USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wakefield > History of Wakefield (Middlesex County) Massachusetts, compiled by William E. Eaton and History Committee > Part 4
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[ 48 ]
SOUTH READING-1812 TO 1868
false arrest, etc., and a new trial followed. Wiley again won his casè. This exciting episode was expensive to the First Parish for its defense of the Parson. The full course of the two trials appears in the Pickering's Reports Nos. 7 and 10.
THE SOUTH READING STAGE COACH COMPANY
It was in 1817, that the first stage that ever passed through Wakefield, regularly, commenced running once a week. Mr. O. B. Knapp was the owner, but in July, 1835, he sold to the South Reading Stage Co., as he was unable to make it remunerative. The property consisted of one stage, one stage sleigh, six horses and six harnesses, one wagon and harness, blankets, halters, lanterns, buffalo robes, etc.
The first Trustees of the Company were Benjamin B. Wiley, Peter B. Wiley, Joshua N. Eames, Leonard Wiley, Lilley Eaton, Clerk, and S. O. Richardson, Treasurer. Levi Flanders, who died December 4, 1881, was employed as driver at 25% of net profits. The stock was placed at $25 a share and purchased by many of the citizens of the town in lots varying from one to five shares. The expenses and other drawbacks proved too much for the profitable management of the business and the Company soon began to decline in prosperity. Major Suel Winn bought largely of the falling stock at five dollars a share, declaring his intention of keeping the Company alive. His efforts proved futile and the property was bought by Thomas Brown who ran the stage until the Boston and Maine Railroad was built in 1845.
Mr. Amos Butler, an uncle of Aaron Butler, ran a stage from Boston to South Reading in opposition to Thomas Brown and there was consider- able rivalry between them to secure passengers.
There were two bridges on the way to Boston, and at both bridges a toll had to be paid. The excitement of the day in those times was the arrival at the Quannapowitt House of the stages late in the afternoon. Mr. Butler ran his stage some months in opposition to the railroad, but finally gave up in favor of the "iron horse."
[ 49 ]
HISTORY OF WAKEFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
SALE OF A PEW IN FIRST BAPTIST MEETING HOUSE
September 21, 1829, Abel Bayrd of South Reading sold Pew Number 41 to John Rayner, consideration $45.
This pew was a wall pew on the "floor of the meeting house at the easterly end and northerly of the pulpit," and was in the first Meeting House of the Baptist Society built in 1800. It was in size 38 x 34 feet and located on the northerly side of Salem Street, between Main and Pleasant Streets.
This ancient edifice was totally destroyed by fire in 1835, and the second meeting house erected in 1836 on Main Street, corner of Crescent Street.
SECOND MEETING-HOUSE, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH (Destroyed by fire in 1871)
Was located at the corner of Main and Crescent Streets, on present site of Crystal Apartments.
[ 50 ]
SOUTH READING-1812 TO 1868
FIRST TOWN HOUSE
In 1834 the first Town House was erected on the site of the first Bury- ing Ground on Church Street, the bodies having been re-interred in the easterly part of the new second cemetery.
The building committee was Lilley Eaton, Ira Wiley, Benjamin B. Wiley, John Abbott and Adam Wiley. This committee made a contract with John Wiley "to built a cellar or basement story on the old Burial Lot for $310. The cellar shall be 60 feet long by 40 feet wide, the walls to be 8 feet in height in all parts, and the walls to the ground surface shall be 3 feet thick of good plaster or thick stones." Wiley also agreed "to fur- nish eight split stone pillars 8 feet in length and 1 foot square suitable to set under the centre of the house." Upon this foundation the Town House was built.
The building was of solid construction, served at first as a Centre School and in 1870 was removed to the corner of Main and Salem Streets. In its belfry the old Paul Revere bell was the only town fire alarm. The old building was torn down years ago.
The year 1844 was memorable for two great events. First: work was commenced on the new Boston and Main Railroad extension between Wilmington and Boston with train service the following year.
