USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Sketches of Boston, past and present, and of some places in its vicinity > Part 32
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33
Prominent among these residences of the ROYALISTS of olden time, is that of Col. John Vassall, which became, in July, 1775, the headquarters of General WASHINGTON ; an edifice even more elegant and spacious than its fellows, standing at a little distance from the street, surrounded with shrubbery and stately elms. At this mansion and at Winter Hill, in Som- erville, Washington passed most of his time, after taking command of the 'Continental army, until the evacuation of Boston, in the following spring. "The mansion stands upon the upper of two terraces, which are ascend- ed each by five stone steps. At each front corner of the house is a lofty elin, - inere saplings when Washington beheld them, but now stately and patriarchal in appearance. Other elms, with flowers and shrubbery, beau- tify the grounds around it; while within iconoclastic innovation has not been allowed to enter with its mallet and trowel, to mar the work of the ancient builder, and to cover with the vulgar stucco of modern art the
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carved cornices and panelled wainscots that first enriched it. There might be given a long list of eminent persons whose former presence in those spa- cious rooms adds interest to retrospection, but they are elsewhere identified with scenes more personal and important." The present owner is Profes- sor Henry W. Longfellow.
WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS.
In connection with Washington's Headquarters, as an object of interest to the stranger, should be mentioned the WASHINGTON ELM, beneath whose broad shadow, says tradition, he first pitched his tent, and drew his sword in the cause of freedom, on the 3d of July, 1775. It stands on Garden street, near the westerly corner of the Common; and may proba- bly have belonged to the primeval forest. " Amid the changes which have taken place in the world, and particularly in America and New England, it has stood like a watchinan ; and if it could speak, it would be an inter- esting chronicler of events. The early settlers of this country had hardly finished their rude log houses before they proposed to make the village in which it stands the metropolis of the country ; and but few years elapsed before they laid the foundation of Harvard College so near it that it may almost be shaded by its branches. Not far from it was the spot where the public town-meetings were held; and also the tree under which the Indian council-fires were lighted, more than two hundred years ago. When the drum was used in Cambridge, instead of the bell, to summon the congre- gation to the place of worship, or to give warning of a savage enemy, the sound floated throughout its trailing limbs; and when the officers of the
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College discharged the duty of inflicting corporal punishment on young men with their own hands, who knows but their lugubrious lamentations may have mingled with the breezes that disturbed its foliage? Of how many College sports and tricks might it tell; such deeds, too, as no one who had not been educated in the halls of Old Harvard would ever have dreamed of? Among the graver subjects of which it might make report are the lessons of truth and piety which fell from the lips of Whitefield, when he stood in its shade and moved a vast multitude by his eloquence. And subsequently, it seems, it has been heralding war and liberty ; for the revolutionary soldiers who stood shoulder to shoulder, - blessings be on their heads, - tell us that when Washington arrived at Cambridge, he drew his sword, as Commander-in-chief of the American army, for the first time beneath its boughs, and resolved within himself that it should never be sheathed till the liberties of his country were established. Glorious old tree, that hast stood in sight of the smoke of Lexington and Bunker's Hill battles, and weathered the storms of many generations, - worthy of rev- erence. Though in the spirit of modern improvement, guide-boards may be nailed to thy trunk, thou pointest to the past and to the future. All around are scattered memorials of what has been. Generations of men have died and been buried, and soldiers of the revolution sleep near thee. Thou lookest down upon monuments in the churchyard, robbed of their leaden armorial bearings that they might be converted into musket-balls in the day of our national poverty and struggle ; and the old spikes still fast- ened into the beams of Massachusetts Hall tell of suspended hammocks where the weary soldier took his rest. Across the river, where one Black. stone lived, and where Governor Winthrop took up his residence, because he found a good spring of water there, the forest has been cut away, the In- dian wigwam has disappeared, and a city grown up, containing 138.000 in- habitants, whose sails whiten every sea, whose inerchants are princes, and whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth. May no unkind hand inar the last tree of the native forest. Though it may have stood century after century, like a sentinel on duty, defying the lightning and the storm, still let it stand, an interesting and sacred memorial of the past and the present, and continue to be associated, for many years to come, with the history of our country. And let the illustrious name which it bears, and which it derives from one of the most important events in the life of the Father of his country, preserve it to remind the coming generations of his invaluable services and labors."
