USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Topographical and historical description of Boston > Part 25
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The southerly side of the Common was anciently bounded by the rear of the estates on Frog Lane, portions of which, as has been shown, were purchased by the town and added to its territory, thereby recom- pensing in a degree the loss of that part taken from its northeast corner for the Granary and other purposes. Just east of the Central Burying-Ground, on the land bought of Mr. Foster, stood in former days the hearse-
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house, and the gun-house of one of the artillery compa- nies, one of the others being in Hull street and another at Fort Hill. In 1826 the gun-house was removed to a place just north of the Providence Railroad Station, where it was used several years by Dr. Winslow Lewis for a private lecture room for medical students. This same corner was used, about the time of the war of 1812 as an artillery park; and the deer park which now occu- pies the site of the gun-house was established in the fall of 1863, the deer having been put in possession of it on the ninth of October of that year. The estate on the south side of Boylston street at this corner, where Ho- tel Pelham now is, was long the residence of the Foster family; and that on the east side, where the Freemasons have erected their magnificent temple, the corner-stone of which was laid on the fourteenth of October, 1864, and the building dedicated on the twenty-fourth of June, 1867, was the site of the Head mansion house and garden. This corner of the Common was cut off and rounded by an order approved by the Mayor on the sixteenth of June, 1868; and, after the great widening of Tremont street, Hotel Pelham was moved nearly fifteen feet westwardly to its present position on the twenty- fourth of August, 1869, being four days in motion.
As early as the twelfth of March, 1634-5, the townsmen took order to have the "Town Fields," as they were termed, substantially fenced, with proper styles and gates; and on that day it was ordered, that - "All ye fenses to bee made sufficient before ye 7th day of ye second moneth [April 7th], and they to bee looked vnto by our brother Grubb & brother Hudson for ye New Feild, our brother Pennyman & brother Colborne, for ye feild by him, & our brother Penn & brother
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Belcher for ye Fort Feild, brother Everill & brother Matson for ye Mylne Feild."
The following record respecting styles and gates is to be found in the town records, under date of the twenty- third of March, 1634-5.
" Imprymis it is agreed by generall consent yt ye over- seers of ye fences of ye severall feilds shall see to ye making of such styles and gates as may bee needfull for every feild, & or brother Wilbore to see to ye gate & style next vnto Roxburie, all of them to bee done be- fore ye aforesd 7th day of ye 2ª moneth, ye styles & gates for common high wayes to bee made out of pub- lique charge forth of ye constables hand, & ye pryvate styles & gates to bee made at ye charge vpon ye land in every feild pportionablie for eidge fence vpon payne for every the feilde not soe done by ye 1 day of ye 3ª moneth, 20$ to bee forfeyted by ye o'erseers thereof."
Of the fields above mentioned, that near Mr. Colbron is supposed to mean the Common; and if so, it must have had a fence of some sort at that period. But in all probability there was nothing that could be really considered a permanent fence for the Common until about one hundred years later, when the first that is found definitely mentioned in connection with it was put up in the spring of 1733-4, the following vote being passed by the townsmen on the eleventh of March:
"Voted, That a Row of Posts, with a Rail on the top of them be set up, and continued thro' the Common from the Burying Place to Colo. Fitch's fence; leaving Open- ings at the several Streets and Lanes."
This fence was only on the easterly side; for the burial-ground alluded to was the Granary on the north side, and it has already been stated that Mr. Fitch's es-
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tate (that purchased in 1756 and 1787) was at the Boyls- ton street corner of Tremont street, on the south side. The streets and lanes, at which openings were left, were Hog alley (now Avery street, although for a long time it bore the name of Sheaf lane), West street, and Blott's lane (now Winter street). The westerly side needed no fence in the olden time, as it was bounded upon the water; and the northerly and southerly sides were protected by private estates and the public institutions already mentioned. Perhaps the fence was built at this time in consequence of the trees that had been, and were soon to be, planted on the easterly edge of the Common; for a few trees had already been set out in the neighborhood of the place contemplated for the fence, and it is evident that they had sustained some wanton injury, as the following vote was passed on the same day as that ordering the fence:
"And, in order to prevent further waste of the Trees in the Common,
"Voted. That there be allow'd and paid out of the Treasury a Reward of Forty Shillings to any Person that shall inform against, and convict, any Persons of cutting down or despoiling any of the Trees already planted in the Common, or that may be hereafter planted there. Also
"Voted. That the same Reward be given to those who shall convict any Person or Persons of breaking any of the Posts and Rails that shall be put up in the Common as aforesaid."
