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HISTORICAL SKETCH 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Town of Watertown 
 
 Commemorating the Two Hundred 
 
 and Seventy-fifth Anniversary 
 
 of its Settlement as an 
 
 English Colony 
 
 EMBRACING A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE LIMITS 
 
 OF THE TOWN AND THE HISTORY OF THE 
 
 OLD MILL AND THE GREAT BRIDGE 
 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 press of murray and emery company 
 
 1906 
 
 47363-1 
 
-^ \x '- 
 
SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF WATERTOWN. 
 
 The town of Watertown has just passed another quarter- 
 century milestone of its history. It is eminently fitting that 
 it should take note of the fact. Faith in its noble origin, its 
 progressive life, its promising future alike commend a brief 
 retrospect of its course so far and an attempt to learn from its 
 progress to this point what its onward course may be made. 
 Clearness of vision is of no greater value to the engineer who is 
 laying out the line of a great railway into an undeveloped 
 covmtry than to the men of affairs who are shaping the policy 
 of a civic community in the early stages of its growth. 
 
 Watertown although two hundred and seventy-five years 
 from its first settlement as an English colony is yet in the 
 condition of undeveloped youth. Its natural advantages 
 although early recognized in embryo have not begun to be 
 reahzed in their possible relations. 
 
 Let us recount to ourselves some of the facts accomplished, 
 look over the new works now being undertaken that show still 
 the fresh spirit of enterprise natural to a vigorous youth, and 
 take heart for newer and broader and greater efforts for the 
 future. 
 
 Possibly it will be found that ihere is profitable employment 
 for the farthest-sighted among us as well as for the skill and the 
 labor of the humblest dweller within our borders in doing his 
 level best in developing the possibilities of the town as a 
 delightful residence, a beautiful home of culture and refine- 
 ment for those engaged in the great life of a great intellectual 
 and business center in this corner of our growing country. 
 
 The river running through our town was first called Charles 
 River by John Smith who made a voyage along our coast in 
 1614. He made a map which is preserved to us in which he 
 thus named thi^ river in honor of Prince Charles, afterwards 
 Charles I., and ihe country in this neighborhood he first 
 named New England instead of North Virginia as it was known 
 
4 HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 
 
 before. Stories about John Smith and the colony at James- 
 town in Virginia are familiar to all. The causes of his 
 want of permanent success there are not so well known. 
 Writing home from Virginia, he wrote, " When you send 
 again, I entreat you, rather send but thirty carpenters, hus- 
 bandmen, gardeners, fishermen, blacksmiths, masons, and 
 diggers up of trees' roots, well provided, than a thousand 
 such as we have." Similar advice based on the experience of 
 the first thirty years of that century had its effect upon our 
 immediate ancestors and contributed to make their labors 
 effective in the end. Most of those settling the lands of the 
 Massachusetts Bay Colony were either men of property with 
 their servants or the better class of men with some useful 
 occupation as is shown by general accounts of the time or in 
 such papers as Savage's Gleanings for New England history. 
 
 Watertown was the first inland town settled in New England. 
 Hundreds of vessels had for several years visited the shores of 
 America for fish or to trade with the Indians for furs. But no 
 permanent settlement of any considerable size had been made 
 on any inland river. 
 
 Plymouth settled ten years before was on the seashore. 
 The charter under which Governor Winthrop, Dudley, and our 
 Richard Saltonstall came to possess and occupy the country 
 was issued by King Charles, under date of 18th March, 1828. 
 The lengthy document, which extends over a score of pages 
 twice the size of these, with much repetition and particular- 
 ization provides that almost unlimited powers of government 
 shall rest in the Massachusetts Bay Colony over "all that part 
 of New England in America which lyes and extends betweene a 
 great river called the Merrymack river and a certen other river 
 there called Charles river, being in the bottome of a certen bay 
 commonly called Massachusetts bay, and also lands lyeing 
 within a space of three English myles on the south parte of 
 said river called Charles river, or any and every part thereof 
 . . . and also all the lands whatsoever within the space of 
 three En lish myles to the northward of said river called 
 Merrymack." 
 
HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 5 
 
 After two years of preparation in England under the lead of 
 the first governor of the Colony, Matthew Cradock, a wealthy 
 merchant in London, active steps were taken to establish the 
 colony in New England. During this time some ships had 
 been sent over with prospectors and agents who landed at 
 Salem. 
 
 After long delays by head winds and stormy seas four ships 
 with the new governor, John Winthrop, with Richard Salton- 
 stall and others as assistants, and Thomas Dudley as deputy 
 governor, came first to Salem, and afterwards to Charlestown. 
 Eight more ships immediately followed, and two more in July 
 or August, seventeen in all in this year, 1630. Some people 
 went up the Mystic and founded Medford, and others par- 
 ticularly those with Sir Richard Saltonstall, with Rev. 
 George Phillips, came up the Charles river and landed 
 probably at what came to be known as ' ' the Watertown land- 
 ing," below what is now Mt. Auburn Cemetery. Here in the 
 immediate neighborhood, finding good ground for tillage and 
 for his cattle. Sir Richard established his home. Early he 
 unde.took to provide a home for Rev. George Phillips, the first 
 minister of the new settlement. 
 