In 1777, Cambridge became the headquarters of another army ; but how different in character and circumstances from that which had been gath. ered here some two years previous, radiant with hope, and impatient for an opportunity to close in deadly conflict with the enemies of their coun- try. Who would have recognized in these dispirited troops, - which now sought a temporary resting-place before their final departure from a land
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which they had failed to conquer, - the once proud army of BURGOYNE ? And yet it was even so. They had experienced the uncertain fate of war, and had been forced to pass beneath the yoke with which they had so con- fidently threatened their present victors. The officers and men were, with some difficulty, furnished with suitable accommodations, under the super- intendence of General HEATH, and the sequestrated dwellings of the Roy- alists were again appropriated to the use of the sons of Mars. A few rods above the residence of Professor Longfellow, is the house in which the Brunswick General, the Baron Riedesel, and his family, were quartered, during the stay of the captive army in this vicinity, -"one of the best houses in the place," writes the Baroness, " which belonged to Royalists." The subjoined view of its southern front is from a pencil sketch by Mr. Longfellow.
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RIEDESEL HOUSE.
"In style it is very much like that of Washington's headquarters, and the general appearance of the grounds around is similar. It is shaded by noble linden-trees, and adorned with shrubbery, presenting to the eye all the attractions noticed by the Baroness of Riedesel in her charming let- ters. Upon a window-pane, on the north side of the house, may be seen the undoubted autograph of that accomplished woman, inscribed with a diamond point. It is an interesting memento, and is preserved with great care " by the present occupant, Francis Bowen, Esq., the awe-inspiring Editor of the North American Review.
The present Constitution of Massachusetts was framed by a Convention, which assembled at Cambridge, on the Ist of September, 1779. The in- habitants of this town, " willing to give up their own opinion in lesser matters, in order to obtain a government whose authority might not be dis-
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puted, and which they wished might soon be established," while they offered several amendments for the consideration of a future Convention. instructed their representative, " in their name and behalf, to ratify and confirm the proposed form, whether the amendments be made, or not " : and in the memorable Insurrection of 1756, the same patriotic sentiments which had actuated them on former occasions were exhibited in a vote of the town, expressing " their attachment to the present constitution and administration of government," and declaring their aversion to the use of any irregular means for compassing an end already provided for by the Constitution ; " as we know," say they, "of no grievances the present system of government is inadequate to redress."
This town has ever been remarked for its exemplary observance of the laws for the maintenance of the poor; of which the proportion, from va- rious causes, has generally been large, while the provision for their subsis. tence and comfort has always been competent. The earliest Alms-house in Cambridge, of which there is any record, was purchased of Deacon Samuel Whittemore, in 1779, at an expense of £ 37 10s., and stood at the corner of Brighton and South streets, in Ward One. The second is still standing, at the northeasterly corner of the Race-course, and was pur- chased, repaired, and devoted to the use of the poor in 1786; £ 60 being paid to the former proprietor, Dr. William Ganlage, for the estate, which comprised nearly five acres of land. Upon the division of the town in 1807, and the incorporation of Brighton and West Cambridge, the Alnis. house was left in a remote part of the present city, and the rapid progress of the eastern section (Cambridge Port) rendered its transfer to that quar- ter a measure of obvious expediency. The first brick Alms-house was ac- cordingly erected in Ward Two, in the year 1818, at an expense, for house and land, of about $ 6,600. At the opening of this house, (which stood on the corner of Norfolk and Harvard streets.) September 17, 1818, a formal address was made to the inmates, by Royal Makepeace, Chairman of the Board of Overseers, and a sermon delivered by the Rev. Dr. Holmes. which was published. This building having been destroyed by fire, in 1836, a new one was erected, at an expense of more than $ 7,000, on the bank of the river, between Western Avenue and River Street.
