F 74 .fl95 P4 Copy 1 ^*-;^*. EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE A VILLAGE CHRONICLE OF TWO CENTURIES .'.r^v^;j ..J^ ^^Pi ■ m^x n ■1 i ^''"■r^^ ^ ..^■-f il^-^ j^ "■l.-'i;:^^-^-^^^ % K , ^ . _^ ■ 1' 1. :'.:>'ii« % nn ^^ Si m^ad ^r*m 1..' m^-- ^• m^ jBhiiM B R Courtesy of Mr. H. O. Rider THE WARE HOUSE Built in 1783, on the site of the old Robinson Homestead. EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE ^ Village Chronicle of Two Centuries 1665-1870 CONTAINING REMINISCENCES OF EARLY SETTLERS ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS PUBUSHED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE OF THE AUBURNDALE WOMAN'S CLUB Copyright 1917. Louise Peloubet / JUl 19 1917 >CI.A467879 CONTENTS Foreword Earlt Days in Auburn Dale Louise Peloubet The Pioneer Period Auburn Dale in the Forties The Railroad The Churches Helen J. Farley The Missionary Home From an account by Mrs. Eliza H. Walker Schools Jessie H. Macmillan Lasell Seminary Clara A. Winslow Social Life Nellie P. Draper Reminiscences : Charles H. Johnson James L. Hillard Arthur C. Walworth Charles W. Robinson Harriet Walker Francis E. Clark Annie M. Hinckley From Various Sources List of Streets with Former Names Period Map of Auburndale C. W. Blood FOREWORD The suggestion for this Httle book came from a study of local history, and a morning on "Auburndale" at the Review Club. In preparing for this morning, some of us began to realize, for the first time, how much of his- torical interest Auburndale offered, and how many were the interwoven threads of reminiscence and narrative that could be followed now, but would soon be lost sight of forever. To weave these threads together into some sort of an old-time fabric which would record the events of early village life while those were still living who re- membered its beginnings, was the first motive in the pub- lishing of this brief history. From that motive, others have grown, with the desire to trace the threads further and further back to their earliest source. The study of ancient records has brought to light many interesting facts which are con- nected with the development of our country as well as of our village. The region which is now Auburndale was settled by pioneers long before the American Revo- lution, and there are houses still standing here which were the homes of men and women who not only car- ried on a courageous struggle with nature in the wilder- ness, but who helped to shape the ideals and the political institutions of our state and so of our nation. Whatever value this little book may have is due to the hearty co-operation and ready response of all the early settlers who could be reached, and to the investigations of later residents. 6 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE The editors wish to make grateful acknowledgment of the helpful information given by Mrs. Walter C. Ware, Mrs. Mary H. Kimball, Mrs. Charles B. Bourne, Mrs. Charles O. Fox, Miss Dora A. Allen, Mrs. Caroline J. Barker, Mr. George B. Knapp, and others. Especial gratitude is due to Mr. G. H. Frost, whose accurate memory precedes that of anyone now living here, and whose picturesque story of school days and early life in this vicinity covers many points touched by no one else ; to Mr. H. G. Hildreth, whose unfailing interest has given impetus to the work, — who has been a mine of information himself, and has also furnished data from the records of church and village ; and to Mr. C. W. Blood, whose period-map of Auburndale, involving con- stant reference to deeds, wills, vital statistics and ancient documents of all kinds, has been a laborious and pains- taking task, which has incidentally furnished to the gen- eral history many otherwise unobtainable facts. Those who have been able to write out Reminiscences will find recognition and appreciation among all readers ; but of these, Mr. C. H. Johnson should be mentioned as one to whom we have made continual reference, aside from what he has written, and whose graphic tales of the "good old times" were one of the chief inspirations of this undertaking. From the memory of those living, and from reference to original documents, many dates have been fixed and some facts discovered about which the historians were silent or conflicting. The "History of Newton," by S. F. Smith, a "History of the Early Settlement of New- ton," by Francis Jackson, and King's "Handbook of Newton," give some space, though comparatively little. FOREWORD 7 to the history of this region. We have depended on these histories for quotations and for many broad state- ments ; but in strictly local matters where authorities dif- fered, we have tried to reach the sources from which the historians drew. As far as possible, we have "check- ed up" and verified one authority by another. It has sometimes taken weeks to fix one date, and to know the full, obtainable history of Auburndale with absolute accuracy would mean a study of years. As the time de- voted to the present pamphlet has been snatched from the regular occupations of busy persons, it cannot claim to be complete or infallible. No one is more conscious than the editors of its certain failure in these respects ; but we beg indulgence for inevitable mistakes, and hope, through the kindness of those who read this little his- tory, to learn of them. Space, which means expense, has had to be carefully considered, and a great deal of material which might have been delightfully used has necessarily been ex- cluded. To stop at the date "1870" was almost as hard as for Rip Van Winkle not to take one more drink. But the history of our village from that time to modern days would, at the least, fill another volume as large as this. Those who remember this later period are numer- ous and the material is accessible, compared to that of the years preceding. For that reason, we have limited our account to the pioneer period and the earliest days of the village, hoping that some time the equally inter- esting reminiscences of a later date will be recorded. Louise Peloubet, Clara A. JVinslozv. EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE Louise Pelonbet. THE PIONEER PERIOD. The land which is now Auburndale first appears in the white man's records in the year 1635 when New Towfie, the present Cambridge, obtained from Water- town large grants of land, including what is now Brigh- ton and Newton. This grant was first called "The South Side of the Charles River," or sometimes by its Indian name "Nonantum." About 1654 the name of this region became "Cambridge Village" or "New Cam- bridge," and in 1691 "New Towne," a revival of the ancient and abandoned name first given to Cambridge. The deed by which Cambridge in 1640 secured the title to her lands from the Squaw-sachem of the local Indians included, of course, the lands on the south side of the Charles. The General Court ordered certain sums of money to be paid by Watertown and by Cambridge ; "and also Cambridge is to give squa-sachem a coate every winter while shee liveth." Thus the title of New- ton to her lands antedates that of Boston to the Shawmut Peninsula by nearly half a century. Prior to 1664, the territory now belonging to Auburn- dale seems to have been a part of the common lands. In that year and in 1665, the Proprietors of the common lands, over one hundred in number, divided about 3,000 acres among themselves, probably including all Auburn- dale. The division seems to have been accomplished by running lines substantially at right angles to Washing- ton Street down to the river, the rectangular parcels thus created being referred to as "squadrons." These squad- 10 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE rons were separated by passageways, variously referred to as "highways," "rangeways" or "proprietor's ways," which gave access from Washington Street to the more remote parts of the squadrons which were subdivided into smaller holdings. Two of these rangeways still ex- ist in Woodland Road and in Greenough Street and that part of Auburn Street lying between Greenough Street and the Railroad Station. Unfortunately, the Proprie- tor's records arc silent as to the location of these grants, and the obscurity of the ancient deeds, and lack of re- liable land marks makes it well nigh impossible to locate the original grants with much certainty. It is safe to say, however, that John Stedman was granted 80 acres in the center of Auburndale, and that James Cutler, William Dixon, Daniel Andrew and Ab- ram Errington were also among the original owners. So far as can be ascertained, none of these people ever set- tled on their lands. The first settler of whom we know anything personal was William Robinson, who made his home in a clearing of the forest extending along the winding river Charles, nearly one hundred years before the Revolution. It is probable that about 1678 he came to live in a house on the site of what was lately known as the "Martin Col- lier" house, still standing on Freeman Street (No. 79). He certainly owned other land in this region, which was later part of Thomas Greenwood's farm. William Robinson was one of the fifty-two signers of the petition "To the Honored Governor, Deputy Gov- ernor, together with the Honorable Magistrates now sitting in Boston" that Cambridge Village (now New- ton) should be made independent of Cambridge, or in THE PIONEER PERIOD 11 the words of the petition "that you will please grant to us our freedom from Cambridge, and that we may be a township of ourselves, without any more dependence upon Cambridge, which hath been a great charge and burthen to us." Jackson says "the first movement of the inhabitants of the Village for a separation from the church and town of Cambridge was commenced in 1654, and com- pleted August 27, 1679, a quarter of a century [later]. During that severe and tedious struggle, to obtain the privileges of an independent town, they exhibited a most determined perseverance and love of freedom." In the language of the Cambridge remonstrants, "those long- breathed petitioners rested not, but continued to bait their hooks, and cast their lines into the sea, tiring out the Courts with their eager pursuits, and obliging them to dance after their pipers for twenty-five years." William Robinson the pioneer, at the time of his death in 1693, did not own any land in Newton; but his son, William Robinson, the second of the name, about 1697 began to lay the foundation for a large farm by pur- chasing adjacent tracts from diflFerent owners, until in 1742, he had acquired about 200 acres, widely known as the "Robinson Farm." This farm covered a large part of the territory now called Auburndale, including sub- stantially all the land between Lexington Street, Auburn Street, and the Charles River. Its boundaries, as shown in a still existing plan of 1754, are shown on the map. The original owner of the farm, William Robinson the second, born in 1673, was living on the Arrington (or Errington) farm, as early as 1730, and in that year, he bought the interest of Arrington's grandson. His house. \2 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE the Robinson homestead, was doubtless on the site of the present "Ware" house, and there is a tradition that the cellar and cellar stairs are the same as those now in existence. This William Robinson, more than any other man, might be considered the founder of Auburndale. What were scattered tracts of land, he united into a substan- tial farm upon which he built one of the earliest home- steads, if not the very earliest. He was evidently a man of vigor and initiative, and was one of the selectmen of the town of Newton. On Christmas day, 1742, he made deeds to three of his sons, William, John, and Jeremiah, dividing the farm among them. These deeds were given to a third person to hold until after the death of the donor. He gave his house, barn, and 79 acres to his son, Jeremiah ; 58^ acres to his son, William, and 55 acres to his son, John, the boundary lines being practically parallel with the old squadron lines. Jeremiah Robinson died a few days before his father, and, as he apparently never married, this son may have lived with his father in the Robinson homestead (on the site of the present "Ware" house. No. 2159 Common- wealth Ave.). Jeremiah's interest passed to his sis- ters under his father's will, and in 1773 the land was sold to Elisha Seaverns, who built the house now stand- ing, about 1783. The Ware family fix this date by the fact that Patience Seaverns, born in 1779, was just old enough to carry a small pail of water to the men who were working on the house, but so small that she fell and spilled it all. Patience Seaverns married Walter Ware in 1798. Their son, Elisha Ware, bought all the Courtesy of Mrs. Chas. O. Fox THE BOURNE HOUSE Built between 1726-1742. Once known as Whittemore's Tavern. The Bourne House, looking south, in 1880. 14 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE interest of the other heirs, and his descendants have since occupied the house, which is one of the most re- markable in Auburndale for several reasons. In all probability it stands on the site of the old Robin- son homestead ; it has remained in the hands of one fam- ily from the year of the Treaty of Peace between Great Britain and her colonies to the present day ; and it has the surroundings of open country and the old-time aspect which make it possible for us to imagine for a moment the Auburndale of woodlands, pastures and farms. On that Christmas day when the first owner of the Robinson farm divided his land among his sons, we may picture WiUiam, whom we will call William Robinson the third, as living in the present "Bourne" house, on that part of the farm deeded to him. The house (No. 473 Auburn St.), built somewhere between 1726 and 1742, probably by William Robinson second, was pur- chased from his son William by John Whitmore in 1764. As the house is often referred to as "Nathaniel Whitte- more's Tavern," it is reasonable to suppose that Nathan- iel Whitmore, an uncle of John, kept a tavern there at this period. If so, many travelers on foot, or by stage- coach along the well-known route over Weston Bridge, must have stopped there and discussed the absorbing topics of those pre-Revolutionary days. The tavern was conveniently situated near the bridge and at the junction of the two highways. Auburn Street and Wood- land Road, leading either to the Natick road, or over the turnpike toward Boston. Though crowded upon now by the railroad and other houses, this old house keeps its picturesqueness, and is a delightful reminder of the olden time. It is, beyond question, the oldest house now 16 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE Standing in Auburndale. In 1773 John Whitmore sold the property to John Pigeon. John Robinson's share in his father's farm was also sold to John Pigeon, who built, sometime between 1770 and 1777, the house now occupied by Mrs. John Burr, standing between the post-office and Taylor Block. It once stood about where the "Melrose" now stands. The present "Briggs" house on the corner of Ash and Mel- rose Streets was formerly the barn belonging to this house, and the well was located in the middle of what is now Melrose Street. In 1818, the property was sold to the town, and became the Poor Farm, the house being used as the Poor House. At that time, according to Mr. John Burr, the house was enlarged by the addition of an ell, which now stands as a separate dwelling on Auburn Street (No. 504), hav- ing played its humble part in the history of our village for nearly a century. In Revolutionary times, the "Bourne" and "John Burr" houses were on the main highway of the settle- ment ; for early records state that a road was laid out in 1729, "through oure Towne of Newton from the Foard- way in Charles River over against the Towneway in Weston to the Countrey Rode that goeth from the Lower Falles to Watertowne" (or from Weston Bridge to Washington St.). This was substantially the Auburn Street of today up to its junction with Greenough Street, which the county road then followed. Auburn Street, from Greenough to Washington, was opened as a short cut from Weston Bridge to West Newton about the end of the 18th cen- tury, when it is spoken of as the "new county road." THE PIONEER PERIOD 17 It is interesting to observe that old houses were most frequently placed with a southern exposure, on com- paratively low land, so as to be sheltered from wind and weather. This is the case with the "Bourne" and "John Burr" houses now standing in Auburndale, and was also true of the old "Washburn" house, torn down not many years ago. The latter stood on the farm bought by Benjamin Child in 1717, lying northeast of the Robinson farm, while to the north lay the farm of Jonathan Williams, containing about 100 acres. Benjamin Child built the old "Washburn" house, pro- bably in 1722, at any rate before 1750, and himself lived there. He gave one-half of the house to his son, Samuel Child, and this, with the part of his father's farm belong- ing to him, was sold to John Pigeon in 1769. It was ap- parently in this house that John Pigeon lived for a short time upon coming to this settlement, after which the property passed through the hands of several persons (among them John Durell) and was finally bought by Joshua Washburn. A front corner of the house which stood parallel with Auburn Street, almost touched the line of the present railroad, about 200 feet east of the Auburn Street bridge. Traces of the old cellar can still be seen near the "new" Washburn house, which was moved back close to the old house when the Boulevard was built. The second, or "new" Washburn house, is the last house on the right hand side of the alley leading to the freight yards. It was built by Joshua Washburn, and stood in his day a few feet back toward the present coal yards from Pluta's market, in a sort of courtyard facing Auburn Street. 18 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE This region is now as forlorn a part of Auburndale as can be found ; but seventy-five years ago it was part of a prosperous farm. Courtesy of Mr. H. O. Rider THE OLD WASHBURN HOUSE Built in 1722. Recently torn down. In 1748, Jonathan Williams bought from Isaac Wil- liams the farm already referred to, north of the Robin- son farm, on which stood a house, very likely the same one which was the home of William Robinson, the pio- neer, in the 17th century. Williams was a well-known man in Newton. In 1760 he was one of a committee of three instructed by the inhabitants of the westerly part of Newton to "solicit contributions and commence the THE PIONEER PERIOD 19 building of a meeting-house, as soon as there should be sufficient encouragement." With others, he requested of the town a reasonable sum of money for the support of the new meeting-house (in West Newton). The re- quest was rejected every year from 1770-1774, but "as often as the petition was rejected, so often they pressed theii- suit afresh. * * * At length in 1778, they petitioned the General Court to be set off as an independent parish, which was granted." Williams was one of the first standing committee of the West parish, and one of the original members of the Second Church of Newton. It is interesting to note how liberal were the conditions of membership in the new church. The candidate must "make a public confession of religion, and dedication of himself to God," — nothing more. The Williams farm, after falling into various hands, became the property of Nathaniel Weld, before 1800. About 1840, the house, then belonging to John Han- son, was burned to the ground, — soon after which a house was built on the same spot by Martin Collier, which stands today. By the end of the 18th century, the southerly two- thirds of the Robinson farm had passed into the posses- sion of John Pigeon, and then into that of his son, Henry, who also acquired about 30 acres to the south of Woodland Road ; all the remaining land to the west bounded by Woodland Road, Auburn Street and the river, being owned by Dr. Josiah Star. It was Henry's son, C. D. Pigeon, who returned to his father's home, and was one of those most active in the development of Auburndale in the forties. 