History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. III, Part 162

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co
Number of Pages: 1278

USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. III > Part 162

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The Park south of the railroad tracks, at the junction of Common Street and Concord Avenue, was laid out in the year 1881. Part of the funds needed for its purchase were raised by subscription, and the balance was furnished by the town, which has assum - ed its maintenance. The Park Commissioners are W. J. Underwood, J. Willard Hill and Edwin F. Atkins, who have served continuously since the creation of the Board in 1882.

The grounds around the railroad stations adjoining are also parks in themselves, and show the results to be obtained by intelligent care.

The Fire Department of the town of Belmont may be said to date from about the year 1826, when an engine was located near Meeting-house Hill. The engine and company connected with it bore the name of " Protector, No. 3," while in the town of Watertown. In Belmont the name became " Pro- tector, No. 1."

In 1833 the town of West Cambridge purchased an engine for the South District. The engine and com- pany stationed in this locality is " Howard, No. 2." In 1873 a Babcock Extinguisher, to be manned by a company of ten men, was purchased, and located on Pleasant Street near Concord Avenue. On the com- pletion of the Town Hall, this machine was placed in a suitable room in the basement. In 1887, after the introduction of a system of water supply, two hose companies were organized and provided with wagons carrying 600 feet each of hose. The wagons were built by a Belmont manufacturer, Mr. Eden Price,

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

and are stationed, one at Waverley, in the village hall building, and the other at the Town Hall. The com- panies are named respectively Waverley Hose, No. 1, and Belmont Hose, No. 2. In addition to this organ- ization the town is the owner of nearly forty Johnson hand-pumps, distributed among householders. The various organizations have a fair record of service. It may be noted as an historical fact that they do not go so far afield at the present time as they were once inclined to do, in the days when steam fire-engines were less common, and the aid of a body of enthusias- tic workers was welcomed by the adjoining towns as a valuable auxiliary in conquering the devouring element, and of late years no attempt has been made to reach and extinguish the rising moon. In June, 1890, a fire-alarm telegraph was put in operation, with signal-boxes at a few points, and alarms struck on the bell of the Congregational Church at Waverley, on a large gong at the Town Hall and on small bells at the houses of the engineers. The engineers of the department are David Chenery, chief; Herbert H. Russell, George A. Prentiss and David S. McCabe.

The post-office at Belmont was established in 1856. Dr. J. L. Alexander was the first postmaster. He was succeeded a few years later by the present incumbent of the office, Aaron A. Adams.

The post-office at Waverley was established in 1858. The first postmaster was Seromus Gates, who held the office about fifteen years, and served in the mean time a term of enlistment in the Forty-second Massachusetts Regiment in 1864. He was succeeded by Larra W. Munroe. The present postmaster is Herbert H. Russell.

The unanimity with which the town, in 1881, pro- ceeded to the erection of the Town Hall has already been spoken of. The most serious difference in opin- ion among the voters was of earlier date and is worthy of passing notice. In May, 1871, a petition was presented to the selectmen for the laying out a road from North Street in Waverley, over the High- lands and Wellington Hill to the southerly line of Arlington, there to connect with a similar road from the principal street in Arlington, the whole to bear the name of Highland Avenue. The selectmen viewed the premises and laid out the road substantially as asked for. It was to be nearly two miles in length, and to be built at an expense of perhaps $30,000, but. probably more money would have been needed to complete it in a satisfactory manner. At the annual meeting in 1872 the action of the selectmen came be- fore the town for acceptance. It was at once evident that there was strong opposition to the project, many of the voters feeling that the town would receive a benefit from the road entirely disproportionate to the outlay incurred. Consideration of the article in the warrant was at once proposed to the adjourned incet- ing to be held a month later, and at that time the town voted to again postpone all consideration of the subject to the next annual meeting, and also refused

