USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : containing carefully prepared histories of every city and town in the county, Vol. II > Part 41
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 (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102
In the period extending from 1838 to 1845, the question of the division of the town into two in- dependent organizations was warmly contested. Two or more lines of division were at different times proposed, partly with reference to geographi- cal extent, partly with reference to population and the location of the different villages in the town. Owing to the peculiar configuration of Newton, and the disposal of most of its villages at that period nearly on the circumference, because of the
water privileges on Charles River on the one hand, and the conveniences created by railway stations along the line of the Boston and Albany Railroad on the other, many favored a division. Others preferred to remain a united people, maintaining that no line of division could be drawn which would be alike equitable to the organizations formed on each side of it. Some favored division, but were not satisfied with any of the lines pro- posed. Petitions and counter-petitions to the town proved unavailing. Petitions were numer- ously signed and presented to the legislature of Massachusetts, advocated, contested, accepted, re- jected. Among the chainpions in favor of division who were most forward in debate was Mr. Seth Davis, of West Newton ; on the other side were Rev. Samuel Skinner, then residing at Oak Hill, and the late Thomas Edmands, Esq., of Newton Centre, all good and true men and upright citizens, and conscientious in the advocacy of their several views. The people were instructed by the earnest and excited discussion. Sometimes a compromise was made. A vote was passed to hold the town- meetings half the time at the West Parish and half the time at the Centre. Then, an arrangement was entered into to use the hall of Fuller Academy, for town purposes, alternately with a new town-hall to be erected 'at the east part of the town ; and in conformity with this vote a hall was erected near Newton Centre, on Centre Street, opposite the building formerly used as the meeting-house of the First Baptist Church. Under the ancient sys- tem of town governments and parishes in the state of Massachusetts, when the parish and the town were one, the meeting-house was the property of the town, and the natural and rightful place for the town-meetings. But when the parish and the town became separate organizations, and the people were gathered into several parishes in the same town, each erecting its own church edifice, no parish was any longer under obligation to supply a place for the town-meetings to the entire town. The First Parish about this time objected to the holding of the town-meetings in their place of worship, which no longer belonged to the town, but to a single society ; and this action doubtless urged the citizens to a definitive settlement of the difficulty. About this time a vote was passed to hold all the town-meetings at West Newton. The town-hall that had been built at Newton Centre was, after an interval, removed to the northeast corner of Station and Centre streets,
A
NEWTON.
241
and used by the people as a village hall for lec- tures and public meetings, receiving the name of Lyceum Hall. It was afterwards removed again to a point nearer the railroad station, and be- came a stable, and was ultimately burned. When the new church of the West Parish Society was built on its present site, the old meeting-house, re- moved a few feet westward, was remodelled as a town-hall. After Newton became a city, the same building, again altered and enlarged, and fitted to the wants of the several municipal offices, was transformed into the city hall. An increasing population and new elements among the people, the system of graded schools, an improved police, an efficient fire department, pride in the history of the town, and a more equable growth in all its parts, exercised a unifying influence ; and the division of the town has been not only no more mooted but no more desired. And its present status as a united city, as a culminating argument, has made it finally and indisputably one.
THE NEWTON THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTION.
THIS institution was opened in 1825, under the patronage of the Baptist denomination. The land in Newton Centre on which the buildings are sit- uated was formerly the estate of Mr. John Peck. Instruction in the institution was first given in a house, since removed, on a lot next west of the Harback House, near the junction of Ward Street and Waverley Avenue. The first officer in the in- stitution was Professor Irah Chase. The first class which graduated consisted of but two members, Eli B. Smith and Jolin E. Weston. The territory belonging to the institution at the beginning con- sisted of about eighty acres of land, and was after- wards enlarged by the purchase of forty additional, bounded by Pound Lane (Cypress Street) on the south, Centre Street on the west, and Station Street on the north, including the present school-house lot and the site of many fine residences on streets since laid out. The comely mansion-house which stood on the crown of the hill was used in the early days of the institution for a steward's resi- dence and boarding-house for students. The attic story, containing four dormitories for students, used to be denominated "the crow's nest." A stranger on a certain occasion, alluding to the breezy situation of the building and the cupola on it, perhaps also to the annual grist of young men sent forth from its halls, pleasantly asked the Rev.
