USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Nahant > Some annals of Nahant, Massachusetts > Part 16
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In 1879 the town provided money to build an addition to the public library room, which had become very badly crowded, both for book-shelf room and public space for patrons. This is the one-story ell on the old Town Hall building on the northerly side, or toward the old school yard. This space
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continued to hold the Public Library until 1889. In the meantime another addition was built on the rear of the build- ing, for school purposes chiefly, and this left available a small room on the second floor which had been used as a recitation room. This was assigned to the Public Library, and was used as an overflow room. Thus the library continued until its removal to the present Public Library building.
The library was originally open, for the delivery of books, on Saturday afternoon and evening. In the summer season of 1875 it was opened on Wednesday evening as well, and in 1877 it was opened Wednesday evening in the winter season and Tuesday and Thursday evenings in the summer season, all in addition to Saturday afternoon and evening. This arrangement continued until removal to the present building. There were no magazines and no reading room during this period. The library room was only about twenty by thirty feet, and had three book alcoves in each end, with a large shelf space on the wall between the windows. Rails and counter enclosed the public space. It was an interesting room, finished in two woods, black walnut and white ash, with twisted pillars and carved heads on arch keystones, all more or less according to Eastlake style. Many Nahanters remember it well.
Several small catalogs in pamphlet and leaflet form were published before 1878, and in that year they were made over into one catalog. Again, in 1886, all leaflets were made into one general catalog. Several bulletins were issued after that. During this period the catalog question was a serious one. Without a reading room the library had no attractions for patrons, who liked to be able to send children for books and who therefore needed catalogs in order to make selections. It was becoming a custom among libraries, now become a con- firmed practice, to use no general catalogs, though bulletins of books on special subjects are very desirable.
The library circulation fell off as the newness disappeared, and reached the more normal volume of around eight thousand a year in 1890. At that time there were about seven thousand
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five hundred books on the shelves. The report published in 1880, the first report made by a Board of three trustees, was signed by H. Shepard Johnson, chairman. The report for 1881 was by H. C. Lodge, chairman, and this report for the first time urged "upon the town the necessity of erecting at an early day a fireproof building for the library." Senator Lodge wrote and signed these reports until 1888, when appeared the first report written and signed by J. T. Wilson. Lodge was still chairman - in fact, he held that title until his death, but his increasing duties elsewhere placed more of the detail of the trustees' work upon the other members. This 1888 trustees' report again pointed to the need for more accommo- dations in a public library building. In 1889 Samuel H. Hudson, who had been librarian for several years, made a comprehensive report, and pleaded for more appropriation, more catalogs and more room. This same year he declined reappointment and was succeeded by Jonathan E. Johnson, son of Edward J. Johnson. During this first twenty years or more of the library the librarians were teachers or young men wanting to help their way through school or college. The open times of the library fitted the spare time from other occupations. Hudson, son of Samuel Hudson, who lived on Pleasant Street where William F. Waters now lives, graduated from Dart- mouth College and is today a prominent lawyer of Boston. Johnson graduated from Harvard University and became an Episcopal minister. Neither of them came back to Nahant to live. The school teacher librarians were as temporary as teachers are apt to be, although Charles J. Hayward, a very popular man, nearly ranked as a Nahanter through his marriage to Alice C. Whitney of an old Nahant family.
