USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Newton > Tercentenary history of Newton, 1630-1930 > Part 14
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HISTORY OF NEWTON
ure the publisher added directories of Watertown and Wal- tham and a business directory of Boston, with the per- sonnel of the state government, the courts and the county officers. The second directory was not issued until 1871. It included an account of the Revolution by Dr. Smith, a list of the forty-two soldiers who went from Newton on the expedition to Canada, and a list of the town clerks from 1694 to 1830. The volume contained also a table showing the annual town tax from 1671 to 1796. The book omitted the out-of-town directories.
Another evidence of the growth of the community appears in the improvement of old streets and the con- struction of new ones. The map of the town until then lacked the network of short streets that appears on later maps, and Commonwealth Avenue was yet to be planned. No thoroughfare connected the central part of the town with Boston. Newton Centre had almost no streets north of Beacon except Pleasant, Homer, Ward, and Mill Streets. Newton Highlands had three parallel streets through the heart of the village, with Lincoln Street as its business sec- tion, but there were few besides these. Chestnut Hill was virtually synonymous with Hammond Street. Newton, Newtonville, and Auburndale were better developed, but on West Newton hill Temple and Highland, Chestnut and Fuller Streets supplied village needs. The commissioners of Middlesex County prodded the town to lay out con- necting thoroughfares, Concord Street leading towards Weston from Lower Falls, Needham Street which crossed the river at Upper Falls to link Newton Highlands with Needham, and Valentine Street which joined Newton Centre with West Newton hill. The art of road building had introduced the use of macadam for the improvement of the roadbed and surface, but it was a slow process to make even the principal streets what they should be. Not content with the new streets, the county commissioners
I73
THE TRANSITION FROM TOWN TO CITY
directed that Beacon and Homer, Walnut and Crafts and North, Walnut and Watertown Streets should be widened, that Centre and Washington Streets should be straight- ened, and that the grade on Chestnut and Parker Streets should be changed. All these betterments were made at an expense to the town of fifty-two thousand one hundred seventeen dollars. The laying of "concrete" sidewalks was begun about 1870.
Rapid growth was bringing civic problems, and the citizens were asking one another whether it would not be well to follow the example of other growing communities and apply to the Legislature for a city charter. Newton probably had the largest population of any town in the Commonwealth in 1873. Usually by the time a Massa- chusetts town reached a population of ten or twelve thou- sand it seemed advisable to provide a more convenient system of local government. Town affairs were multiply- ing in number and importance, and requiring more atten- tion than the selectmen and other officers could give. Town government had served well for the regulation of semi-rural life, with a village nucleus and an outlying farm section. It left room for private initiative and for freedom of family life, while it took care of such common interests as education, highway construction, and the care of the poor. But when new needs arose new forms of social direc- tion and control were demanded. Property values had nearly doubled in five years and needed more protection. Police and fire departments needed a larger force of men and more effective organization. Streets required better construction and drainage. Durable sidewalks were much to be desired. Waste material must be disposed of in the interests of health by a system of sewerage and by the col- lection of garbage and ashes. New streets were wanted as real estate booms opened up new sections of the town. Better street lighting was important for villages which
I74
HISTORY OF NEWTON
were exchanging a rural for a suburban status. The New- ton and Watertown Gas Light Company had been organ- ized in 1855, and invested three hundred thousand dollars in its plant, and had furnished gas lights before the first winter arrived. Within fifteen years six hundred and fifty families were using gas. The company was ready to make a contract with the town to replace oil illumination with gas as soon as the public purse was plump enough. And electricity was on the way. Impressive as was the improve- ment of the school system, better buildings were needed and more in number for the increasing swarms of children. Already the water supply was a serious question, and it would not be many years before the problem of sewerage would have to be met. It was evident that the business of administering local government was fast becoming com- plex and burdensome, and it was certain to be costly. It was such considerations as these that provoked discus- sions over the future of city government. Some saw in it the best means for city development, others opposed it on the ground that it would be more expensive than the simpler town government, and expense meant much to the taxpayers.