Mr. Grafton, who was a man of wit, if that build- ing was a mill. IIc replied, " Not exactly ; I never heard of but one peck being ground there." The humor is explained by the fact that Mr. Peck ex- pended a great deal of money in adorning and developing the estate, from which he never received any returns; and the neighbors used to call the place Peck's Folly. Two houses for the use of professors were built on the south side of Institu- tion Avenue, about half-way from the summit of the hill to the Common ; they have since been removed to Cypress Street, and remodelled. A third house for the same purpose was built near the west line of the original estate, first occupied by Rev. B. Sears, D. D., and now by Gustavus Forbes, Esq. The following have been professors in the institu- tion : Rev. Irah Chase, D. D .; Rev. Henry Jones Ripley, D. D .; Rev. James Davis Knowles, A. M .; Rev. Barnas Sears, D. D .; Rev. Horatio Balchi Hackett, D. D .; Rev. Robert Everett Pattison, D. D .; Rev. Albert N. Arnold, D. D .; Rev. George D. B. Pepper, D. D .; Rev. Alvah Hovey, D. D .; Rev. Galusha Anderson, D. D .; Rev. Oakman S. Stearns, D. D .; Rev. Heman Lincoln, D. D .; Rev. Arthur S. Train, D. D .; Rev. Ezra Palmer Gould, A. M .; Rev. Samuel Lunt Caldwell, D. D .; Rev. E. B. Andrews, D. D.
At the close of half a century from the planting of the institution, it appeared that the whole num- ber of students in the institution, whose names are recorded in the historical catalogue, was six hun- dred and ninety-nine, of whom, at that date, one hundred and seventy-two had died. Of the whole number, about fifty-five have been, for a longer or shorter time, presidents or professors of colleges or theological seminaries, and fifty-four - more than one for each year of the existence of the institu- tion -had served as missionaries in foreign lands. And of these, one, Rev. John Taylor Jones, trans- lated the New Testament into the Siamese lan- guage ; another, Rev. Francis Mason, translated the whole Bible into the Sgau Karen, and a third, Rev. Durlin L. Brayton, the whole Bible into the Pwo Karen, languages of Burmah ; a fourtlı, Rev. Josiah Goddard, translated into Chinese the whole New Testament and three books of the Pentateucli. Many of the alumni have been widely known as editors, writers, and translators, "and the volumes which they have given to the public would make a library worthy of any man's attention." The cash paid for the original estate was $4,250; ex- pense for alterations and repairs, $3,748.45 ; total,
-
242
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Newton Theological Institution.
$ 7,998.45. Besides the subscription to pay this amount, a sinking fund was instituted at the be- ginning to pay the salaries of the first professors, and afterwards a $100,000 fund, a $200,000 fund, and a library building fund of about $40,000. Several acres of the estate have been sold for building purposes ; these portions are on the west, bordering on the Common and Centre Street, extending the whole distance from Cypress Street to Station Street ; and on the north, border- ing on Station Street, and including several streets whieli have been laid out within the territory, especially Chase Street, Ripley Street, and Knowles Street, named in honor of the first three professors.
The corner-stone of the Eliot Church edifice, Newton, was laid March 19, 1845, with religious services. The building was dedicated July 1, 1845, and the church organized the same day. The church was composed of thirty-seven members, of whom thirty-one were from the First Parish Church in Newton Centre. The name of Hon. William Jacksou heads the list, and his influenee and counsel were at the foundation of this impor-
taut measure. William S. Leavitt, the first pastor, was ordained December 3, 1845, and was dismissed, at his own request, November 8, 1853. In the spring of 1849, the house of worship, being insuffi- cient to accommodate the increasing congregation, was enlarged by the addition of twenty-eight pews, making the whole number ninety-two, and re- opened for publie services May 13, 1849, The second pastor, Rev. Lyman Cutler, was installed October 25, 1854 ; but his health declined rapidly from the time of his settlement. He was able to preach but once a day for eight successive Sabbatlis ; he administered the sacrament the first Sabbath in January, 1855, and then asked for a suspension of his labors for three months, which was granted. But he continued to decline, and died April 28, 1855.
June 11, 1856, Rev. J. W. Wellman was in- stalled pastor, and remained in office about seven- teen years. The old church-building was removed a few rods northerly, and converted into a public lıall, and the present house of worship, on the original site, was commenced about January 1, 1860. The corner-stone was laid on the day of the state Fast, April 5, 1860, and the church was dedi- cated on the following Fast-day, April 4, 1861.
243
NEWTON.
