USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Melrose > The history of Melrose, County of Middlesex, Massachusetts > Part 28
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In 1882, the Legislature passed an act authorizing towns and cities to lay out public parks within their limits; and at a Town Meeting held November 12, 1887, it was voted to accept its provisions, and the following Park Commissioners were then elected : Nathaniel P. Jones, for three years; William N. Fol- som, for two years; John W. Farwell, for one year.
In 1889, William A. Rodman was elected for three years; resigning soon after, George T. Brown was elected to fill the vacancy.
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In 1890, the Town voted to buy the Barry homestead, corner of Main and Lynde Streets, as the site for a new Hose House for the Wyoming District, for the sum of $2,500. It was after- wards decided not to be a suitable location, therefore the house was sold and moved away; and the little triangular tract of land remains the property of the City, and was placed under the jurisdiction of the Park Commissioners. Perhaps it had better be called the " Barry Park."
SEWALL WOODS PARK. At a Town Meeting held June 8, 1891, it was voted as follows:
That whereas, it is understood that the Sewall heirs desire under certain conditions to present to the town of Melrose, ten acres of land for use as a public park, embracing the central and highest portions of the Sewall estate, it is hereby resolved, that a committee of nine be appointed, to consist of the Selectmen, the Park Commissioners, and three citizens to be named by the Moderator, who shall confer with the representatives of the Sewall family and ascertain their wishes and intentions in the matter, and report at the next town meeting.
John W. Farwell, Royal P. Barry and D. Webster Dow were appointed as citizens; the Selectmen were Levi S. Gould, John P. Deering and Charles W. Higgins; the Park Commissioners, Nathaniel P. Jones, William N. Folsom and George T. Brown. This reservation was the central part of the wild and beautiful tract of land which belonged to the late Hon. Samuel E. Sewall, adjoining his homestead at the corner of Perkins and Vinton Streets, and which was now offered to the Town by his daughter, Mrs. Edward C. Cabot of Brookline, in accordance with the wishes of her late sister, Dr. Lucy E. Sewall, with the proviso that the Town build a street, to be known as " Sewall Woods Road" around the tract thus donated, according to a plan drawn by Walter C. Stevens. Another wish of Mrs. Cabot, not a condition or restriction, was :
That none of the trees on said premises shall be cut down unless decayed, or that it shall be considered necessary so to do for the bene- fit of the remaining ones, or for the benefit of the public use of said woods, and that the woods shall be maintained as far as possible, or reasonable in their present wild condition.
At a Town Meeting held July 7, 1891, the committee made a report which was unanimously accepted and adopted, and it was voted:
-
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HISTORY OF MELROSE.
That the town of Melrose hereby accepts the proposition of Mrs. Edward C. Cabot, of Brookline, Mass., as contained in her letter of July 6, 1891, addressed to the Board of Selectmen, presenting to said town certain land, for a public park with the conditions therein ex- pressed, that the town build and make the road as indicated on a plan drawn by Walter C. Stevens, and accept it as a town way and that the town provide perpetual care of said park, and call the gift "Sewall Woods," in honor of the memory of our late respected citizen, Hon. Samuel E. Sewall.
April 25, 1892, it was voted to build this Sewall Woods Road, and that so much of the bank and corporation taxes of this year, as may be necessary, be appropriated to build the street.
The Sewall Woods Park is being kept by the City in the state desired by the donors, and is being gradually surrounded by first-class dwellings. The Sewall Mansion, which was not included in the gift to the City, still remains as left by the family.
In 1893 and 1895 three new Park Commissioners were chosen: Maurice G. Cochrane, Charles H. Adams and Frank F. Preble, and the last Board previous to City corporation, con- sisted of Charles H. Adams, Chairman; Maurice G. Cochrane and Willis C. Goss.
At a Town Meeting held November 15, 1894, it was voted:
That the park commissioners, together with four others to be appointed by the chair, take into consideration matters in relation to the internal improvement of the town so far as parks are concerned, and report at some future meeting.
Col. Francis S. Hesseltine, Hon. William E. Barrett, Joshua T. Nowell and John W. Robson, were appointed. April 8, 1895, this committee reported through its chairman, Charles H. Adams,
showing the advantages to be gained by laying out certain open places as parks, particularly the place known as Dix Pond, in the rear of the Town Hall, embracing about six acres of land and water.
He moved that an appropriation of $25,000 be made to carry out the proposition, but it was indefinitely postponed. The next movement in behalf of extending the park system was more successful.