The NEW ALMS.HOUSE, recently erected, is finely situated, on the road leading to West Cambridge, in the extreme northwestern section of the city, about two miles from its centre ; and within sight of the spot where the second establishment was located, more than sixty years ago. It is built upon an upland, of moderate elevation, and commands a perfect view of the whole farm upon which it stands. It is constructed of stone, taken from the quarry on the farm, within twenty rods of the building; a material of greater solidity and endurance than any other which could easily have been obtained, and well agreeing with the spirit and design of such an institution. The edifice presents, outwardly, that plain, massive,
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substantial appearance, so singularly appropriate in structures of this character. It consists of a central building, four stories in height, having four circular quadrant corners, and measuring 60 feet square outside its walls. The first story is 9 feet 6 inches high, the second and third sto. ries each 10 feet, and the fourth story 18 feet. The roof is hipped on all sides, and rises to meet an octagonal observatory of 16 feet square, which is surmounted by an ornamental vane. Three wings radiate from three of the sides of the central building, each three stories in height, beside attics. Two of the wings measure 40 feet square ; the first story of each is 9 feet 6 inches high, the second and third stories each 10 feet, and the attic story 9 feet. The third wing measures 40 by 30 feet square ; the first, second, and third stories are of the same height as those in the other wings ; the attic story is 8 feet high, only. The roofs of all three wings have pedi- ment ends. The east wing is appropriated to males, the west to females, and the south exclusively to the accommodation of the keeper's family. In the third story of the building are rooms appropriated exclusively to the American poor. Here are hospitals, male and female, apartments for the sick, &c., &c. The fourth story is occupied by a fine Chapel, which extends over the whole octagonal floor of the central building, terminating only with the roof.
The farmn on which the present Alms-house stands was purchased in 1819, for $ 12,000. It contains 33 acres, and is situated partly in Somer- ville. Alewive Brook forins part of its western boundary. The soil is of a warm and early character, a portion being a sandy loam. There is a small quantity of marsh, easily convertible into meadow. On the premi- ses is a quarry of Argillaceous Slate, of superior quality, as also beds of sand, suited for building purposes. The various advantages of this loca- tion, - its pure water, its fishery, its warm, rich soil, and its valuable ledge of stone, - with the inadequate accommodations of the building on Western Avenue, and other considerations, sufficiently obvious, soon in- duced the belief that it would be the part of wisdom, no less than of econ- omy, to erect on the City Farm, as soon as practicable, a building of such materials, and on such a plan, as should unite permanency of structure with the greatest possible convenience of arrangement. The result was the present edifice ; which was designed by the Rev. Louis Dwight and J. L. F. Bryant, of Boston, and erected at a cost of about $ 30.000.
The "Indigent Sick," not on the town's list, are, in a considerable measure, provided for by voluntary charity. The relief of this class of the poor is the special object of "The Cambridge Humane Society," formed in the year 1814; as also of " The Female Humane Society of Cambridge," established soon afterwards.
Before the erection of a bridge across Charles River to Boston, the lands in the eastern part of Cambridge were chiefly valued for the hay and forage afforded by the salt-marshes, which extended to a great distance from the
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banks of the river, composing, indeed, a principal part of this district. The grounds being low, without roads, and with no means of communica- tion with Boston, save by boats, or the circuitous route of Charlestown or Roxbury, the situation was far from inviting, and it remained almost an isolated tract, detached from every other. In the course of a year very few persons passed down into "The Neck," as it was called, unless for farming purposes, or for fishing and fowling. Below the seat of the late Chief Justice Dana, (on Dana Hill,) there were but four dwelling-houses, - one on the Inman place, lately owned and occupied by Samuel P. Allen, Esq. ; one nearly opposite, on a farm of Judge Dana, formerly the Soden farm, south of the main road; one on the Phips farm, owned by Mr. An- drew Boardman ; and one at Lechmere's Point.
There had been considerable effort to have the first bridge over Charles River carried from West Boston to Cambridge; but the expediency of making the first experiment across the narrower part of the river, to Charlestown, was so apparent, that the (then) town of Boston expressed an opinion almost unanimous (1,238 to 2) in favor of the latter course, and the bridge was accordingly erected " in the place where the Ferry between Boston and Charlestown was kept." This great undertaking (as it was then considered) having been successfully accomplished, a number of gentlemen were incorporated, March 9th, 1792, for the purpose of building a bridge from what was called Pest-house Point, at the west end of Cam- bridge street, over Charles River, to the opposite shore in Cambridge. The causeway, on the Cambridge side, was begun July 15, 1792, and suspended after the 26th of December, till the 20th of March, 1793, when the work was resumed. The wood-work of the bridge was begun the 8th of April, 1793, and the bridge and causeway opened for passengers the 23d of No- vember following, being seven months and a half froin the time of laying the first pier.
