USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Needham > History of Needham, Massachusetts, 1711-1911 : including West Needham, now the town of Wellesley, to its separation from Needham in 1881, with some reference to its affairs to 1911 > Part 44
USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Wellesley > History of Needham, Massachusetts, 1711-1911 : including West Needham, now the town of Wellesley, to its separation from Needham in 1881, with some reference to its affairs to 1911 > Part 44
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In 1849 Josiah Eaton and others were paid $9 for serving a year in Engine Company Number 4, Upper Falls, and in 1850 Henry E. Burton and others had $45 for serving as enginemen in this company for one year. These payments were the result of a vote passed in 1849 to pay the "Engine men" $5 each. In 1857 the selectmen were directed to buy five hundred feet of hose, which was to be kept at the Lower Falls.
By a vote of the town in 1870 the number of "Engine- men" at the Upper and Lower Falls was to be limited to thirty-five, viz., thirty-one firemen and four hosemen; the firemen were to receive $10 per year, each, and the hose- men $15. That year Charles S. Morse was paid $270 for the services of twenty-one firemen and four hosemen of Cataract Engine Number 1, and S. H. Potter $80 for five firemen and two hosemen of Mechanics Engine. Exactly the same amount was paid to the same number of men in 1871, and until the close of 1876 these payments were con- tinued, amounting in 1874 to $296.28 for Cataract Engine Company and $123.42 for Mechanics Engine Company, the total expenditure on account of fires exceeding the customary appropriation of $500, which was increased to $750 in 1875, but again reduced to $500 in 1876. From 1877
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
to the division of the town in 1881 the engine-companies were paid for special services only, which in some years reduced the cost of extinguishing fires below $100, and in 1880 the grant was decreased from $500 to $200. The pay- ments for the engine-companies were made to W. R. Dimond in 1875.
There were no fire officials in Needham until March 4, 1833, when the town chose George W. Hoogs, William Flagg, William Pierce, Davis C. Mills, Tyler Pettee and Dea. Elisha Lyon as firewards. Prior to that date the fire depart- ment included practically all the men and boys in the town, some of whom were provided with fire-buckets and canvas bags; the latter for the removal of smaller articles, including babies, from burning buildings. In 1880 there were twelve firewards, and of these Bill Burrill, 2d, had served twenty- six years, and was a familiar figure at fires, where he some- times roped off the burning premises, to keep people from danger, which, however, he never shunned himself, and always issued many orders, particularly to the boys. From 1872 to 1884 the firewards were appointed by the select- men, and in 1885 the latter were authorized to choose a board of five "Fire Engineers", in place of the firewards, and these engineers were also the only forest firewards until 1904, when the selectmen named four of the engineers and two other citizens as "Forest Firewards." In their report for 1874 the selectmen advised the construction of reservoirs at Grantville, Wellesley and Needham, the purchase of hand-engines for the two latter places, and fire-buckets and ladders for all three, and also for Highland- ville. The subject was referred to a committee consisting of Edgar H. Bowers, John M. Harris, John Mansfield, Mark Lee, Joseph E. Fiske and the firewards at the Upper and Lower Falls. The town then owned hose at the Lower Falls, perhaps the same that was purchased in 1857, and in 1875 voted $500 to renew it, and provided twelve badges for the firewards at a cost of $21.25. In 1876 the special
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
appropriation of $500 had been expended for four hundred feet of number one hose, and fifteen Johnson pumps which were obtained from the National Manufacturing Company for $99.50. In 1877 a hose-carriage with axes was bought from the City of Newton.
For many years the following out-of-town companies did duty in Needham: - Cataract Engine Number I, Eliot Engine Number I, Mechanics Engine, all of Newton, and occasionally one of the Natick companies. At the fire at Eaton & Moulton's machine shop in 1853, besides Cataract Engine Number I, there were present Engine Company Number 5 of Newton Corner, Number 6 of Newton Centre, Number 3 of Waltham, and Number 7 of Brighton.