A real handicap to municipal success was the division of the town into so many villages. All wished to share in the improvements that were contemplated, although their population would not justify the expense. The lack of connection between the villages would delay civic unity and might prevent harmony. Would not each village be trying in the city government to get advantages for itself at the expense of the other villages? The railroad tied together the villages on the north side like beads on a string, but there was no physical link between north side and south side except the highway. It was necessary for the man who wished to get from the Centre or Highlands to Newtonville or Auburndale to hitch up his horse or take
THE TRANSITION FROM TOWN TO CITY 175
a long walk. As early as 1867 a horse railway was pro- posed to connect the villages, but it did not materialize. In the face of all these difficulties it would not have been strange if Newton had hesitated long about making a change in government. But circumstances were bringing it about.
Much discussion preceded definite action by the vot- ers. Those who lived at a distance from the central polling place complained of the time and trouble required to get there from various villages. Others who had long feared a division of the town believed that the adoption of muni- cipal government would put a quietus on that agitation. Still others wished to follow the fashion of the larger towns, and saw visions of future greatness and welcomed rivalry with the cities of the Commonwealth. But the strongest argument was the necessity of efficient administration of the increasingly complex business of community govern- ment.
Enough voices were raised in opposition to make it very doubtful whether the necessary number of votes could be marshalled to secure the acceptance of a city charter if the Legislature should grant it. Meetings of protest were held at which the conservatives expressed themselves as satisfied with conditions as they were, and fearful of the increase of expense. Several persons anticipated annexa- tion to Boston before long, as Brighton was being annexed, and thought that preferable to separate municipal exist- ence. The strongest opposition was in the village of Newton.
At the annual town meeting on the seventh of April, 1873, the question was raised whether application should be made to the Legislature for a city charter or for a divi- sion of the town, and it was voted that the selectmen should apply for an urban form of government. Seven leading men of the community were joined with the select-
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HISTORY OF NEWTON
men to represent the town in the matter. The Legislature acted favorably, and then a special town meeting was held on the thirteenth of October to act finally on the question. The polls were kept open all day in order that all citizens who wished might have opportunity to record their pref- erences. More votes than had been expected were regis- tered as favorable to the change. Not a few men left their places of business in Boston early and came out to swell the opposition, but it was of no avail. When the count of ballots was made, it was found that 1,224 votes had been cast in favor of the city charter, and 391 in opposition. The announcement of the vote caused great elation among those who had been in favor of a change, and they resolved to celebrate in the evening. After illuminating Newton- ville Square they gathered in Tremont Hall, where con- gratulatory addresses were interspersed with band music, and frequent sounds of applause gave evidence of satis- faction and excitement. A procession was formed at West Newton which paraded from village to village, exploding fireworks, burning red fire, and stopping for cheers and speeches at the illuminated houses of prominent citizens.
On the fourth of November, 1873, the last town meet- ing was held, town officers prepared to wind up their affairs, and on the fifth of January, 1874, Newton assumed the status of a city. Ward lines were drawn and ward cau- cuses met to nominate citizens' candidates for municipal offices, and they were elected. By an almost unanimous vote James F. C. Hyde of Newton Highlands was chosen the first mayor.