The building of West Boston Bridge, as it was called, had a very perceivable influence on the traudle of Cambridge, which had previously been inconsiderable. By bringing the travel from the northward and west- ward through the centre of the town, it lent a fresh impulse to business in that quarter, while at the same time it gave rise to a thriving trade in the immediate vicinity of the bridge; where a store way erected and opened, by Messrs. Vose and Makepeace, in December, 1793, within a month after the opening of the bridge. This was the first framed building set up be- tween Old Cambridge and Boston after the opening of the great road. The following year a large house, designed for a tavern, was built by Leonard Jarvis, Esq., and soon after were erected six other houses and stores. In January, 1801, the Inman Farm, so called, was divided into lots, and sold to numerous purchasers ; and from this time the settlement rapidly in- creased. Several large stores were put up the next year, and soon after dwelling houses, principally built and occupied by young men, from vari-
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ous parts of the Commonwealth, who came here to establish themselves in business. In 1802, a school-house was built, on a piece of land presented to the town for that purpose by Mr. Andrew Boardman. Its cost was about $ 600, of which sum upwards of $ 300 were paid by the Town of Cam- bridge, and the remainder was contributed by the inhabitants. In 1804, a large quantity of land was laid out into house-lots, and the settlement, hitherto confined to one street, extended rapidly on all sides. Streets were now opened in all directions ; ditches were dug, and dikes thrown up, to drain off the waters, and to prevent future inundation ; canals were cut, communicating with Charles River, of a sufficient depth for coasting-ves- sels ; and wharves were built on the margins, for their accommodation.
In 1805, an Act was passed by the Congress of the United States, making Cambridge a Port of Entry ; from which circumstance this section of the town thenceforth took the name of CAMBRIDGE. PORT. In June of the same year, Royal Makepeace and others were incorporated by the General Court, for the purpose of building a Meeting-house, and supporting public worship therein, under the name of " The Cambridge-Port Meeting-house Corporation." In 180G, a spacious brick Meeting-house, furnished with an organ and a bell, was erected on a square of about two acres, which had been laid out for public uses ; and on the first day of January following, it was dedicated to the worship of God with appropriate ceremonies. This year (1806) and the two preceding, witnessed a great accession to the set- tlement, both in population and in buildings. Blore than one hundred and twenty houses and stores, many of them brick, were erected during this period. Within the space of about five years previous to January 1, 1S07, upwards of one hundred families had settled here, and the number of in, habitants at this time was estimated at more than one thousand.
On the Ist of March, 1808, an Act was passed by the General Court, set- ting off the easterly part of Cambridge into a Parish, by the name of Cambridge-Port Parish; and on the 2d day of February, 1809, the Cam- bridge-Port Meeting-house Corporation conveyed the Meeting-house, organ, bell, &c., to the new Parish, and itself became extinct. From the time of the dedication of the house, in 1807, Divine Service had been con- stantly performed therein, at the expense of the Corporation ; but from this period it was supported by the Parish. On the 14th of July, 1809, a Church, principally composed of members dismissed and recommended from other Churches, was gathered and organized ; and on the 19th of Jan- uary, 1814, the Rev. Thomas B. Gannett was ordained their first Pastor.
In 1809, a large school-house was erected on land presented to the town by Judge Dana. It cost upwards of $ 800, above $ 300 of which were paid by the Town, and the remainder by the District. Cambridge-Port Parish was this year divided into two School Districts, and a permanent school in each ordered to be kept, under the direction of a School Committee annu- ally chosen by the Town. In 1810, a bridge was built across Charles River,
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between Cambridge-Port and Brighton, and a road made at an expense of between nine and ten thousand dollars; one half of which was defrayed by subscription of individuals at Cambridge-Port, and the other part by the proprietors of the West Boston Bridge.