20 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE John Pigeon is thus an important link which binds the Auburndale of Colonial times to the thriving village of today ; and, aside from being a large property holder, he was one of the most noteworthy figures of our early his- tory because of the patriotic part that he played in the War of Independence. In the stirring days that led up to the American Revo- lution, his name is prominent in the town records ; and during the struggle itself, in which Newton took so cred- itable a stand, we find John Pigeon again a leader, al- though probably not young enough to do active service. At a town meeting on January 6, 1774, resolutions were presented which show the tenor of feeling in New- ton. There are several paragraphs protesting against the "reiterated attempts of the British Parliament to un- dermine our happy Constitution," and expressing down- right refusal to pay any tax "imposed without our con- sent." Paragraph "6" is a resolution "that a committee of correspondence be appointed, to confer and corres- pond with the committees of any or all our sister towns in the Province, as occasion may require." John Pigeon was appointed to serve on this commit- tee, which was of the greatest importance as a first step in the formation of a complete Revolutionary organiza- tion. In September, 1774, he was chosen by the town of Newton as chairman of a committee "to prepare in- structions to our Representative to the General Court." This responsibility he shared, among others, with Alex- ander Shepard, another famous resident of what is now Auburndale. At the same meeting, John Pigeon was appointed, with one other, as a delegate to the "Provin- THE PIONEER PERIOD 21 cial Congress to be held at Concord on the second Tues- day in October next." In 1775, he presented to the town two field pieces, whereupon, according to Jackson, "it was voted to ac- cept the cannon, or field pieces, with the thanks of the Towne for his generous and patriotic donation." New- ton raised men and money to "exercise" and mount this artillery. The signal announcing the march of the Brit- ish toward Lexington was fired from one of John Pig- eon's guns kept at the gun-house in Newton Center. When the 8,000 Massachusetts soldiers were encamped at Cam- bridge, in July, 1775, awaiting the arrival of General Washington, John Pigeon was commissary-general of the forces. We can thus see that the historian is justified in say- ing of Pigeon that "he was a zealous, liberal and ener- getic friend of the independence of the Colonies." And, through him, Auburndale can claim its share in the heroic efforts which resulted in the Declaration of Independ- ence. We see the religious spirit of John Pigeon, transcend- ing even the conventional quaint expressions of his day, in the following extract from his will "In the Name of God Amen On the third Day of March One thousand Seven hun'd & Seventy Seven I John Pidgeon of New- ton in the County of Middlesex and in the State of the Massachusetts Bay in New England Esq. being through the Goodness of God in Usually good health & of Per- fect Mind and Memory for which I also Desire to Bless God but calling to mind the Mortality of my body and the Great Uncertainty of life & how frequently Sudden Deaths happen & knowing that it is appointed to all Men 22 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE Once to Die Do make & Ordain this my last Will & Tes- tament my Soul into the hands of God that gave it & my Body Recommended to the Earth to be Buried in a Plain Decent & Christian Burial Nothing Doubting but at the General Resurrection I shall Receive the Same again by the Mighty Power of God and as Touching Such Worldly Wealth or Estate wherewith it haith Pleased God to bless me in this life." * * * There follow directions for the disposal of property. That referring to the "Jo^^'^ Burr" house reads, "Item I give & Bequeath Unto my Other Son Henry Pidgeon the Estates I bought of the Late John Robinson & Sam'l Bacon with the house & Other Buildings thereto belonging." * * * Another in- teresting paragraph refers to his slave, Dinah. "Item I do hereby emancipate & forever set free My Negro Wo- man Dinah as I have an utter abhorence to slavery in any shape whatever. * * *" The farms so far mentioned have either bordered on the river or been situated at no great distance from it, but we must not think of it as the river we know today, for in the eighteenth century the Charles River at Au- burndale was a very different stream. Instead of a com- paratively deep river with large coves and wide stretches, it was much narrower, similar to the river today above the Concord Street Bridge. The coves which we know as Ware's Cove, Fowle's Cove, etc., were mea- dows of considerable value. The change took place about 1815, when the dam at Waltham was raised and the water backed up on these meadows. Between the Waltham line, below Ware's Cove and the big bend just above Riverside, according to the records, more \ fl cu OJ M O a J3 a (h in s 0) H O P 01 o S o •o m ii o ni (1) o ^ (h J3 H a> O m -fcj W rt (» ^ 3 O u fl Si ■i-> T3 U (3 o rt ^ (P ^ o< Lh a : 24 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE than 50 acres of meadows on the Auburndale side were flowed, and the owners were awarded about $4,000 dam- ages, a very considerable sum in those days. Among other property damaged, was "Roberson's [Weston] Bridge" and its approaches on both sides of the river; and the Town of Newton was paid $130 to reimburse it. As a result of this flooding, stumps of trees along the old river banks were submerged many yards from the new shore line, and with the increasing use of the river for pleasure boats became a great annoyance, until in the '80's the worst ones were blown up with dynamite. Weston Bridge was referred to at different times in the early records as "Roberson's" bridge and "Star's bridge, the spelling being variable. In remote times, there was a "fordway" at this point, "over against the townway in Weston," spoken of in 1729. There is a record of a bridge in 1743 and of a "new" bridge in 1753. We know that the bridge was rebuilt in 1815, when the water rose several feet; and Nathan Crafts is said to have built, about 1850, the stone arches which, until 1916, represented Newton's side of the river; while Weston's side long remained a frail structure of wood, but was finally rebuilt of stone. A little way up the river, stood in very early days, a solitary house, the home of Sebas Jackson in 1771, and then of his son, Dan- iel Jackson. Aside from stage and foot travel over Weston bridge, this human habitation in the wilderness was in a lonely spot indeed, and had disappeared by 1831. But all the life of the scattered settlement which grew up previous to the Revolution did not center about the THE PIONEER PERIOD 25 farms which bordered the river. Other homes were built along the "Countrey Rode that goeth from the Lower Falles to Watertowne," at other times called the "Natick" and the "Sherburne" Road (Washington St.). Passing along this road toward the Lower Falls, about the middle of the eighteenth century, we should have seen among the trees on our right a house which must have resembled the house that stands there today, just beyond Aspen Avenue (No. 1838 Washington St.) ; only the great and beautiful elm would have been at that time a young tree. The present house was built by Enoch Smith about 1846-7, but the site is almost certain- ly one of an old house where William Cheney is said to have lived in 1745. Beyond this, on the same side, could have been seen near the road another house, a little north of where the railroad now runs. It is marked on the old maps as the home of "Joseph Jackson. 1734." The so-called "Pratt" house, once the home of William F. Ward, a favorite teacher at the Auburn Street School, seems to have stood on the old site, but it was burned within the memory of those now living, and all traces of it have disappeared. On the left side of the Natick road across from the sites of these two early houses, there stood, long before the Revolution, a house which is there today, though somewhat altered in appearance (No. 1828 Washington St.). A third story, piazzas, and a new two-story ell which takes the place of the long, low one, are some of the outside alterations. Within, the old kitchen is no more a kitchen, and the enormous fireplace where the crane used to hang is gone, but the rooms of the old part 26 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE with their low-beamed ceilings, and the heavy oak-pan- elled doors with their wrought-iron hinges, speak of long ago. Here lived one of the most interesting Newton men of colonial days, and one whom Auburndale can claim, Alexander Shepard. In 1770, Shepard sold this land to John Pigeon as a lot of 60 acres, "with a dwelling house and barn," so it is almost certain that Shepard built the house, probably about 1740. In 1804, the farm came into the hands of Jeremiah Allen, and at that time, it was said to be an old house. His granddaughter, Miss Dora A. Allen, lives there today, and her father, Mr. Augustus Allen, used to tell of "sun marks" which he remembered on the window frame of one of the south windows, by which this family once told the time of day. Mr. Allen's farm included a large part of what is now the Brae Burn Country Club. Alexander Shepard was a leading man in the town of Newton for many years, "a man of talents and educa- tion," as will be seen by the extracts from his letters and by the positions that he was called upon to fill. On January 4, 1772, Shepard was chosen by the town as one of a committee "to consider and report what it may be proper for the town to do, relating to the present unhappy situation this country is reduced to, by some late attacks on our constitutional rights and privileges." Their report was a long one. It defended the rights of the colonists in vigorous terms, and advised that among other courses of action "a manly remonstrance be sent to the King, assuring His Majesty that universal dis- content prevails in America, and nothing will restore THE PIONEER PERIOD 27 harmony and insure the attachment of the people to the Crown, but a full restoration of all their liberties." Not only was Shepard a man of sagacity and moral courage, but a man of action. He was one of thirty- seven volunteers, called the "alarm list," made up of men past the age for active service, who belonged to the West Company commanded by Capt. Amariah Fuller at the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. All of these men marched twenty-eight miles that day. idoW Sa- e qp faid Printen Reward, i(criber. MITH. S, by tfitn Sttli/- had « f 00-? rh« Agree- very good 'modiout for MilU. The faid Land may be contenief tided into fe'veral Farms, at may fu'it the Purchaferi, who it be incoovenieirt to pay the Money on the Sale) may have a> reafonable Time to pay the fame, giving good Seeuntyon In- tereft. Enquire of Edes Ic Gill. m l_ C» -..1 J on the Premifles, Of at the Tavern .-_ 1 O be bOlQ neareft the fame, at Public Ven- *J?" due, en Wednefday the iSth Day of March Inftant (if not J^ ' {o\i before at prirate Sale) a good FARM in Newtown, con- j^^.^ taining about Sixty Acres, with a Dwelling-Houfe, Barn, and Orchard thereon ; about ten MUes from Bofton : bounded on .^ Land belonging to Henry Stnall, Efq; Samuel Kilter, and £*- ^^^^^ ene^r Banlei, aad lying on the County Road leadmg from ^^^^^ the lower Falls in faid Newtown to Watertown : being the Farm whereon Mr. Alexander Shepard lives. If the Pur- chafer ftould not incline t» pay the Money immediately, good Security therefor on Intereft wiU anfwer. Enquire of Edes &GiU. To he Sold, Sy public Vendue on the j8th Day of Msrc) next, at the Houfe of Mr. Joftuia Wyman, lnnho!d-^ ' '^rrt, in the Cdunty of Middlefex, at One o'Clf ^ faid Day, by Order obtained frod jature, holden at Cambridge^ mo pomin'i| 1764 From "The Boston Gazette and Country Journal", issue of March 12, 1770, which also gives an account of the Boston Massacre. Reproduced from the Boston Transcript of March 12, 1917. 28 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE Newton's stand in the War of Independence was un- mistakable. On June 17, 1776, a town meeting was held, the warrant for which contained as the second article, the following: "That in case the Hon. Continental Congress should, for the safety of the American Colonies, de- clare them independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain, whether the inhabitants of this town will solemnly engage with their lives and fortunes, to support them in the measure." "After debate, the question was put, and the vote passed unanimously in the affirmative." In carrying out this solemn pledge, as Newton did ta the full extent of its resources, men from that part of the town now Auburndale were not wanting. On December 18, 1776, a committee, of which Alex- ander Shepard was chairman, and of which his son, Alexander Shepard, Jr., also from the Auburndale dis- trict, was a member, was appointed by the town "to ad- just matters relative to an allowance to soldiers for ser- vices done in the war, since April 19, 1775 ; and also ta consider in what manner the war shall be supported by the inhabitants for the future." After services on various other committees, Shepard,. Sr., was appointed, in August, 1779, as a "Delegate to the Convention, to be holden at Concord, on the 6th of October next." Two letters written by him to be read at the Newton town meetings, one ten years before the Revolution and one soon after its close, show him to have been a man of broad views and deeply desirous of the welfare of all THE PIONEER PERIOD 29 the inhabitants of Newton, especially of the poor. In his letter, dated October, 1766, he says : "Gentlemen: In the first place I would humbly beg that my belonging to the westwardly part of the town may not prejudice any one against hearing and duly considering the truth. * * * fs it not very obvious that peace and unanimity has for a considerable time threatened to depart from amongst us, — and unhappy strife, contention and divisions greatly prevail in every quarter? — the which (though by some thought to be but trifling) are alarming, and much to be lamented ; and all just and serious endeavors should be used to prevent the increase thereof, and to obtain a restoration of our former peace and harmony, otherwise the Town is in a fair way for ruin. * * * From whence did these sad things proceed? Were they not, in a great measure, owing to our expending large sums of money needlessly, to gratify the de- sires of some, while others were deprived of their just rights and privileges?" Joining the Natick road, about opposite the present junction of Woodland Road and Washington Street, was a very ancient road, laid out in 1750, which coincides for the greater part of its length with the modern Fuller Street. According to old records and within the mem- ory of Mr. G. H. Frost, Fuller Street ran across the present Atkinson place almost directly into Woodland Road. In 1850, this direct line toward Auburndale was changed so that Fuller Street turned off toward West Newton, Woodland Road having fallen into disuse, and 30 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE West Newton being the church and railroad center at that time. Mr. C. M. Stimson, who lived on the corner of Fuller and Washington Streets, was responsible for this change. According to Mr. Frost, Mr. Stimson's house was so near to the street that he kept a huge stone on the corner which he whitewashed every year so that it could be seen at night and would prevent passing teams- from scraping the house. After the line of Fuller Street was changed, Mr. C. M. Stimson moved the old house back from the street to the barn, which combined with it forms the Atkinson house (No. 1720 Washington St.) The map of Jackson's history indicates that one of the very earliest houses of this region, the home of Joseph Miller in 1675, stood, though further from the street, about on the site of the Waiting Station at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Washington Street ; but there is no tradition nor memory of this house among those now living. Its position, relative to that of the old Stim- son house, is doubtful. Nearly opposite, on the now empty lot at the corner of Woodland Road and Washington Street, facing the lat- ter, stood until 1850 another house, — a little low, one- storied building of four rooms or so, looking very dilapi- dated in Mr. Frost's boyhood, — where Mr. Stimson's hired men lived at different times. This house must have occupied much the position of an old house in which Joseph Brown lived in 1762, and which was sold by him to Joshua Jackson in 1764; and may have been the same. Woodland Road, a "range-way" as early as 1690, perhaps 1664, was the road "over which the Worcester turn-pike passed on the way from the First Church [Newton Centre] to the Weston Bridge, and for many^ THE PIONEER PERIOD 31 years held its place as one of the most important high- ways of the county." Alexander Shepard wrote in 1766, "I am well assured that it will not be for the advantage of the Town to oppose * * * the laying out (or open- ing) the way leading from the house of Joshua Jackson, near the house of John Whitmore" (Woodland Road). It seems to be the accepted tradition that Burgoyne's captive army marched over this road in 1777. King's Handbook says, "Over this rugged road marched the forlorn battalions of Burgoyne's captive army, English infantry, Irish linesmen, and Hessian yagers, the latter attended by droves of women, bearing huge bags of camp equipage, and babies." As these soldiers are known to have stopped at White's Tavern (between the old elm and the post-office in West Newton), one wonders why they did not take the more direct route from Weston Bridge by Auburn Street. If, however, the tradition of the Woodland Road route is correct, it is reasonable to suppose that Auburn Street was not at that time in so good a condition as that part of the Worcester Turnpike now known as Woodland Road. In 1809, the new Worcester road by the Upper Falls (Boylston St.) was laid out, and Woodland Road was practically abandoned. Mr, C. H. Johnson says that within his recollection there were bars across each end, and he and Mr. Frost both remember it as a narrow road, quite overgrown, hardly more than a cartpath, as it must have remained until the later development of the village. Joseph Bush, a carpenter, in 1690, bought from the first William Robinson 8 acres of land, running east from about the line of Maple Street, on the northern 32 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE side of Woodland Road. Here Bush, one of the earliest owners of land in this settlement, built his home between 1690-1700, about where the barn of the former "Pickard" house (Carpenter Hall) now stands. The old house which Bush built was standing in 1778, but had disap- peared before 1788. Lydia, daughter of Joseph Bush, married Deacon Thomas Greenwood, Esq., who came into possession of this house and also owned about 100 acres of land between Auburn Street and Woodland Road extending from the Robinson farm nearly to Washington Street, and south of Woodland Road from Vista Avenue to about where Lasell Seminary now stands. Mr. Seth Davis is quoted in Smith's history as writing in 1847, "On that deserted portion [now Woodland Road] west of Mr. Stimpson's house * * * was the house of Mr. Thomas Greenwood, who for many years held the office of Town Clerk, and in his day was the main personage for tying connubial knots." Greenwood was, according to Jackson, Captain, Deacon of the First Church, Justice of the Peace, Selectman for four years, Representative for thirteen years, and Town Clerk for twenty-three years. Of the family relations of Deacon Thomas Greenwood, we get a glimpse in the following quaintly worded and unpunctuated document: "To all People to whom these presents shall come Greeting Know ye that we Thomas Green- wood of Newton in the county of Middlesex in his Majesty's Province of the Massachusetts Bay In New England yeoman and Lydia his Wife for and in Consideration of that Love and good will and aflFection which we have and do bear to our Loving THE PIONEER PERIOD 33 Son John Greenwod of Newton aforesaid and for divers other good Causes and Considerations us parents moving Have given granted Conveyed and Confirmed and by these presents do hereby fully and absolutely give grant and Convey and Confirm unto him the said