In 1882 the town chose a committee to consider the whole question of protection from fire, and as a result twenty Johnson pumps, six blankets, one hundred feet of hose, and a hook and ladder truck, the latter costing $760, were pur- chased. The next year the equipment was increased by two, or more, ladders, and two dozen fire-buckets, and in 1884 the fire-engine Niagara, built in 1843, and still pre- served as a curiosity, was bought from the town of Hing- ham for $250. The engine Independence Number 2 and a hose-wagon were obtained from the town of Randolph for $350. Niagara was a prominent feature in the Bicen- tennial pageant in 1911. In 1885 the engine-house at what is now Needham Heights and also the one on Chest- nut Street were built by Henry S. Locke, contractor, for $3000, on land acquired for the purpose. On March 4, 1889, $900 were appropriated for a fire-alarm system, and that year the bells of the First Church and of the Methodist Episcopal Church were made alarm-bells, boxes were placed at the engine-houses, and one at the junction of Nehoiden and Rosemary Streets; the latter was box 46. The first fire-alarm was rung on Fast Day 1890, from box 28, the Great Plain engine-house, by Henry Derby Rodgers, who was the first superintendent and organizer of our
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
fire-alarm system, and who served until he resigned on May 1, 1895. He had much enthusiasm for the fire depart- ment, and with little or no compensation rendered valuable service. Although Mr. Rodgers had an exacting occupation in Boston, he was usually one of the first to report for duty when there was a fire, and was an energetic and efficient fireman.
The town had fifty miles of fire-alarm wires in 1905, and the system has since been perfected. In 1910 $1300 were appropriated for an automatic repeater, which at some additional expense was installed in the assessors' office.
In 1890 a hook and ladder company was formed and the department included upward of ninety men. The engine- companies continued to be Niagara Number I, at the Great Plain, and Independent Number 2, at Highlandville, but, as the result of the introduction of town water, both were disbanded on January 1, 1891, and two hose-companies took their places. For the latter two hose-wagons were bought for $7II, and two thousand feet of hose for $1250, increasing the quantity of hose owned by the town to three thousand feet.
In 1905 the department consisted of a hook and ladder company and a hose-company of ten men each at the Great Plain, a hose-company of ten at Highlandville, one of four, which had been formed in July, 1893, at the Upper Falls, and another of five men at Greendale. The last mentioned was organized in 1900, and provided with a reel and five hundred feet of hose. In 1905 the town bought a combina- tion wagon, carrying both hydrant and chemical hose, a ladder, two pony extinguishers, and various implements, together with a chemical tank. This wagon cost $1200, and was located at Station Number 2. In 1907 the town paid $1800 for a similar wagon for Station I.
On January 1, 1908, Combination Company Number I took the place of Hose Company Number I, at the Great Plain, and on March 24 Hose Company Number I was
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
re-established at Charles River Village, the apparatus having been transferred from the Great Plain.
Since 1881 the town has owned no horse except one pur- chased in 1905 for the use of the Water Department, and the horses for the fire service have been hired.
In 1901 a Firemen's Relief Association was formed in the department for mutual assistance in case of disability from illness or accident resulting from the duties of the service.
The appropriation for the Fire Department was $1625 in 1890, $2075 in 1895, $2206 in 1900, and $3806 in 1910, besides $4000 for hydrant service and $1800 for the improve- ment of the fire-alarm system. A large sum for hydrant service, in addition to the amounts named, has been annu- ally granted since the introduction of water. The Needham Fire Department was efficient even in the days of small resources, and had some hard battles with the devouring element. The courage and good judgment shown at such fires as that which destroyed the Odd Fellows Building in 1887, and endangered the business section, deservedly called forth the highest praise.1
The Chief Engineers have been: - Thomas James Cross- man, 1885 (resigned), Henry Augustus Kingsbury, 1885, 1894-1908, George Adams, 1886-90 (five years), John Henry Whittemore, 1891-3 (three years), Henry Howard Upham, 1908- .
1 At midnight of May 12, 1887, as the latest train from Boston stopped at Needham, fire was seen issuing from the basement of the Odd Fellows Building, and the engineer gave the alarm by the whistling of the locomotive. The firemen saved the rest of the business section, but the Odd Fellows Building was entirely destroyed. In addition to a number of stores and offices, the building contained the Needham Chronicle printing plant, and the library of the Needham Library Association. A considerable number of valuable books from the private library of the Rev. Solon W. Bush had been received within a day or two, and were still in the cases in which they came. The loss of this gift from Mr. Bush was especially regretted, and also the destruction of the reprints of the town records from 1711 to 1720, which perished with the Chronicle office.
