USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newburyport > History of Newburyport, Mass., 1764-1905, Volume I > Part 26
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A committee, appointed to view the premises, reported, April 2, 1787, in favor of granting the prayer of the petition- ers. The street was laid out by the selectmen March 3, 1788, but it was not accepted until March twenty-sixth when the town " voted to discontinue that part of Woodman's lane laying to the southeast of Kent street, now laid out, and to the north- east of the cross wall at the head of the gully."3
1 " Ould Newbury," p. 277.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p.476.
3 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 510. In the same volume, page 514, is a plan of Kent street, with the bounds and courses, as laid out by the selectmen.
345
TOPPAN STREET
CARTER STREET.
A way from High street, between Kent and Broad streets, was laid out previous to 1830.1 The selectmen reported, April 1, 1851, in favor of accepting and grading the street, and their recommendation was adopted.2 At or about that date, the street was extended from Monroe street to Merri- mack street, but there is no record of its acceptance by the town.
WARREN AND DOVE STREETS.
These streets extending from New lane, now Monroe street, to Merrimack street, were laid out not later than 1830.1
[March 25, 1834] voted to accept Warren Street as a Town Way as laid down by George Burroughs.3
Subsequently Warren street was extended from Monroe street to Ocean street, and afterwards accepted and graded to Eagle street.2
BROAD STREET.
A way extending from High street, opposite Toppan's lane, to Merrimack street, was probably laid out soon after the incor- poration of Newburyport, but it was not made a public high- way until April 4, 1796.
Voted that the way or street called Broad street be allowed and ap- proved as laid out by the selectmen and reported to the Town and the same, with the plan thereof, be recorded with the Town records.4
TOPPAN STREET.
August 5, 1650, Edward Woodman sold to Henry Sewall land in Newbury, with a dwelling house and barn thereon, " bounded with ye land of Mr Edmund Rawson & John Pem- berton on the northwest, ye common on ye southwest, next to the
1 See map of Newburyport, p. 185.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. IV., p., 370.
3 Newburyport Town Records, vol. IV., p. 294.
4 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., pp. 126 and 135.
346
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
swamp commonly called the Aspen swamp, also ye street going down to the Aspen swamp on the southeast side."1 This street extended in a southwesterly direction from the country road, now High street, to Low street. In an agree- ment signed by Jacob Toppan, in 1670, " the street going down to the Aspen swamp" is called Woodman's lane.2 A few years later it was called Toppan's lane. In 1856, the name was changed to Toppan street.
The way extending from the lower end of Toppan's lane to Turkey hill, called Hale street, was laid out by the county commissioners in 1830.3
TYNG STREET.
As early as 1805, a four-rod way extended from High street to Merrimack street, between Broad street and what is now known as Oakland street, but the date when it was accepted by the town or received its present name is uncertain. July 5, 1805, Benjamin Choate sold a lot of land on the new street to Joseph Babson, Jr.4 March 13, 1823, Humphrey Webster sold to Dudley A. Tyng, Esq., land'bounded northwesterly by the unnamed street.5 In a deed from Edward Bass to William A. Cheney, dated December 13, 1830, the street is called Tyng street,6 and also in a deed from Edward Bass to Robert M. Merrill, dated May 17, 1841.7 It is therefore reasonable to suppose that the street received its present name previ- ous to the year 1830.
OAKLAND STREET.
In 1796, a way was laid out on the northwesterly side of the dividing line between Newburyport and Newbury, from
1 Essex Deeds (Ipswich Series), book I, p. 68 (212).
2 " Ould Newbury," p. 262.
3 Newburyport Herald, February 16 and March 12, 1830. See also map, p. 208.
4 Essex Deeds, book 176, leaf 190.
Joseph Babson, Jr., was a member of the " Dernier Resort Fire Society," and his place of residence was Tyng street when the by-laws of that society were re- vised and printed in 1816. (See records in possession of Oliver B. Merrill.)
5 Essex Deeds, book 231, leaf 291.
6 Essex Deeds, book 259, leaf 3.
7 Essex Deeds, book 325, leaf 258.
347
NORTH ATKINSON STREET
High street to Merrimack street, through land of Moses Moody.I In 1799, " a number of house lots on a new street forming the western boundary of Newburyport" were adver- tised for sale by James Kettell, auctioneer,2 and in 1801 a dwelling house on Merrimack street, " fronting North street," was sold by Stanton Prentiss.3
In 1851, North street ceased to be the dividing line between the towns of Newburyport and Newbury. October 4, 1852, the street, "known by the inhabitants of Newburyport as North street, and by the inhabitants of Newbury as Oakland street," was named Oakland street by the mayor and aldermen of the city of Newburyport.