The openings into the Common appear very early to have been productive of evil, for the following entry ap- pears on the record under date of the fourteenth of March, 1737-8:
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" Whereas, at a Public Town Meeting the 11th March, 1733. It was Voted That a Row of Posts with a Rail on the Top of them be set up and continued thro' the Common from the Burying Place to Colo. Fitch's fence, leaving openings at the several Streets and Lanes. And it being now represented, and complained of. That the Common is much broken, and the herbage spoiled, by means of carts &c. passing and repassing over it-
" Wherefore. In order to prevent this Inconvenience and Damage for the future
"Voted, That there be but one Entrance or Passage for Carts, Coaches &c. out of Common street, into the Common or Training Field, to be left open near the Granary, to go, up along by the Workhouse to Beacon street; and that the other Gaps or Inlets aforementioned be closed up with Posts and Rails as the rest."
It is probable that the fence built in 1734 was that which supplied with fuel the camp fires of the British soldiers, quartered upon the Common during the time of the siege of Boston; for certain it is that the Common fence was thus appropriated by the destructive herd that desecrated meeting-houses, and defaced all kinds of private as well as public property during that eventful period of the history of the town.
The Foster pasture was not enclosed as part of the Common until the year 1795, when the following vote was passed on the thirteenth of May:
" Voted, That the Selectmen be directed to carry the mall to the end of Foster's Pasture, lately so called, and after widening the street the remainder of the land to be inclosed for the future use of the town."
The wooden fence, made of neat posts and rails, which was standing half a century ago, and which can
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be remembered by so many, was undoubtedly the one that succeeded the older one destroyed during the revolutionary war; and was unquestionably built about the year 1784, when the great improvement was made to the Common by the subscription of generous towns- men. This fence, until the year 1795, was only on three sides of the Common, with another fence parallel to the portion on Tremont street; and between these was the great mall, so called to distinguish it from the little mall (often known as Paddock's mall, or Paddock's walk), in front of the Granary Burying-Ground. The great mall was sometimes called the old mall to dis- tinguish it from the Beacon street mall, which was first known as the new mall. Not long after the laying out of Charles street in 1803, the fence was extended on the westerly side, thus completely sur- rounding the Common. It was constructed with square posts, upon which a four-inch joist was laid, with one corner uppermost, - a very uncomfortable seat for the boys, as many persons now living can testify with sorrowful memories,-and a slat was attached to the sides of the posts, like the side rails to many of the old turnpike bridges. to add to the efficiency of the fence. At last this gave way to the violence of the Great Gale on the twenty-third of September, 1815, when so much damage was done to the trees, fences and buildings in the town; and the Tremont street portion was again erected in October, 1815, under the superintendence of Charles Bulfinch, Esq., the famous Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, and the Beacon street portion under Abraham Bab- cock, Esq., in 1820, the vote for the last portion of it having been passed by the selectmen on the seven-
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teenth of May, and a record of it made in the following words:
"The Chairman was authorized to make a contract with Messrs. John Cushing & Elisha Hunt to build a fence on the east side of the New Mall at the rate of fifty cents per foot running measure."
This last of the wooden fences, the one that so many can now remember, was built with square white oak posts with rounded tops, which were connected with two rows of eight-sided chestnut rails, painted with a light color. This fence edged upon the street gutter, there being then no brick sidewalk around the Common. The inner fence, along the Tremont street mall, was removed during the mayoralty of Hon. Har- rison Gray Otis, who, after the removal of the cows from their ancient pasturage, saw no necessity for it. There had been in the olden time, on holidays, three rows of tents between these two fences,-the easterly row for candy-sellers, the middle generally for cake and bunn-venders, and the westerly row for the ancient election beverage, which was the freest liquid used on gala days.