Second: the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Reading. The observance of this Bi-Centennial, on May 29, 1844, was jointly by the old South, North and West Parishes.
Church St. Wakefield, About 1860
NORTH SIDE OF CHURCH STREET BETWEEN LAKE AVENUE AND MAIN STREET (Painting by Joseph Payro)
The buildings here pictured are the third First Parish meeting-house; the old Parsonage, occupied for many years by Reuben Emerson, the pastor; the old town house; old brick fire station, and the blacksmith shop of John Hood (later Abner Hart's).
HISTORY OF WAKEFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
READING'S BI-CENTENNIAL 1844
It is fitting that this history should recall to the citizenry of Wakefield the stirring events that celebrated the two hundredth anniversary of the town, on May 29, 1844.
It was a notable occasion and it was also a forceful reminder, not merely a notice, but a challenge to "carry on" in 1944, a Tercentenary observance of the Past, Present and Future of the old Town. This chal- lenge will be met in the same effort and spirit that then animated the lives and deeds of men and women and their descendants for the longer period of three hundred years!
The sun shone on the people of Reading on May 29, 1844. The town turned out for a stirring holiday, gathering at Union Hall on Main Street. A colorful procession formed, with officers of the day, chaplains, members of committees, and a coach with soldiers of the Revolution; next came the "old folks" in costume, clergymen, physicians, lawyers, residents and invited guests-all with their ladies and under escort of the South Reading Rifle Greens and military companies from Medford and Woburn. To the music of the Malden Band, and the Marion Band of Woburn, the procession moved to the Common, under a banner "1844 Bi-Centennial." Here in an amphitheatre of raised, single and platform seats four thousand persons participated in an occasion long to be remembered.
Following an historical address by Rev. Dr. Flint of Reading, a poem by the Hon. Lilley Eaton, closing with
"Let us entreat our father's God, Who long has blest this fair abode, To scatter light and truth abroad; That future generations here . Shall so increase from year to year, To those rich treasures, stor'd in heaven,
To wisdom, knowledge, virtue given, That when the sun's revolving way Shall light our next centennial day, Spectators may with joy behold Those treasures grown a hundred fold."
Following exercises on the Common, the procession reformed and marched to a spacious pavilion, erected near the meeting house on Church Street, where sixteen hundred persons, including the children, enjoyed the good eats provided by a Boston caterer.
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SOUTH READING-1812 TO 1868
Next came speeches, prominent citizens and invited guests responding to regular and special toasts directed by Caleb Wakefield, Esq., president of the day. Many of these toasts contained the "challenge" previously mentioned and so are here quoted:
"The Town of Reading"-"May we so administer the inheritance which our fathers have left us, that our children, on some future occasion, may take as much pride in recalling the events of our local history, as we today are able to do."
His Excellency Governor Briggs responded to "The Ancient Town of Reading"-"After two hundred years of progress in the cause of education, and of civil and religious freedom, the sentinel from her watch-tower pro- claims 'all's well'; may the same cheerful cry be heard on the morning of her Third Centennial birthday."
Once again the Challenge confronts us!
In the following years there was intensive material progress: streets were laid out and named, school districts were established, Lakeside Cem- etery was organized (1846); the Yale engine was purchased in 1852, and a frame engine house erected on the site; the Eastern railroad was built from South Reading to Danvers; and beyond, a new almshouse was built (1856); the name "East Ward" was changed to Montrose (1859); the Common was fenced at a cost of $637.75, and the Jewish Cemetery was laid out in 1859, on the west shore of Lake Quannapowitt. Then came the Civil War of 1861-65, which is described in this volume under the heading of "Military History."