The next pastor was Rev. S. W. Freeland, who remained in service about three years.
The Channing Church, at Newton Corner, had its origin in meetings held by a few persons of the Unitarian faith in Union Hall. The society was formed September 2, 1851, and the Sabbath-school was organized in April, 1852, the late Dr. Henry Bigelow being superintendent. The Rev. Convers Francis, professor in the Divinity School at Cam- bridge, supplied the society with preaching. Jan- uary 3, 1853, Rev. Joseph C. Smith, Calvin Bailey, and Samuel G. Simpkins were appointed to prepare a form expressive of their common faith and fellowship. The first pastor of the society was the Rev. Joseph C. Smith, who preached the last sermon in Union Hall, and the dedication sermon of the new house of worship erected for the society, in February, 1856. The church was organized in February, 1853. Mr. Smith supplied the pulpit four years, and then, on account of failing health, he left, and sailed for the Sandwich Islands, where he died in December, 1857. His remains were brought to this country, and rest in the Newton Cemetery. The second pastor was Rev. Edward J. Young, who was ordained June 18, 1857, and resigned March 15, 1869, to become professor in the Divinity School of Ilarvard Uni- versity. May 30, 1860, the church edifice was struck by lightning, but the fluid passed into the ground, doing but little damage to the building. Rev. Eli Fay, the third pastor, was installed May 4, 1870, and resigned March, 1873. He was followed by Rev. George W. Hosmer, D. D., formerly president of Antioch College, Ohio, wlio commenced his service November 14, 1873, being at that time within two weeks of threescore years and ten. In 1867 the house of worship was en- larged by being sawed into two parts ; and the back part was removed southwardly towards the line of the railroad and the vacant space refilled.
Baptist Church, Newton Corner. - Public wor- ship was first held by several members of Baptist churches residing in Newton Corner, in the village hall, in the spring of 1859. The church was organ- ized June 7, 1860, with twenty-one members. The church edifice was built on the corner of Washing- ton and Hovey streets, in 1864. Five Indian skel- etons and several ancient copper eoins were turned up by the laborers in digging the cellar for the building. The remains were found in different parts of the ground, about two feet below the sur- face. This spot was probably once the seat of an
Indian settlement, and here they buried their dead. The jaw of one, which was in perfect preservation, with the full number of teeth, and double all round, was placed in the box which was sealed and deposited under the corner-stone. The coins, it is said, are believed to have been made during the reign of George I., bearing the date of 1720 or 1729. There were also two or three arrow-heads.
The communion service was given to the church in April, 1865, by Messrs. Quincy and Harwood. The pastors have commenced service as follows: Rev. G. Robbins, June 30, 1860 ; Jeremiah Chap- lin, April 20, 1862 ; John Tucker, Jr., Octo- ber 31, 1865 ; Thomas S. Samson, May 1, 1873.
The church edifice was dedicated in the autumn of 1864. In April, 1874, ten years later, the following statistics were recorded : Received up to date, by baptism, seventy-eight; by letter, one hundred and fifty-seven ; by experience, five; to- tal, two hundred and forty. Members, April 14, 1874, one hundred and forty-six. The largest number admitted in any one year hitherto (1874) was twenty-nine.
Grace Church. - The first services of the Epis- copal Church in this part of Newton were held in the old Union Hall, May 30, 1855. The parish was organized in the parlor of Stephen Perry, Esq., father of the present Rev. William S. Perry, Bishop of Iowa. Mr. Perry's house stood on the east side of the street leading to Watertown Bridge. An Episcopal parish was organized September 25, 1855. Rev. T. T. Fales, for many years rector of the Episcopal Church in Waltham, was invited to become the first.rector, but declined. The call was then extended to Rev. Jolin Singleton Copley Greene, son of the late Gardiner Greene, Esq., of Boston, who accepted the charge. He commenced his service in January, 1856, gave liberally towards the erection of the chapel, and built the school-house and rectory at his own expense. The corner-stone of the chapel, at the corner of Washington and Hovey streets, opposite the Baptist Church edi- fice, was laid May 28, 1858, and the church, de- signed to accommodate about two hundred and twenty-five hearers, cost not far from $4,000. Mr. Greene resigned his office in 1864, after a service of nearly nine years. The second rector was Rev. P. H. Steenstra, who held office from November, 1864, till July 1, 1869, and was followed by Rev. Henry Mayer. The fourth rector was Rev Jo- seph S. Jenckes, from July, 1872, to September, 1874; and the fifth, Rev. George W. Shinn, from
244
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
January, 1875, to the present date. The corner- stone of the present church edifice was laid Sep- tember 4, 1872, - the stone being the same stone used in the foundation of the church-building on Washington and Hovey streets. The cost of the church, including the land, was abont $105,000. The new church was used for public worship the first Sabbath in December, 1873. The old church- building was afterwards sold, and removed to Wa- tertown. The chime of bells was the gift of Mrs. Elizabeth Trull Eldridge, who presented the money on Christmas Day, December 25, 1872. The bells, with the framework on which they rest, weigh about 8,300 pounds, and cost $4,400. The largest bell weighs 2,140 pounds.