to pay for the surveying and plans which had been made. March 4, 1873 the town voted not to accept. the road. April 7th a motion was made to reconsider this vote. The motion to reconsider was lost, and, as it was known that the county commissioners had been applied to to lay out the road as a county way, parts of the proposed avenue lying in two towns, a committee was appointed to appear before that Board and oppose any action. It was, however, voted to pay the expenses incurred by the selectmen in pro- curing a survey. July 28th, upon an order from the commissioners to build the road, action was postponed for a month to obtain further information as to ex - pense, etc., and to allow bids to be made for building. August 25th the town voted not to build. The matter was again brought up in a meeting held Sep- tember 22d, upon a proposition to construct the road without sidewalks, and with a narrow road-bed for the time being. By a vote of more than two to one it was then voted that the town " refuse to build High- land Avenne, so-called, as ordered by the county commissioners, either thirty or fifty feet wide, or with or without sidewalks, or in any manner." As the commissioners did not endeavor to carry their order into effect, the subject ceased for the time to be an issue in local politics. The bids for construction showed a great difference in opinion among contrac- tors as to the cost, the lowest bid being $26,500, the highest in the neighborhood of $90,000.

In 1877 a proposition was made that the commis- sioners be asked to lay out the road "in an economi- cal manner," not to cost over $18,000, certain modifi- cations having been made in the plans. Considera- tion of the subject was indefinitely postponed, the vote standing 120 to eighty-six, and the effort to construct the road was never renewed.

The petition of the Watertown Water Supply Com- pany to the Legislature of 1885, for authority to lay mains and supply water to inhabitants of Belmont, led the town to take action looking to a system of works under its own control. A committee was ap- pointed to appear before the legislative committee and act as might best protect the interests of the town. The result of their labors appeared in the passage of a bill empowering the town to provide an independent supply, or to contract with the Water- town Co. or the city of Cambridge, on such terms as might be agreed upon. The act was at once accepted by the town. In the following winter a movement was inaugurated in the village of Waverley, having for its object the commencement of operations under the act. 'This movement was soon merged in a more extended action on the part of citizens throughout the town, a citizens' committee of twenty was organ- ized, and at the following annual town-meeting, after a sharp parliamentary contest, the town voted to proceed with the work. The decided majority ob- tained by the friends of the measure disarmed its op- ponents, and the necessary appropriations were made

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by a unanimous vote. The Water Commissioners elected at a subsequent meeting were W. J. Under- wood, T. D. Blake and Gustavus C. Holt, who still continue in office. The town has about ten miles of street mains, with sixty-nine hydrants, (the sys- tem is being extended from year to year), which are connected with the pipes of the Watertown Water Supply Co., and carry the water obtained by that company from basins dug near the Charles River. near Bemis Station in Watertown. The town divides with the company the receipts from private services. At the expiration of its contract with the Supply Company, the town is at liberty to make a new con- tract, or to provide an independent supply if it so desires. The system gives general satisfaction.

GAS INTRODUCED .- Gas for public lighting was introduced into the town in 1867. The expense was so great in proportion to the benefit received, and the Arlington Gas Light Co., which holds the right to lay pipes in the streets, not doing that work except in a small section of the town, the lighting of the streets was performed mainly by gasoline, from 1874 to 1889. Dissatisfaction with the results opened the way for the introduction of the electric light. Early in the year 1889 the Somerville Electric Light Co. introduced an experimental service, and found little difficulty in obtaining a vote of the town favorable to a contract for a short term of years. The system is of incandes- cent lamps, with arc lights at a few central points. The system has not yet come into use for domestic lighting, nor, with a single exception, for business purposes.

THE CIVIL WAR .- The record of the town in the Civil War is a highly honorable one. With a total population of less than 1250, it furnished, under the twelve calls of the President of the United States, one hundred and forty-seven men, and paid out as a town and hy subscription of citizens, upwards of $26,000 for bounties and other direct expenses of the town in filling its quota. Those who went into the service could not do so accompanied by their neigh- bors and friends, but were obliged to serve with strangers. Half a dozen men in any one regiment was as large a group as went together into the ser- vice. The bronze tablet at the entrance of the Town Hall records the names of those who made the supreme sacrifice-the gift of their lives-for the sake of the nation. The inscription is as follows :"

In Memoriam

JOHN LOCKE, Sept. 22, 1862.

JAMES MCGINNISS, June 24, 1868.

CHARLES V. MARSH, Missing.

ALBERT C. FROST, Sept. 17, 1863.

WILLIAM H. BENSON,

Oct. 10, 1862.

LEWIS H. MARSH, May 13, 1864.

The surviving veterans are associated in the Grand Army of the Republic, with Francis Gould Post, No. 36, of Arlington, under whose direction the annual ceremonies in the town on Memorial Day are con- ducted.