At a Town Meeting held Nov. 8, 1897, a committee of five, three of whom were the Park Commissioners, was appointed
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to consider the expediency of taking from twenty to twenty- five acres of land, including the tract known as the Base Ball Park, on the northerly and westerly side of Ell Pond, for Park purposes. November 23, the committee was increased by adding three more, and it was then constituted as follows: Sidney H. Buttrick, Hon. William E. Barrett, George R. Jones, Frank L. Washburn, Chester Shepard, and the three commis- sioners, Charles H. Adams, Maurice G. Cochrane and Frank F. Preble. December 23, a report was made by the Chairman, Charles H. Adams, which was accepted. The Town then pro- ceeded to pass the following vote:
For the purpose of taking land for park purposes, a sum not exceed- ing fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) is appropriated, and the Town Treasurer is authorized to borrow the same, giving coupon notes of the Town, of one thousand dollars ($1,000) each, bearing interest at the rate of 4 per cent. per annum, interest payable semi-annually. Nine of said notes to be payable, one each year from the time of issue. The balance of said fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) to be payable in one note ten years from date of issue with interest at 4 per cent. per annum, payable semi-annually. This loan to be known as the Melrose park loan.
Under this vote the Park Commissioners proceeded to take the land described for park purposes by right of eminent domain, and it is named " Ell Pond Park." January 31, 1902, two of these notes had been paid, leaving Park Debt now $13,000.
During the year 1898, the building of a new boulevard from the Fells, at the western boundary of Melrose, thence by the Sewall Woods, Ell Pond (of which Mr. de Las Casas, chair- man of the Metropolitan Park Commission, once said that no town north of Boston had so fine an opportunity for a beautiful park as was here presented) Bennett's Pond, Pranker's Pond, and so on to the Lynn Woods, was agitated; and in view of this urgently desired possibility, the Town at its last meeting, held November 9, 1899, passed the following vote:
That in the event of the building of a boulevard, by the Metropoli- tan Park Commission, from the Fells to the Lynn Woods, along the shore of Ell Pond, that it is the unanimous sentiment of the meeting, that the Park land consisting of about twenty-three acres on the north side of Ell Pond, be transferred to the Metropolitan Park Commission, in accordance with the law relating to such transfers and control. It is the desire of the Town to contribute this land towards the proposed Metropolitan Boulevard.
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HISTORY OF MELROSE.
In accordance with this vote, Charles H. Adams, chairman of the Melrose Park Commissioners, presented to the Metro- politan Park Commissioners, for the State, the formal vote of the Town conveying the park land around Ell Pond, costing $15,000, to be used for boulevard purposes.
Concerning this proposed boulevard the Metropolitan Park Commissioners, in their report of January 1, 1901, favored the route through Melrose, as will be seen by the following:
From Lynn Woods to Middlesex Fells only two routes are available. The topography of the intervening country makes it likely that no others will ever be considered available, while the trend of population is such that the cost of either will undoubtedly be greater in the future than now. The more northerly or Wakefield route is from the Great Woods Road of Lynn Woods, along Howlett's Pond and Brook in Saugus to Hart's Hill and Crystal Lake [Smith's Pond] in Wakefield,' and thence southwesterly to the Fells at Doleful Pond in Stoneham. This route would provide a parkway about six miles long, through scenery of much the same character as that of the reservations. To preserve its beauty would require ample takings, amounting almost to an extension of the reservations to meet each other. The most southerly or Melrose route is from the same Great Woods Road across the upper Saugus Meadows, through an interval between the hills to Ell Pond in Melrose and thence to the Fells. Its length would be about four and one-half miles. The first two-thirds of the route would be through open lands of low cost, while the remaining land, except the park lands along Ell Pond, would be in a compactly settled and attractive portion of Melrose. Its scenery would be that of an intervale parkway, attractive and restful in the midst of a large population, and a contrast to the wilder scenery of the reservations. The cost of the land for this route would be about $75,000, which is about $10,000 in excess of the estimated cost of land by the Wakefield route. The cost of construction for the Melrose route would be about $190,000, while that of the Wakefield route would be about $226,000. By either route, however, partial construction would probably answer for many years to come. The choice between these two routes must rest on practical considerations other than those of attractiveness or accommodations to the city or town in which the parkway would lie. Taking all these considerations into account, the Commission regards the Melrose or intervale route as most desirable. Its reasons, stated briefly, are that this route is shorter, that it is available to a larger population, and will divide the northern half of the district more equitably ; that its attractiveness is less dependent upon surrounding scenery, likely to be destroyed in time; and that its contrast to the scenery of the reservations will be a pleasant element of variety in the Park System.