The successful candidate had been foremost in the movement to create the municipality. He was descended from one of the original settlers, Jonathan Hyde, who owned much of Newton Centre. His own father was a nurseryman. Most of his education he acquired himself. He showed an interest in community affairs at an early
THE TRANSITION FROM TOWN TO CITY 177
age, and he was made moderator of town meetings at the age of twenty-nine and selectman the same year. This was not long before the Civil War. He served as moderator for nineteen years and consecutively as selectman for sixteen years. For a time he was representative of the town to the Legislature, and was also on the state board of agriculture. Although he was a candidate for political office on as many as fifty different occasions, he was never defeated, and he held a variety of town offices. His crowning service to his native place was as its first mayor. He resided at Newton Highlands, which was one of the smaller hamlets, but he knew the town's affairs so well that he was the logical candidate in 1874. He served two terms as mayor and then retired, establishing a rule of two terms which was observed for the next four terms. James Hyde knew well the history of Newton, and on special occasions of cele- bration he was the orator and historian. Naturally he was interested in floriculture, and on his estate in Newton Highlands he had a remarkable collection of flowering plants, including many wild flowers which he cultivated. He was president of both the Newton and the Massachu- setts Horticultural Societies, and for many years was the agricultural editor of the Congregationalist. He belonged to that denomination, promoted the organization of the Newton Highlands Congregational Church in 1872, and proposed the organization of the Newton Highlands Con- gregational Club, which drew together into a closer fellow- ship the members of that faith in the whole community. He was largely responsible for bringing about the comple- tion of the Circuit Railroad, which linked the two sides of the city. When not engaged in furthering these public interests, he attended to his own real estate and insurance business, representing as agent no less than sixteen insur- ance corporations.
In his first inaugural address Mayor Hyde said: "The
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HISTORY OF NEWTON
old town form of government in Newton has passed away, and the first hour of its new life as a city is just opening upon us. .. . By the will of the people, expressed through their ballots, we have been placed here to organize under the charter that we have recently accepted; to inaugurate a new system of government in place of the old one that we have entirely outgrown. While many of us have had experience under the town form of government, to most of us the duties of our present position are new and untried. We can no longer follow in the old and well-beaten track, but must push out into new paths. The material is about us and ready to our hands, out of which we are to con- struct a system of government, which I do most earnestly hope and believe will, in nearly all respects, prove superior to the old."
The charter of the city provided for the usual city council for legislative purposes. It was divided into a board of aldermen and a common council. The people of each of the wards elected one alderman and two members of the common council. Two of the former selectmen of the town were included in the new board of aldermen, Lucius G. Pratt and Otis Pettee. The other members of the board as chosen were James F. Edmands, Joel M. Holden, Royal M. Pulsifer, and J. Willard Rice. The members of the common council were Gorham D. Gilman and Francis G. Barnes from Ward One, William W. Keith and David S. Simpson from Ward Two, George E. Allen and Vernon E. Carpenter from Ward Three, Benjamin Bourne and William W. Jackson from Ward Four, Moses G. Crane and James Nickerson from Ward Five, and Z. Erastus Coffin and John Ward from Ward Six. Julius L. Clarke, one of the town auditors, became the first city clerk, and Edward J. Collins was transferred from the town government as treasurer and collector.
The charter provided also for a school committee,
THE TRANSITION FROM TOWN TO CITY 179
composed of two representatives of each ward. Four mem- bers of the old town committee were elected to the new board. These were John A. Gould, Isaac Hagar, Increase N. Tarbox, and John Worcester. Isaac Hagar continued in office as one of the three assessors.
The city council was divided into committees for the transaction of business. One of the important committees was on finance. The needs of the community were out- stripping continually the public income, and the city was burdened at the outset with a town debt of large propor- tions. Loans were outstanding to the amount of $407,000. These were treated as a permanent debt, as far as any expectation of meeting them in the near future was con- cerned. A miscellaneous indebtedness of $60,000 was added to the loans, making a total debt of $467,057.51. The city assumed cheerfully the old burden, and within a year had paid off $80,000. The city had a valuation of $28,081,445, and was able to adopt a budget of appropria- tions amounting to $394,205.45. There was every reason to hope for an enhancement of property values as the city grew populous, but it was even more certain that expenses would increase in similar proportion. Among the commit- tees of the city council were those on highways, fire depart- ment, fuel and street lights, and health. These matters were all of vital importance, and in addition were the mounting requirements of the schools. Each branch of the council had its own committees also. These included police, elections, ordinances, licenses, and other matters of regulation. It was important that the city should be pro- tected, hence police and a fire department. Constables might be relied upon in a town to keep the peace, but a self-respecting city must have a police force. The Newton police was not large at first, though the separate villages needed more protection than they had been getting. The chief marshal was in charge and remained on duty at City
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HISTORY OF NEWTON
Hall during the day, assisted in the afternoon and evening by another officer. One man was on duty during the day in the village of Newton. At night, when it might be sup- posed that more marauders might be abroad, the Corner was protected by two patrolmen, while one each kept guard at Newtonville, West Newton, Auburndale, Lower Falls, Upper Falls, Highlands and Centre. A single mounted policeman was on general call. When it is remem- bered that there were one hundred and forty miles of streets, it is clear that the agents of the law presented no formidable front to lawbreakers. In one year the police arrested 339 persons, 80 for drunkenness, 80 for disorder- liness, 53 for assault and battery, 52 for disturbing the peace, 44 for larceny, and the remainder for miscellaneous offences.