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
TOWN WATER
In 1799 Ephraim Jackson of Needham, "Miller", gave a bond of $200 to Simon Elliot of Boston, Esquire, that in consideration of $50 he would "convey from a certain Spring situate in a meadow, owned by me the said Ephraim, which lies on the south side of Charles River adjoining the Estate of Benjamin Slack & South of the fulling mill in said --- Water in pitch pine logs of a bore of two inches, a crofs the River to the Island, now owned by one John Ware". This somewhat lengthy instrument, among other privileges, grants a "perfect right title & enjoyment in & to the said spring with the waters therein to his & their sole use, benefit & behoof forever", and the grantee may enter on the land of the grantor to repair the works which were to be "done & finished" before October I, 1800.
Early in 1887 the question of a water supply was con- sidered important, and in July $500 were voted for the use of a committee, which consisted of Dr. Albert E. Miller, C. Atherton Hicks, Thomas Frederick Peabody, James E. Cahill and William Carter. This committee had been chosen in March to investigate the sources and means of obtaining water. In December Mr. Hicks read an elaborate report on the subject, which was accepted, and Dr. A. E. Miller, T. F. Peabody, William Carter, Everett J. Eaton and Edgar H. Bowers were chosen to petition the General Court for an enabling Act. The Act was approved on March 8, 1888, and Needham was authorized to issue bonds to the amount of $75,000, to meet the expense of the intro- duction of water. This authority to issue bonds was ex- tended by $30,000 in 1891, and by subsequent Acts to $280,000. By an Act approved on March 24, 1888, the Town of Wellesley had been empowered to furnish Needham with water, and on April 26, 1890, a similar privilege was granted to the City of Newton, but neither of these Acts
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
has been availed of beyond supplying the Hotel Wellesley and estates on Grove Street, through which street Welles- ley extended its mains in 1888.
The first attempts to obtain a two thirds vote in favor of town water were failures, although the meetings were largely attended, and there was much excitement, but on November 7, 1889, it was carried by a vote of 322 to 144. The first water commissioners were elected on December 3, 1889, and before the end of 1890 the more densely populated portions of the town were supplied with water of the best quality from the Colburn Spring. The mains were extended until in 1905 practically the entire community had the town water. In October, 1897, the town took action to secure the "permanent preservation of the purity of its water supply", and the following year the water reservation of fifteen acres was increased to seventy-three and one half acres by the purchase of the balance of the Colburn farm. Well Number 2 was made in 1900, and cost over $5000. In 1902 the Hicks Spring was added with seven acres of land at an expense of about $2600. The basin near the pumping station dates from 1903, and covers seven acres. It has a capacity of nine million gallons, and has a core wall, gate-house and two bridges; water was let into it from the Hicks Spring on November 18, 1903. Lewis E. Hawes, who has been the town's engineer from the beginning of the water system, superintended the construction of this basin. About 1825 the land now forming the town's water reservation was owned by Mr. Dunton, who had a narrow strip containing ten acres, and extending from Blind Lane (Green Street) to the Boulevard, and by George Kingsbury, known as "Nighthawk", who lived where the Glancys do, near the Causeway, and who owned the swamp of forty acres.
After the old roadside drinking-places were destroyed the town apparently did nothing to replace them until 1875, when four watering-troughs were established. In 1891
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
three drinking-fountains for animals were provided, and a year later cups were attached to these fountains.
In 1891 less than ten million gallons of water were pumped, but in a dozen years the quantity exceeded one hundred million gallons annually. In 1910 more than one hundred and twenty-one million gallons were pumped. The pumping station is on about an acre of land purchased of Dr. Elbridge G. Leach, and the stand-pipe is on Ryan's Hill, nearly a mile to the northeast of the station.
The Water Commissioners have been: - John Moseley, 1889-92. John Manlove Hodge, 1889-July 8, 1899 (re- signed). James Mackintosh, 1890 (chosen January 29, vice James Wentworth Brown, who had declined to serve) -5 (six years); chairman the entire time. George Albert Adams, 1893-6 (resigned). Edmund George Pond, 1896- 1901, '04- , chairman 1896-8, 'OI, '05, '08, '09, 'II. Frederic Gould Tuttle, 1896-Oct. 22, 1903, chairman 1899, 1900, '03. George Henry Toone, 1900- , chairman 1902, '06. William Carter, 1902- , chairman Oct. 28, 1903, '04, '07, '10.
Superintendents: - John M. Hodge, 1890, '91, Joseph W. Leonard, Jan. 1, 1892-June 1, 1893, George A. Adams, June 1, 1893- .
Engineers :- John M. Hodge, 1890-August, 1895, Charles H. Mitchell, August, 1895- .