When the last portion of the fencing was completed, the Common contained in area, exclusive of malls, forty- three acres and three quarters and ten perches by actual measurement.
In 1836, the present iron fence, 5,932 feet in length, was placed around the Common, partly by subscription, at an expense of $82,159.85, the great gateway opposite West street being subsequently placed there in 1857. A short time before the erection of this fence, an accu- rate admeasurement of the Common was made, and the malls which formed its boundaries were found to meas-
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ure in length the following number of feet, namely: that on Park street, 437 feet; that on Tremont street, 1,685 feet; that on Boylston street, 700 feet; that on Charles street, 1,380 feet; and that on Beacon street, 1,565 feet, - making in all 5,767 feet, losing 165 feet at the various angles of their union, and by the contraction caused by the widening all the surrounding streets and the establishment of sidewalks.
The iron fence around the burial-ground on Boyls- ton street, as has been before mentioned, was erected in 1839, and the iron wire fence around the Deer Park in the summer of 1863.
CHAPTER XXIII.
MALLS, PATHS AND WALKS OF THE COMMON.
Malls ... Tremont Street Mall, and its Three Rows of Trees, 1728, 1734, and 1784 . . . The Great Gale of 1815 .. . Gale of September, 1869 . . . Hancock Trees, 1780 . . . Great Improvements of 1784 . . . Beacon Street Mall, 1815, 1816 · · · Charles Street Mall, 1823, 1824 . .. Removal of the Poplar Trees in Park Street Mall, 1826 . . . American Elms in Park Street . . . Boylston Street Mall, 1836 . . . Walks and Paths . . . Ridge Path . . . Lyman Path . . . Long Path . . . Armstrong Path . . . Brimmer Path . . . Other Walks . .. Attempt in 1830 to Change the Name of the Common and Malls.
THE COMMON is now entirely surrounded by malls, all of which have names derived from the streets that form their outer boundaries. That on Tremont street is the oldest, and was therefore originally named the mall; although subsequently, when there was a second one, it acquired the name of the great mall, and now, as there are several, it is called the Tremont street mall. Very early in the last century it had only two rows of trees, mostly English elms, with a few sycamores at the northerly and some poplars at the southerly end; the outermost of which was set out about the year 1728, and the innermost transplanted there about the year 1734; for on the eleventh of March, 1733-4, upon a motion made by Mr. Jonathan Williams, it was
"Voted, That the Row of Trees already planted in the Common be taken care of by the Selectmen from time to time, and that another Row of trees be planted there at a suitable distance."
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This vote did not give satisfaction to some busybody of the town, who, on the twenty-ninth of the same month, proposed the following vote, which was passed: " Voted, That the additional Row of Trees which is to be planted in the Common, be set to the eastward of those already planted there." But this vote was never carried out; and on the third of April, next ensuing, the following record was entered upon the town's book:
"Voted to reconsider the vote for fixing the ad- ditional Row of Trees (to be planted in the Common) on the East side of those already planted. And upon consideration had
" Voted, That the additional Row of Trees to be planted in the Common, shall be, on the West side of those already planted there, from the Burying place to Mr. Sheafe's, and at such distance from the other Row, as the Selectmen shall think fit."
One of these old English elms that had braved the storms of one hundred and thirty-four years was taken down on the fourth of May, 1868, and its layers on being counted strictly corresponded with its age.
The third row of trees was planted in this mall in the fall of 1784, when the great improvement was made to the Common. All of these trecs were carefully guarded by the townsmen, who occasionally passed votes at their town meetings instructing the Selectmen to take care of them. Many of them suffered from the great September gale of 1815, by being blown down; and, when placed again in an erect position, were defaced by being trimmed of a portion of their upper branches.