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PARKS AND BOULEVARDS.
In addition to the public lands already described, there are, in different parts of the city besides the grounds around City Hall, several small plats, which were in the care of the Board of Park Commissioners and came within their jurisdiction, but are now cared for by the Public Works Department. One is the triangle at the corner of Green and Howard Streets, in the centre of which is a large and handsome fountain, generously given for the purpose of beautifying that part of the town, by Henry A. Norris and George M. Dennis; the latter then living on Howard Street. Another tract of similar shape, at the junc- tion of Elm and Linden Streets, also contains a fountain, the gift of Mr. Norris. Another very pretty triangle, with hand- some granite edge-stone, is situated at the junction of Vinton and Perkins Streets, opposite the entrance to the Sewall Woods Park. Another is situated at the junction of Main and Green Streets. This is an interesting spot; for here stood for many years North Malden's first church; a unique little affair, built by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1818, the history of which has been given in previous pages. Still another, is the triangle at the junction of Vinton and West Foster Streets, in front of the D. W. Gooch School.
The land between the eastern end of Ell Pond and Main Street, has been put in good condition; a substantial wall built, with an iron railing, seats placed thereon, and this is now under the care of the Public Works Department.
At a Town Meeting held April 11, 1898, it was voted:
That until otherwise voted by the Town the High School lot on Emerson Street be placed in charge of the Park Commissioners.
The values of the Park properties as given in the " Schedule of City Property " for 1902, are as follows:
Ell Pond Park, 23 acres, .
$15,000
Old High School Lot, 30,300 square feet, .
10,600
Melrose Common, 4.35 acres, ยท 10,000
Sewall Woods Park, 9 acres, 10,000 square feet, 11,250
Land, east side Ell Pond, . 1,000
Triangle, cor. Main and Green Streets, 5,000 feet, 500
Triangle, cor. Main and Lynde Streets, 5,000 feet, 1,250
$49,600
This leaves out of the account the small triangular lots.
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HISTORY OF MELROSE.
MIDDLESEX FELLS. Some of the wildest, most rugged and picturesque portions of the territory known as the Middlesex Fells-at first designated as an "uncouth wilderness," then as "the Rocks," and later as "Five Mile Woods" -are found within the bounds of Melrose. Here is the beautiful Ravine Road, leading from Wyoming Avenue, by the Virginia Woods, with its majestic pines and hemlocks, to Spot Pond.
RAVINE ROAD.
On the right, going from Melrose to Malden, are the beet- ling crags which form the eastern edge of the Fells. Between the summits of Black Rock and White Rock, the charming Cascade, previously described, comes tumbling down from the top of these rocks, during each spring and autumn. This forest reservation, which includes the holdings of the Metro- politan Water and Sewerage Board, and the local Boards of Medford and Winchester, is now under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Park Commission.
At the present time there are 23.98 miles of wood-roads and bridle-paths, 13.67 miles of carriage-roads, and 3.37 miles of border-roads; a total of 41.02 miles. The approaching boule- vards and roads are as follows: Middlesex Fells Parkway, 4.605 miles; Mystic Valley Parkway, 2.900 miles; Whitmore Brook Entrance, .813 miles; and Bear Hill Entrance, .398
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miles; a total of 8.716 miles; thus affording walks and drives almost unlimited, in many directions.
The area of the Fells is now 1,882.95 acres, of which 726.15 acres are in the Town of Stoneham, 177.54 acres in the City of Melrose, 59.37 acres in the City of Malden, 669.08 acres in the City of Medford and 250.61 acres in the Town of Winchester. In addition to the lands acquired by this Commission, there are 1,145.03 acres of lands in the Middlesex Fells held by the Metropolitan Water Board and the local water boards of Winchester and Medford, which have, by agreement with these Boards, been placed under the care and control of this Com- mission, and are used by the public in the same manner and to the same extent as the park lands. For practical purposes, therefore, the Middlesex Fells may be considered as a reserva- tion of 3,027.97 acres.1
The location and character of these Fells were well described by Sylvester Baxter, in the Boston Herald, December 6, 1879.