FIRST HIGH SCHOOL
The action of the town in 1847, regarding a High School, came on a report of a committee on new school houses, prior to the purchase of the buildings of the South Reading Academy on Crescent Street. This report reads :
"That they recommend to erect within 2 or 3 years for the East, West, North and South Districts and for the High School i.e. one for each be- tween 40 and 50 feet in length, and between 30 and 40 in breadth, 2 stories in height, with cellars under them, leaving the upper stories unfinished for the present; or in respect to the High School, as that now has no home, and a suitable room for it cannot be hired for less than $150 per year, the Committee would recommend the purchase of the Academy, land and buildings for this purpose.
[ 55 ]
HISTORY OF WAKEFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
"As the Academy building, which is 36 x 50 feet together with the lot of land upon which it stands, can now be bought for $2200, the Committee think it may be more economical to purchase this than to erect a new school for the High School.
"Also a portion of the Academy land may be sold for house lots if deemed expedient."
The town acted promptly and acquired the Academy property, thereby establishing the first High School.
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SOUTH READING ACADEMY BUILDINGS
In 1847 the town bought the South Reading Academy buildings on Crescent Street, and in the building to the left established the town's first High School-an English High School-as the records state. This building is now located on Foster Street and is the house of worship of the Methodist Church. The old Academy (right) was removed to Crescent Street for a fire station, and was later destroyed by fire.
[ 56 ]
SOUTH READING-1812 TO 1868
STONEHAM-WAKEFIELD BOUNDS- 1856 - 1899
For many years the western boundary line between South Reading and Stoneham extended from the lower end of Crystal Lake, northerly to a point only a short distance to the south of the present Wakefield Boston and Maine upper station; thence in a northwesterly direction to a stone boundary in the rear of number 26 Summit Avenue, and thence still north- westerly to the Stoneham bounds. All the territory west of Crystal Lake, the Lake and Albion Street sections, and a large part of the present Wake- field Park, was Stoneham's. South Reading coveted this section, and in 1856 acquired the southern portion by an Act of Legislature. Again, in 1889, Wakefield acquired the northerly part of 142 acres of Stoneham land, including the balance of Wakefield Park, to the town bounds as they exist this year, 194-4.
There have been two other changes in the boundary lines of the town. In 1726 the north part of Malden was set off to Reading. This is the Greenwood of the present time. In 1933 a portion of Saugus, known as Golden Hills was set off to Wakefield. This is situated east of Main Street at the south end of Greenwood.
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OLD BANK BUILDING
Now standing at the corner of Albion Street and North Avenue. The South Reading Mechanic and Agricultural Institution, incorporated in 1833, and the South Reading Bank, organized in 1854, had their banking rooms on the second floor. Everett W. Eaton opened a grocery store in 1864, on the first floor, where he conducted business for nearly half a century. In recent years, following several years of occupancy as a hardware store, the first floor space has remained unoccupied.
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HISTORY OF WAKEFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
THE CIVIL WAR 1861 - 1865
The story of the Civil War, the services rendered by soldiers, and the activities of the citizen have been elsewhere recorded. On the ever me- morable 19th of April, 1861, came the call and orders for the local military company-the Richardson Light Guard, to proceed to Washington. Three times this company responded for duty in the battle sections of the South, and rendered gallant service that was recognized at home by receptions, parades, banquets, etc. In Eaton's History of Reading, on page 600 and beyond, is an alphabetical list of South Reading persons who were in the military or naval service during the War of the Rebellion.
The close of the Civil War brought the town again to its normalcy. The Wakefield Real Estate and Building Association was established in 1864. The South Reading Bank changed its name to the National Bank of South Reading, (June 21, 1865).
An old house that stood where is now the Baptist Church was torn down in 1865. It was early used and known as Hale's Tavern, and was a famous local resort; had a most spacious hall used for dancing, Masonic lodge meetings, headquarters on training days and for many public meet- ings and gatherings. The Methodist Episcopal Church purchased Albion Hall (1869). A disastrous fire occurred in 1866 at the Boston & Maine Foundry. New buildings were erected the following year. H. M. Warren Post No. 12 was chartered in 1867. The Public Library took the name of the Beebe Library of Wakefield (1868), with Miss Victorine Marsh as librarian, who served until 1885. The Wakefield Savings Bank was incor- porated in 1869. Emmanuel Episcopal Society established a Mission in 1869.