WOODLAND STREET.
As early as 1641, the way, afterwards known as Poore's lane and Moody's lane, extending from the country road, now High street, to Merrimack river, was laid out for the convenience of travellers over the ferry, kept by George Carr, between Newbury and Salisbury.4
In 1843, the town of Newbury voted to widen Moody's lane at the request of David Wood who had recently pur- chased a number of acres of land on the northwesterly side of the lane, and soon after that date it was called Woodland street. After the annexation of a part of Newbury to New- buryport, the name was confirmed by a vote of the board of mayor and aldermen of the city of Newburyport.5
November 10, 1859, Woodland street was extended in an easterly direction from Merrimack street to Merrimack river.
NORTH ATKINSON STREET.
As early as 1730, Stephen Sawyer owned a dwelling house and land on the corner of the country road, now High street, and a way extending to Low street, called Sawyer's lane.6 In
1 History of Newbury (Currier), p. 238, note.
2 Newburyport Herald, March 15, 1799.
3 Newburyport Herald, May 22, 1801.
4 History of Newbury (Currier), pp. 437, 438.
" October 4, 1852.
6 History of Newbury (Currier), p. 390; Essex Deeds, book 64, leaf 273.
348
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
1816, Moses L. Atkinson purchased land on this lane, which was then called Sandy street.' It was subsequently extended in a westerly direction, to a way leading to Turkey hill, and called Atkinson street.2 After the annexation of a part of Newbury to Newburyport, in 1851, the name of the street was changed to North Atkinson street to distinguish it from a street bear- ing the same name near the centre of the city, extending from Strong street to Boardman street.
FORRESTER STREET.
June 6, 1859, the mayor and aldermen of the city of New- buryport, the common council concurring, laid out a way from High street to Merrimack street called Forrester street.
ASHLAND STREET.
In 1735, Josiah Pilsbury bought of Nathaniel Noyes a lot of land in Newbury with a dwelling house and barn thereon, bounded on the southwest by the country road, now High street, and on the northwest by a drift way extending to Merrimack river.3 This drift way was afterwards called Pils- bury's lane.4 It retained that name until after the annexation of a part of Newbury to Newburyport. October 4, 1852, the name was changed to Ashland street by the mayor and aldermen of the city of Newburyport.
JEFFERSON STREET.
In 1655, the town of Newbury laid out a new way through land of Lionel Worth, for the better accommodation of trav- ellers crossing the ferry at Carr's island.5 For more than a century it was called Ferry lane or " the way to the ferry." It extends from High street to Merrimack river. In 1814, it was called Jefferson street,6 and in 1839, Coffin's lane. It is
1 Essex Deeds, book 225, leaf 244, and book 236, leaf 80.
2 See map, p. 208.
3 Essex Deeds, book 72, leaf 120.
4 History of Newbury (Currier), p. 486, note.
a History of Newbury (Currier), p. 437.
6 See advertisement of sale of land on Jefferson street in Newburyport Hera'd, November 22, 1814.
349
PROSPECT STREET
now within the limits of Newburyport and is known as Jef- ferson street, the name having been confirmed by a vote of the mayor and aldermen of the city of Newburyport passed October 4, 1852.
STREETS BELOW STATE STREET PARALLEL TO HIGH STREET.
Many of the streets on the southeasterly side of State street, running parallel to High street, were laid out by the selectmen of Newbury previous to the incorporation of Newburyport. Most of these streets were named at a very early date, and some of them several times renamed.
August 5, 1793, the inhabitants of Newburyport voted to place, at the corner of every street, a sign-board bearing the name of the street, and appointed a committee to select appro- priate names for streets not previously named.'
None of the houses, and only a few of the stores on State street and Market square, were numbered until March 30, 1846, when the selectmen were directed to affix a number to every house and store within the limits of the town.2
PROSPECT STREET.
A way, one and one-half rods wide, from Fish, now State, street to King, now Federal, street, was accepted by the town of Newbury March 15, 1749-50, and called Prospect street.
March 22, 1802, the inhabitants of Newburyport accepted a way laid out by the selectmen, from Federal street to Lime street, called Roberts street.3
May 12, 1828, Newbury street, extending from Lime street to South, now Bromfield, street, was accepted by the town of Newburyport.4
February 2, 1874, the mayor and aldermen of the city of Newburyport made Roberts and Newbury streets a part of
1 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., p. 75.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. IV., p. 250.