STREET LIGHTS
On March 13, 1871, the town dismissed article 16, which was to see if the town would light certain streets by gas.
In 1874 the town expended $150 on account of forty-six street lights maintained by the Grantville Street Light Com- pany, and four lights cared for by residents of East Needham. The next year there was but one, possibly two, street lamps in the latter section, although $450 were appropriated for street lights, and in 1878 most of the one hundred and seventy-nine lamps were in the West. In 1881 the General
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
Court authorized the Newton and Watertown Gas Light Company to lay and maintain pipes in Weston and Need- ham, but East Needham derived no benefit from this Act. The effort to introduce street lights is said to have origi- nated with the Needham Improvement Society, and in 1883 James Mackintosh raised by subscription about $1320, with which eighty-eight street lamps, with posts, were obtained, and the town voted to care for them. In 1888 there were one hundred and eight lamps, and kerosene was used; in 1893 the number of lamps was one hundred and twenty-seven. In 1885 the appropriation for their maintenance was $800. Henry D. Rodgers was active in securing and establishing these lights, and is said to have cared for and lighted some of the earlier lamps for a week, without pay, and in addition to his regular occupation, which required many hours each day.
On March 7, 1892, and again on May 31, of that year, the town accepted by large majorities Chapter 370, of the Acts of 1891, which authorized towns and cities to es- tablish and own lighting plants, and public opinion in Need- ham was then strongly against contracting with a com- pany or corporation. In furtherance of this view $10,000 were appropriated on June 23, 1893, bonds running for thirty years to be issued. The selectmen were to be com- missioners of the sinking fund, and were to establish an electric lighting system, but on September 15 they were instructed by the town to contract with the Eliot Falls Electric Light Company for the current. At the latter meeting an additional issue of bonds for thirty years, amount- ing to $3500, was voted. There were to be three hundred lights, for which the town was to pay $175.85 per month. At the town meeting on March 20, 1893, the selectmen had reported that the cost of nineteen miles of poles and wires would be $11,021, but the actual expense amounted to about $14,000, met by the "Electric Light Loan". The last of these bonds matured in 1924, but were extinguished
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
at a much earlier date, together with the School Fund. The Hawes Electric Company installed the poles and wires.
The Natick Gas and Electric Company succeeded the Eliot Falls Electric Light Company, and in 1898 the con- tract with the former was renewed for five years, but in 1899 it was sublet to the Greendale Chemical and Electric Lighting Company, which in 1903 transferred its rights to the Edison Electric Illuminating Company. The price per light was then to be $10 annually. In February, 1908, the select- men and a committee of the town sold the poles and wires to the last-named company for $11,000, and made a con- tract with that company for twenty years, current and material to be furnished to the town at $12 for each street light per year, and all of the expense of maintenance to be assumed by the company. This contract went into effect on September 1, 1908. The street lighting plant was re- peatedly extended prior to 1908, and the annual cost doubled in ten years. In 1910 $8000 were appropriated for lighting the streets. In March, 1902, the town voted to light the dials of the clock on the Baptist Church, and a few years later a light was also established in the cupola of the town hall, which illuminated the town clock and served as a beacon seen for a long distance. About 1903 a Gas Lighting Company was formed in Needham, but without result.
TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE LINES
The first reference in the town records to a telegraph line is the vote of March 16, 1868, directing the selectmen to give a hearing on the petition of the Franklin Telegraphic Company, with notice to all persons who may be interested in the kind, height and location of the "Posts".
The later history of the location of hundreds of telegraph and telephone poles in Needham, with the consequent dis- figurement of the landscape, roadsides and trees, is similar to that of other towns.
