used as a dwelling-house for more than half a century. The modest beginning of the new faith culminated
[ 27 ]
1
CRYSTAL LAKE
in the dedication, in 1887, of the beautiful house of worship at the corner of Beacon and Centre Streets. During these years Wiswall's Pond, after a short period as Silver Lake, became Baptist Pond, and that name was kept down to very recent times.
If the Colonial Period be taken as typifying the first rude awakening to the blessings of free government, the Middle Ages may be regarded as setting a pace in the direction of those things which introduce a more refined civilization. Religion and education received their due, and interesting experiments with successful issues were made in both. With all the various steps of progress there is a picturesque and inspiring connection on the part of Crystal Lake, and no one can appreciate the full significance of this beautiful body of water unless he thus considers it in the broadest historical sense.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.