In 1868 the Selectmen issued the last annual report of the "Selectmen of South Reading" as the town, from July 1, was henceforth known as Wakefield.
The inhabitants of South Reading had, for several years following the Civil War, considered a change in the corporate name. Following reports of committees and discussions in the local press, the time arrived for action. The Massachusetts Legislature accepted the request of South Reading and in 1868 the corporate name was changed to Wakefield.
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WAKEFIELD MASSACHUSETTS TERCENTENARY
,Legislative Act - February 25, 1868
"Be it enacted, etc.
"Section 1. The Town of South Reading, in the County of Middlesex, shall take the name of Wake- field.
"Section II. This Act shall take effect from and after the thirtieth day of June, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight."
1868-1944
INFLUENTIAL CITIZENS OF SOUTH READING IN 1868 When town changed its name to Wakefield Seated, left to right: Samuel Gardner, Lucius Beebe, Thomas Emerson, Lilley Eaton, Edward Mansfield. Standing: Cyrus Wakefield, George O. Carpenter.
CHAPTER THREE
Wakefield
Name Change - New Town Hall and Dedication Exercises - Town Hall Portraits - Chronological Progress Over Seventy-four Years
250th Anniversary in 1894 - Historical Pageant of 1934
WAKEFIELD 1868-1944
From today, June 30, 1868, it is the town of Wakefield now and for- ever! Time marches on! Yesterday it was South Reading; today it is the same town, but with an identity as an active and independent town. Its people are the same people. Its hills, valleys, lakes and rivers are the same. BUT, by an Act of the Legislature of Massachusetts, the town shall hence- forth bear the name of its most generous and influential citizen, Cyrus Wakefield, Esq.
We are now in the presence of that day July 4, 1868, the day of cele- bration, told in prose and verse, indelibly written on the pages of local history -- two hundred and twenty-four years from its very early begin- ning as an important community in the Commonwealth.
It was a day long to be remembered and revered. To the music of pealing bells, ushered in by a perfect blaze of sunshine, its citizens gathered for rejoicing, and for recognition of a great event, and of a com- mittee who "with diligence and faithfulness" had prepared the program of the day.
There was a morning concert on the Common by the Boston Brigade Band. Flags were flying over residences, and public buildings and business stores were beautified by the national colors and bunting, artistically dis- played. The entire population "took a day off" and actively, or inactively, participated in the various exercises of the occasion.
There was a grand parade with Mr. Wakefield riding in the carriage with the president of the day, Daniel Allen, Esq., and with the school children participating in a colorful procession that ended on the grounds of the old High School on Academy Hill on Crescent Street, earlier the site of the South Reading Academy and now occupied by the Lincoln School. Here, in a mammoth tent, were held the more formal exercises under guidance of the president of the day. Rev. Charles R. Bliss, pastor
[ 61 ]
Dedicated February 22, 1871 WAKEFIELD'S TOWN HALL
the
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WAKEFIELD-1868 TO 1944
of the First Congregational Church, offered prayer; Principal B. P. Snow of the High School read the Declaration of Independence, and the Hon. Lilley Eaton made a stirring historical address, followed by a poem by Mr. John Sullivan Eaton.
A collation for over one thousand participants, many being former res- idents of South Reading, closed the program of the day-"a most interest- ing and joyful occasion on a national holiday anniversary, and a new and memorable era in our local history."
WAKEFIELD'S TOWN HALL
The notable event following the town's change of name was the build- ing and dedication of a new town hall, the gift of land and building from Cyrus Wakefield, Esq., and the gift of the furnishings from Solon O. Richardson, Esq.