The trustees' report for 1890, issued in March, 1891, urged a new library building, and that a committee be authorized to investigate the question. This was done, and a year later the trustees suggested two sites, - one the Spooner lot, where the building now stands, and one the Johnson lot, where now is the post office block. Another lot was later added to the list, - the George Johnson lot at the corner of Nahant Road
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and Summer Street, next easterly from the Village Church. The trustees sent out ballots to all voters, to get an expression of opinion, and as a result the present public library lot was purchased. Competitive plans were invited from six Boston architects, and the trustees were assisted in their selection from them by the head of the Department of Architecture of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. But the prices ran too high. High money rates prevailed in that year, and a reconsideration of the plans had to be made to fit it better to the lot and surroundings. Mr. E. W. Bowditch was called into consultation as a landscape architect. On May 14, 1894, ground was broken, and the corner stone was laid on July 23, with Masonic ceremonies, by the Grand Lodge of Massachu- setts, assisted by Mount Carmel and Golden Fleece Lodges of Lynn. The contents of the corner stone were arranged by Edward J. Johnson and Fred A. Wilson, a committee chosen by the trustees for this service. The trustees acted for the town in all the preliminaries, and were the building com- mittee. This is not good general practice, but in this instance there was practical business and building experience repre- sented in the membership. The new library building was opened on June 1, 1895. At that time, and until the building of the new Town Hall in 1912, the room now the children's reading room was the selectmen's room, and the room now chiefly occupied by the bird collection was the town clerk's and town treasurer's room. The library used the rest of the building. The bookstacks, of a modern type still much used in new installations without much change in thirty years, had a capacity of twenty-eight thousand volumes, and most of those interested doubted they would live to see them over- crowded. The number of volumes in the library at that time was about half this capacity. The old shelf system of cataloging was abandoned, and the new decimal system allowing indefinite extensions was introduced. This meant recataloging the entire library. Of course, a complete card catalog was a part of the result, and this has been kept up to the minute ever since. A card catalog can entail all the
NAH
Latest Type of Barge, with Glass Sides
Winter Barge Rather stuffy
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time that can be given to it. The amount of cross indexing that may be done is almost without end, and it all makes for efficiency and for the convenience of library users. Not nearly so much of this as is desirable has been possible. Yet the library stands today in a very comfortable position among the libraries of the State.
Almost at once, after moving into the new building, began the collection of material relating to Nahant. Photographs, programs, pamphlets and clippings, anything that was Nahantiana was sought and was begged and borrowed, or bought when a little spare money allowed. Today, after thirty years of this effort, there is a collection of such material that has become valuable and interesting. Things that cost nothing, at the time, but a little care, or maybe the cost of an amateur's photograph, are today unobtainable. The library was deemed the appropriate place for such a collection, a sort of museum of Nahant, and the trustees believe their action was desirable.
Prominent today in the building are two collections: One, in the small room, is a collection of mounted birds, mostly Nahant specimens, made by Albert J. Richards and bought for the library by a special appropriation of the town in 1925. This collection of several hundred specimens is a fine one, as fine as any in the county except at Salem. Bird lovers find it very useful. The other, in the long side entrance hallway, is the Herbert Foster Otis Collection of Indian Relics, given to the library by Mrs. Otis after his death in 1921. This collection is important, even to the student, though not such an item as would commonly be found in a country library. An interesting part of it is a series of colored lithographs of the sort made around three-quarters of a century ago and now much sought by collectors. Otis was almost a lifelong summer resident of Nahant. He was a son of William S. Otis before mentioned as a trustee of the library, and a lineal descendant of James Otis of Revolutionary times. He was very much interested in all that related to Nahant, and a collector of divers material making a curious and varied assortment in a
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little building made especially to hold it. For years he lived in the house owned by the Hoods on the corner of Nahant Road and Pond Street, now owned by H. W. Robinson. In 1913 he built his house on Nahant Road down toward East Point, on the land formerly occupied by the house of Samuel H. Russell, which was burned in the "great fire" of 1896.
Almost at once, after opening the new library building, patronage began to increase. In a few years the circulation proportional to the population was the largest among Massa- chusetts public libraries, and it has remained so. There were frequent consultations with C. B. Tillinghast, long-time libra- rian of the State Library and chairman of the State Library Commission. From these many things were tried, some of them new to libraries. Interlibrary borrowing was the out- come of one of these conferences, and Nahant was used as a trial place for several things. Some were kept and some dis- carded. The town appropriations were fairly liberal, though never, even to the present time, larger than the average of Massachusetts towns of similar valuations; while in some other towns appropriations are much larger than this average. Tabular figures tell of over twenty-three thousand volumes circulated in 1926 at a cost of around twenty-five cents a vol- ume and seven dollars a patron; and these figures include the expenses of the reading rooms, which are liberally used, and of the upkeep of the building and grounds.