Something like five miles northerly from Boston lies a great tract of country, all stony hills and table-lands, almost uninhabited, and of wonderful picturesqueness, and wild, rugged beauty. It is within the City of Malden, and the towns of Medford, Melrose, Stoneham and Winchester ; and its heart is that most beautiful of Boston's suburban lakes, Spot Pond, which lies high up among the hills. The limits of this region are defined with great clearness, especially on the south and east, a line of steep hills and ledges rising abruptly from the broad plain that borders the Mystic River, almost as level as a floor, and forming its southern boundary, while on the east the ledges start with still greater steepness out of the long valley of meadow-land through which the Boston and Maine Railroad passes. . . . Its western margin is formed by the valley through which run the Lowell Railroad and its Stoneham branch, and its northern by the houses and fields of Stoneham, . .. The nature of the region cannot be better character- ized than by the application of the old Saxon designation fells, - a common enough word in England, meaning a tract of wild stone hills, corresponding to the German felsen.
This tract lies wholly in Middlesex County, hence the name Middlesex Fells. A great variety of scenery is presented in these Fells, wild and romantic. In the very centre slumbers the ever beautiful Spot Pond, dotted with its islands; to the west are the irregular, wood-surrounded series of Winchester Reservoirs; to the north, the smaller Dolcful and Dark Hollow
1 Ninth Report of Metropolitan Park Commission for 1901, p. 15.
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HISTORY OF MELROSE.
Ponds; and to the east two pretty little ponds, Shiner and Hemlock; numerous hills and valleys; Pine and Cairn Hills in the southern portion, and Bear Hill in the north.2 From these prominent peaks magnificent and extensive views are obtained; that from Black Rock, on our territory, has been described in previous pages; the one from the Cairn, near the stone post No. 7, forming the boundary between Malden, Melrose and Stone- ham is a very fine one; but the best and most extensive one to be had in the whole Fells reservation, is that from the tower which has been erected on the top of Bear Hill, on the wester- ly side of Spot Pond. This view has been comprehensively described by Prof. Charles E. Fay of Tufts College, in part as follows:
The view from Bear Hill is interesting, first of all, for what lies near at hand. From no point, perhaps, can one secure a more comprehen- sive view of the Middlesex Fells; and it is over these scantly wooded knolls, or between them, that one catches glimpses of Boston and its neighbors. The horizon from south to west is set with familiar emi- nences, -the Blue Hill Range, the hills of Brookline and Newton, with distant Pegan over Belmont, and then the heights of Arlington, Lexington, and Woburn. Then the sky-line suddenly retreats, and for sixty degrees we have an almost continuous line of distant moun- tains. How they gleam these March days under their snowy mantles 1 First the " whale-back " of Wachusett, nearly due west; next, after two or three considerable hills, Watatic rises in a pronounced cone; then comes the monarch of them all, the grand Monadnock.
lle then describes Kidder and Eyndeboro mountain ranges, the Joe English summit, the Uncanoonucs, Kearsage, the Hills of Andover, and closes with:
Over other gently swelling hills of Essex County the view ranges, until, summoning courage to pass the great rampart of masonry that crowns the summit of Asylum Hill in Danvers, it comes to enjoy the glimpses of the sea.
Another has said of these Fells:
To be fully appreciated they should be visited with the love of nature in the heart. Bold bluffs, rock crowned hills, charming ponds,
2 During the years 1901-02, a res- ervoir, to hold 2,000,000 gallons of water, was built on Bear Hill, for the better supply of water to the town of Stoneham, which has been
admitted into the Metropolitan Water System. It is 29 feet higher than the Fells Reservoir. It cost $19,456.
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PARKS AND BOULEVARDS.
wooded hillsides, quiet dells, cool shaded carriage roads, winding and picturesque footpaths combine to make a landscape direct from Nature's hands, which appeals to the heart and lifts it instinctively to Nature's God.
And the Metropolitan Park Commissioners say :
There are dense, dark thickets and open groves, rocky slopes, smoothly grazed fields, beds of fern and carpets of evergreen foliage.
When new legislation shall have provided an instrument by which the unifying work which has been done in Lynn may be accomplished in the divided Fells, the people of Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and the nearer municipalities will soon find themselves possessed of a common domain which, with its Spot Pond, its Bear Hill, its Pine Hill and its many less conspicuous but delightful ponds, pools, brooks and crags, will rival, if it will not surpass, Lynn Woods.