John Greenwood and to his heirs and assigns forever the North Easterly end of our dwell- ing house and the Cellar under it with convenient yard and room about the said part of the dwelling house with the Liberty and privileges of making Use of the Well for drawing Water and of passing and repassing to and from said Well from Time to Time as there may be occasion and also the Liberty and privilege of passing and repassing both to and from said part of the dwelling house in the now pass way through the Orchard to a Range Way with a Team and Cart or other Carriage loden or unloden and with any other Creatures or things from Time to Time and at all Times as there shall or may be occasion and also a Certain Tract or parcel of land being Upland and Meadow Land." The boundaries of the land follow. After the death of Greenwood, his holdings, together with some land north of Auburn Street, were acquired by Alexander Shepard, Jr., who married the widow of Deacon Thomas Greenwood's son, John. The "Crafts" house, (recently torn down), of which the cellar still remains on Auburn Street near the corner of Greenough, was built by Alexander Shepard, Jr. in 1768-9. Like his distinguished father, he served on several important com- mittees of the Town during Revolutionary days. In 1778 he was one of those who organized the West Parish THE PIONEER PERIOD 55 of Newton, and was chosen Clerk of the Parish and a member of the Standing Committee, besides serving in other capacities. As a surveyor, he was employed by the Government of Massachusetts to survey public lands in Maine. He obtained a large grant of these lands for his services, which was called Shepardsfield, now Hebron, and later went there to live with several other Newton men. During the first part of the 18th century, the main por- tion of Auburndale, was divided among only four per- sons, — William Robinson, the second ; Joseph Bush, whose lands became part of Thomas Greenwood's farm ; Benjamin Child ; and Jonathan Williams ; while at the end of the 18th century, the greater part of Auburndale was owned by seven persons, — Weld, about 94 acres ; Seaverns, 80 acres; Pigeon, 150 acres; Star, 80 acres; Shepard, 175 acres; Durell, 65 acres; and Stimson, 100 acres. Very few of the property lines existing before 1800 remain today. Since then the land has been so con- solidated and redivided that in most cases all trace of these lines on the ground has been utterly lost. A few boundaries, however, have persisted through all this period, and still divide adjoining properties. One of these ancient lines is that which separated the John and William Robinson, 3rd, parcels, and now separates the estates on Woodbine Street from those on Ash Street. Others are the line between the Ware estate and the premises numbered 2163 Commonwealth Avenue; the southerly line of the lots on the southerly side of West Pine Street; and the line separating the estates on the 36 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE south side of Aspen Avenue from the property next south. From such fragmentary facts and half-hidden traces of pioneer hfe each one must construct his historic pic- ture of this period, piecing together bits, supplying color and detail, and placing against a background of larger history the local sketch, incomplete, but not lacking in elements of romance, hardihood and even heroism. AUBURN DALE IN THE FORTIES The villages at the Lower and Upper Falls early de- veloped as industrial centers but along its northwestern stretches, the Charles afforded no water power. Instead, it flowed quietly between low-wooded hills near which occasional cultivated fields and clearings showed white farm houses, either close to the few highways or con- nected with them by short private ways ; and Auburndale was simply a section of that westerly part of Newton which was so remote that Alexander Shepard wrote apologetically of belonging to it. During the period from 1800-1846, Auburndale must have remained much the same sort of community. Hardly a new house was built during those years ; but from 1846-1848, there seems to have been a sort of simul- taneous impulse toward the development of land in this region. In the Mirror of Newton, Mr. A. P. Walker says, "The power loom made Newton a manufacturing town, the steam locomotive made her a garden of subur- ban homes," and Auburndale was destined to develop as a village of country homes and an out-of-door play- ground, rather than as a center of industrial life. AUBURN DALE IN THE FORTIES 37 Mr. Charles du Maresque Pigeon, grandson of John Pigeon, the patriot of Revolutionary days, retained in middle life a strong sentiment for the home of his father and grandfather, which had in later years become the Poor Farm of Newton. At that time Dr. Lyman Gilbert, (who afterward lived in the ''Underwood" house, No. 1899 Commonwealth Ave., then facing Auburn St.), was pastor of the church in West Newton, which, pre- vious to 1850, all the Auburndale population attended. In Smith's History, the following account of the begin- nings of the village of Auburndale is quoted from Dr. Gilbert : "Rev. Charles du M. Pigeon used to refer to it [the Poor Farm] as his father's home. On one of my horse- back rides to Newton Center, I stopped at his boarding place (the Boarding House of the Female Academy) and met him on the doorsteps. In some conversation, I incidentally said to him, that if a man had a little money to invest, he might do well to purchase land at Hull's Crossing, since Newtonville. It could be bought very cheap, and must eventually be valuable. He said he did not like to see ministers engaged in speculation, but he must do something. Some days afterwards, he called at my house, and said my suggestion had set him to think- ing ; and that he had also been up to his father's old farm, and examined the situation. He loved the old spot. Might it be made the nucleus of a thriving village? He asked if I thought the Boston and Worcester Railroad Corporation could be induced to give them a Depot? I replied, 'Yes, get six men who are desirous of going to Boston every day, and you can have a depot at once.' It was done." 38 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE The earliest deeds of this period were to Rev. Mr'. Pigeon in 1846, and to Mr. J. L. Partridge, who bought land as early as 1847. Mr. Pigeon's largest purchase embraced what is now known as Riverside. It was a tract of land between the river, Auburn Street, and the railroad, running up as far as Woodland Road bridge. Here he built his first house (No. 166 Evergreen Ave- nue) on a knoll above the river, at the head of Evergreen Avenue, which he laid out and planted with trees. Two other similar houses, overlooking Charles Street, were built on the same ridge by Mr. Pigeon in 1862 or '63, and the hill is still known as Pigeon Hill. Other tracts were bought and sold again, for Mr. Pigeon was certainly a land promotor, but the Riverside land he himself developed, and made his home. A smaller parcel east of Grove Street, and running from Auburn Street up toward Groveland Street, he sold in house lots, and there he also planted evergreen trees which can still be seen back of Miss Little's house (No. 220 Auburn St.) and beside Mrs. Kelly's (No. 91 Central St.). Mr. Partridge bought land from Nathan Crafts who had purchased much of the Shepard property in the '30's. Rev. J. E. Woodbridge, like Mr. Pigeon, a minister, became interested in Auburndale. Pigeon and Wood- bridge together invested in land along both sides of Han- cock Street extending to the river. The south portion was sold to Mr. J. J. Walworth, while the north part was developed by Mr. Woodbridge. Mr. Charles H. Johnson writes of his father, Mr. Abijah S. Johnson, "He was the man who more than any other person was concerned in the start and early growth 40 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE of Auburndale. He commenced in Boston as builder and real estate operator. He built about 200 dwellings in Boston, was quite successful, making a large fortune for those days. Then came one of those oft-recurring panics which put to grief all kinds of business. It did not over- look him, but wiped out the fortune he had been years acquiring, leaving him with 46 buildings, and no sale for them. To begin over again was the only thing to do. He was successful the second time, and having a family of eight children, he thought the country was a better place than the city to bring them up; and meeting Mr. William Jackson, who was largely interested in Auburn- dale, he was prevailed to acquire about 40 acres of land running south from the railroad, and in 1847, he built the house which is now called the Lasell Inn." Mr. Johnson began laying out streets and building houses first along Grove Street from Auburn Street to Woodland Road, then from there to Maple Street, and back to Auburn. He also owned a big tract of land the other side of Woodland Road. It has been said, "Johnson, Pigeon, Partridge and Woodbridge were the great speculators and land dealers and 'boomers' of the new village." May 5, 1847, is the date of the deed of trust of the North Auburn Dale Land Company, under which the Hon. William Jackson, of a well-known Newton family, was trustee. This Company bought up the Poor Farm; lands as far as the river, the easterly end of the Ware farm and land north of Auburn Street toward Common- wealth Avenue. The name "Pigeonville" would have been a logical one for Auburndale, but as Mr. Sweetser, in King's Hand- AUBURN DALE IN THE FORTIES 41 book, points out "happier counsels prevailed." The same authority quotes from Dr. J. C. D. Pigeon of Roxbury, "While my father [Rev. C. D. Pigeon] was in Harvard (class of 1818), his favorite resort during leisure hours was Mt. Auburn ; and he soon noticed a similarity be- tween those hills and the shady slopes of his native place. When he first came into possession of the land where Auburndale stands, he wrote of it as 'Sweet Auburn' ; but feeling bound to recognize the not inconsiderable proportion of valley, he modified the name in various ways, finally fixing upon the name as it now is." Mt..- Pigeon's expression of two words "Auburn Dale" was the form the name took up to the year 1850. Mr. Charles H, Johnson writes that at the time he came to Auburndale in 1847, the only inhabitants were "the Bourne family, Mr. Ware, a farmer, and the Washburn family. * * * A few months later, Mr. Partridge moved into the house he built, the one now occupied by Dr. God- frey (No. 14 Hancock St.). About this time, 1848, Mr. C. C. Burr, who was boarding in West Newton, came to live with Mr. Partridge." Mr. Burr and Mr. Partridge were always close friends, and both were prominent in church and village. Mr. Burr was one of the organizers of the Congregational Church, deacon, clerk, and treas- urer for nearly fifty years. For twenty-four years, he was a member of the Prudential Committee of the Amer- ican Board of Foreign Missions, a man universally loved in the village whose life he strongly influenced. While his own house was being built, Mr. Burr's family boarded at a small house at the foot of Ware Lane (No. 2163 Com- monwealth Ave.), and then in 1852, moved into the house which with its beautiful trees and spacious grounds AUBURN DALE IN THE FORTIES 43 Still speaks of him, and is the home of his daughter, Miss Lucy W. Burr (No. 42 Hancock Street). Deacon Burr was one of the nine men to sign the guarantee bond to enable the Selectmen and the town treasurer of Newton to fill the town's quota of recruits in advance of any call that might be made by President Lincoln. One of the earliest houses was built by Rev. Jonathan E. Woodbridge, on the southeast corner of Hancock Street and Woodland Road, now the Lasell Dormitory on Hawthorne Avenue (No. 39). In 1854 Mr. Woodbridge became associated with Mr, A. F. Hildreth at the River- side Academy, and later had a boys' school at his own home. Dr. Alexander McKenzie of Cambridge gave this pic- ture of Auburndale, in an address delivered in the Con- gregational Church in 1900: "It was in 1852, — I was a merchant's clerk on Milk Street, Boston, somewhat troubled with my eyes, and the oculist, who was Dr. Dix, told me to go into the country. I met on Washington Street one day a man whom I knew, who said 'Come to Auburndale, that is where I am living.' Some of you may remember that man as Fred Church, so we used to call him. I came to Auburn- dale, to the family of Mr. Woodbridge, just across the street. The atmosphere of the house was that of a cheer- ful, natural piety. We used to repeat passages from the Bible at the table and in the drawing room. * * * So things went on until one day Mr. Woodbridge said to me, 'We think you ought to study for the ministry.' It had been the desire of my heart from my youth up. I said, 'I am too old, and I have not money enough.' Mr. Wood- bridge replied, 'You are not too old, and you have money 44 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE enough.' Under his persuasion, under his direction, I decided to leave business, and go to college on my way to the ministry. * * * The days of that earlier time were certainly full of delight. We were still in the woods here. I remember the families very well. There were the Woodbridges and the Worcesters, and up the street were the Hardings, and along the road Mr. Barrett, and the Alcotts, and good, saintly Mr. Burr, always the same, and then the Par- tridges and the Pigeons and the Johnsons and others of that character. * * * We used to go down the street, across the railroad track, to a hall, and upstairs we had our Sunday service. * * * The ministers who lived in the town used to do the preaching. * * * I think the man that preached most was Mr. Wheeler. He had a truly ecclesiastical name, — Melancthon Wheeler, a man with such a name had to be a minister." Mr. Wheeler came here about the same time that Mr. McKenzie did, and lived on the corner of Woodland Road and Hawthorne Avenue, the house lately occupied by Mr. Parker Fiske (No. 173 Woodland Road). In 1849 Rev. Isaac R. Worcester, district secretary of the American Board, was added to the ministerial popu- lation of the village. His home was in the present David- son house (No. 59 Woodland Road). Mr. Worcester was editor of the Missionary Herald for nearly twenty- five years, a fine type of man, whom Mr. H. J. Patrick described as "grave in countenance wise in counsel, and genial in intercourse." At the missionary concerts, his story of as yet unpublished news from the foreign field was eagerly listened to by all. One boy said, "It is as good as a story book to hear Mr. Worcester talk." AUBURN DALE IN THE FORTIES 45 Rev. Sewall Harding, father of Mrs. Eliza Walker, who founded the Missionary Home, early settled in Au- burndale, acquiring land that his son had bought and other land south of Woodland Road. His first house was for a long time occupied by the family of Thomas S. Wil- liams (for whom the Williams School was named), and is now the Seminary Bancroft House (No. 161 Grove St.). Mr. Harding is described as a man "short in stature, with a smiling face, and pleasant word, sound in doctrine, and watchful of any laxity in the faith of the church." He is also spoken of as having a "fine head for real estate" ; so Mr. Pigeon and Mr. Woodbridge were not the only ministers with a leaning in that direction. The name "Saints' Rest" was early applied to the village by the "light-minded." King's Handbook informs us, and enough has already been said to show that from the start Auburndale was a refuge for retired ministers ; and that those who could not write "Reverend" before their names could usually write "Deacon," or were in some way identified with the church. The following list of clergymen does not claim to be complete, and includes only those who were not regular pastors, and who came here before 1870, yet it is impressively, almost appallingly, long: — Rev. Charles D. Pigeon, Rev. Sewall Harding, Rev. Jonathan E. Woodbridge, Rev. Isaac R. Worcester, Rev. Edward Lasell, Rev. Melancthon G. Wheeler, Rev. George F. Walker, Rev. James Means, Rev. William Penn Alcott, Rev. Milton P. Braman, Rev. William Tyler, Rev. Solomon Adams. To turn from ministerial land transactions to those of the laity, Mr. Arthur C. Walworth of Newton Centre gives this extract from a letter written by his father. 46 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE J. J. Walworth, to his uncle, March 29, 1847. "I have lately been buying a quantity of land in the neighbor- hood of the city for a future residence upon which I expect shortly to have to pay $2000 or more. This I should not have done had not a rare opportunity offered by which I get a beautiful place at half of what it is really worth. So that I have purchased 70 acres of land in Auburndale (West Newton), 10 miles from the city by the Worcester R, R., at $100 an acre, which I would not sell for $200. My influence was considered important in giving a start to the new village about to be started there, so that I was enabled in the incipient stage of the movement to get my land almost at my own price." The Walworth place, torn down not long ago, stood on the hill about where Maple Road joins Central Street ; but was reached in 1849 by a driveway which turned in from Hancock Street, as now, near the house of Mr. A. W. Lane (No. 7 WilHston Road), at that time the lodge to the Walworth estate. Mrs. Oliphant, a famous singer, occupied the Walworth house at one time, and it was then the centre of the musical life of the village. Afterwards, Captain C. E. Ranlett's family lived there, and still later Mr. E. E. Hardy's. Below the hill, on what was then Woodland Avenue, was the house of Ebenezer Bradbury, now occupied by the family of Mr. Charles A. J. Smith (No. 33 Wood- land Road), lately known as the "Strongman" house. Mr. Bradbury was the father of twenty-one children, and the effect when at church he ushered his family into one pew, gravely started on another and filled that (all with Bradburys) was very amusing. Sometimes Mr. AUBURN DALE IN THE FORTIES 47 Bradbury himself would have to enter a third pew. The Bradbury apple orchard used to be a great tempta- tion to the boys cutting across from Riverside over the fields to church, we are told ; but we wonder that the Bradbury children left any apples to be picked. Passing the Bradbury's tempting fruit, on a fall day of 1849, and Mr. Worcester's substantial and inviting home, one would have seen nothing but trees on that side of the street beyond Mr. Woodbridge's house. But on the other side, opposite the then vacant site of Lasell Seminary, was a house which, though at the present time filled with Lasell girls (the Wagner house, No. 120 Woodland Road), was once devoted to boys; for Mr. F. H. Weld, who lived here, ran a boys' school in the village, for a short time. Afterwards, this was the home of Deacon Samuel Barrett, a South Boston school teacher, who had very attractive daughters. From the old residents who were then the "boys" of Auburndale, we hear of the "Worcester girls" and the Fairbanks sisters who boarded with them, but more than any, of the "Barrett girls," who were evidently lively as well as pretty. Dr. William A. Alcott, cousin of Amos Bronson Al- cott, lecturer and writer, lived in the next house, near the corner of Maple Street, now moved to Maple Ter- race (No. 23). He was the author of more than a hun- dred books, "The Young Man's Guide," "The Young Husband," and similar books of counsel and instruction. King's Handbook says, "His avowed object in life was the prevention of vice, disease and poverty, but up to the time of his death, it remained unfulfilled." A near neighbor of Dr. Alcott's on Linden Road, now 48 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE Grove Street (No. 74), was Mr. Charles A. Sweet, who came here in the early fifties, and boarded at the "Briggs" house. He evidently felt the atmosphere of the village to be congenial, for he soon settled here per- manently, buying the house now occupied by his son, and became an ardent supporter of the Auburndale Con- gregational Church in its infancy. The church clock was his especial charge. He would let no one else touch it, and every Sunday would go early to the church to wind the clock himself. It has been written of him, "Few came to church too early to find him there * * ♦ ever with a welcome to familiar faces, and a tact that made strangers feel at home." Mr. Sweet was of the banking house of Brewster, Sweet and Company, who during the Civil War were prominent in placing govern- ment loans throughout New England, One other house built in the earliest period of the village, as such, stood at the corner of Auburn and Maple Streets. In '55, this was the home of S. A, Danforth, whose daughters have until recently lived there, and who are still supporters of the good works of the church they early joined. Turning back to "North Auburn Dale" once more, which the Land Company was developing, we find that before that date Martin Collier had in 1844 set up his household gods on the very spot where the pioneer William Robinson was living in 1678, and where the house of Mr. Hanson had recently been burned. Except for the village hall no building stood on either side of the narrow road leading to the Collier place. What is now Freeman Street was then a narrow grass-grown lane leading through a AUBURN DALE IN THE FORTIES 49 thicket of young woods. Mr. Collier furnished supplies to the Navy Yard. He was a Roman Catholic of a very broad type, one of the organizers of the Educa- tional Association for the "promotion of schools and public worship." He was the first to sign the resolution that such an association be formed, and served as its treasurer; after the Congregational Church was organ- ized, opening his house for meetings of the Sewing Circle. Of the houses built in colonial days, the Bourne and Ware families occupied in 1847 those still known by their names. The "John Burr" house was, a little later, the home of Benajah Cross, the first leader of the church choir, and afterwards of Mr. William Whit- tlesey; and Mr. Joshua Washburn's family lived in the "old" Washburn house. Young ladies from the West Newton (afterwards the Framingham) Normal School boarded there, and probably traded at the village store which was kept by Mr. Washburn at this period (on the northwest corner of Lexington and Auburn Sts.). If we had walked down the River Street of those days from Auburn Street toward the river, we would have come to a house on the left hand side which is the one Mr. Charles W. Robinson speaks of purchasing, in his Reminiscences (No. 62 Ash St., the home of Henry B. Fowle). A long stretch of road would have brought us finally to another house, set among the trees, that of Henry Mills, one of the first deacons of the church. For some time this house was the home of Dr. Edward Strong, and was later bought by the Rider family (No. 36 Islington Road). Further up the river, lay Mr. Pigeon's Riverside in- 50 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE vestment. In 1853 Mr. Abel F. Hildreth bought land from C. D. Pigeon, and established a boys' school at Riverside. Mr. Hildreth was a classmate of Mr. Pigeon's, at Harvard, and possessing a fine tenor voice was leader of the College Choir. When he came to Auburndale, he had been for twenty-seven years head of the Pinkerton Academy in Derry, New Hampshire. He built two dwelling houses at Riverside, the present J. R. Robert- son house (No. 126 Charles St.), and the house where Mrs. Esther M. Jones and Miss Annie Hinckley now live (No. 79 Charles St.). At the same time, a small school house was built, superseded in 1854, when Mr. J. E. Woodbridge became associated with Mr, Hil- dreth, by a more roomy school building called the "River- side Academy." This was a large red house, burned not long ago. To give an idea of woman's part in the village life one cannot do better than to quote from a paper by Mrs. C. C. Burr, read at the semi-centennial celebration of the Congregational Church : "In the good old days of Auburndale's beginnings, the voice of woman was rarely heard in the land, outside her home, or the quiet of simple church functions. Women's clubs had no existence, and the D. R.'s and the D. A. R.'s recounted the deeds of their ancestors only by their own firesides. * * * In the New England villages, the life of the place — social and intellectual, as well as re- ligious — centered in the church. It is related of Pro- fessor Park, that many years ago he consulted a physi- cian in Paris, who after making a careful examination of his case said : AUBURN DALE IN THE FORTIES 51 'What you need is more recreation — you must go to the theatre or opera.' 'But,' repHed the professor, 'we have no theatre or opera where I Hve.' 'Where do you live?' 'In Andover.' * * * 'And what do you have for amusement in Andover?' 'Sewing societies.' "And so, in orthodox New England fashion, the women of Auburndale (two months after the formation of the church), gathered in the brown house on the corner of Hancock and Central Streets, occupied by Mr. Partridge, and organized a 'Sewing Society.' " There was but one church at this time we must recol- lect, and it was a community affair. "The needs and the object of the Sewing Society are quaintly set forth in the Constitution, which was drawn up by Mrs. Sewall Harding, and reads thus : — 'We, the undersigned, feeling the importance of aiding some of the benevolent objects of the day, and of the cultivation of our social feelings, and of the improve- ment of our minds by reading, do adopt for our Consti- tution the following articles : — Art. I. This association shall be called the Benevolent Social Society of Auburndale — ' (Afterwards amended to The Ladies' Benevolent Society.) "Other articles define the number of officers and their duties, the fee of twenty-five cents admission, and four cents additional at every meeting, present or absent, the time of meeting and the admonition that in order to accomplish the objects of the society, 'the entertain- ments shall be plain and simple.' " 52 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE In regard to these simple entertainments Mr. H. G. Hildreth, who attended them, says: "The Sewing So- ciety met in the homes, the gentlemen being invited for supper, and once in a while the young people also, who during the evening enjoyed themselves by playing blind man's buff and similar games. The exercises closed by singing Naomi." To quote again from Mrs. Burr: "In the early sixties, we find often the record : — 'Closed with singing America, and prayer,' and the work which had been for local charities, for home missions, for foreign workers, was now devoted to our soldiers. Quilts, shirts, stock- ings, towels, etc., were sent to hospitals in Washington and to the Sanitary Commission. "January, 1862, 'met at Seminary. The evening closed with pleasant entertainment of tableaux, etc., provided by the young ladies of the Semniary. Work for the contrabands at Fortress Monroe, and so much interest manifested the ladies decided to meet once a week from two to six to work for soldiers.' "One meeting is recorded at Mr. C. C. Burr's where 45 garments were commenced and completed, some of these going to Miss Phoebe A. Alcott, then working among the negroes at Charleston, S. C. The soldiers' needs gave knitting an important place in the work of the so- ciety, and Directress of Knitting was an office most hon- orably filled by Mrs. [M. P.] Braman and Mrs. [A. F.] Hildreth." The population of Auburndale grew by leaps and bounds, until from the occasional house of 1800, and the THE RAILROAD 53 small friendly hamlet of the forties, it had in 1865, be- come a thriving village of nearly 700 inhabitants, and still continued to grow. Many persons of note in the religious and literary worlds ; and others prominent in the politics and finance of their day, settled in the lovely country place with its shady roads and neighboring river. From an embarrass- ment of riches we have only been able to mention the very earliest comers, and must omit many others, so well known, we hope, as to need no record here. THE RAILROAD The days before the railroad, and the days after, what a contrast ! Two diflFerent worlds, indeed, in Auburn- dale as elsewhere. And the first trains! Can we, hard- ened to wonders, imagine the excitement they produced! From a history of the Boston & Worcester Railroad by C. F. Adams, Smith quotes, "It was upon the Worcester road, and towards the latter part of March, 1834, that the first locomotive ever used in Massachusetts was set in motion. * * * 'Placed upon the track, its driver, who came with it from England, stepped upon the plat- form with almost the airs of a juggler, or a professor of chemistry, placed his hand upon the lever, and with a slight move of it, the engine started at a speed worthy of the companion of the "Rocket" amid the cheers of the multitude. It gave me such a shock, that my hair seemed to start from the roots, rather than to stand on end.' * * * On Monday, [April] 7th, we are informed that a locomotive ran on the railroad, for the first time. 54 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE 'as far as Davis' tavern in Newton, a distance of eight or nine miles, accompanied by a part of the directors and fifty or sixty other persons, for the purpose of making trial of the engine and examination of the road. * * * The engine travelled with ease, at the rate of twenty miles an hour.' The next day, a larger party went over the ground.' * * * It would not appear to have been a very successful affair ; for 'after proceeding a short dis- tance, their progress was interrupted by the breaking of a connecting rod between two of the cars, * * * and unfortunately a similar accident occurred three or four times during the excursion.' So after a short stop at Newton, the party came back, quite cross, apparently, and did not get home until half-past six in the evening." The following is quoted by Smith from the Directors' Report of June 2, 1834: "The railroad was opened for the conveyance of passengers between Boston and New- ton (the West village), a distance of 8^ miles, on the 16th of April last. A locomotive engine has been run three times daily to Newton and back with from two to eight passenger cars each trip. The passage each way is usually made in about 28 minutes, an average rate of speed of 18 miles per hour. The passages have been made by the 'Meteor' engine, which was built by Mr. Stephenson, of England." The beginnings of the railroad in Auburndale date even earlier than the graphic account of the eye-witness to the trial of the first locomotive ; for in 1833 a right of way was conveyed by certain owners of Auburndale land to the railroad "as now staked out and partly graded for a common road and railroad," as a deed of April, 1833, expresses it. That part of Auburn Street THE RAILROAD 55 between the station and Woodland Road originally ran on the south side of the railroad location, and was laid out on the present line about this time. Mrs. Caroline J. Barker of West Newton saw the first train which ran over the road to West Newton, and says that the engine looked like "an old boiler". Her grand- father, who was out in the fields when the train passed through Newtonville, seeing the locomotive approaching, ran, alarmed, to tell the family that "the devil was coming." Through trains to Worcester were run in 1837, and the first special to West Newton in 1843. How it was arranged by Mr. Pigeon to have a flag-stop at Auburn- dale has already been described. The flag station, a shanty about four or five feet square, put up in '47 on the north side of the track, stood beside a huge apple tree, and near it was the semaphore which had to be set by hand in order to induce the train to stop. Mr. C. H»: Johnson was the first regular passenger, on his daily trip from Auburndale to Boston, and had to find what shelter he could from wind and weather in the small shanty. On wintry days, the frozen arm of the sema- phore could not always be moved, and Mr. Johnson re- members standing on the track and waving his hat, which served very well as a signal. The brakemen had to stop the train with hand brakes, and were not always anxious to take this trouble for a solitary young man. Mr. Joshua Washburn bought railroad tickets, and at train time, would be at the flag station, ready to sell them at a few cents premium to those who were about to take the train. The first engines that Mr. G. H. Frost remembers had 56 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE no cabs, and looked like "pile-driving machines" with "two steampipes as big around as a good-sized tea kettle" ; the cars he recalls as having side doors. From Mr. J. L. Hillard, we get an idea of the loco- motives of a little later period: "The engines in those days were all wood burners, and had large smoke stacks like an inverted cone. Those on the passenger trains were painted up in red and gilt, and made quite a gala appearance. They were all named instead of being numbered as engines are at the present time. I recall about all of the names now. The engine on the Lower Falls train was the "Comet", on the Saxonville train the "Fury", on the Worcester trains, "Nathan Hale" and "David Henshaw", on the New York express train the "Express" and "Despatch," and on the New York mail train, the "Bee". The freight engines were named for wild animals, mythological characters, and volcanoes, namely : — Elephant, Lion, Tiger, Bison, Camel, Leopard ; Mercury, Ajax and Hercules ; the Vesuvius, Aetna and Hecla. We boys knew them and their running time so well that we could tell the time of day by them without having to look at a clock." "The 'Fury' and the 'Comet' were wonderful engines to our childish ideas, although the 'Fury' was famous for breaking down quite often," writes Miss Annie Hinckley. "We went every evening to meet our father when he came from Boston, and many a time had a long wait for the 'Fury' to arrive. Often on a Saturday afternoon, father would come on a Worcester train which did not stop at our station. Then we would go halfway up town to meet him. That train was drawn by the 'David Henshaw', a very aristocratic engine, we thought, for it THE RAILROAD 57 had a straight smokestack. The 'Fury' and the 'Comet' had the old-style fumiel shaped smokestacks. The cars were rather shorter than now, heated by stoves, and lighted by lamps." In 1851 a comfortable station was built by Mr. A. S. Johnson near the site of the present modern one but somewhat nearer Hancock Street, on the opposite side of the track from where the little flag station had stood. This second building still survives as Barsam's Market, on the corner of Ash and Auburn Streets. In the '50s it was a post-office as well as station, and George L. Bourne was postmaster and station agent. Previous to this, the nearest post-office had been in West Newton. The meth- od of distributing mail in those days was primitive. Strings were stretched across the inside of the window sash, and letters inserted against the glass, with the addresses so arranged that all who ran might read. Miss Hattie Walker tells how she and her sister used to stand on tiptoe trying to see the letters placed in the window, but, peer as they might, were not tall enough to read the addresses. Finally, they would have to go in and inquire for letters, a dreaded ordeal, as the postmaster expected everyone to pick out his own mail. From our modern, cosmopolitan minds, this simplicity of mail and railroad service is far removed. We have progressed, outwardly, at least; but with the old- fashioned inconveniences has gone, alas, much of the old-fashioned charm. 58 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE THE CHURCHES OF AUBURN DALE PRIOR TO 1870. Helen J. Farley. The life of Auburndale has so long been centered in and about its places of worship that the time when it was churchless seems very remote, almost in the dark ages, I was about to add, and yet, it was only in the year 1850, on the 20th of November, that the Auburndale Congregational Church was organized. Preliminary meetings were held in the home of Mr. Abijah S. Johnson, one of the first promoters of Auburndale. Mr. Charles C. Burr was elected the first clerk of the Society, and held the office until 1873. The church started with forty-four members, who had worshipped in West Newton up to that time. The services were held in a hall which stood on the "brow of the hill'" not far from the corner of Lexington and Auburn Streets. This hall afterwards was used by the Episco- palians for a short time, and still later by the Methodist Society. It is interesting to note that at the Council called to organize the church, the query arose as to the need of help from the Home Missionary Society. But the first collection was so unexpectedly large that all thought of assistance was dismissed forever. The spirit of benevolent giving came with the founders of the church, and has never left it. The first deacons of the Congregational Church were THE CHURCHES 59 Mr. Henry Mills, Mr. Joseph Lee Partridge, Mr. Sam- uel Barrett, Mr. Charles C. Burr, and later Mr. Charles W. Robinson. The first year the pulpit was supplied "at their con- venience," for the munificent sum of three hundred dol- lars, by the Reverends Charles D. Pigeon, Sewall Hard- ing, and Johnathan E. Woodbridge, and from April 1853 to 1855, by the Reverend Melancthon G. Wheeler. As early as 1853 the Society authorized the purchase of a lot, on which to build a church. Several lots of land were under discussion, but it was finally decided to purchase the land known as the Bartlett Lot owned by Homer Bartlett of Lowell. This was done on June 15, 1853, for the sum of one thousand dollars and stood in the name of Joseph Lee Partridge (Treas.) until May 13, 1858, when the Society voted to "convey the deed of the lot of land on which the Meeting House now stands" to the Congregational Society. In September 1856, it was decided to erect a building according to plans made by Mr. Charles E. Parker, the father of Professor Horatio W. Parker, now of Yale University. On July first, a year later, the church was dedicated having been completed and fur- nished for twelve thousand dollars. At the same time, Mr. Edward W. Clark was installed as its first pastor, although he had been acting pastor for some months previous. He filled the pulpit until 1861. Then the Reverend James Means supplied the pulpit for a year, and was followed by Rev. Augustus H. Carrier, who left in 1867, and was succeeded by Rev- erend Calvin Cutler, whose long and useful pastorate many of us recall. 60 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE On the night of March 24, 1862, during a violent storm, "the graceful spire of the church was blown down upon the roof," causing serious damage to the building. The steeple in falling struck the slant of the roof, and the bell cutting a hole in the roof, fell to the ground. It was repaired at a cost of sixteen hundred dollars, during which time the Society worshipped in the hall of Lasell Female Seminary, through the courtesy of Mr. George W. Briggs, its first principal. Strange to say, the bell was not injured by its fall, and it still sum- mons to praise and prayer. It served as the Fire Alarm Bell for some time, but the community rejoiced when it no longer was used in that capacity. It was cast in the foundry of Henry H. Hooper in Boston, and was pur- chased in the autumn of 1857 for eleven hundred dollars, the gift of Charles C. Burr. The first church clock proved unsatisfactory. The present one was made in Worcester in 1812, and had done good service in the Hollis Street Church in Boston. After the Hollis St. Church was changed to a theatre its clock came to Auburndale. It has remonstrated several times in our remembrance, but since its last reno- vating has gone bravely on, ticking its life away, and how many other lives ! The activities of the church began at an early date, — the Ladies' Benevolent Society was organized in Jan- uary 1851, and the Mothers' Association in 1870. Many honorable names have been enrolled upon its church reg- ister, some of them of world-wide reputation. The Church of the Messiah. Previous to the year 1858, religious worship according THE CHURCHES 61 to the ritual of the Episcopal Church was maintained in the Lexington Street hall. Rev. N. S. Allen was the rector. These services were given up in a short time, but started again in Village Hall, West Newton, July 16, 1871. A call for the meeting of "persons desirous of forming an Episcopal Church in West Newton" was held at the home of Jeremiah Allen, and on February 15, 1872, the Village Hall was hired as a place of worship, with Rev. C. S. Lester as rector. Other rectors following were Rev. H. W. Fay and Francis W. Smith. In April 1877, a vote was passed changing the name of the parish from the Church of the Messiah of West Newton, to that of West Newton and Auburndale. Services were held in various places under the direction of neighboring rectors ; but it was not until the spring of 1880 that land was purchased from Mr. Philip Wilner and Mr. Charles Brown, on Auburn Street near the present Boulevard, and a church was commenced from plans made by Charles E. Parker. The old Church which stood on the corner of Bedford and Chauncey Sts., in Boston, having been taken down, the materials were purchased to be rebuilt into the beautiful and harmonious edifice now standing. Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church. It was in August 1860, that the germ of the present society of the Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church began to develop. In the home of Mr. John Mero at Riverside, weekly prayer meetings were held by three Methodist Church members. These soon developed into "neighborhood meetings," led by Father Deavall of Weston, assisted by 62 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE Mrs. Deavall, and Mr. and Mrs. Anthony of Waltham. They soon grew too large to be accommodated in a home, and a room in an unoccupied school building was obtained for the meetings. The first service in this room was conducted by Father Jennison of Natick on November fourth, and the first sermon by a Methodist preached by Rev. George Mansfield on November eigh- teenth. The audiences increased so rapidly that it was soon decided to begin morning services, the first one being on December 23, 1860. In four months the meetings for prayer had de- veloped into Class Meetings. Rev. J. E. Frost of Wal- tham oflfered his services for one year, and his efforts resulted in increased attendance and great spiritual uplift. A Sunday School was organized in January, 1861, of three classes with fifteen members. On May twelfth of the same year, services were held in the larger hall on the corner of Auburn and Lexing- ton Streets, previously occupied by the Congregational- ists and Episcopalians. On January 1, 1862, a church was organized with twelve members, and on May 18th, Rev. J. Emery Round was installed as pastor, and the Sunday School reorganized with Mr. George L. Bourne was superintendent. In September, Mr. Round preached his farewell sermon, he having organized a company for the war, and been chosen its captain. Rev. Solomon Chapin filled the pulpit after Mr. Round's de- parture, until 1863. He was followed by Rev. Henry V. Degen for one year. In July, 1865, the hall in which they worshipped was burned to the ground, but the church was kept together by I THE CHURCHES 63 class meetings, held at the home of Mr. George Bourne. A lot of land, through the liberality of Mr. Anthony Holbrook, the oldest member, was then secured on Central Street, not then laid out, and the corner stone was laid for the present church December 25, 1866. The ceremony was performed by Bishop Mallalieu, then of the Bromfield Street Church in Boston, assisted by Rev. C. W. Cushing, the principal of Lasell Seminary. The church was completed and dedicated on May 15, 1867, at which time a collection of five hundred dollars was given toward the indebtedness. Rev. M. Townsend of Watertown was secured to supply the pulpit until 1868. Rev. Henry Lummus followed him. The first Sabbath in May was remarkable for the first ordinance of baptism by immersion, administered in the Charles River to four candidates, — two young men, and two young ladies from the Seminary, the result of Mr. Lummus' remarkable success. Until 1872 the pulpit was supplied for the most part by Rev. C. W. Cushing, but in April of that year. Rev. T. R. Cushing took charge of the church, and the Rev. Daniel Steele followed him. The Centenary Church was indeed fortunate to have Mr. Eben Tourgee as director of music, and organist, for many years. It will be remembered that he was the founder of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. The churches of Auburndale have always had a re- markable influence in the community, and we trust that with our rapidly increasing population, they will con- tinue to be centres not only for spiritual but community life. I 64 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE THE WALKER HOME FOR MISSIONARIES' CHILDREN. Condensed From an Account of Its Beginnings Written in Feb. 1905 By Mrs. Eliaa H. Walker, its Founder. In the spring of 1867 I came to America with my four children, having buried my husband in Turkey, and the following year my father built for me the house in which I am now living, corner of Fern and Hancock streets, and I began to take boarders. In October of 1868 I attended the meeting of the Board in Norwich, Conn. The subject of the care of Missionary Children left in this country was discussed. Miss Carrie Borden had expressed her views and told some very telling stories of how some she knew were treated. The subject was referred to a committee, and the next morning, Dr. N. G. Clark reported that Mrs. Z. Stiles Ely of New York and Mrs. E. H. Walker of Auburndale, Mass., were appointed to care for the interest of Mis- sionary Children. My roommate in Norwich was Mrs. Snow of Microne- sia, who was just home from a 17 years' labor, having come a year before her husband. She had expected to leave her children with her mother in Robinson, Me., but in going about, she saw that they were not to have school advantages such as other children had, and felt that she must make better plans for them ; during the winter she came to see me and asked if I . THE WALKER HOME 65 knew of any one who would give a home to her daughter Carrie, where she could be educated. Carrie was ten years old. My heart yearned over the child, and the subject of taking her myself was brewing. I thought of our beauti- ful public schools and our pleasant family life ; my heart was not at rest, I longed to be in connection with mission- ary work. My mother thought my health might fail if I undertook so much, but I did not think that it would. The next day, on Mrs. Snow's return, I talked with her very cautiously and finally said, "What would you think of my taking Carrie and giving her the same ad- vantages of home and school that I give to my own children?" She put her arms around me and exclaimed, "O Mrs. Walker, that is just what I wanted, but I had not the courage to ask it." Mr. Snow came home from Micronesia toward spring, having been wrecked on the Morning Star, and was more than satisfied with the arrangement that had been made for Carrie, but meanwhile the prospect of separating the two children was very painful and Mrs. Snow had writ- ten to me to know if any home could be found where Fred might attend the same school, he doing little house- hold chores. I tried first one and then another and finally four but with no success. People were interested in my story but could not think of taking such a responsi- bility. Finally I decided to take Fred also. And so the matter was talked over and finally settled to Mr. and Mrs. Snow's great relief. When Mrs. Ely heard that I had taken these children 66 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE she was greatly pleased. She had held an intimate friend- ship with Mrs. Anson P. Stokes who was a neighbor. Mrs. Stokes' two daughters had received a large legacy from their grandfather. She had expressed to Mrs. Ely her great desire that her daughters should learn to do good with the money which they were receiving. Mrs. Ely cut out slips from the Missionary Herald, giving an account of the work in the Micronesia Islands and the subject was spread before them and they became exceedingly interested and Mrs. Ely told them the story of what I was doing. They decided that they would give seven dollars a week to me for the board of the children as long as I would keep them. Time went on and others heard of it, and more Mis- sionary children were applied for, one from China, two from India, whose parents were not satisfied with the arrangements they had made with friends for their children, and although my lucrative summer boarders were wishing to come back, at the request of Dr. N. G. Clark, I decided to keep only Missionary children. My family so increased, that I kept enlarging my house in order that my own children might have a place, for I had taken their rooms for others. Miss Carrie Borden furnished the rooms which I built out, which furniture was afterward taken up to what is now the "Missionary Home." I had a valuable helper in Mrs. Pritchett, an English woman, who lived with me ten years helping with the cooking and sewing ; and was very motherly in her care of the boys and girls, some of whom are now Mission- aries in India, Africa, Turkey and China. It was indeed a labor of love on her part and on mine. THE WALKER HOME 67 My own children were harmonious and helpful and one with them both at school and at home. I felt that they ought to do work as they would if with their own parents, so had them all, boys and girls, help in the household work, confronting the idea that many peo- ple had, that Missionary children were not practical. For the very disagreeable duties that would come up I would pay them. More were applying for admission and this house, al- though enlarged a number of times, not being big enough, and my parents having died, I filled their house, placing Carrie Snow with her parents who had again returned to this country, and later Cornelia Williams, now Mrs. Chambers of Adana, Turkey, in charge of the family there, under my oversight. Then more room was required, and I thought about buying a certain lot, but it was suggested to me that I take my father's house and grounds and add to the building. I called an architect who drew a plan, for the most part satisfactory ; then I interviewed Mr. Pettigrew, my builder. I went to Mr. C. C. Burr and told him what I wanted to do. He wiped tears away from his eyes and said, "Well, Mrs. Walker, it is a blessed thing to do if you have the faith and courage." This was in 1879. I committed the whole affair into Mr. Pettigrew's hands to go forth and buy materials ac- cording to plan, and I went to the meeting of the Board in Syracuse, and when I returned the foundation walls were in sight. Then I commenced correspondence with individuals who I felt sure would help me and I was not mistaken in 68 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE this. I placed a mortgage on the house and money came in response to my appeal so that I was able to pay myl bills. My heart was glad and I grew more and more •confident that I should be carried through. The building went on rapidly ; Mr. Pettigrew was firm and faithful in his friendship ; the children were helpful wherever they could be. The Auburndale ladies helped a great deal in many ways at this time, the Bourne sisters making all the curtains for the house. I had had much in mind the commencement of an en- dowment fund, for I felt that no one coming after me could raise the amounts needed for current expenses as I had done. Through the kindness of friends, a fund was started. I asked the Board to appoint trustees for the care of this money and Dr. N. G. Clark, Mr. C. C. Burr, and Mr. James M. Gordon were appointed. My purpose was as soon as money sufficient was raised to pay for the house to have the home deeded to the American Board, which was done sometime between 1885 and 1889. The work begun by Mrs. Walker with so much of sacrifice and devotion has grown and prospered through the work and gifts of its friends until today there is a new brick Home, artistic and commodious, on the site of the old building which was destroyed by fire in 1912; the Walker Cottage Home, a beautifully remodelled house of twelve furnished rooms for adult and retired mission- aries ; and the Lodge, a furnished cottage of six rooms. The Home is under the supervision of Trustees and a THE WALKER HOME 69 Board of Managers appointed by the American Board. The Trustees hold an endowment fund which, although inadequate, makes it possible to give the privileges of the Home at less than actual cost. At present the average number living in the three houses is fifty. A large number of those who as children lived at the Home are today active workers in the foreign field while their children in turn are enjoying the privileges and blessings of the Walker Home. I 70 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE AUBURNDALE SCHOOLS. Jessie J. Macmillan. Spend an hour with the old court records and the. meagre early school reports which have a rich flavor in their ancient thought and spelling, and you will get a very fair account of the growth of our school system. John Eliot teaching the Indians in the Waban Wigwam, was no doubt Newton's first school ; but among the white population in the earliest days, there were no schools in Newton ; farming and pioneer work claimed all the attention. Even in 1693 we read, "Paid J. Fuller twenty shillings for killing three wolves." Sixty years after the first house was built, it was voted to have a school house ; but instead a room was hired, and John Staples, weaver, was to teach the boys and girls, if they wished, to write and cipher, for two shillings per day, four days per week. The fee was the same for boys and girls, but boys could take more studies. By 1701, there were two school houses. The population was increasing, and the school question became difficult. Twenty years later, the vote to grant schools in the re- mote parts of the town was vetoed, and excitement ran high, until the town fathers compromised by keeping school half time in the West district, and a quarter each in the North End districts. Samuel Miller offered a room free in the West section, but this was not satisfactory. Finally, money was voted for a school in the West district, and children could be sent to any of the three schools. SCHOOLS 71 Winter schools were soon after inaugurated, and £16 al- lowed for a schoolmistress, the first in Newton, the whole appropriation being £50. By 1800 this was raised to £100, and West Newton and Auburndale's share was £17. About this time, the Auburn Street school was built, and the town divided into seven wards. Dwring this period, private schools were many, and at their best, filling any deficiency in the lack of public schools for those who could attend. After the graded system was adopted in 1852, of the 1061 pupils between five and fifteen years of age, but 249 were under private teachers, 87 per cent, attending the public schools. Under two elms still standing on Auburn Street at the corner of Curve (on the site of No. 39 Auburn St.) stood the first schoolhouse of our village. Here also came the children of West Newton in that vicinity, and some from the Lower Falls also. The school house was a plain frame building, painted white, 20 x 25 feet. A small door led into a narrow entry piled high at one end with two-foot logs of wood, inci- dentally a place for caps and coats, with an entrance to the school near the other end. On either side of the room were rows of strong board benches and desks facing each other, for sturdy boys and girls. The floor slanted downwards on each side toward the center, where the none too wide space was level. In the middle was the stove, beside which the classes stood, arranging themselves as best they could in order to be seen by the master, whose desk stood at the end. There were two school sessions. The winter one was from November to April, when the school was full — large boys, almost grown men, attending, with a Courtesy of Mr. A. L. Goodrich. SITE OF THE CRAFTS HOUSE Built by Alexander Shepard, Jr., about 1768; and the Old Oak Tree under which is the well where the Auburn Street school children used to go for water. SCHOOLS 73 master in charge. There was a vacation before the summer term, when the younger children were in evi- dence, with a school-mistress as teacher. From the school report, there was also an autumn vacation. Very likely all had to help in the harvesting, even children did their part of the work. The school hours were from 9 to 12 a. m., and 1 to 4 p. m. The pupils brought their dinners, and ate them in the school house, or in the winter perhaps at a kindly neighbor's, where it was warmer. Farther up the street, under an ancient oak at the old Crafts place, you may find the site of the well where the children had to come for water to quench their ever-thirsty throats. If re- ports are true, they were not so athirst for knowledge. Half way between, on the other side may still be seen this identical first hall of learning, eking out an honor-, able existence as the ell of the Episcopal Rectory, — fit- tingly, it has been exalted one story. Mr. Walter Ware and his sisters attended this school, also Mrs. Wm. E. Plummer and two of her brothers; and Mr. Frost who lives on Fuller Street can tell many an interesting tale of the life there. Starting at the age of five, he remembers playing "Snap the Whip," holding on to one of the elm trees ; and when the telegraph poles were placed, with single wires, the boys ran out to see if they could see the letters running along the wire. Of the masters mentioned of this early school is a Mr. Wm. F. Ward, who stayed ten years, and drew some of the early real estate plans in Auburndale ; Brackett Lord, who taught Mr. Frost his multiplication table ; and a Mr. Whitney. The last was not so popular with the boys, and was pronounced to be "not worth a cent." Of 74 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE summer teachers are named, Miss Goodhue, Miss Pen- niman, Miss Washburn and Miss Burt. Intermediate grades were planned for at this school, but gradually the older pupils attended the model school at West Newton or one of the excellent private schools in the vicinity. By 1850 the building was much out of repair, and the committee ordered it remodelled or closed. The Auburndale Educational Society, formed June 15. 1849, with J. J. Walworth, President; Martin Collier, Treas. ; C. C. Burr, Clerk, and J. L. Partridge, Auditor, took the affair into their own hands by putting up a building near the northeast corner of Lexington St. and what is now Melrose Avenue, renting the upper hall for religious purposes, and the two lower rooms for school use. One of the lower rooms was hired by Mr. Weld as a private school. At his home on Woodland Road, oppo- site the Seminary, he took several boys as boarders. The other room was used as a public school, the first teacher being Miss Whittlesey or "Ma'am Whittlesticks" as the boys called her. Mrs. Wm. E. Plummer also taught here as a supply. The building became known as the Lexington Street School, and was burned in 1865. With the schools in general at this time, there was much dissatisfaction, and Newton ranked seventeenth in appropriation of money, "no citizen to be willing she should stand lower." Here the reports of the School Committee are enlightening, "If discipline were carried to greater perfection, effect would be better." "Some improvement, not so much as desired." Of the grammar grades, "If not all hoped for, all that in reason could be expected" ; but in the Primary, with Miss Joslyn teacher, SCHOOLS 75 the order is perfect, general tone gratifying in every re- spect. Of the Ash Street School in 1861, "The pupils had fallen into evil habits of deportment and scholarship, study languished and emulation slept." "Mr. 