The public library is an educational institution of great value, and it should be maintained at its high level of efficiency. The appropriations have not mounted, with the increasing costs of the past decade, as have others, but the time has come when a further expenditure will make greater efficiency. To increase regularly the annual appropriation by about one- third would yield a fifty per cent increase in the value to the town. It is a remarkable institution to find in so small a town, thanks to the judgment of the people in providing for it. As a town asset it should be allowed to go on at its maximum possibilities. It has been economical out of proportion to other town departments, but the time has come to give it a
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little of the increase which other departments have received. A comparison of the various branches of the town's endeavors is given elsewhere. It is said that contentment consists not of much wealth but of few wants, and that efficiency may be an overrated virtue. Yet the best thoughts of the world are in writing, mostly, and easy access to them adds greatly to the comforts and attractions of community life, in addition to their important assistance to learning. In keeping Nahant among the best of residential towns, the Public Library must be kept top notch, which means both efficiency and expendi- ture. It may be that the prime educational institutions for some are the Chocolate Sundae School and the Movie Academy; but even these pass as influences, while real education remains important, and easy access to its means is a desideratum for any town.
CHAPTER XIII
THE MAOLIS GARDENS
ON the North Shore of Nahant, about one-third of the way over from Pond Street to Ocean Street, is a cold spring running out through the ledges into the ocean. It is close to the sea; indeed, storm waves can reach it, but it is a spring of pure water. Early known, it was called the North Spring, and picnic parties soon found its vicinity a desirable place for a day's outing, for here was fresh water near at hand, and close to the ocean which they came to enjoy. The rocks of the shore afforded plenty of places fit for rude fireplaces where outdoor cooking could be done. The combination of qualities for picnic purposes was so desirable that parties were there almost daily, while military companies, Sunday schools, and all sorts of organizations brought large groups to the land around the North Spring.
This gave Frederic Tudor the idea of making a summer resort here, which was quickly developed into an amusement park and picnic grounds. Not long before 1860 another spring was discovered farther eastward and about a hundred feet westward from Ocean Street. This he named Maolis Spring, which, it is mostly agreed, was a reversal of the name of the Biblical Pool of Siloam, which recalls Reginald Heber's old well-known hymn:
By cool Siloam's shady rill, How sweet the lily grows.
The new amusement park was named Maolis Gardens. There are many accounts of this place, but two from which material for this chapter is largely drawn are by Charles A. Hammond and Caroline M. Foye. These people were both born on Nahant. The former is a son of John Q. Hammond,
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prominent Nahanter of seventy-five years ago. The son has been away from Nahant for years, but his sister, Caroline V. Hammond, was so long a teacher in Nahant's public schools that few people are better known here. Mrs. Foye was a daughter of Annie E. Johnson, granddaughter of Jonathan Johnson and great-granddaughter of the Joseph Johnson whose father, Jonathan Johnson, was the first progenitor on Nahant of the large Johnson family. Mrs. Foye's father, Charles B. Johnson, was connected with this Johnson family. A sort of advertising description of the time, says of the Maolis Gardens:
This is one of the most attractive summer resorts in the United States. These gardens offer great attractions to the pleasure seeker and to those in search of health and quiet. Its grand ocean scenery, its delightful walks and drives, its quiet retired nooks, are all peculiarly attractive to lovers of the sublime and the beautiful. To that large class afflicted with mental exhaustion and nervous diseases, Nahant offers especial attractions by the variety of its scenery. This delightful spot is very accessible to the city. Steamer "Ulysses," Captain Calden, leaves India Wharf for Nahant three times a day. The Gardens can also be reached via Eastern Rail- road to Lynn, and thence by coach along Lynn Beach. On the grounds is a commodious dining hall where parties can be furnished with a good dinner; also shades and tables for parties bringing their own provisions. To parties of ladies and children Maolis Gardens is a most delightful place.