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A NEW HALL .- Until the year 1871, Waverley Hall was the name given to the hall in the second story of the store building erected by the Waverley (Land) Co., near the railroad station at Waverley. The building in that year became private property, and alterations were made by which the hall ceased to exist. A substitute was provided by the town in the second story of the new school-house, erected in 1874. When it became necessary to use this for school pur- poses, the initiatory steps were taken at a meeting of residents of the village, at the house of George H. Stearns, looking to the erection of a building in which provision could be made for meetings for religious and social purposes. After careful delibera- tion a stock company was formed in ISS1, called the Waverley IIall Company, which proceeded to erect a suitable building on the south side of Church Street. The structure is of the Swiss style of architecture. two and one-half stories in height, forty by sixty feet in size, and has a tower in which is a bell, con- tribnted by citizens, and a clock, voted by the town. The building was provided with furniture from the proceeds of a fair, supplementing private subscrip- tion. The lower story contains a store, and the room of the Waverley Hose Company. The main hall, with its stage and convenient dressing-rooms, occupies the second story, and the half-story above is devoted to a kitchen and small hall which can be used for society purposes, and for a supper-room. The present board of directors are John Fenderson, president; F. E. Whitcomb, vice-president; G. C. Holt, clerk and treasurer; Isaac Watts, J. L. Ellis, G. H. Stearns and H. M. Ellison.

PHYSICIANS .- It is a testimony to the healthful- ness of Belmont that for many years it had no resi- dent physician. Those who needed medical assist- ance called upon the doctors in the towns around, and the same practice is largely followed to-day. Dr. George H. Caldwell was located in Waverley in 1876 and 1877, but was engaged in other business, while attending to such calls as were made upon him. Dr. George W. Jones commenced practice in Belmont in 1879, and removed to Cambridgeport in 1881. The present physicians are Dr. H. A. Yenetchi, from 1885, and Dr. L. B. Clark, who established himself at Wa- verley early in the present year.

SECRET SOCIETIES .- Belmont Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons was erected in March, 1864, under a dispensation from William Parkman, Grand Master, and a charter was granted in March, 1865, to eleven Master Masons, viz. : William B. Bothamly, William W. Mead, William J. Underwood, Jonas B. Chenery, George W. Ware, Jr., Orlando M. Homer, Charles L. Heywood, Horace H. llomer, John Alexander, John G. Smith and Albert Higgins. Messrs. Bothamly, Underwood and H. II. Homer are still members of the lodge, the membership of nearly all the others having been terminated by death. The Worshipful Masters have been William B. Bothamly, William

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

W. Mead, Alvin L. Fisher, George H. Porter, Henry M. Haines, John H. Lakin, Charles E. Chenery, George H. Chenery, William M. Nassau, William Munroe, John H. Pettinger, J. Lucins Ellis, Frank Chandler, James D. Evans and William H. Pierce.

The lodge met in the (old) Waverley Hall until 1870, in the Town Hall in the High School building until 1880. The lodge-room in the station of the Fitchburg Railroad, at Belmont, was dedicated by Charles A. Welch, Grand Master, and officers of the Grand Lodge, February 26, 1880. The lodge has a membership of 75. William W. Mead, the second Master, died August 14, 1883, while holding the office of secretary. He had been devoted to the in- terests of the lodge from its formation, and no men- tion of the body would be complete which did not include a tribute to his memory. He was prominent also in the affairs of the town, having been a member of the School Committee from 1872 to 1881, and town clerk from 1871 until his death. He was the son of Samuel O. Mead, who was one of the leading spirits in the movement for the incorporation of the town and in the formation of the Belmont Congregational Society.

Waverley Council, No. 313, Royal Arcanum, was in- stituted April 30, 1879, at the hall in the school build- ing at the corner of North and Waverley Streets. Its meetings were held at different places until 1882, when a lease was taken of the upper rooms in the new Waverley Hall building. The Past Regents of the Council are William Munroe, H. W. Ball, T. W. Davis, J. H. Pettinger, John Fenderson, G. H. Stearns, Isaac Watts, F. E. Whitcomb, J. L. Ellis, J. D. Evans, G. C. Holt and W. H. Benjamin. The pres- ent officers are W. G. Roberts, Regent ; H. S. Harris, Vice-Regent ; J. B. Perault, Orator; W. 11. Benja- min, Past Regent; C. W. Benjamin, Secretary ; Ed- ward Haskins, Collector ; H. H. Russell, Treasurer ; J. R. Mackessy, Jr., Chaplain ; Benjamin Hamman, Guide ; B. A. Harris, Warden; W. J. Reed, Sentry. The Council is in a flourishing condition.