The fire department was in process of improvement over the days of handtubs. A disastrous fire on the four- teenth of November, 1869, which destroyed the large schoolhouse at Newton Centre, intensified the demand for modern apparatus, and soon afterward the town offered to buy its first steam engine for the village of Newton. Before the year was over an appropriation provided another engine for West Newton, and a hook and ladder truck, a great improvement over the small ladders required of each householder. This was placed at Newtonville as the most convenient centre. The next year generous provision was made for a steam engine and house at Newton Centre. Five years earlier an alarm bell had been placed in the engine house at West Newton. Now it seemed important to have a system of fire alarm boxes where any person could ring in an alarm. This was installed by Gamewell and Company with seventeen boxes at an expense of ten thousand dollars. So rapid was the development of the fire protective arrangements that before the decade was over there were three hose carriages with the necessary equip-
THE TRANSITION FROM TOWN TO CITY 181
ment at West Newton, Auburndale, and Lower Falls, and an engine at Upper Falls, besides the three already pro- vided. The total value of the city's fire protective property in 1879, including the buildings, was more than one hun- dred forty thousand dollars.
One of the pressing needs of the families of the city was a better water supply. Wells had served for local con- sumption, but it was not feasible to drive a new well for every family which came to town. The fire companies needed more dependable resources for fire control. These needs were voiced at a town meeting in the spring of 1871, nearly three years before the adoption of municipal gov- ernment. A committee of investigation was appointed to recommend a definite plan to the town. The decision was in favor of taking water from the Charles River, and a petition was sent to the Legislature asking permission to do so. This was granted and was accepted by the town. But, as happened when the town was considering the loca- tion of the First Church, and again of the town hall, seri- ous differences of opinion developed. Under a democratic form of government such as Massachusetts towns enjoyed it was virtually impossible to reach unanimity on matters of this sort, and it was important that so expensive a pro- ceeding as a system of water works should receive general approval. Objections were raised to the plan on the ground that it was too expensive and that the source of supply was not satisfactory. The town therefore secured the alternative right to take water from town ponds and Coldspring Brook. A referendum vote was 928 to 443 in favor of the plan of taking water from the river. Royal M. Pulsifer, Francis J. Parker, and R. R. Bishop were ap- pointed water commissioners, and in 1875 they recom- mended the construction of water works above the Pettee Works at Upper Falls, also a reservoir, at a total estimated cost of eight hundred fifty thousand dollars. The city
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HISTORY OF NEWTON
council approved the purchase of Waban Hill for a reser- voir, and the Legislature granted to the town authority to obtain land from Needham for the water works. The pumping station was constructed on Needham Street on the Newton side of the river opposite to the Pettee plant. Filter beds were made on the other side of the stream and a considerable stretch of land was acquired and made a reservation.
The filtering basin was extended 1,575 feet alongside the winding river, shaped like a canal with the ends closed. It had a depth of ten feet below the level of the stream. The place was cleared of the black muck which was three or four feet deep, and the water from the river was allowed to enter from the bottom and the sides below low water mark. It was purified by percolating through, which gen- erally required twenty-four hours. From the filtering basin a conduit was constructed to carry the pure water across to the other side of the river to the pumping plant, which was located one hundred and twenty-five feet east of Need- ham Street opposite the Pettee Works. The engine house measured one hundred by fifty feet. It was made of brick, and equipped with three tubular boilers, two pumps, a compound duplex condensing engine, an automatic cyl- inder lubricator, pressure gauges and thermometers.