3 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., p. 263.
4 Newburyport Town Records, vol. III., p. 186.
350
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
Prospect street which now extends from State street to Brom- field street.I
TEMPLE STREET.
A way beginning at the northerly corner of Benjamin Balch's house or shop, on Fish, now State, street, and running in a southeasterly direction to the easterly corner of Moses Frazier's house, and thence in the same general direction to the easter- ly corner of Mark Fitz's house, thence to the easterly corner of Nathaniel Tilton's house, thence to a post on land owned by John Adams, and thence to the easterly corner of Andrew Hills' house, standing on King, now Federal, street, was laid out by the selectmen and accepted by the inhabitants of New- buryport March 8, 1774, and called Temple street, a name it still retains.2 It was probably a private way for several years previous to 1774.3
CHARTER STREET.
August 15, 1805, a two-rod way extending from State street to Fair street, called Charter street, was accepted by the inhab- itants of Newburyport.4
ESSEX STREET.
April 4, 1796, Essex street, extending from State street to Fair street, was accepted as laid out by the selectmen of New- buryport.5
MIDDLE STREET.
Fawn Clements and Cutting Noyes of Newbury and Zacha- riah Fitch and Jacob Sheaf of Boston agreed, July 1, 1724, to lay down a two-rod way through their own land, from Fish, now State, street to Chandler's lane, now Federal street.6 In
1 Newburyport City (Highway) Records.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., pp. 186 and 221.
3 Essex Deeds, book 132, leaves 102 and 180.
4 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., pp. 321 and 322.
5 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., pp. 126 and 133.
6 Essex Deeds, book 42, leaf 247.
35I
WATER STREET
1782, this way was called Cross street. In 1793, and perhaps earlier, it was called Middle street.
LIBERTY STREET.
March 22, 1769, the inhabitants of Newburyport granted the petition of Captain Marquand and others and accepted a street laid down by them, called Liberty street.' This street extended from Federal street to Centre street.
March 28, 1832, the petition of William Bartlet and others was presented, praying the town to accept a lot of land extend- ing from Market square to Liberty street and lay it down as a public highway.2 March 27, 1833, the selectmen were instruct- ed to accept the land, lay out the way, and widen Liberty street from Centre street to Fair street.3 Subsequently, an attempt to straighten the lines and widen the street from Fair street to Federal street was defeated.
WATER STREET.
The way along the river side, from Market square to the foot of Marlborough street, forms a part of the way laid out, in 1739-40, by the selectmen of Newbury " from peirces farm [at the foot of Rolfe's lane, now Ocean avenue] up to Ord- way's lane, formerly so called."4 It was evidently used as a highway many years previous to that date. After the incor- poration of Newburyport, in 1764, a petition was presented to the selectmen of that town for a re-location of the street near its junction with Market square.
At the Request of Divers Inhabitants of the Town of Newbury Port, we the selectmen of said Newbury Port have this Day layed out all the Land in or upon what is called Merrimack street,5 from Capt. Daniel Marquand's House as far as the Rev. Mr. Cary's Meeting House6 bound-
1 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 128.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. III., p. 230.
3 Newburyport Town Records, vol. III., p. 259.
4 History of Newbury (Currier), p. 427.
5 Now Water street.
6 In Market square.
352
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
ed on each side by the Houses and Fences as they now stand for a way for the use of the Town forever, it having been as such Time immemorial.
WM ATKINS Selectmen CUTTING BARTLET
Dated at Newburyport
the 6th of March 1771.1
Newburyport.
July 14, 1790, Capt. David Coats, Jonathan Marsh, Nathan Hoyt, Andrew Frothingham and Capt. Anthony Knap were appointed a committee to examine the highway " called Merri- mack street," between Moody's lane and the lower long wharf, and ascertain what encroachments, if any, have been made upon it:2 The committee reported the result of their investi- gations March 8, 1791, and submitted a plan of the highway drawn by Joseph Somerby, surveyor. A copy of this plan is reproduced on the opposite page.
ORANGE STREET.
March 12, 1783, the inhabitants of Newburyport accepted Orange street, extending from Fair street to Federal street.3
SPRING STREET.
September 21, 1797, a street, laid out by the selectmen of Newburyport, from Fair street to Federal street, was accepted and called Spring street.4
MILK STREET.