Seventy-three years ago, on February 22, 1871, occurred the dedica- tion. As early as 1867, and in anticipation of a transition from South Reading to Wakefield, the town, through a committee, had given consider- ation, to a change of name.
On January 20, 1868 two reports were submitted, and the town took prompt and favorable action on both. First, acceptance of the offer of Cyrus Wakefield of $30,000 to $50,000, or whatever sum might be needed, to build a town hall satisfactory to the town; and of the offer of Solon O. Richardson, Esq., of $1000 for furnishing and adorning the rooms. Second, acceptance of the committee's report that the town name shall be Wakefield. There was great unanimity and enthusiasm as these votes were passed and recorded. A building committee was appointed, made up of Cyrus Wakefield, Solon O. Richardson, Paul Hart Sweetser, Lilley Eaton, Daniel Allen, J. D. Mansfield, and Thomas Emerson, Jr.
The site selected was "Noah Smith House Lot" on the corner of Main and Water Streets, and the earlier site of the house of Reading's second minister, Rev. Samuel Haugh, who was ordained pastor in March, 1650. In his will, this house was left to his daughter, Elizabeth, wife of Captain John Herbert of Boston, who removed thereto.
The dedication took place under a cloudless sky. At two o'clock the new hall was crowded with the townspeople, and on the platform were Hon. P. H. Sweetser, president of the day; Cyrus Wakefield, Solon O. Richardson, town officers, and invited guests. Following the preliminaries came the reading of the deed to the town from Mr. Wakefield and his wife, Eliza A., of the land and building, in which it was recited that this was a /building designed for a Town House and for municipal purposes;
[ 63 ]
HISTORY OF WAKEFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
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THE WAKEFIELD MANSION - HOME OF CYRUS WAKEFIELD On Main Street, the present High School site
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WAKEFIELD-1868 TO 1944
but also with the desire and intent that such portions thereof as are adapted thereto, shall be, from time to time, devoted to use for patriotic, charitable, scientific, military, literary, aesthetic, educational, moral and religious purposes, and for meetings, lectures and addresses promotive thereof"- "as a free and unrestricted gift to the town."
Mr. Wakefield followed with an address in which he emphasized the duty of a citizen to his town, state and country, and his ideas of his per- sonal obligations to the town of his adoption and to its people. He laid stress upon the value of education in these words:
"And for myself, I can truly say, that though from early youth to the present time, my life has been one of constant, daily activity in business pursuits, yet have I never lost sight of the fact that all the blessings of social life are given us on one condition, that of intelligence, viz .: educa- tion-intellectual, moral, and religious. This truth, indelibly stamped upon my mind in early life, has been more and more deeply engraven there by the observation and reflection of maturer years. And today, more than ever before, do I love and respect that time-honored institution, established by our fathers, almost at the moment they set foot on this, our New Eng- land soil. I mean the common school. We are all proud of our free public schools-and justly so, for they make education co-extensive with the community. They place the children of the rich and the poor on an even level, as regards the advantages of intellectual culture. It is education, and its results of intelligence, which make labor reputable and the laborer re- spected, a result, which, in this country, gives the workingmen a place in society not merely as laborers-furnishing for others the comforts and luxuries of life-but as MEN, claiming an equal share in all the domestic, civil, and religious privileges of free men."
Richard Britton, chairman of the Selectmen, formally received the title-deed and the keys of the building with remarks expressing the thanks of the inhabitants of Wakefield for this magnificent gift. A dedication hymn by Hon. P. H. Sweetser, sung by the choir and children of. the public schools, under direction of Solon Walton, Esq., was followed by stirring addresses by Hon. Lilley Eaton (his last public appearance before his death) and others. The dedicatory banquet was in the upper hall, attended by four hundred citizens, and with toasts and responses under the direction of Hon. Thomas Winship as toastmaster. Thus closed one of the most memorable days in the history of our town-and the climax was three thundering cheers given to Mrs. Wakefield as the co-grantor of the gift of her husband.
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