BELMONT SAVINGS BANK .- In 1885 a charter was obtained from the Legislature for the Belmont Say- ings Bank largely through the instrumentality of Hon. J. V. Fletcher, who was a member of the Com- mittee on Banks and Banking. The use of a room in the Town Hall was granted gratuitously to the bank, which was organized in the latter part of that year, and commenced business in January following. About a year after, the bank suffered from the depre- dations of burglars, who carried away bonds and other securities of several thousand dollars in value and a small sum of money. In spite of the interrup- tion and delay in realizing income occasioned by the robbery, the bank has paid dividends regularly and is upon a substantial footing. Its officers remain as when first organized, and are as follows : President, J. V. Fletcher ; Vice Presidents, J. S. Kendall, G. F. Blake, Frederie Dodge and J. O. Wellington ; clerk,

T. W. Davis. The above, with J. H. Fletcher, Jacob Hittinger, T. D. Blake, J. L. Ellis, Henry Frost, G. C. Holt, J. E. Locke, Chandler Robbins, A. E. Hill, J. W. Hill and D. F. Learned, constitute the Board of Trustees. The treasurer is W. L. Chenery.

The deposits in April, 1890, amounted to $42,442.41.

INDUSTRIES .- Until the annexation of the Mount Auburn Distriet to Cambridge, the cutting and stor- ing of ice was a leading industry during the winter months, the first ice exported from this to warmer countries having been taken from Fresh Pond by Frederick Tudor, who sent a cargo to Martinique in 1805. The War of 1812 put an end to the traffic for a time, but with concessions from the Cuban govern- ment it was resumed a few years later. The amount exported by Mr. Tudor in 1832 was forty-two hun- dred tons, all of which was taken from Fresh Pond. In 1833 the first shipment was made to the East Indies. Belmont's representative in the ice trade was Jacob Hittinger, a sketch of whose life is appended to this article.

The manufacture of brick in the town was begun in 1873 by the Cambridge Brick Company, on the territory afterwards annexed to Cambridge. The company was not successfal, and the works were abandoned. In 1888 Parry Brothers & Company bought twenty acres of land on Concord Avenne, three-fourths of a mile from the Belmont station, and have a plant in successful operation. Near this are the sausage works of W. H. Burke, established in 1886. Wagons are manufactured by Eden Price, at the corner of Pleasant and Brighton Streets. Belmont has always been, however, pre-eminently an agri- cultural community. Special attention has been paid for many years to the cultivation of small fruits, to say nothing of the days when thestrawberries from Bel- mont were always the first in the Boston markets, long before railroad transportation was reduced to the science which enables us to enjoy "the best berry that God ever made" before the snows of winter have ceased to fall upon our hillsides ; passing without mention the festivals of the years gone by, when from far and near guests came to taste the fruit in the atmosphere that had brought it to perfection. "The census returns of 1885 show that the town is first in the county in the value of its fruit products, and at the same time second in the value of vegetables raised for the market. The acreage devoted to these purposes is limited, lying mainly in the eastern portion of the town. It was said with truth at the time of its incorporation that Belmont took from both West Cambridge and Watertown much of their richest land, some of it being, in the opinion of good judges, the best farming land in the State. In the northern and western sections the soil is generally good, but not so deep or fertile.

The dairy products are very small. The town is notable in stock-raising for having been the first place in the country in which a purely-bred herd of Hol-

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stein cattle was maintained. This was at the " High- land Stock Farm" owned and carried on for many years by Winthrop W. Chenery, and until recently in the possession of a member of his family. Importa- tions were made by Mr. Chenery in 1852, '54, '59 and '61. "The considerations which in the first instance led to these importations were a confident belief in the superiority of the dairy cows of North Holland ... and also in their adaptation to the climate of New England, which in its variableness is strikingly similar to that of Holland." The animals imported in 1861 formed the ground-work of the present Hol- stein stock of this country. In 1872, Mr. Chenery prepared the Holstein Herd-Book, which was pub- lished by authority of the Association of Breeders of Thoroughbred Holstein Cattle, of which he was then president.