This tremendous gale, which will ever be memorable in the annals of Boston, occurred on Saturday, the twenty-third of September, commencing from the east,
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about an hour before noon. At twelve o'clock the wind changed to the southeast, blowing with an increased vio- lence, amounting to a hurricane; but, fortunately, con- tinued only a short time, shifting at about one o'clock to a southwesterly direction, when it ceased in its violence. The damage to buildings was exceedingly great. Sev- eral of the chimneys of the State House were upset, as were, also, about sixty others in different parts of the town. The steeples of the Old South, Hollis Street, Charles Street Baptist, and Park Street meeting-houses were much injured, and barely escaped being blown down. The roofs of several buildings were taken off, and a great destruction of slates and window-glass ensued from the violence of the gale. Seabirds were driven in quantities forty or more miles inward from the sea, and sea-swallows (commonly known as Mother Cary's chickens) were seen in the vicinity of the wharves, -a circumstance never before known, as they are rarely seen within several leagues of land, their home being upon the deep waters of the ocean. One building was entirely blown down and burnt-the old wooden glass-house in Essex street; and the shipping in the harbor and at the wharves was very much injured. But we are told that the most impressive scene was ex- hibited on the Common and its immediate vicinity. Many of the old and stately trees which formed the old mall, and skirted the Common, were torn up by their roots and prostrated, carrying the fences with them; and several of the large elms of Paddock's mall shared the same fate, overturning a portion of the brick wall of the burial-ground. One of the trees of the old mall measured then seven feet and eleven inches in girth. The sycamores and elms fared alike. The trees which
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suffered most were in the westerly row at the north part of the mall, and several were opposite the State House. It is remarkable that the older trees on the outside of the mall, which had been planted more than eighty years, withstood the tempest comparatively unharmed; while those in the most leeward row, and which were of younger growth, were prostrated, the wind at the time of its greatest violence coming from a southeasterly point. In a short time the trees were trimmed and raised to their places; and, though they made a sad appearance the remainder of the year, most of them lived, and have endured several hard blows since. The sycamores have, however, within a short time fallen a sacrifice to a blasting disease.
On Monday, the twenty-fifth of September, two days after the great gale, the Selectmen held a meeting, and among other minutes on their records is the following, which gives a sufficiently minute account of the damage to the trees:
" A very violent gale of wind having on Saturday last done great damage to the town in general, but par- ticularly to the Common, by rooting up thirteen large trees in the Mall, & eleven in the line of Beacon street, & three by the burying ground in Common street, the chair informed the board that he had employed a num- ber of labourers to replace them- they approved his proceeding, & appointed the chairman [Charles Bul- finch, Esq.,] & Mr. [Jonathan] Hunnewell to superin- tend the work."
Considerable improvement was made to the Common in consequence of this action of the Selectmen; for to this the towns-people were indebted for the new wooden railing described in the last chapter, which continued to
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be serviceable until the days of Mayor Armstrong, when it was superseded by the present durable iron fences, erected in 1836. Besides raising up the trees which had been blown down, the vacancies that had been occurring for many years were supplied with new elm-trees of the American species.
On the eighth of September, 1869, fifty-four years after the great September gale of 1815, another not inferior in the amount of damage which it caused occurred in the afternoon, between the hours of three and five. Chimneys and steeples were blown down, and trees were uprooted. Several large trees on the Com- mon were blown down, one of them measuring nine feet in circumference near the ground. The steeple of the meeting-house on the site of that originally erected for the Fourth Church was blown over, so as to turn upon a neighboring house and pierce it from roof to cellar, and its famous cockerel was put to a most dismal and ter- rific flight, that would truly have much astonished good- man William Cordwell, its cunning artificer, could he have revisited his ancient haunts, and witnessed the new exploit of his pet bird. On the occasion of this storm the Coliseum, which had given protection to so many during the jubilee week in the preceding June, was very much injured, and many steeples and vanes were seriously damaged.
Until within a few years, during the mayoralty of Mr. Otis, the southerly end of the Tremont street mall was covered with grass, the portion between West street and Boylston being very little used by promenaders.