Mr. Warren H. Manning, in his "Notes on the Vegetation of the Reservations," in the Metropolitan Park Commissioners' Report for 1895, writing of the beauties of the Middlesex Fells says :
Never can the views from the hill-tops of the Fells compare in variety, grandeur or extent with those from the Blue Hills; never can the views over water, from hill to hill and to valley, be so beautiful or so varied in the Blue Hills as they may be in the Fells. One could hardly ask for a more attractive combination of land and water. Even the artificially impounded waters of the reservoirs are not suspected to be such until their dams are encountered. Of course the wonderful variety and the grandeur of the primitive forest have long since dis- appeared; but with all the destruction of two hundred and fifty years there is still much that is beautiful, and there are dismal wastes of burned and falling brush. Large areas covered with deciduous trees are less frequently spotted by scattered pines than at the Blue Hills. Where the pine appears it is in large groups, or broad masses that are so well disposed with the surrounding deciduous growths that beautiful landscape effects are produced. Great hemlocks appear in places with the pines, and do much to add to the beauty of the forest scenery. . . . No lover of nature can spend a day in the Fells without finding several spots that must be deemed remarkably beautiful. There are dense, dark thickets and open groves, rocky slopes, smoothly grazed fields, beds of fern and carpets of evergreen foliage. . . . Moreover, even those spots which are now loveliest may undoubtedly be made more permanently and completely lovely by the exercise of watchful and sympathetic care.
CHAPTER XVI.
CEMETERIES.
THE VILLAGE BURIAL GROUND.
GOD'S ACRE.
I like that ancient Saxon phrase, which calls The burial-ground God's Acre ! It is just ; It consecrates each grave within its walls, And breathes a benison o'er the sleeping dust.
This is the field and Acre of our God, This is the place where human harvests grow ! Longfellow.
U NTIL the year 1828, the inhabitants of North Malden buried their dead in the Bell Rock Burying Ground, at Malden Centre, except in certain instances when fami- lies established a tomb or burying place on their own premises, as was the case with the Uphams on Upham Hill, at the end of East Foster Street, which has been described. In the year above mentioned, the inhabitants of Malden bought of William Dix, an acre and a half of land on the east side of Main Street, for a burying ground for North Malden. It was bounded as follows:
Beginning at land of Isaac Emerson and is bounded by the road leading from South Reading to Boston, westerly to a stake and stones by a ditch, southerly by a ditch by my own land to a stake and stones, easterly by my own land to a stake and stones to land of Isaac Emerson, thence northerly by said Emerson's land to the bounds first mentioned.
Isaac Emerson then lived where now the Methodist Parson- age stands, and William Dix, where now stands the City Hall. The price paid was $150. Thus was established the Village Cemetery, then commonly called the Village Burying Ground.
Various citizens served on the Burying Ground Committee
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CEMETERIES.
up to the time when the Wyoming Cemetery was established in 1856. At that time, and each year since, a Cemetery Com- mittee, consisting of three members has been regularly appointed. From 1880 to 1898, eighteen years, George Newhall, John Larrabee and Daniel Russell served together in that capacity ; In 1898, Mr. Russell having declined further service, L. Henry Kunhardt was chosen in his place. The Committee for 1900 was John Larrabee, John P. Deering and Julian C. Woodman; for 1901-2, John P. Deering, Chairman, L. Henry Kunhardt, Secretary, and Oscar F. Frost.
The salaries of the Cemetery Committee are $25 each, paid from the income of the Cemetery.
Previous to 1880, Nathaniel Howard, "Uncle Nat," the under- taker, served many years on both the Burying Ground and Cemetery Committees. Other citizens who have served on these committees, at different times, are Stephen Emery, Jon- athan Cochran, German S. Phippen, Elbridge Green, John Blake, James M. Thresher, Walter Littlefield Jr., and George Emerson.
A plan of the Village Burying Ground was made by Deacon Jonathan Cochran, several years ago, and shortly before his decease, he delivered it to John Larrabee, then Town Clerk, and it is now in possession of the city.
This Cemetery was used as a place of interment from 1828 until 1889; although after the Wyoming Cemetery was estab- lished, only the older families continued to use the old burying ground.
In the year 1889, the question of removing and abolishing the Village Cemetery, began to be agitated ; and at a Town Meet- ing held April 25, 1889, the following vote was passed.
That a committee of five be appointed to consider the expediency of removing from the old burial ground on Main Street, the bodies now interred therein to Wyoming Cemetery, said committee to report as to plans, methods, etc., at a future meeting, after public hearing to persons interested, if deemed necessary.
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