 To show something of the character of the men engaged in 
 the undertaking, and its difficulty, we give the following 
 quotations. Thomas Dudley, deputy governor, in writing 
 home this first year, probably from Cambridge, after speaking 
 of the hardship and dangers of their stormy voyage, and the 
 fright caused by reports of French preparations against them, 
 says " they scattered up the rivers," " They who had health 
 to labor fell to building, wherein many were interrupted with 
 sickness, and many died weekly, yea, almost daily." He adds 
 " If any come hither to plant for worldly ends which can live 
 well at home, he commits an error " " but if for spiritual ends, 
 and no obstacle hinders his removal, he may find here what 
 may well content him, viz., materials to build, fuel to burn, 
 ground to plant, seas and rivers to fish in, a pure air to breathe, 
 good water to drink, which with cows, hogs and goats brought 
 hither may already suffice for food; but for clothes and bedding 
 
6 HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 
 
 they must bring them with them till time and industry pro- 
 duce them here." He calls for " men not of the poorer sort 
 yet for years, who will come over out of religion's ends to help 
 us in our good work." One of the ends was to christianize 
 the Indians, another end to enjoy religious freedom. With 
 all, as one can see, they hoped to better their estate. 
 
 Indians. 
 
 The country granted to the colonists of " Massachusetts 
 Bay" was previously occupied, — sparsely occupied, — by 
 roaming bands of Indians. When Saltonstall and his servants 
 and those of the party proposing to settle on the Charles 
 River came, they found a well established Indian village near 
 the falls. There have been found abundant evidences in the 
 shape of arrow or spear heads, axes, stone implements, of a 
 former Indian occupancy along the banks of the river. We 
 can well believe the story of the exchange between our early 
 settlers and Indians of a loaf of bread for a fish, the legend 
 preserved in the arms of our town. " The town was never in- 
 vaded by hostile Indians," although " Watertown soldiers and 
 emigrants contributed their full share to Indian wars and 
 massacres in other places." 
 
 The number of the Indians was not large at the advent of the 
 English in New England. The number of Massachusetts 
 Indians is seldom ever stated at above three thousand which 
 number had probably been greatly reduced by pestilence just 
 before, but they were numerous enough to have given our 
 forefathers greater trouble had they not been pacified by kind 
 treatment. The apostle Eliot, for instance, and those who de- 
 voted their efforts to their conversion to Christianity and 
 orderly lives, did their utmost to win their kind regard. 
 
 The covetousness of the selfish, the grasping and over- 
 bearing conduct of many of the early colonists, however, must 
 have gone far to neutralize the good effects of the wise 
 efforts of the rulers and christian ministers and their helpers. 
 Still the " pally sadoe" set up in Newtowne never had to be used 
 for defence against them; nor was that planned for this town 
 
HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 7 
 
 between what is now Main and Belmont streets, Lexington 
 and Warren streets ever constructed, although the people had 
 been ordered to locate their houses there and some began to 
 comply with the order. 
 
 As confidence gained, the farmers gradually spread farther 
 and farther from their first location. When some of our 
 people had reached the fertile meadows by Sudbury River, by 
 the spread of their settlements, it is true the train bands under 
 Capt. Hugh Mason and others were called into action to put 
 down the organized opposition roused by the growing jealousy 
 of the native Indians to the spread of our encroachments. But 
 who can blame the " poor Indians " for rising when, alas, for 
 them, it was too late for them to defend their ancient heritage. 
 
 The Limits of the Town and its First Settlers. 
 
 The town at present is only about three miles in length from 
 east to west and scarcely a mile in width. At first there were 
 no definite limitations of its extent. By the settlement and 
 organization of other towns it was gradually curtailed and 
 hemmed in by definite bounds. Her people were agricul- 
 turists. Sir Richard Saltonstall with Rev. George Phillips, and 
 their companions, after their arrival from England, and the 
 removal of the seat of the colony from Salem to Charlestown, 
 probably before the middle of July of 1630, came up the 
 Charles River, and having found a suitable landing and 
 convenient fields for agriculture, brought thither their servants 
 and their cattle, of which they had liberal store, and their 
 goods and began a settlement, which afterwards (September 
 7th), was by vote of the Court of Assistants, called Watertown. 
 The vote — " It is ordered that Trimontaine shall be called 
 Boston, Mattapan, Dorchester, and the towne upon Charles 
 Ryver, Watertoun." 
 
 The location of the landing first made and which continued 
 to be " the landing " of those coming up the river for many 
 years, was that shown on the map* of 1720, and is that below 
 Mt. Auburn Cemetery and back of the Cambridge Hospital. 
 
 *This old map is reproduced in Watertown records, vol. 2. 
 
8 HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 
 
 This landing known some years since as Gerry's landing, a 
 committee of the Cambridge Board of Aldermen in 1883 
 reported was the original town-landing for Watertown, and, 
 with the way leading from it, is mentioned in the early records 
 of the town, soon after its settlement in 1630, and continued a 
 part of Watertown till annexed to Cambridge, April 19, 1754, 
 in a grant of the General Court. 
 