Only a small portion of the northerly side of the Common had trees in the year 1780, and these were not set out with any degree of regularity; and in so poor a
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condition were they then, that liberty was granted to Governor Hancock, in October of that year, to take up some of them, and put out new ones near his estate, a few of which with their wide-spreading branches are now to be seen.
Quite an agreeable change came over the Common in the year 1784, just as the town was beginning to revive from the effects of the revolutionary war, by which especially during the siege, as it has been called, it had suffered very much. Two persons, whose names should not be forgotten in this connection, were particu- larly active in procuring subscriptions, and in carrying on improvements that have characterized this as the period of the great improvement to the Common. John Lucas, Esq., the commissary of pensioners for Massa- chusetts, who resided and had his office in Orange street, which it must be borne in mind was that portion of Washington street extending from Essex street to Dover street, was one of these; and the other was Mr. Oliver Smith, a noted apothecary, who dwelt in Milk street, and kept shop in old Cornhill, now the north end of Washington street. Under the direction of these gentlemen, many of the low portions of the Common were raised, the holes filled up, the uneven places graded, the fences repaired, and a large number of trees set out, not only in the mall, but in various parts of the enclosure, particularly in the range of the ridge of high land leading from West street to the corner of Carver street. The amount of money subscribed at the time, and paid in, was £285 14s. 7d., and the number of liberal contributors somewhat exceeded three hundred.
To this attempt to benefit the Common the town was indebted for the third row of trees in the Tremont street
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mall, then known as the great mall and sometimes as the old mall, to distinguish it from the little mall (or Paddock's walk) and the new mall, which was that now called the Beacon street mall. On the occasion, the Selectmen, at a meeting held on the twenty-sixth of July, 1784, gave permission for the improvements, as is made evident by the following minute upon their records:
"Dr. Smith and others subscribers for planting another Row of Trees in the Common, & under the direction of the Selectmen, had liberty granted accord- ingly."
Since the year 1784, many trees have been set out upon the Common, forming the several malls and ave- nues which now give ornament to it. The mall on Beacon street was laid out during the years 1815 and 1816, the neighboring street being widened and straight- ened, the expense being defrayed from a subscription raised in the year 1814 for the purpose of defence against a contemplated attack from the British in the Madison war.
The Charles street mall was commenced in the year 1823, and completed in 1824, during the first year of the mayoralty of the elder Quincy; and in 1826, through the energy of the same gentleman, the old poplar trees which used to disfigure the Park street mall were unceremoniously cut down early one morn- ing, and the beautiful elms set out in their place by his own hands. The two American elms, which formerly stood within the sidewalk of the same mall outside of the fence were very early placed before the old town buildings, which have been before alluded to as being situated upon Centry street. Several unsuccessful
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attempts have been made to have these old landmarks of ancient days removed; and although one of these venerable shade trees has been obliged to yield to in- corrigible fate, yet one of the twins of the forest still remains, defying the axe, as it has heretofore the storms and winds.
The Boylston street mall was extended across the burial-ground in 1836, two rows of tombs being closed for the purpose; and with this improvement the Com- mon became for the first time entirely surrounded with malls.
Besides the malls which ornament the sides of the Common, there are many paths, or walks, which traverse it in various directions, chiefly as "short-cuts" from one to another of the several openings in the fence, at the approaches of the different streets and avenues that radi- ate from all parts of the enclosure. The walk leading to Carver street from West street gate (built under the direction of ex-Alderman Samuel Hatch) has for a long time been known by those frequenting the Common as Ridge Path, on account of the bluff-like appearance it formerly had on its westerly side. Lyman Path, with its magnificent trees, lindens, elms and maples, led from West street to Joy street openings. Long Path and Armstrong Path diverged also from the Joy street opening, the former leading to the corner of Tremont and Boylston streets, and the latter to Winter street; and Brimmer Path led from Winter street to Spruce street. Other walks than these have been variously designated by persons in the habit of passing through them. Why should not that which runs in a southerly direction from the Great Tree, and by the four Balsam Poplars or Aspens, be called Bigelow Path, in remem-
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