Tudor bought this piece of pasture land containing several acres, extending from Ocean Street to Pond Street, and from the water up the hill nearly to the top. The present Maolis Street enters Ocean Street nearly midway of the extent of the Gardens on Ocean Street. He enclosed it with high slatted fences, similar to those described as around other parts of his property. Here the fence was about ten feet high. He planted trees, moving some that were nearly full grown; made flower beds, built shades and pavilions, swings and tilt boards. There was a bear den, ice-cream pavilion, and cages for other animals. The North Spring was covered with a rustic roof supported by the cliffs on the shore side and tall
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ledges to seaward. The dining hall was close to the cliff edge, where the proverbial biscuit could be tossed into the ocean. A large dance hall was first in the rear interior of the place, and later was moved out close to Ocean Street in the upper corner of the Gardens, where in the decadence of the estab- lishment this dance hall could be let and used separately. An original feature by Tudor was the installation of stoves in the open pavilions, with fuel furnished, which parties could hire for the day, and cook their own dinners. The entrance to the Gardens was about fifty yards up from the present sea wall on Marginal Road. Above the entrance was the ticket office with other management spaces in the same building. A narrow gate close to the building admitted foot passengers, and a wide gate adjacent toward the ocean admitted carriages. Along the Ocean Street side, between the gates and the water, were horse sheds of the sort still to be found near country churches, although today they house automobiles, if they cover anything. At the time the Gardens were opened the admission was five cents for adults and three cents for children. This seems to have been liberality on the part of Tudor, although things inside were sold, much as in amusement parks of later years; and there were concessions, such as the balloon man, the candy man, and the tintype artist.
Down at the right from the entrance gate, and below the carriage sheds near Ocean Street, was Maolis Spring, which Tudor had walled up to make a circular pool about eight feet in diameter. On the land side the wall was fifteen feet high, or more, and on the shore side about four feet high. On each side a flight of winding steps curved around the stone work of the pool to the shore level. On the masonry over the pool was a marble slab inscribed "Pool of Maolis 1859." Up on the land side a similar inscription was applied in gilt over a painted space on the stone work.
By a curious coincidence it was found that "Maolis" was the name of a Greek hero, who won renown at the battle of Navarino, and to whom the Greek nation owes its independ- ence. Tudor had a brochure printed, telling about him.
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Over near the North Spring one of the pavilions was an octagonal shade with a large shell at the peak of the roof and with large clam shells fastened along the roof lines. Inside the fittings were marble. Steps around the octagon, five in number, dropped down to a pool and a fountain. This fountain was the statue of a boy covered with sea shells and holding a horn. It cost over $2,000 and was considered a wonderful work of art. A clever umbrella-like contrivance overhead caught the water from the fountain jet and dropped it back into the pool like a constant shower of rain. In later years this pavilion was used as an ice-cream saloon and the pool was filled in and floored over. The fountain was stored in the cellar of the bowling alleys, which were another part of Gardens' equipment. Those alleys were burned in the fall of 1880 and the statue was destroyed. On one wall of this structure was a series of small mirrors, set as in a window sash, but each was placed at such an angle that by standing on the right spot on the floor Egg Rock could be seen in all the mirrors by only moving the eyes to look into one after another. Then there was a tea house, and the Parasol, supported on one post or heavy pole, which slanted diagonally to the ground, leaving the pavilion wholly unsupported by anything reaching the ground within its limits. Later this was partly enclosed, and on the outside was a painting on the boarding labelled "Boys Playing Blind Man's Buff." On the inside another picture depicted a boy holding a skein of yarn for his grandmother, while others beckoned him to come along with them. This was labelled "The Trial of Patience." Still later this picture was hung in the dining hall.