Following the usual course of places convenient to our large cities, and possessing marked natural at- tractions, the population of the town is becoming " residential." An increasing proportion of the in- habitants have no direct interest in the soil, except as it furnishes an agreeable and healthful location for the homes which are taking possession of the hill- sides and confining the husbandmen to even narrower limits. In 1881 the Massachusetts Central Railroad was constructed and opened to travel as far as Hud- son, twenty nine miles from Boston. The original laying-out of this road in Belmont was south of its present road-bed, and crossing the Fitchburg Railroad by an overhead bridge near Hill's Crossing. On ac- count of the large number of grade-crossings made necessary by this route, it was opposed by many citizens. The road was finally located parallel and adjacent to the Fitchburg road upon its north side from Hill's Crossing to Clematis Station, in Waltham. Failing to pay its expenses, the road experienced financial difficulties and a change of name, and now, as the Central Massachusetts Railroad, is leased and operated by the Boston and Maine Railroad, as a part of its southern division, and over it trains are sent out to the west and south, by way of the bridge across the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie. Together, the two roads give good accommodation to travel and at reason- able rates. Few towns can boast of finer views than are to be had from the slopes of the swelling hills that emborder the villages of Belmont. It merits its name, which was derived from the residence of John P. Cushing, later known as the Payson estate, upon the street separating Belmont from Watertown. This street was formerly known as the Back Road, but after Mr. Cushing called his estate Belmont, the name was given to the street, and later it was considered the most appropriate that could be chosen for the new town. Until invaded by the Payson Park Land Co., in 1886, the hundred acres or more surrounding the mansion-house furnished the best example of an American residence upon English models to be found in this part of the country. John P. Cushing,

who had in early life amassed a fortune in China, re- turned to the United States and acquired from differ- ent owners the land upon which, about the year 1830, he erected his mansion-house at a cost of more than $115,000. At the left and in front of the house was the undulating lawn containing thirty acres, and surrounded by trees, the main driveway at its side being shaded by long, irregular rows of lofty elms. Behind the house was the great flower garden, flanked by high walls and green-honses, with a grand con- servatory at the rear. Along the east side of the vegetable garden, which lay behind the conservatory, past the great deer park, a winding walk among the trees led to a rustic summer-house upon the highland anciently called Pequossette Hill, from which a varied and extended view of Boston and its suburbs was re- vealed to the observer. Broad and fertile fields ex- tended to the westward. Mr. Cushing's later years were marked by active participation in public affairs and by generous, unpretentious charities. He ex- pended large sums to beautify the grounds, which were liberally thrown open to the public. After his death, which occurred April 12, 1862, the estate came into the possession of Samuel R. Payson, who occupied it for a quarter of a century. He continued the policy which had marked its management while Mr. Cush- ing was its owner, and when it was purchased by the trustees of the Land Company it was estimated that more than half a million dollars had been expended to adorn a spot already made beautiful by nature.

The mansion-house and land immediately adjoin- ing are now owned by Mr. B. F. Harding, and under his charge has been founded the Belmont School, the management of which is in conformity to the princi- ples of the Episcopal Church, and whose object is "to give not only a thorough preparation for the Univer- sity and the Technical School, but also a liberal training in branches not now required for entrance to college." The school was opened September 25, 1889, and is, like its appointments of building and grounds, to rank with the best in every particular. Its loca- tion is in itself a continual inspiration.

A short distance to the westward of the Payson es- tate, after passing the " Haunted House of Water- town " upon the left, we come to the residence of Samuel Barnard, of the family of Major Barnard, who commanded a company at " Lexington alarm." A little further, on the side of the hill sloping to the lowland known in olden times as Pequossette Meadow, was the house built by Nathaniel Bright in the latter part of the seventeenth century. Previous to the incorporation of Belmont this was the oldest honse in Watertown, and one of its owners, in 1876, was Nathaniel T. Bright. It has since been torn down. The land continues in the possession of the family. Aside from this house there were, in 1820, only four houses on that part of Watertown which now com- prises the village of Waverley, and all of these had yielded to the ravages of time before the new town

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. III, Part 162

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co Number of Pages: 1278

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co
Number of Pages: 1278