'Cephas' changed all this, and school is as should be. Pupils have self-respect and enthusiasm, order exceptional." Private schools were at their best, and Auburndale had her share. Lasell opened in 1852, and still keeps its popularity. Mr. A. F. Hildreth, the father of H. G. Hildreth, had a well equipped boys' school at River- side in 1853. Later Mr. J. E. Woodbridge was asso- ciated with him. They had a large school building with gymnasium in the yard, and each of the principals re- ceived into their families ten or twelve pupils, a fine class of boys from well-to-do families. The Riverside children were always interested in watching the boys go through their daily gymnastic stunts, and in their marching, two by two, through the streets. Later Rev. George F. Walker and William G. Harding were inter- ested in the school. They in turn sold out to Rev. Solomon Adams who kept a small boys' school at his house, the original Hildreth home, for a short time. The house at the corner of Hancock Street and Wood- land Road, iately moved, was also used as a boys' school by Mr. Woodbridge; and Rev. Charles W. Gushing, principal of Lasell, had a boys' school in the building now known as Lasell Inn. The model school in con- nection with the Normal School, and Mr. Allen's excel- lent school, both in West Newton, offered the best of advantages to the older pupils. From 1847 on, Auburndale was in the hands of land promoters. The farms were cut up into building lots, a s o SCHOOLS 17 and the population increased rapidly. The Lexington Street School did not meet requirements, and much dis- satisfaction was expressed. In 1849 there had been a de- mand for a free High School, but nothing was accom- plished until in 1852, under the leadership of Dr. Barnas Sears, the Secretary of the State Board of Education, the district school were abolished and graded schools inaugurated. Dr. Henry Bigelow, a member of the com- mittee, consulting with no less a person than the Hon. Horace Mann, formerly a resident of West Newton. Arrangements for instruction in the higher studies were at that time carried out in Newton Centre ; but it wasi not until 1861 that the "pure High School, to be located at Newtonville" was established. Four girls and no boys graduated the first 3'ear. When there were seventy-five houses in the present limits of the village of Auburndale, in the year 1856, a new school building was erected on Ash Street. Even with better accommodations, "the larger boys were unruly," Mr. Hillard tells us, who was one of them ;• and not until Mr. Cephas Brigham, "the man of stone," "took charge was the school brought up to rank. In the diary of Rev. E. W. Clark, father of Rev. F. B. Clark, the entry of June 5, 1860, was on the whole un- favorable — "First division in Grammar, position loung- ing, careless when spoken to — James and Frank Hillard's class." That Dr. Clark singled out his acquaintances by which to designate the class is no reflection upon them, as many certificates of merit in Mr. Hillard's possession show. The entry continues "Second division in gram- mar, Mary Worcester's and Alice Gordon's class, rather imperfect, snapping fingers, shaking hands." "Third 78 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE division in geography, imperfect, stand disorderly, Hen- ry Mero, and George Briggs." "First division in arith- metic, Julia Sweet's class : one part of the class in Pro- portion and the other part in the Roots." Mrs. H. G. Hildreth, who graduated at the Normal School after it was removed from West Newton to Framingham, was chosen as teacher of the intermediate department when the school was remodelled in 1865. Among her pupils were Susie Richards, now Mrs. Gore, and her brother Arthur ; Arthur and Henry Gordon ; Frederick J. Ranlett, and Arthur W. Kelly — "a lively lot," she reports, except the latter, whose heart she once troke by saying in decided tones, "Study, Arthur," when he was studying. The remark was really meant for Arthur Richards, who was perfectly willing that his friend should do all the studying. But improved methods gave improved results, and the next generation did creditable work both there and at the High School. Many of our middle aged resi- dents have pleasant memories of the old Ash Street School before the times demanded the more modern building, the Williams School on Hancock Street. LASELL SEMINARY 79 LAS ELL SEMINARY Clara A. Winslow. Lasell Seminary for Young Women, or Lasell Female Semfnary, as it was called in its early days, has long been a prominent factor in the life of Auburndale, At a time when schools for girls were a rarity, Ed- ward Lasell, Professor of Chemistry in Williams Col- lege, and a frequent visitor in one of the original Au- burndale families, conceived the idea of such a school crowning the beautiful wooded slope by Woodland Ave- nue. There in 1851 he erected what is now the middle and library wing of the main building. He died soon after the founding of the school, but his work was carried on by his brother, Josiah Lasell, and his brother-in-law, George W. Briggs, who acted as prin- cipals for about ten years. The following are extracts from the first catalog, which was published in 1853 : "This institution is located in the beautiful village of Auburndale, West Newton, Mass., on the line of the Worcester Railroad, ten miles from Boston and within eight hours ride of the cities of New York and Albany. Being situated upon a commanding elevation, it takes in an extended view of the environs of Boston, which are unrivalled in the beauty and variety of their scenery." "Young ladies in all their social relations are put upon their own good sense, and when that fails them, they are counselled by the appropriate teachers." 80 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE "Pupils are required to attend church twice every Sabbath." "Weekly compositions are required from all members of the Seminary. We aim to secure ease and propriety of expression." "Lesson in Music, Painting, Drawing and other Orna- mental Branches are given." "There is a public examination at the close of each session, continuing two days." "Young ladies must come here for purposes of study and not for eating and drinking. Young ladies will not be allowed to eat confectionery." "In bad weather the Seminary carriage will be in readiness to convey pupils to and from the depot." The carriage referred to was called by the pupils the "black Maria", and was the conveyance which took them to meeting at West Newton before the time of Sunday services in Auburndale. The school year extended from the middle of Sep- tember to the middle of July, with tuition of two hun- dred dollars for boarding pupils. Among the one hundred and nine names of students in the first catalog, ten were Auburndale residents. They were; Ellen C. Ayer, Marion Barrett, Harriet B. Hard- ing, Annie Johnson, Abbie S. Taft, Susan W. Wash- burn, Mary B. Woodbridge, Elizabeth Worcester, Isabel Barry, and Edith Barry. In the next year's catalog, the new Auburndale names were; Julia M. Bourne, Mary E, Bourne, Anna M. Bradbury, Laura Lasell, Ellen Lasell, Louise Lasell, Abba M. Oliphant, Lizzie M. Strong, Caroline E. Ware. Mrs. Flora D. Sampson of the class of 1857 writes. LASELL SEMINARY 81 "The graduating exercises of the class of '56 took place in the West Newton Congregational Church because there was then no church building in the village of Au- burndale. During my school days we attended service twice a Sunday in the village hall over the only grocery store in the place, reached by an outside stairway. Week days we bought apples and pickles and other schoolgirl dainties of that sort, and Sundays received spiritual nourishment in the room above, where ordinary wooden settees served for sittings and a half dozen or so at the side of the reading desk were occupied by Lasell girls, of course in full sight of the whole congregation. It is needless to state that most exemplary behavior pre- vailed in that company of much stared at young women, several of whom were mere children. The class of 1857 rejoiced that they were the first class to hold exercises in the new Auburndale Congregational Church. The architect of the church, Mr. C. E. Parker married Isabel Jennings, our class poet, and Mr. H. W. Parker, the well-known composer, is their son. I recall that he played a piano duet with his mother at one of our re- unions at Lasell when he was mentioned as a 'grandson* of that institution. It has always been a consoling reflection that the class of '57 took the then Harvard exams without being con- scious of the origin of the questions. Perhaps had they known what they were doing they might not have been so confident of success, or can it — can it be that the Harvard intellect was not really so superior as it seemed to us at that time ?" Five years after the opening of the school, lectures on Anatomy and Physiology, and practical work in Gym- 82 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE nasties were introduced. The announcement of this de- parture is headed in the year book, "A New and Most Important Feature," and is followed by this statement ; "The general recognition manifest on every hand of the great importance of physical culture as an integral part of a true education will now justify, it is believed, a thorough and persistent employment of those measures which are soon to result in a healthy body." Semi-monthly "literary exercises" were held in the Seminary Hall to which were invited the relatives of the pupils and friends of the Principals, "An opportunity is thus afforded," states the catalog, "of observing the progress of the pupils in the various departments repre- sented, namely : Composition, Elocution, Recitations from the Poets, Music, French, etc. The time remain- ing after the close of the exercises is devoted to social enjoyment." Rev. Charles W. Cushing became principal in 1862 and remained at the head of the school for twelve years. In 1865, the following statement is published : "We deem it fortunate that the tone of the public schools in and around Boston — an outgrowth of the educational taste of the people — demands that the Insti- tution be of a high character. — While we furnish the best of facilities for ornamental and aesthetic culture, — we yet wish it distinctly understood that an ornamental education is by no means the chief aim of the Institu- tion. Solid culture will be made as prominent and be pursued as thoroughly as in any ladies' seminary or college in the land. A new emergency demands that young ladies shall be educated so as to be able to fill important posts heretofore filled by the other sex; and it 84 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE is the purpose of the Lasell Seminary to do her full share in this noble work." From the catalog of 1869-70 appears this announce- ment, "A most valuable Chalybeate Spring has recently been discovered on grounds connected with the Semi- nary. Dr. Hayes, of Boston, State Assayer, pronounces it one of the best tonic waters he has ever analyzed. Many young ladies have found very great benefit from the use of these waters." There was a Kindergarten Class connected with the Seminary ( 1874-76) upon the roll of which appear many familiar Auburndale names ; Benyon, Haskell, Huestis, Parker, Johnson, Dillingham, Sweet, Plummer, Tourjee, Pickard, Pulsifer, Eager, and others. In 1874 Mr. Charles C. Bragdon became principal. He introduced the now popular courses in Home Economics. They appeared in 1878 under the heading, "The New Departure," later, "The Handiwork Depart- ment," and "Domestic Science." The idea of incor- porating this branch of work into a school curriculum aroused much opposition and ridicule. This school was a noteworthy pioneer in this line. Dr. Bragdon was principal of the Seminary for thirty- four years. Under his leadership, it increased in number of students, in buildings, equipment, and power. Among the Seminary teachers of the early days are many well-known names, — Mrs. H. C. Oliphant, Miss Isabel J. Jennings, (Mrs. Charles Edward Parker), Miss Elizabeth S. Worcester, Rev. Henry Lummis, Miss Catherine Chamberlayne, Jules Luquiens, Miss Parloa, and Miss Caroline Carpenter. Notable among the early graduates was Elizabeth LASELL SEMINARY 85 Gardner of the class of 1856, now Mme. Bouguereau, the artist. Lasell has been privileged to exert a wide influence, her students having come, and still coming, from all over the United States, and from many foreign countries. She is proud of her noble company of alumnae, nine hundred strong, many of whom are doing worthy work in the world and living up to their Commencement ad- monition, "Lasell Seminary sends you forth to represent her. You bear her name. You must protect her honor." Although greatly increased in size and strength over her beginnings, the Seminary's power still lies in her purpose to train young women for lives of knowledge and use- fulness. 86 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE SOCIAL LIFE. By Nellie P. Draper. An old letter says, "What pleasant fellowship we had in the old days, when everybody knew everybody else, and the church held us all." The church was necessarily the community center, people learned to work together and depend on each other, and real neighborliness was the spirit of lovely Auburndale. Dr. Alexander McKenzie wrote, "Our fellowship was not merely a matter of enjoy- ment, it was a matter of usefulness." Tea parties and Sewing Circles, approved by New England orthodoxy, were really social dissipations. There were occasional home and church weddings, which were most festive. The boys of the town used to mix much more freely with the Lasell girls than is possible now : and as a great many families had boarders who were interesting people, the residents of the village were not wholly de- pendent upon themselves. Out of door sports were much indulged in. Long horse-back rides and "buggy rides" were taken over the charming country roads to other villages. Boating on the Charles offered unlimited recreation, picnics were frequent events, and in the winter "young men and maidens, old men and children" revelled in the skating, coasting and sleighing. What one did in the community, they all did together. Such wonderful woods with their wealth of wild flowers, the hills disclosing charming SOCIAL LIFE 87 landscapes, and the winding Charles, made tramping a pleasure, and some such walks are described as "creating ardent sympathy with Nature." Music was an important social as well as educational factor in the village life — and early settlers give enthu- siastic accounts of informal musical evenings in which the amateur and the professional joined with equal zest. Records are preserved of two organizations which contributed much to the fellowship, hospitality and cul- ture of the neighborhood. The first one of these to be formed was the Auburndale Rural Club founded in October 1857, F. P. Shumway being the first president and S. A. Danforth, Secretary and Treasurer. The ob- ject of the Club was "to promote the planting of orna- mental trees on our public streets, and to encourage an increased and improved culture of fruits, vegetables and flowers." The dues were the payment of two dollars annually, or the planting of a shade tree on any street in the village. At the monthly meetings, various topics relating to horticulture were discussed, no member being allowed over two minutes for his remarks. During the first year, 132 trees, at a cost of $36.40, were set out. The annual report says, "These trees promise to add to the beauty and comfort of our village. If we cannot enjoy them, unborn generations will gaze upon the noble elms and beautiful maples planted by this Club, and will speak with gratitude and reverence of our wise forethought." Verily the prophecy has come true. The Club apparently continued its good work and serious discussions for several years. It is interesting to note a deficit of eight dollars reported at one annual meeting. Two motions were made and carried, one to 88 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE subscribe for some horticultural papers, and one "to reduce the fees from two dollars to one dollar." A slip of paper in the book shows "donations from four mem- bers," and a balance of cash on hand of seventy-five cents, — a most comfortable closing of the year's records. The other club of which we learn was the Auburndale Book Club, founded in the early sixties with 17 members, — well-known men of the community. A catalogue pub- lished a year later shows a list of 150 books with a variety of titles. A book might be kept six days before being passed to the next member in order on the printed list. "A fine of five cents per day for neglect in doing this and a ten-cent fine for not writing in the date when' received and delivered." A discussion or debate was carried on at each meeting. The following are some of the subjects: "The Unity of the Human Races," "Do Animals Think?", "Is There an Intermediate State," "Are Amusements on the whole Beneficial," "Should the Chinese be permitted to erect Idol Temples in this Country?", and "Will it be for the General Good to Invest Women with the Right of Suflfrage?". This lat- ter was seriously discussed, as were all the subjects ap- parently. It was the "almost unanimous opinion that such a measure would fail to promote the welfare of woman or the general good of society, while it would be likely to become a fruitful source of domestic and social discord, and impose new duties and responsibilities upon those whose time and strength are sufficiently employed in the discharge of the duties which woman alone can perform." Oh learned judges ! Concluding this record, appears the following, "But when the discussion was turned by invitation of the ladies to the sumptuous colla- SOCIAL LIFE 89 tion provided, our able debaters, before whose eloquence all opposing obstacles vanish, found themselves wholly inadequate to the occasion, and at once capitulated to the generous hospitalities brought upon them." In 1879 the books remaining in the hands of the sur- viving members were presented to the Newton Library, and cordially acknowledged. "Know your own Community" may seem to be a slogan of the present day, — the people of early Auburn- dale did not need it. They shared each other's thoughts, their joys and sorrows, they worked together for the good of all ; and with more houses, and larger, broader interests, we can do no better than to emulate their example, and love our neighbors as ourselves. 