Methodist Church, Newton Corner. - Union Hall was hired as a place for meetings for the Methodist people of Newton Corner, February 1, 1864. Rev. Dr. Cobleigh, editor of Zion's Her- ald, was the first preacher. The society was or- ganized April 21, 1864, the constituent members being twenty in number. The land on which the church is erected was originally low and wet, and the whole tract, about two acres, was filled. The cost of the church, including the land, was about $ 9,000. It was dedicated September 26, 1867. The follow- ing have been the pastors : Rev. C. Cromack, Rev. C. S. Rogers, Rev. S. F. Jones, Rev. A. A. Wright, Rev. Fred. Wood, Rev. W. E. Huntington, and Rev. S. Jackson.
Universalist Church. - A society existed for several years called the Newton and Watertown Universalist Society, whose meeting-house stood in Watertown, north of the border-line of Newton. The church edifice was dedicated August 15, 1827, and the church formed March 16, 1828. The members were thirteen in number, nine belonging to Newton and four to Watertown. The society was served by about fourteen successive pastors, and finally dissolved about 1866. The church- building was sold for a school-house, and still oc- cupies its original location. The tower was removed, and the bell sold to the Second Baptist Church in Newton (Upper Falls), and is still in use by that · society. The communion furniture was formerly the property of the First Universalist Church in Bos- ton (corner of Hanover and North Bennett streets, · now the Seamen's Bethel), and one of the cups was brought from England by Rev. John Murray. This society may be regarded as the beginning of the Universalist Society now at Newtonville.
Not long after the railroad to Woonsocket was
completed as far as Needham, the pulse of life began to stir at a point in Newton intermediate between Newton Centre and Newton Upper Falls. This locality had been the seat in former years of the well-known Bacon Tavern, a place of consid- erable resort, and also of the Mitchell Tavern, kept afterwards by Mr. Mancy Thornton. The inter- section of several streets, the Worcester Turnpike, now Boylston Street, the Dedham Road, now Centre Street, and the old Sherburne Road, ren- dered it a situation of importance in the days of stage-coaches, teaming, winter singing-schools and sleighrides, clubs and merry-makings. On the location of the railroad a station was planted here, and some enterprising gentlemen purchased land and began to lay ont streets in anticipation of future growth. The name of the station was suc- cessively Oak Hill, Newton Dale, then Oak Hill again, and finally Newton Highlands. The level land, stretching for a long distance in every direction, is well adapted for building purposes, demanding little or no expense for grading; and the facilities for reaching the neighboring city of Boston soon attracted a considerable population. As in all the early towns of New England, so in this new village, the church and the school came at the beginning. One of the public schools of the town, the Hyde School, was erected at a central point.
The Congregational Church here originated in meetings first held in Farnham's Hall, in November, 1871. A church edifice and chapel were erected in 1872. For a considerable time the meetings were held in the chapel ; the church was finished and dedi- cated in 1875. The land on which it stands was the gift of Moses Crafts, Esq. The cost of the house was about $16,000. The church was organized June 13, 1872, composed of twenty-seven mem- bers, of whom twenty-three were dismissed for the purpose from the First Church in Newton. The first pastor was Rev. S. H. Dana, who was or- dained October 9, 1872. Mr. Dana held office till May, 1877, when he resigned. The second pastor was Rev. G. G. Phipps. Deacons, James F. C. Hyde, Samuel N. Woodward, Albert F. Hayward; members, February, 1878, fifty-six.