The original projectors of the now flourishing settlement at " the Port," were far from realizing the bright anticipations which had lured them on, step by step, in the prosecution of their extensive plans. The enter. prise, although, for a while, apparently crowned with success, proved to have been premature, and resulted in serious embarrassment and loss to those concerned ; while, in the fearful reaction which followed, many a purse was drained, and many a worthy man plunged in irretrievable ruin. But notwithstanding a protracted season of lethargic inactivity, during which all life and exertion seemed to have been paralyzed beneath the weight of some mysterious incubus ; and although the opening of Quincy Market, in Boston, and the construction of the numerous lines of Railway which centre in the metropolis, have almost annihilated her once extensive trade with the country towns, even as far back as the borders of Vermont. and New Hampshire ; - " the Port " still continues to be the principal bu- siness section of the city, and the last five years have witnessed a great change in its appearance and prospects.
As in the case of Ward Two, the settlement of that part of Cambridge which now constitutes the Third Ward was coeval with, and must be at- tributed to, the opening of a new avenue of communication with the neigh- boring town of Boston; although a Causey to Lechmere Point had been built many years previous, and several houses had been erected in this otherwise desolate region : - one, the elegant seat of Col. Spencer Phips, afterwards Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts, which was destroyed by fire many years since. In the year 1808, a bridge was built over Charles River, from Barton's Point, in Boston, to Lechmere's Point, in Cambridge ; and on the 3d of March, 1810, the " Lechmere Point Corporation " was incorporated. Several dwelling-houses and other buildings were soon erected near the bridge, and in 1813, the sum of $ 50 was granted by the Town "for providing a school at Lechmere Point." The population of this section, which did not now exceed twenty families, increased rapidly during the next two years; and as the disadvantages of its isolated situa- tion became more apparent, the claims of the inhabitants upon the Town became more frequent and urgent, until, in May, 1817, a report of the Se- lectinen, recommending " the erection of a School District at Lechmere Point," was accepted, and $ 100 appropriated " for the support of a school that season." The boundaries of the District, however, were not defined until June, 1818, when " all that part of the Town of Cambridge lying north of Broad Canal, and east of North Canal and the creek leading there. from to Miller's River," was established as the fifth School District of Cam- bridge. The Town also granted $ 400 towards the erection of a school-
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house, and the District having raised an additional sum for the same object, a one-story building, 42 feet by 22, was erected on a lot of land presented by the "Lechmere Point Corporation."
The first Grammar School in the District was established in 1819. On the 22d of May, 1822, the Lechmere Point Library Association was insti- tuted. In 1825, a handsome two-story building, with a cupola, was erected, at an expense (including the land) of $1,469, which, for several years, was the best school-house within the limits of the town. The highly ben- eficial effects of a measure adopted by the Town in 1834, were visible here as elsewhere, in promoting the prosperity of the public schools. The old-fashioned District system was abolished, and the town was divided into three Wards, as at present constituted ; and all prudential duties relating to the schools devolved upon the School Committee.
The first Methodist Episcopal Society in the town was constituted in this District, and incorporated June 14th, 1523. The corner-stone of their present house of worship was laid by the Rev. Elijah Hedding, now Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in September of the same year; and the house was dedicated in June following. The first stationed Preacher was the Rev. Damon Young. The Third Congregational Society in Cam- bridge was formed here June 30, 1827, and their present house of worship built the same year. The first Pastor was the Rev. Warren Burton, set- tled March 5, 1828.
As has already been remarked, the principal manufactories of Cambridge are located in this section of the city. The New England Glass Company was established here in the year 1813, for the manufacture of Flint Glass. The works of this Company are very extensive, and produce some of the finest specimens of cut-glass ware manufactured in this country. In 1850, a brick chimney was erected, 230 feet in height, or the purpose of receiv. ing and carrying off the smoke from the different furnaces, which commu- nicate with this common flue by means of horizontal flues beneath the surface of the ground. The cost of this gigantic piece of masonry was $ 14,500. Present capital of the Company, $ 400,000. Number of per- sous employed, 420; of whom 406 are males, and 14 females. Annual value of manufactures, $ 450,000.
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