90 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE REMINISCENCES. Mr. Charles H. Johnson. In the early days, we attended the church at West Newton, using the railroad track as a footpath, the road being either muddy or dusty. We could do this as there were very few trains on a Sunday. The min- isters of the village officiated at the Sunday services. It was no burden for them, as there were twenty or more of them residents here at a time. We could not find fault with the sermons, as their services were gratu- itous, but there was no Beecher among them. So many of the clergy among us, it was a grand opportunity for the fathers to point to them as patterns for the boys to copy. We found that the professors were not all saints, nor the non-professors all rascals. The former may have had a more perfect control over their temptations, but they were all of the same material. After being reproved by my father for smoking, I met one of the clergy walking through the woods to Wellesley to preach the afternoon sermon. I noticed he carried his arm rather awkwardly, and having the curiosity to look around, saw the smoke puffing out the side of his face in clouds ; and boy-like, I lighted a cigar, went home, and received the same reproof and the same reference to the Reverend as an example. I told my father what I had seen. He wouldn't doubt my word, but looked mighty surprised. He told the Reverend, who admitted REMINISCENCES 91 the truth, and said it was because of water on the stom- ach. I don't know the effect of his treatment, but am confident no doctor ever prescribed it. There were some quaint people among the early set- tlers. One, Dr. William Alcott, who built on the lot now occupied by Dr. Peloubet and Mrs. Van Wagenen, a tatt, gaunt man, you would most any day find work- ing in his garden, bareheaded and barefooted, always ready for a chat, quite a philosopher, author of "The House I Live In". He had very decided ideas regard- ing food, dress, and the way to live, and no matter what the occasion or the topic, he always drifted into that line of talk on Friday nights, or elsewhere. Another Reverend was short, thick and stout, his stomach was built so it rounded out, a quiet amiable gentleman, a bachelor till well along in life when he took for a wife a lady lovely in looks and character., One morning he was met coming out of the station, tears in his eyes. When asked if he was in trouble, he, replied, "I was thinking what a fool I had been to re- main single so long." * * * The music of the Congregational Church was quite a feature. Mrs. Oliphant was a member of the Woodman family, noted for their musical acquirements. Mrs. Oliphant, as Hannah Woodman, was the leading soprano in Lowell Mason's famous choir at the Bow- doin Street Church. Her sister Abby was equally good as a contralto. Mr. Page was vocal teacher at the Sem- inary. He was a fine English tenor, taking the tenor solos in oratorios given by the Musical Education So- ciety. The bass was a Mr. Eaton, resident of Auburn- 92 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE dale, and competent to help make a quartet second to none. Mr. Josiah Lasell sat at the organ. There was a small chorus drilled by Mrs. Oliphant at her home, al- though Mr. Cross was nominally chorister; but she was the leading spirit, and it was safe to say there was not its equal in any Boston church at that time. Another of the Woodman girls married George F. Root, who afterwards held the same position in Chicago that Oliv- er Ditson did in Boston. At one time, Mrs. Root made a visit to her sister in Auburndale, and while here the three sisters sang the trio from Elijah, It was a revela- tion to the old people who had never heard an oratorio. The Oliphants lived in the house afterwards occupied by Mr. Edward E. Hardy. At one of the rehearsals at her house, she cut it short with the remark, "We will now have some flute music from Mr. Johnson and his friends". At that time, Mr. Parker, Mr. Hager of Low- er Falls, and Mr. Johnson amused themselves by play- ing music written for three flutes. Of course I inform- ed her that we did not carry our flutes and music with us. She said nothing, but went out of the room return- ing with the music and the three flutes. We performed, but it is needless to say we were never asked to repeat the performance. * * * The Briggs house, rebuilt by Mr. Johnson, was leased to two ladies Gardner, who kept a genteel boarding house in Summer Street, Boston. Their boarders came to Auburndale and spent the summer. Among them was a Mr. Chandler, proprietor and editor of the Bos- ton Advertiser; Rev. Dr. Sharp, the Baptist minister on Charles Street, Boston ; his son, John Sharp, and fam- REMINISCENCES 93 ily; and Peter Harvey, called the confidential adviser of Daniel Webster, who generally carried a check of Peter's in his pocket. Mr. Arthur C. Wahvorth. IrT 1849 we boarded at Mrs. Whittlesey's, the many- gabled house north of the station, corner of Melrose St. (Now known as the "Briggs" house.) The "depot" was simply a six by eight shack with a semaphore which passengers wishing to take a train would set for them- selves. There was but one train, called then the "spe- cial," which ran back and forth between Newton Lower Falls and Boston. The conductor was Stephen Cate, a rather short fat man who always wore a tall hat. If there was a passenger for Auburndale on an outward trip, he would call to the engineer from the platform at West Newton, "Stop at Auburndale" or "Stop at Pine Grove." I remember on one Fourth of July seeing an extra train of English side-door coaches, some of the "has beens" no doubt. At Mrs. Whittlesey's my father paid fifteen dollars per week for three of us and maid. There was pleasant company there. Prof. Edward Lasell, who was building the Seminary, occupied the first floor, southwest room, with his family of five pretty children who were my playmates, also a family named Wales whose boys kept rabbits; I remember how they smelt. There was the Hon. Peter Harvey and wife, and a Major Merritt who was waiting for his rich grandmother to die. The "Poor House" had stood on the opposite corner but only the cellar remained. On Hancock St. south of 94 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE the Station stood (as now) the house of the Rev. Joseph L. Partridge. He had a son of my age, Joseph Junior, who died very young. Before dying he repeated the Twenty-third Psalm, a fact which pious people im- pressed on my mind with great emphasis. On the south corners of Woodland Avenue and Hancock Street lived Rev. Mr. Woodbridge who had a small boys' school and Rev. Mr. Worcester. The next house, upon Hancock Street, was built by my father for his gardener, Patrick Horan ; that street was our driveway, for our place contained a hundred acres. Mrs. C. E. Parker lived in this house later. The next house was that of Rev. Mr. Harding. I attended the marriage of his daughter to Mr. Williams and well remember when they sailed away to convert the heathen, for it was much talked of. In the house east of Mr. Partridge's lived Mr. Johnson the builder. On Woodland Avenue the Seminary was under construction and near the railroad bridge, on this avenue, lived the Bradbury s (the Strongman house) who had twenty-one children ; I used to play with eight or ten of them. On Sundays we went to West Newton and heard Parson Gilbert preach and he was prosy enough ; I com- prehended nothing of his sermons, but I always had to go to church and we usually walked, quite a walk for a six year old. Miss Harriet Walker. My mother, Eliza Harding Walker, was born in Wal- tham, where she lived until ten years old. She has told me of riding over to Auburndale with her father, who was the first pastor of the Congregational Church in Wal- REMINISCENCES 95 tham, to see the steam cars when they first began to run. A number of years later, her youngest brother, George Harding, was working for a civil engineer in Boston, and was sent out to survey some property in Auburn- dale. He liked the place so much that he bought the land where the Congregational Church now stands. Soon after this, in 1849, when only nineteen years old, he died, after only a few hours illness of cholera. My grandfather, the Rev. Sewall Harding, a little later went to Auburndale to look up this purchase of his son's. He was delighted with the place but wanted more land, so bought all the land bounded by Woodland and the present Grove and Hancock Sts., except the one lot on the corner of Hancock and Woodland Road; and he sold his son's lot for the church, where it now stands. He built the house now owned by the Seminary, formerly owned by Mr. Thomas Williams. At night not a light would be seen from this house except from the Seminary, which I think was being built at that time. Grandfather's household goods were in East Medway, now Millis, and were brought from there by horse load through Newton Lower Falls. From the latter place to the new house there was no more direct highway than around by Washington Street and through Wood- land Road. Uncle William Greenough Harding, then a boy, decided to take a short cut through the woods with his load, and thus prospected what later became that part of Grove Street from the end of Hancock to New- Lower Falls. The Auburndale people waited for my grandfather before forming the church as five of his family would join. 96 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE When my father was in Andover Seminary he began to think of the Missionary work and wrote to mother about it. In her own words she says, — "That summer I was a guest of my brother John in Longmeadow, who had settled over the church there a few months before. I was busy with much sewing and thinking. I made parish calls with him. "Mr. Worcester * * * came there to preach one Sun- day. His text was from Matthew 16 :3 : 'O ye hypo- crites, ye can discern the face of the sky ; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?' It seemed as if he was preaching directly to me although I had not con- sidered myself a hypocrite, yet the signs of the times were made to appear very direct in the pointing to the question which I was considering. "In the afternoon I invited him to come into my little sewing room ; I had supposed that I was considered in Auburndale as frivolous and I wanted him to tell me what he thought of my fitness for entering on the mis- sionary work. I found to my surprise that he most ear- nestly desired that I would enter upon the foreign mis- sionary service. From that time on my purpose was settled and I could feel that the hand of the Lord was in it. * * * "The Auburndale ladies were exceedingly kind in help- ing to prepare the bride's outfit, and Charles Johnson hemmed a pair of sheets with his own hands. * * * "There were no horse cars then, and our large com- pany of friends walked from their various depots to Rowes Wharf where we assembled on the deck of the Bark Mimosa for farewell services." REMINISCENCES 97 Charles Johnson tells how he asked for his first vaca- tion of a day to see her oflf. While mother was in Turkey my grandfather sold this first house to Mr. Thomas Williams, built what is now "The Walker Cottage Home" in which he lived a few years,' then sold it, building the original part of the second Walker Missionary Home, where my mother found him on her return in 1863 for her first furlough. My sister Helen and I well remember the little store where we bought our penny's worth of candy, etc. My sister went in once and asked for a rubber. The stern old maid who kept it said if she meant rubbers go to the shoe store ; if she meant eraser she would sell her one. By Miss Annie M. Hinckley. My sister and I think that there is no one who can remember and appreciate the beauty of Pigeon Hill in the early days as we can. When we came here (in 1854) there was no house on Pigeon Hill but the old Pigeon House now much altered and known as the Pigeon Hill House. The Rev. C. D. Pigeon must have had an eye to natural beauty to have seen the beautiful location which nature had set for a home. He laid out the private way which led from Weston Road, now Auburn Street, to his house, and planted it with beau- tiful trees on either side, mostly evergreens. This road was called "The Avenue," when we were children, the present "Evergreen Avenue," which then wound round the house and came down in the valley to Charles Street. On either side, as it reached the valley, were walnut 98 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE trees, which must have been imported, for none grow native in the woods hereabouts. Another feature which should have been preserved for its quaintness if not for use was the old Well-House. It was situated at the foot of the hill, very near where the terminus of the Riverside Extension track now is. Under a lovely old pine tree, the well-house enclosed the well belonging to the Pigeon House. It consisted of a stone wall built high around the well and sufficiently far from it to form a little house inside. The top was covered with earth so that beautiful moss and ferns grew there and also from the stone work. In front was a rustic entrance door which was always locked, except when the occupants of the house came down to pump the water into a tank on the hill to supply the house with water. This was done perhaps twice a day. I attended the Lexington Street School, though very young, and still remember something about it. Little tots and larger boys and girls were in the same room, — a regular old-fashioned district school. Two of the teachers were Miss Weeks and Miss Jackson. Miss Jackson must have had some progressive ideas, for I recollect that she introduced sewing into the school. Another feature of Miss Jackson's system was a "re- ward of merit", — a gold medal strung on a blue ribbon. Just before dismissal each day, she walked down among the pupils, and hung the medal on the neck of the child most deserving for that day. It was worn home, and returned the next morning. How we watched each afternoon, with wistful eyes, to see who would be the fortunate one ! I am sure I won it once, and nothing of success in life could ever give such a feeling of high REMINISCENCES 99 honor as to be chosen to wear that medal home and keep it until the next day. On the upper floor of the school building meetings were held by the Methodist, and also by the Episcopal Society which was of sufficient size to have a rector. He jvas a Mr. Allen, a gray-haired, very dignified gen- tleman, whom I remember well. He lived in the house which was at that time the last one on Grove Street on the right going toward the Lower Falls. The house was some distance back from the street, surrounded by con- siderable land. Mr. Allen kept a horse, a cow, and a pig. In the Spring, he had a quantity of dressing for sale, and put a notice in the Post-Office, which was then in the Auburndale Depot, and which posted all notices in the window, "For Sale, Bovine, Equine and Swine Dressing." Later I attended the Ash Street School. On the lower floor was the primary grade, on the upper, the intermediate and grammar grades. Miss Joslyn was the only teacher who taught there while I was in the pri- mary grade. She was a good, faithful lady, who kept us in order and made us learn. Dr. Alcott was the Committee-man for this section of the town. I recollect one day when he visited the school we were struggling with the word "scissors". Up in one corner of the black-board, he wrote the word. We worked and erased all around it, but were never allowed to obliterate that. It remained there until the letters grew so dim that we could scarcely read them. In the upper room, Mr. Cephas Brigham should not be forgotten. He was the principal for several years. If there was ever a born teacher, it was he, and every per- 100 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE son who had the good fortune to come under his instruc- tion has reason to be thankful. He came from what was then West Dedham, He told us that there he had his school in such a fine state of discipline that one day the fire-engine played ■over the school-house yet his pupils kept at their work, paying no attention. The test was never applied to us, l)ut I fear we should have been found wanting. For a short time, Mr. Brigham had for an assistant Miss Phoebe Alcott (afterwards Mrs. Walter Crafts), the daughter of Dr. Alcott. She helped us about our ■dreaded compositions, suggesting that we take simple subjects as, "Our Desk at School," or "A Walk in the Woods." Perhaps we were choosing too high-flown subjects. I remember Dr. Clark, the first pastor of the Congre- gational Church, with rather a feeling of awe. He was also on the School Committee. One thing strongly im- pressed on my mind is that when he visited the school liis great preachment was "Order was Heaven's first law," exhorting us to good order. Once my father was at home ill for a few days, and on Sunday after the afternoon service, for we had then an afternoon service at three o'clock. Dr. Clark called to see my father who was then convalescent. We chil- dren were around him, and were perusing the town re- ports which father had brought from town meeting •early in the week, and which we considered most inter- -esting. Dr. Clark was shocked, and reprimanded father for allowing us to have such worldly reading on the Sab- bath. He had very stiff ideas from which there was no •deviation, as I recollect. REMINISCENCES 101 He was very fond of outdoor sports. Once he was in a skating party of grown-ups and children of whom I was one. Some person in the party found a stick-pin and Dr. Clark presented it to me, saying I deserved it because I was the youngest of the party. I was nine years old, and had just learned to skate that winter, so felt very proud that Dr. Clark thought me deserving of the pin. In connection with the Sunday School, Miss Marion Barrett held a little sewing circle every Saturday after- noon. Miss Barrett was the daughter of Deacon Bar- rett, a bright, pretty, and attractive young lady, and, Miss Barrett taught us to make pin rounds, pin cushions, needle books, et cetera, and when we had finished a sufficient quantity, she held a fair, and the proceeds went to help the missionary cause, I remember that one Saturday afternoon during the Civil War, we were to vote whether the fund should go to the soldiers in the field or to the usual cause. Some of us who were very patriotic grew quite warm at the thought of the missionaries having it and not the sol- diers. "Charity begins at home", we quoted, "but does not end there", the other side said. One Sunday during the Civil War, in the midst of the morning service, a messenger entered the church, and advanced to the pulpit. He was sent by Governor Andrew, and brought the message that a terrible battle had been fought. I think it must have been Bull Run, but I was a small child and do not remember. The Governor requested all the people to go to their homes, and scrape lint for the wounded. The minister, I think Dr. Clark, dismissed the congregation, and with sad 102 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE hearts, we went home, and all worked around a table, scraping lint. In after days, we would come home from school, and scrape lint. When troop trains went through, my sister says school was dismissed, so that we might wave farewell to the departing soldiers. I well remember doing so. James L. Hillard. I grew up in Auburndale, or Riverside to be exact, and I look back upon the period as one of the pleasantest of my lifetime, and in like manner, I have always been pleased to recall the different events of the period as they occurred. We moved to Riverside in 1856 and lived in what has since been known as the Pigeon Hill House. My father purchased the place from Charles D. Pigeon. He had lived in the house himself up to the time of selling it, and then moved to another house of his in Riverside. Our house was the only one on the hill at that time, and we were really on the outskirts, for there was nothing but the unbroken wilderness beyond us. There were only ten houses in Riverside and the men who were in business in Boston traveled on the old Boston & Worcester R. R. as it was then known. We had no station, merely a platform, and there were two trains that furnished all the transportation facilities for the people of Auburndale and Riverside. There was the Lower Falls train that made five or six trips daily to and from Boston, and the other was the Saxon- ville train which ran to Boston in the morning and back in the evening. The people at Riverside petitioned the Railroad authorities for a station house, and after a REMINISCENCES 103 while, in compliance with our request, a small building was erected at the foot of the hill just opposite the end of the street that leads up to the railroad. It was a sub- stantial building but had nothing inside of it except a single settee. It afiForded us a shelter from the storms and that was about all. ^ John Mero had charge of the signals on the railroad for the Lower Falls branch. His duties did not require the whole of his time, but he had to be there to set the signals when the train was due. He had a small cobbler's shop that stood on the other side of the rail- road bridge between the tracks of the Main line and the Lower Falls branch. He was a fine shoemaker, be- sides being a cobbler, and we boys always liked to visit him in his cozy little shop, and listen to his dry jokes and sarcastic comments upon every-day affairs. He made us leather shoe strings and sometimes when he was not too busy he would make us slings and "suckers". So his place was naturally quite a popular resort for the boys. The only neighbor back of us on the Weston Road as it was called was Holbrook. He was a retired sea captain and owned about all the territory that is now Norumbega Park. His house stood near the road in rather a deep val- ley, and there was a small pond in front of the house. The place was decorated with a variety of marine curiosities, arranged in fantastic manner around the shore of the pond. There was a quantity of shells, I remember, of various kinds; several of those mammoth bivalves that come from the far East, and are the size of a washtub ; there were also a number of large sturgeon placed about in different positions, one fastened to a tree trunk, as 104 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE if in the act of climbing. It was always a great place for chestnuts. There were several large trees that overhung the road, and I have often seen the road cov- ered with chestnuts which the passers-by would seldom even stop to gather. My father was superintendent of the Sunday School, the first to hold the position after the opening of the new Church, and continued in the office for a number of years. He was always very zealous in the matter of attendance at Church and religious meetings, and as a matter of course, his children were brought up to at- tend church meetings and Sunday School regularly. It was not from compulsion, however, but more from habit and choice, as everybody went to church on Sunday in those days. We made the trip over the hill in pleasant weather, climbing the hill where the present "Chicken Walk" is, and through what was then the Brown property, after- wards owned by Capt. Ranlett. When it stormed we went by the road and over Bourne's Bridge. There were no street lights in those days, or to be exact, I should say nights, and we usually carried lanterns to light our way. I don't recall my classmates in Sunday School, but I remember the teachers who took us in charge. The first was Mr. Partridge; he had the class for a year or two, and then gave it up, as he was moving away from Auburndale. He gave us each a bible upon leaving, and I have mine at the present time. Our other teachers were Charles A. Sweet, Charles C. Burr, Charles W. Robinson, and William A. Greene ; all of them men of prominence in the church, and the com- munity, and men who it was a privilege and pleasure to REMINISCENCES 105 be associated with. Mr. Robinson's recent death brings him specially to my mind, and his fine presence and ear- nest, kindly manner I shall always hold in pleasing re- membrance. The church bell was always an object of my special admiration on account of its remarkably beautiful tone. I think it must have been injured at the time of the disaster to the church, when the steeple was blown down and the bell fell through the roof. It seems to me that the bell has lost some of its mellow sweetness it used to possess, from what cause, I do not know. On the high ground opposite the church was the home of H. B. Williams. We always called him "High Billy Williams," I suppose, because he lived on the hill. In the rear of the church in the house where Dr. Gordon lives, I should say, was Tom Haviland. He was not a retired minister, but his children had a donkey that seemed to be religiously inclined, for he very often would give us a loud melodious bray during prayer time in church. One of the attractive places of that section near the church was Charles E. Parker's on Hancock Street, where the Lanes now live. The Parkers owned a goat, that added a whole lot to the gayety of the neigh- borhood, and was really a circus all by himself. He had a commodious goat house to live in that I am told is still standing. It was a funny sight to see him climb out the window of his house and plant himself in triumph) on the roof. His favorite article of diet was paper, and he did not care what the color or texture was, it was all the same to him, and newspapers, labels of tomato cans and the tar paper covering his house, were devoured by this remarkable animal with equal gusto and dispatch. 