Chestnut Hill Chapel, with the school-house attached, was given by the late Thomas Lee, Esq., to the families residing at Chestnut Hill. The property was placed in the care of trustees, with authority to sell it and devote the proceeds to charity when it should be no longer employed for religious or educational purposes. The society
245
NEWTON.
was organized in 1861, and the chapel dedi- cated to Christian worship October 2, 1861. The first pastor was Rev. William A. Whitwell, who remained pastor till his death in 1865. He was succeeded by Rev. Artemas Bowers Muzzey and Mr. Buckingham.
Unitarian Church, Newton Centre. - In the autumn of 1877 persons attached to the Unitarian faith, belonging in Newton Centre and Newton Highlands, commenced holding worship in the hall in White's Block, Station Street, near the railroad depot. The first service was held on Sabbath, November 11, 1877. Rev. Dr. Rufus P. Steb- bins was called as the first pastor, and regular worship has been maintained since the above date.
Chapel at Thompsonville. - Thompsonville, a village half a mile southeast of Newton Centre, acquired its name from the name of Mr. Thomp- son, a laboring man, who lived a kind of hermit life in that locality. A few families, chiefly Ger- mans, became residents of the place, and a room was hired at the expense of members of the First Baptist Church, and a Sabbath-school commenced March 6, 1867. The number present was forty- five. The chapel was erected during the following summer, and dedicated November 9, 1867. At the close of eleven years, it was stated that no Sabbath had passed without a public service. In- cluding the cost of the chapel, up to March 31, 1878, $1,700 had been laid out to sustain thie chapel and school, and a quarterly collection taken up in the First Baptist Church supplied the funds. It was in this immediate vicinity that the New Light excitement commeneed nearly a hundred years before, which was among the elements lead- ing to the formation of the church now holding out its helping hand to support this mission.
The Central Congregational Church, Newton- ville, grew out of a neighborhood conference meet- ing, first held at the house of Mr. Nathaniel D. Vose, December 11, 1867, and continued weekly, until it resulted in the formation of a church and society, the purchase of a house of worship, and the settlement of a pastor. The chapel on the corner of Washington and Court streets, previously occupied by the Methodist society, was opened for the regular Sabbath services of this new society, April 8, 1868. The church was organized Sep- tember 8, 1868, and Rev. Joseph B. Clark was installed pastor. The constituent members num- bered thirty-six. Mr. Clark resigned July 1, 1872. The church edifice was enlarged in 1869.
The second pastor, Rev. James R. Danforth, was installed January 2, 1873, and resigned March 17, 1874. He was followed by Rev. E. Frank Howe, who was installed December 6, 1876. The original cost of the church edifice was $ 6,500. It was en- larged the second time in 1875, and re-dedicated November 6, 1875. Its seating capacity was now about six hundred and fifty. Deacons, William A. Goodwin, D. Wayland Jones, M. D., William F. Slocum, Henry C. Hayden, Charles E. Chester, Ed- ward W. Greene.
The New Church (Swedenborgian). - The first families in Newtonville holding the Sweden borgian faith were those of Mr. Davis Howard and, a year later, Mr. T. H. Carter. The former, shortly after his removal to Newtonville, died. The church services were read first at the house of Mrs. How- ard, and afterwards for several years at the house of Mr. T. H. Carter. As the families attached to this faith increased, a hall for worship was hired in the village, and in October, 1857, Rev. Jolm Worcester was invited to preach regularly. This arrangement continued eleven and a half years, and the services were held during that time in four different halls. The chapel on Highland Avenue was built in 1868-69, on land given for the pur- pose by Mr. T. H. Carter, and dedicated April 11, 1869. It will seat about two hundred and seventy- five persons. At the same date a society was or- ganized with twenty-nine members. Rev. John Worcester was installed pastor December 26, 1869. Among the original members were Messrs. T. H. Carter, H. L. Keyes, R. M. Pulsifer, Edwin Field, S. I. Kellogg, and F. N. Palmer. In February, 1878, the society numbered sixty-three members.
The Universalist Society of Newtonville em- braced at the outset several persons who had been connected with the former Newton and Watertown Universalist Society and the Waltham Universalist Society. The first meeting was held in the small hall over Williams's drug-store in Newtonville Square, in February, 1871. The following spring the society removed into Tremont Hall. The soci- ety was legally organized in April, 1871 ; the cor- ner-stone of the church on Washington Park was laid October 22, 1872, and the building was dedi- cated June 26, 1873. The church is of stone, and suited to accommodate three hundred hearers. Rev. J. Coleman Adams, the first pastor, was ordained December 19, 1872. The church was organized in February, 1873, with thirteen members.
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.