The tea house, which was over toward the Pond Street side, was a small marble temple-like structure, tiled in colors and with a freize ornamented with shells. On a small table there was kept a little house made entirely of sea shells, enclosed with a rail to prevent handling. It was made by Mrs. Thomas P. Whitney, and was very attractive to children. Near here Tudor planted tobacco and later dried it in the old stone barn on Spring Road. Near by also was Moses Rock,
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cleverly arranged to yield water, and with inscriptions in Hebrew and Greek, "He smote the Rock and the waters gushed forth."
In another part were swings. One was a great swing, taller than telegraph poles, being about fifty feet high. The supports were great logs well braced, and the swing seat would hold several people. Though heavy and ponderous, the effort of one man could get it moving through a broad sweep, beating anything of the sort that children of the time could see else- where. And everywhere on surfaces large enough to allow it were rude paintings, illustrating all sorts of things, two of which have been described. In a group of trees, in a pen, stood a life-size bull made of clay and painted in natural colors. Around the gardens was statuary. Four pieces represented the four seasons. At one time the statue of winter, that of an old man, was moved over to the Witch House, across Ocean Street, where it made so ghastly an appearance that it was moved again. Some think that from this happening originated the name "Witch House," so well known even today.
Then there was dancing, flying horses, wheels of fortune, target rifle range, tilting boards, croquet and a Punch and Judy show. There were two trained bears named "Ben Butler" and "Jeff Davis," who were cared for by Roger Killilae, whom many will remember as a good old Nahanter, though not old at this time of the Maolis Gardens. The bears were led down to the ocean for frequent baths, and people enjoy telling how "Ben Butler" broke away from his keeper once, on his return from his dip, climbed through a screen in a kitchen window of the dining hall, and got well mixed up with some blueberry pies. After this he needed another bath. Then there were the Indians from Oldtown, John and Celia Barker, with the usual baskets and other trinkets. One summer the Eighth Regiment held its reunion here. Just after the Jubilee in Boston, in 1872, the French Band was here for a day, attracting the largest crowd ever at the Gardens.
But gradually amusement resorts grew up everywhere,
Easterly on Nahant Road toward Whitney's
Famous large willows in center; Wharf Street not built
The Old North Spring About 1865
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while the Gardens were less accessible and were not maintained in prime condition. Latterly they were rented to people who could spend little of their own money on them. In 1892 they were wholly dismantled and most of the buildings moved down to scows and taken by water around East Point over to Bass Point, where the Bass Point Hotel Company was develop- ing its property. Those at all familiar with the old buildings can still recognize some of them, although they were mostly built over or changed to suit new conditions.
Some time during this period Tudor built Marginal Road with its heavy stone retaining wall toward the ocean and the tall stone wall toward the hillside. The "Lynn Weekly Reporter" for August 29, 1857, tells that along the large stones were painted a number of disconnected words, a sort of multiple anagram, which could be arranged into a proper sentence. The solver would win a valuable ring which Tudor had deposited with Paran Stevens at the Nahant Hotel on East Point. The duration of the contest, or the number of times repeated, may not be stated, but the prize was awarded at least once, to a Boston editor.
Mrs. Tudor willed the Maolis Gardens to the town of Nahant, to be kept forever as a public park and maintained somewhat as Tudor had originally planned it. She died March 9, 1884. The executors of her will wrote on June 27, 1884, of the bequest and set forth the provisions. This was read at an adjourned town meeting of July 1, 1884, and a committee was chosen to consider the matter. It was brought ยท up for action at a town meeting on September 27, 1884. The town concluded that a country town did not need such a park and did not care to assume the expense of its maintenance, as required. It was therefore voted to refuse the gift, provided the sum of $7,500 be given instead, to build a public library building which should be known as the "Tudor Library." Apparently this was agreed to, and pending certain adjust- ments of Mrs. Tudor's will and estate the executors gave the town a bond guaranteeing this payment. Negotiations con- tinued, however, and at the annual town meeting March 19,
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1887, the town voted to accept "Central Wharf" in place of all claims it might have under this will. After this time this wharf was officially known as "Tudor Wharf," but with only one wharf, except at Bass Point, the name was more or less unused. To say "the wharf" was adequate and easier.
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