March 22, 1802, the street, called Milk street, extending from Federal street to Lime street was accepted by the inhab- itants of Newburyport, and, May 22, 1806, the street was ex- tended from Lime street to South, now Bromfield, street.5
ATWOOD STREET.
A way extending from King, now Federal, street to Lime street, on the northeasterly side of Milk street, was laid out
1 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 150.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., p. 18.
3 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 397.
4 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., p. 165.
5 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., pp. 258, 263 and 339.
....
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MERRIMACK STREET, NOW WATER STREET, FROM FEDERAL TO STATE STREET, 1791.
FEDERAL STREET
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Mr. Moody's House.
Moody's House.
House.
354
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
previous to 1770. It was called Ann street for nearly a cen- tury. In 1856, or in 1857, the name was changed to Atwood street.
SCHOOL STREET.
In 1753, Dea. Joshua Beck owned land on a two-rod way, extending from King, now Federal, street to Lime street, on the northeasterly side of Ann, now Atwood, street.1
July 20, 1764, Stephen Cross conveyed a lot of land on this two-rod way to Nathaniel Carter, treasurer of the town of New- buryport, and a schoolhouse was built there the following year.
At or about that date the two-rod way was called School street, a name that it has since retained.
BECK STREET AND SHIP STREET.
[March 9, 1775] Voted to accept a way laid out from King street to Pudding lane, so called, agreeable to the plan exhibited now to the town.2
This way, subsequently named Beck street, extends from King, now Federal, street to Lime street. Pudding lane, run- ning parallel with King street, extended from Water street to Beck street.3 It was afterward called Ship lane, and is now known as Ship street. Beck street was extended from Ship lane to Lime street in 1796, and accepted by the inhabitants of Newburyport May 8, 1797.4
PURCHASE STREET.
Adelphi street, now a part of Purchase street, was probably laid out by the town of Newbury, in 1825, from South, now Bromfield, street to the first Methodist Episcopal meeting house in Newbury.5 At a meeting held March 10, 1829, the town voted to lay out a way from the southeast end of Adel-
1 " Ould Newbury," p. 518.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., pp. 227 and 229.
3 " A dwelling house in Pudding Lane " was advertised for sale in the Essex Journal and New Hampshire Packet, January 30, 1777. For terms and condition of sale the reader was referred to Nicholas Pettingall.
4 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., pp. 151 and 154.
a History of Newbury (Currier), p. 387.
355
PLEASANT STREET
phi street to Washington, now Madison, street, “ being a con- tinuation of the said Adelphi street." January 2, 1834, the selectmen extended the way from Washington, now Madison, street to Marlborough street, but no record of its acceptance by the town of Newbury has been found.
November 15, 1833, the county commissioners laid out a way in Newburyport from Lime street to Franklin street,1 and August 12, 1834, this way, called Purchase street, was extended to South, now Bromfield, street.2
September 6, 1852, after the annexation of a part of New- bury and the acceptance of a city charter by the inhabitants of Newburyport, Adelphi and Philadelphia streets were made a part of Purchase street, which now extends from Lime street to Marlborough street.3
STREETS ABOVE STATE STREET PARALLEL TO HIGH STREET.
The first street on the northwesterly side of State street, running parallel to High street, was laid out from State street to Green street through land owned by Mary Hooper, Nico- las Pike and others, and called Harris street. It was accept- ed by the inhabitants of Newburyport March 17, 1796.4
PLEASANT STREET.
At a meeting of the Third Religious Society of Newbury- port, now the North Congregational society, held March 31, 1769, a committee was appointed " to agree with Capt. Joseph Titcomb to lay down a lane through his land for one year on the northwest side of the meeting house" from Queen, now Market, street to what is now Titcomb street.5 This lane or alley was four feet wide and used by foot passengers only.6 It was laid out thirty feet wide April 20, 1833, by the selectmen of Newburyport, and called Berry street.7 The way from State
1 Newburyport Town Records, vol. III., p. 282.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. III., p. 302.
3 Newburyport City (Clerk's) Records, vol. I.
4 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., pp. 124 and 132.
5 Forty years in the Ministry, by Rev. L. F. Dimmick, p. 6.
6 Communication published in Newburyport Herald January 15, 1833.
7 Newburyport Town Records, vol. III., pp. 262 and 267.
356
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
street to Green street was laid out March 17, 1796, and called Pleasant street.ª Brown square, between Green and Titcomb streets, was laid out by Moses Brown in 1802.2 In 1883, the way extending from State street, through Brown square and Berry street, was called Pleasant street.