106 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE Mr. Charles W. Robinson. My first visit to Auburndale was upon a lovely day early in the month of June, 1857. Mrs. Robinson and myself accepted an invitation from Mr. and Mrs. Abel F. Hildreth (my uncle and aunt) to dine with them and spend the afternoon. After dinner a near neighbor of theirs, Mr. S. J. Eaton, called upon me and wished me to step over to his home, and see his house and grounds. * * * The next day he called at my store in Boston and urged me to go out with him to Auburndale and look at a place that was for sale that was owned by Mr. F. W. Newton on Ash Street * * * Suffice it to say, I went at once to the agent who had it for sale, and very soon we agreed upon the price and terms, and in one week's time from the first sight of it, I had a deed of my new home. After making some improvements on the place, we moved into it on the 5th of July, 1857. We attended church at the Congregational Church, which had been dedicated the week previous. Rev. E. W. Clark had been installed as pastor at the same time. We met some delightful people at church, and soon reckoned them our best friends. The week following the installation was a gala week in Auburndale. The eldest daughter of Deacon Samuel Barrett was married in church to General Samuel Breck of Washington, D. C. He was a member of the United States Army., connected with one of the departments. The wedding was a large and brilliant one. During the winter of 1857 and 1858 and for many seasons after that, residents of Auburndale were greatly interested in skating. * * * Business men often left REMINISCENCES 107 Boston for home early in the afternoon so as to enjoy with their famihes on Ware's Pond at Riverside or down the river this invigorating exercise. Fathers and mothers often spent most of the day with the Httle ones who were just learning to skate, only going home for their meals. In the evening, we built bright fires on Ware's Pond, and had a great number of the older ones in our company. All enjoyed the fun greatly. To show how obstacles were overcome, I give you one incident. The writer, with two friends who were very fond of the sport, went one evening to Weston Bridge for a skate down the river. While two of us were engaged in putting on our skates, our friend, who was a little more expeditious than ourselves, started down the river. In less than five minutes, he had skated into an airhole and gave a shout. We went to his assistance. He was soon out, as wet "as a drowned rat", but he removed his skates and then started for his home at the corner of Grove and Auburn Streets, saying he would be back soon. And sure enough, before we had any reason to expect him, he was back again, with a dry suit, and a jug of sweet cider. It was a moonlight evening, and we enjoyed our skate exceedingly. One of the very interesting events in Auburndale life was that of the Tin Wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Charles C. Burr on the tenth anniversary of their marriage. The ladies and gentlemen of the place arranged a sur- prise party for the occasion. They planned a call by some very dear friends from out of town (who were given the secret), and they were received in the east front parlor. While the Burrs were entertaining their friends, the ladies and gentlemen entered the dining- 108 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE room from the long west windows, and the tables were laid with the bountiful supper that had been provided for the occasion. In due time, Mr. and Mrs. Burr and their callers were invited to walk out to the dining room, where they met a large company of friends and neigh- bors. It was a perfect surprise to them, they had no inkling of the scheme. Upon side tables were gathered a wonderful variety of Bright Tin Gifts useful in the home. Mr. Burr had placed upon his head a Tin Bell Crown Hat, upon his neck a Tin Standing Collar. A Tin Watch with a ratchett that upon turning a crank made such a noise as to show plainly that there were real works inside, was held around his neck by an enor- mous chain. Mr. Burr made no end of fun with this wonderful rig. Mrs, Burr was supplied with a crown made of Spiral Tin which was quite tasteful. One of the gentlemen, remembering Mrs. Burr's queenly ap- pearance, conceived the idea of furnishing a beautiful wreath of flowers for her head. He ordered one made at Copeland's in Boston. When he went for it, the florist said he had never made a wreath for a lady's head, and he did not know how to do it. He gave to the gentleman a fine box of choice cut flowers for someone to prepare it. The gentleman was greatly disappointed, but took the flowers, and went to Auburndale on the next train, and made the wreath himself. Before the Tin Crown was placed upon Mrs. Burr's head, the beautiful wreath was put in place and then the Tin Crown above it, and all the guests said, "She looks like a Queen indeed." Mrs. Burr was greatly pleased with the wreath, and by her great care preserved it many days. Everybody present had a delightful time. REMINISCENCES 109 One of the institutions of Auburndale in its early days was the Auburndale Book Club. It held monthly meet- ings at members' houses. At these gatherings, the first thing in order was a supper. After this came a dis- cussion of the subject that had been selected at the previous meeting. The suppers were excellent, and the talks were interesting and improving. I remember a meeting at my house in the early 60's, when the subject in hand was "The National Banking System, and the issue of Greenbacks". The interest in the matter was great, and very nearly all present were greatly in favor of the plan. One of our members, however, was a pessimist, and I recall his serious looks and words as he said in sub- stance, "Gentlemen, If the Government issues Green- backs and makes them legal tender without a Gold basis, it will prove the ruin of our country. Whoever lives to see the close of the war will find the Greenback worth- less, just as the Continental Currency was at the close of the Revolutionary War. If I am spared to that tima I expect to see Greenbacks sold at one dollar a bushel." We were amazed at his words, but he seemed to be so confident in his position that we did not ridicule him as we wished to. Strange to say, the passage of the Na- tional Banking System of Salmon P. Chase proved one of the best pieces of legislation ever enacted in our country. Francis E. Clark. My memories of Auburndale date back to the spring of 1859, when as a little boy, seven and a half years old, I was brought by my uncle, Rev. E. W. Clark, from my early home on the banks of the Ottawa River in Lower 110 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE Canada, as it was then called. My uncle was the first pastor of the Congregational Church, the only church then in the village, and he soon became by legal process my adopted father as well, and my name was changed by the Great and General Court of Massachusetts from Francis Edward Symmes to Francis Edward Clark, Clark being my mother's maiden name. I remember the boyish curiosity with which I looked forward to my new home. On our way out from Bos- ton we deposited at Brighton two ladies of uncertain age, who had travelled far with us, and soon I heard the con- ductor call out "Auburndale", though not with the clear, emphatic and long-drawn-out effort of a certain brake- man of today, who adds to the joy of travelling on the Saxonville train. Hancock Street was then, as now, a broad and gen- erous one, though of course many new houses now adorn it. But the Burr House with its ample proportions and large grounds was then standing as today, and the Dr. Edward Strong house (No. 33 Hancock St.) looked very much as it does today, nearly sixty years later. I found that my own home was to be a little farther up on Hancock Street, nearly opposite what is now Williston Road, and also nearly opposite the Horatio Parker House, with its beautiful garden and climbing creepers, which also has not changed much since those early days. This house, where we lived, has since be- come the annex to the Missionary Home, and of late has been much enlarged and improved, while I believe the name "Annex" has been changed to some more euphonious term. Afterwards we lived on "the other side of the track" REMINISCENCES 111 where Mrs. Blood now lives, and near to the old wooden school house. Then there were comparatively few houses in that region, and I do not remember any store, though I suppose there must have been one. People then did most of their trading in Boston. Those were the days of the Pigeons and the Par- tridges, and Mr. Woodbridge had a school for boys opposite the church. The Johnsons, the Hildreths, the Sweets and the Gordons were prominent people in the village community, and I remember that I thought there was no girl quite so pretty as Dell Barrett. That was before the age of "calf love" however, and though I well remember Alice Gordon and her sisters, my chief friends were the old boys of Auburndale ; Ed. Strong, for example, who was my special pal, and Henry Parker, whom I particularly liked because he was such a good hand at getting our fishlines untangled, when they got snarled or caught on the branch of a tree. He was some- what older than I, and once when I confided to him the reason for my preference for his society, I remember that he did not respond as cordially as I thought my overtures demanded. He probably thought that his company should be preferred for some more altruistic reason. Dave Parker was a young kid in those days, and some- what beneath the notice of his superiors of eight and ten years of age. My memories of the old school are not very distinct, as a good deal of the time I was taught at home, and part of my education was of the out door variety, for my adopted father was a great lover of nature, and with rod and gun we often used to roam the woods to- gether, though we seldom brought home any furred or 112 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE feathered game. A string of pickerel and perch, how- ever, was not uncommon, and I remember being greatly excited by a trout that I caught in a brook near the Cambridge reservoir. That event was almost worthy of being recorded with the first pickerel which I landed, near where the Newton Boat Club has its headquarters today. The hill around which the Circuit Road now winds its devious way had not then been shaved down as it has today, and was covered with a dense growth of pine trees. On this hill, and perhaps on the very lot at 379 Central Street, where I afterwards lived, the partridges and pigeons, not the Partridges and Pigeons, used to whirr away, and sometimes fell victims to our shot guns, for I was early initiated into the use of that weapon, which I have since discarded for a camera. The only house on this hill at that time was then called the Brown House. It was afterwards a red house in color, and was occupied in later years by our esteemed citizen, Mr. Edward Hardy. Mrs. Brown, the mistress of the mansion, was my Sunday School teacher, and on one occasion, when we were studying the book of Exo- dus, she gave to each of her class some manna, which we devoutly believed came from the very pot which the children of Israel stored up and kept in remembrance of their wanderings in the wilderness. The old inhabitants will remember some of the thrill- ing events of those days ; the freight wreck on the bridge, across the Charles River, for instance, when the cattle cars fell over on the ice, and the poor maimed creatures were dreadfully mangled. Some of them were REMINISCENCES 113 put out of their misery, I remember, by my adopted father's merciful axe. Perhaps they will remember too, the wonderful meteor that looked as big as a railway train rushing through the heavens, a journey which occupied a full minute before it disappeared. Of all the people of Auburndale aside from my adopted parents, of whom I can only speak with rever- ence and love, Deacon Burr made the deepest impression upon me. He was the same gentle, kindly, generous soul whom I found still living there a generation later, active in every good work, constant in his attendance on preaching and prayer meeting services, always ready to put his hand in his pocket but not ready to keep it there, when any good cause was presented. His good wife, too and little Lucy with her pretty ringlets I re- member as people whom Auburndale could not have dis- pensed with. On the whole it was an ideal spot for a boy to grow up in ; healthy and wholesome, morally, spiritually and physically. I shall always be thankful that a good Prov- idence brought an orphan boy, who had just lost all his nearest relatives, not only father and mother, but two brothers and a sister, to that charming spot in the Arcadia of Massachusetts. From the Address of Rev. F. E. Clark in the Congrega- tional Church Sept. 29, 1912,— on the Occasion of the Dedication of a Bronze Commemorative Tablet in Memory of his adopted Father and Mother. "But the first minister was a genuine and faithful pastor as well as a good preacher, as is indicated from Iil4 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE the long list of names kept in his commonplace book, with some notes as to the religious experiences and growth in grace of his parishioners. In this list we find sucjj well-known names in Auburndale as Harriet Den- ny, Mary Bourne, Lizzie Strong, Phoebe Alcott, George Johnson, Martha Sweet, Walter Sweet, and Henry Hil- dreth. Against some of these names are recorded the words, "serious", or "anxious", or "trusting in Christ", A long list of names from the young ladies in the Sem- 4nary is recorded with similar annotations, showing that he regarded the Seminary pupils as an important part of his parish. Since there was but one church in the village at that time, the young ladies all naturally at- tended the Congregational Church. Various Sources One gets little touches here and there that add a spicy, personal flavor to the accounts of early days. Mr. C. D. Pigeon is described as a short, stout, neigh- borly man ; while Mr. Woodbridge is spoken of as a great contrast, tall and thin, not by any means universally liked. Mr. Pigeon a bachelor until middle life when he fell pre- cipitately in love, was of very deliberate habits. One of his friends remarked that Pigeon was "never in a hurry except to get married." He used frequently to go to Dr. Gilbert's house to see him "for a minute," and then stay aft hour or two. Mrs. Gilbert called this a "Pigeon minute." Auburndale was not entirely given over to the Saints. In what is now Gammon's block, a man named Wilk- inson kept a general store, to which he had built an ad- REMINISCENCES 115 dition where "molasses" was sold, of a very thin and ex- hilirating variety. Laborers from the "pine woods", to- wards West Newton, used to go there and get gloriously drunk and very quarrelsome on Sunday afternoons. "Look 'ere, Charlie", said Wilkinson to Mr. Johnson one day "You ought to come and see the new h'ell I've put oiv the h'end of my 'ouse." Mr. Johnson felt that the proprietor of the molasses barrel spoke better than he knew. Contrast is brought home to us when we hear how a Mr. Learned from Watertown once pastured his cows on the land along the southside of Woodland Road, and took them to water at Haskell's Pond. In the season, school children also went to the Pond for water lilies. One daring boy, Mr. Frost remembers seeing wade in further and further for lilies, until he finally disappeared, to the horror of his mates. They watched the spot, fascinated, never expecting to see him again, when miraculously he emerged on the other side, dripping with mud. The incident, however, lessened the popularity of pond lilies for some time. Mrs. M. H. Kimball used to tell of the very hard snow-storms in the good old days, when the men didn't get in town for two days at a time. "After the roads were dug out, you couldn't look over the sides as you rode along in a sleigh." She remembered entertaining the Auburndale Rural Society, her principal impression being her chagrin at the number of mosquitoes which filled the house. "Everybody was friendly in Auburndale from the earliest days. All pulled together, and all enjoyed each other." 116 EARLY DAYS IN AUBURN DALE STREETS AND FORMER NAMES (Partial List) Modern Names Washington St. Auburn St. Greenough St. Rowe St. Walcott St. Auburndale Ave. Lexington St. Ash St. Islington Rd. Commonwealth Ave Woodbine St. Charles St. Woodland Rd. Hancock St. Grove St. Bourne St. Central St. County Roads Old Names Sherburne Rd., Natick Rd. Proprietors way, Weston Rd. ' Proprietors way, Weston Rd., ' Park St. ' Elm St. Ellsworth St. Proprietors way. Emerald St. Lane to Martin Collier's, Waltham St. River St. Ash St., River St. (From Lexington to Ash) formerly Wes- ton St., Seaverns St. (From Ash to Woodbine) Bourne St. Washington Ave. Pleasant St. Proprietors way, Harvard St., Woodland Ave. Forest Ave., Walnut Ave. Linden Rd., Waban Rd. Franklin St. (Between Hancock St. and Grove St.) Hancock St. HISTORICAL MAP AUBURNDALE, MASS. EXPL ANAT IONS HS EAlstrno •5rtr«t» (ai'rt out hefi'e 1900 - " .1 . . ,. 1855 C"'"!'! since 18: ..r Old Stit.t. ob«,d.n,d b.Jor. ri)i6 ■ E.;st,n, H.u«6 bu;it before ,800 1855 Q Ho..„ b.,,t bet»„ ,eoo, n.. d„t,.,ed ■--■' " " " 1855 Ho„«. ,„.„.,j ^,,^^ ^^^^,^1 ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^ an odd nwmti»( i(,»*'no o,,j,„„i ,„,„* K'-d. "ornes beside hoM^.j „„ „„,,,, w.^m ^^ LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 014 013 31880