Construction of the pipe lines was begun late in Octo- ber, 1875, and was pushed as fast as the weather would permit. Nearly fifty miles of street mains were laid, the principal main of twenty-inch pipe passing through Centre Street to Newton Highlands and Newton Centre, with smaller pipes connecting with the more distant villages. Most of the construction was completed within a year. The site of Waban Hill was made available promptly for the reservoir. With a high water mark of 266 feet above mean low tide, it was high enough to supply water pressure sufficient for all parts of the city, except a few hilltops. The
THE TRANSITION FROM TOWN TO CITY 183
reservoir had a capacity of fifteen million gallons. Water was pumped into it first on October 30, 1876. Within two years sixteen hundred water takers were listed and the sys- tem was working satisfactorily.
The cost of the water system was less than had been anticipated. The appropriation of the city was $850,000 for which water bonds were issued, but the total cost was only $766,157.22, nearly $84,000 below the estimate of the commissioners. The detailed cost was:
Pumping station $126,653.16
Reservoir . 93,991.23
Distribution 487,153.06
Service pipes 29,096.16
Engineering. 2,704.46
General account
17,959.04
Maintenance to March 1, 1877
2,084.96
Miscellaneous 6,515.15
$766,157.22
Appropriation
8 50,000.00
Unexpended
$83,842.78
The annual cost was estimated at ten to twelve thousand dollars. Ten years later ten artesian wells were sunk to furnish an additional supply of three hundred thousand gallons a day besides the supply from the river.
The city experimented with improved gas lamps in the business section of Newton, but after a few years more the aldermen voted for electric lights. This decision created a controversy over the claims of the gas company and the merits of the lights, resulting in considerable dis- cussion in the local press, on the street corners, and at pub- lic hearings. The matter settled itself by the Newton and Watertown Gas Light Company buying out the Newton Electric Lighting and Power Company. The number of street lamps was increasing with every year, until in 1878
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HISTORY OF NEWTON
1,084 were illuminating the villages. Seven hundred eleven of these were gas lights, while 373 remained oil lamps. Farsighted citizens saw the near approach of a time when a system of sewerage would be necessary, and in 1876 the city government went so far as to appoint a commission on drainage and sewerage, but city action waited on the plans of the Metropolitan Commission. Cer- tain of the citizens were alive to the desirability of public parks, and in 1875 a board of park commissioners was appointed in deference to a request from the Newton Horticultural Society that one or more parks be laid out. The board of commissioners soon reported that times were too hard and the city must spend money for the new water system, but it urged attention to the need of parks, and made tentative proposals for future consideration. The board suggested a connecting system of parks to extend over a period of years, and recommended three permanent park commissioners for the city.
While these various needs were being met the city was striving to meet the demand for schooling. Fourteen grammar schools took care of the boys and girls for five days in the week. The Newton district had the Under- wood and Bigelow schools; Newtonville the Adams, Jack- son and Claflin schools; and West Newton the Peirce, Davis and Franklin schools. Auburndale and Lower Falls constituted one district, with the Hamilton and Williams schools. The Upper Falls district included the Prospect and Hyde schools, and the Newton Centre district the Mason and Oak Hill schools. In 1880 the Mason School had 471 pupils, the largest attendance in the city, followed by the Bigelow School with 345, and the Jackson School with 307. Prospect and Williams had more than 250. In 1872 Newtonville and Newton Highlands were favored with new schoolhouses, and another was voted for Newton. In 1871 the experiment of an evening school had been tried
THE TRANSITION FROM TOWN TO CITY 185
at Nonantum. Many of the operatives in the factory never had enjoyed much education, and young people were leaving school to go into industry before they com- pleted their courses in the grades. It seemed to the school committee of Newton that provision should be made for such continuation schools. That the experiment was appreciated appears from the enrolment in the classes. A class for children numbered ninety pupils, and another for adults enrolled fifty-eight.
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