MARKET SQUARE AND LANDING PLACE.
May 11, 1771, the selectmen of Newburyport laid out a town way or landing place, extending from Merrimack street to Merrimack river. This way was accepted March 2, 1772.3
A way, "beginning six feet from the easterly corner of Thos. Woodbridge's house on Fish street," and thence running by certain designated bounds and courses "to the southerly end of Mr. Cary's meeting house," was accepted by the inhabitants of Newburyport March 8, 1774. It now forms a part of Market square.4
MERRIMACK STREET.
As early as 1645, " the way by the river," now called Mer- rimack street, extending from the foot of Greenleaf's lane, now State street, to the foot of Ordway's lane, now Market street, was used as a public highway.
March 11, 1714-5, a two-rod way was laid out from the foot of Ordway's lane to the foot of Kent's lane, now Kent street, by the selectmen of the town of Newbury.5
A few years after that date, the way from the foot of Kent street to the foot of North, now Oakland, street, was proba- bly laid out, but the date when it was accepted by the town of Newbury or the town of Newburyport is uncertain.
At a meeting of the inhabitants of the last-named town, held March 18, 1807, "To see if they will allow and approve of that part of Merrimack street which is situate between
1 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., pp. 124 and 134.
2 "Ould Newbury," p. 635.
3 See pp. 131 and 134.
4 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 186.
5 History of Newbury (Currier), p. 426.
357
WASHINGTON STREET
Kent street and the boundary line between Newburyport and Newbury," the subject was referred to an adjourned meeting and ultimately dismissed without further consideration.' June 26, 1809, the inhabitants of Newburyport voted to dismiss the second article in the warrant for the meeting held that day, which reads as follows :-
To see if the Town will allow and approve of that part of Merrimack street which lies between the boundary line of the town and Kent's landing as laid out by the selectmen on the 13th of June instant agree- able to a plan now presented.2
The way from the foot of North, now Oakland, street to the foot of Poore's lane, now Woodland street, and thence through what is now Merrimack court to Moggaridge's point and the landing at the foot of Pilsbury's lane, now Ashland street, was within the limits of the town of Newbury until 1851. A wider and more convenient way, from the foot of Poore's lane to the foot of Pilsbury's lane, was laid out in 1783, and December 13, 1802, this way was extended to the Essex-Merrimack bridge.3
After the incorporation of Newburyport, this street or way was called Merrimack street from Market square to the Essex- Merrimack bridge.
WASHINGTON STREET.
In 1782, a two-rod way, from Green street to Market street, was laid out by the selectmen of Newburyport, and called Union street.
[March 21, 1782] Voted that the street called Union street be allowed and approved as laid out & reported by the selectmen & that the same with a plan annexed thereto be recorded in the records of the Town.4
May 12, 1800, a street, extending from Winter street to Boardman street, was accepted by the inhabitants of Newbury-
1 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., p. 344.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., p. 388.
3 History of Newbury (Currier), p. 430.
4 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 376.
358
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
port and called Washington street.1 May 30, 1823, a street from Boardman street to Olive street was accepted and called Adams street.2
In 1839, a street from Market street to Winter street, con- necting the westerly end of Union street with the easterly end of Washington street, was laid out by the selectmen and ac- cepted by the town of Newburyport.3
In 1852, the street formed by the union of Adams, Wash- ington and Union streets, extending from Green street to Olive street, was called Washington street.4 December 30, 1861, Washington street was extended, by the city council of Newburyport, to Buck street and thence, through land owned by the city, to Kent street.
GREENLEAF STREET.
In 1805, action on a motion to direct the surveyor of highways to lay out a way on the west side of Frog pond, " agreeably to the petition of Moses Brown and others," was indefinitely post- poned.5 No further action was taken until thirty years later, when the way was laid out by the selectmen.
[April 15, 1839] Voted to request the selectmen to name the street leading from Pond street to Leverett street Chickering street.6
Subsequently, Chickering street was extended from Pond street to the Newburyport turnpike, now State street. In 1860, the way from Leverett, now Auburn, street to the turnpike was called Greenleaf street.
AUBURN STREET.
A way from High street to what is now Pond street, and thence through Low street to Common pasture, was laid out soon after the incorporation of Newburyport. In 1838, the
1 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., pp. 221 and 226.
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