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
PARKS AND PUBLIC GROUNDS
The Common on the Great Plain contains 65, 135 square feet of land, and was purchased in 1884 of George P. Davis for $2850. In its eastern corner there was a fine, large natural basin, similar to the one on the estate now owned by Charles D. Burrage. This basin was used as a dump in the eighties, and was finally filled, such features not being appreciated in those days. The town hall covers a portion of the site of it. The Common at Needham Heights con- tains 18,096 square feet, and was bought in 1884 of Isaac T. Burr for $650. It has been made beautiful by the local Improvement Society, with the assistance of individuals. The triangle known as Dedham Avenue Park was given to the town by individuals, and accepted by vote on March 3, 1890. In 1897 three Custodians of Public Grounds were chosen, and in March, 1898, it was voted to elect three Park Commissioners in 1899. On March 7, 1904, four and one half acres bought in 1871 of James Wallace Black were declared a park. This land is on South Street, near Green Street, and was originally acquired for the gravel. In 1907 the town owned three gravel pits: - Alden, on Webster Street, Richardson, near Rosemary Brook on the east side of Central Avenue, north of West Street, and the Ireland land on the Great Plain, north of the terminus of Pickering Street. The Thorpe Memorial Park was presented to the town by Joseph B. Thorpe in a letter dated February II, 19II, and is in memory of his daughter, Sarah Bessie Thorpe, who died in Berlin, Prussia, January 13, 1908, while a student there. The gift was accepted by the town on March 6th. It is bounded by Hunnewell, Webster and West Streets. From 1902 the citizens have annually been assessed on account of the Metropolitan Park system, although they derive but little direct benefit from the reservations. For some years the amount was about $1600, but in 1907 it was $2000, and has since increased. In connection with
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
this park system Needham was assessed $37.78 in 1906 for the Wellington Avenue Bridge, which is north of Boston. The Commonwealth allows $50 per mile each year for the repair of State roads, and the excess of this expended in any town is assessed upon it. Needham has annually had a small sum from this source in its tax levy, but it has never yet exceeded $50 in any one year. In 1910 $350 were ap- propriated for the care of the parks.
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rders and Societies
MASONIC
Among Dr. Noyes's papers was an undated list of the Needham Masons, apparently written in the thirties. The Masons then were: - Jonathan Ellis, Jonathan Newell, George W. Johnson, Elisha Lyon, Esq., Lemuel Lyon, Moses Mann, John Tolman, Paul Dewing, Asa Kingsbery, Daniel Kingsbery, Ebenezer McIntosh, Rufus Mills, Is- rael Whitney, Jabez Morse, William A. Kingsbury, William Eaton, Jr., Royal MeIntosh, Charles Rice, Otis Jennings, Leonard Kingsbury, Timothy Bullard, Timothy Wood- cock, Luther Smith, James Smith, Luther Ware, Daniel Ware, Alvin Fuller, Peter Lyon, Esq., George W. Hoogs, Stephen Hurd, (illegible) Lyon, Henry Bartlett, Isaac Felton, John McFarland, Ellis Stedman, Thomas P. Weston, Nathaniel Craft, Tyler Pettee, John Kingsbury, Richard Boynton and Ebenezer Fuller. Most of these men, perhaps all of them, were members of Meridian Lodge, which met in Sargent's Tavern, and which later removed to Natick.
NORFOLK LODGE
Norfolk Lodge is named for Thomas Howard, Eighth Duke of Norfolk, who was Grand Master of the English Masons in 1730 and 1731, and one of the few Masons of this Catholic house. This lodge includes most of the promi- nent citizens of Needham, and has an important part in the life of the town. The history of its origin is as follows: - On the evening of April 6, 1874, a number of Masons resid- ing in Needham met together to take the necessary steps
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THE HISTORY OF NEEDHAM
for the formation of a lodge, and a petition was sent to the Grand Lodge, upon which a dispensation was granted in the organization of a lodge, and officers were appointed, Emery Grover being named as Master. The first regular communication was held in Odd Fellows Hall, in Parker Hall, on Monday evening, May 25, 1874. The lodge con- tinued to hold regular communications for a year, and on July 1, 1875, a special communication was called for the purpose of receiving the charter, and in order to be formally constituted. On this occasion Grand Master Percival Lowell Everett and other officers and members of the Grand Lodge were present, and the charter has the date of May 18, 1874, and bears twenty-eight names, headed by that of Emery Grover, the first Master of this lodge. The lodge has twice lost by fire all of its property, except the charter and records. The first fire was in May, 1882, when Parker Hall was burned, on which occasion Isaac R. Stearns and others risked their lives to save the charter and records of Norfolk Lodge, and the second fire was that which consumed the Odd Fellows Building in May, 1887. The meetings have since been held in rooms especially fitted for the purpose in Kingsbury Block. In 1908 this lodge numbered nearly two hundred members.
The beautiful seal of this lodge is a reproduction of the coat-of-arms of the Duke of Norfolk in whose honor it was named, and for years attempts have been made to discover some likeness of this duke, but none appears to be in exist- ence. The writer was at one time interested in this matter and had assistance in England, but no portrait was found in any of the collections, or great libraries, and none of the numerous representatives of the Howards, including five peers, apparently knew of any such portrait.
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