 In 1631 Deputy-Governor Thomas Dudley looking about for 
 a convenient place for a town for the traders, " a fit place for a 
 fortified town,*' fixed upon a location between Watertown and 
 Charlestown and called it New Town (about Harvard Square). 
 Dudley and others built there. Governor Winthrop put up 
 the frame of a house there, which, the next year, he took down 
 and carried to Boston, which he probabl}^ saw would be a more 
 fitting place for commerce and for the government. 
 
 In February, 1632, three-score pounds was " levyed out of 
 the several plantations within the lymitts of this pattent 
 towards the makeing of a pallysadoe* aboute the new towne " 
 (Cambridge), of which levy Watertown's part, the same as 
 Boston's, exceeded all others. Watertown, at first, refused 
 to pay the part assessed upon her because they had had no 
 voice in making the order. This led to the appointment of 
 two representatives from each town to " the General Court," 
 and thus laid the foundation for representative government 
 in America. In 1635 the General Court appointed three 
 men " to lay out the bounds betwixte Waterton and Newe 
 Towne," who reported, "It is agreed by us that the 
 bounds between Waterton shall stand as they are already, 
 from Charles Ryver to the great Fresh Pond " (by Sparks street 
 and Vassal lane, nearly) "and from the tree marked by Water 
 Towne and Newe Towne on the south-east syde of the pond, 
 over the pond to a white poplar tree on the north-west syde of 
 the pond, and from that tree up into the country nore-west and 
 by west upon a straight hneby a meridian compasse; and further, 
 that Waterton shall have one hundredth rodds in length above 
 
 ♦The line of this palisade is still marked by the old willow trees on Mt. Auburn 
 street, also by those near the Longfellow place on Brattle street, and those back of the 
 Agassiz Museum. 
 
HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 9 
 
 the weire, and one-hundredth rodd beneath the weire in length, 
 and three-score rodd in breadth from the river on the southe 
 syde thereof, and all the rest of the ground on that syde of the 
 river to lye to New Towne." These bounds were again con- 
 firmed by vote of the General Court, 13th March, 1634. This 
 act set bounds to Watertown except in one direction. The 
 only possible room left to grow in was to the west and south- 
 west. 
 
 In 1635, by vote of the General Court, on the 3rd September, 
 " It is ordered that there shall be a plantation settled, aboute 
 two myles above the falls of Charles Ryver, on the northeast 
 syde thereof.' On September 8, 1636, it was " ordered that 
 the plantation to be settled above the falls of Charles Ryver 
 shall have immunity from public charges as Concord had . . . 
 and the name of the said plantation is to be Dedham." The 
 same court ordered that " there shall be a plantation at Mus- 
 ketequid, and that there shall be six miles of land square 
 belong to it, . . . and the name of the place shall be Concord, " 
 Thus the town of Watertown was limited on the southwest by 
 the incorporation of Dedham, and on the northwest by the 
 incorporation of Concord. 
 
 As the lands of Watertown were gradually filled up and soon 
 some felt straitened for want of room, they naturally looked 
 westward towards the pleasant meadows along the river ' ' that 
 runs towards Concord," and, greatly pleased by the prospect 
 of possessions along that pleasant river, with its sedgy banks 
 and its grassy upland slopes, finally petitioned the General 
 Court for permission to go thither to found a new town. On 
 the 20th November, 1637, it is recorded in the records of the 
 General Court held at Newtowne (Cambridge): " Whereas, a 
 great part of the chiefe inhabitants of Watertown have peti- 
 tioned this court, that in regard of their straitnes of accom- 
 modation and want of medowe, they might have leave to 
 remove, and settle a plantation upon the ryver which runs to 
 Concord, this court, having respect to their necessity, doth 
 grant their petition." It provided what should be done if 
 said inhabitants of Watertown did not, to the number of 
 
10 HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 
 
 thirty families or more, actually settle on the land, — ordered 
 that they " shall have power to order the scituation of the 
 towne, and the proportioning of lots, and all other liberties as 
 other towns have tinder the proviso aforesaid." " September 
 4, 1639, it is ordered that the new plantation by Concord 
 shall be called Sudbury." 
 
 Thus was Watertown entirely circumscribed, and thus, 
 although there are no very early maps, it is possible to fix 
 quite definitely the entire bounds of the town as its bounds 
 came to be defined. 
 
 The external as well as the internal changes of the bounds of 
 Watertown at different times are well illustrated by the 
 admirable sketch map of Dr. Bond which is here reproduced, 
 
 BOND'S MAP. 
 
 " The accompanying map is intended to show the relation of 
 Watertown to the surrounding towns; its original boundaries 
 and extent, as determined by the Court; the overlapping of 
 the grants made to Watertown and Concord, and the several 
 excisions, by which Watertown became reduced to its present 
 small dimensions. Also some of its most important localities. 
 
 5, the homestall of Sir Richard Saltonstall, and afterward of 
 his son Samuel; a, the portion of territory taken from Water- 
 town and annexed to Cambridge in 1754; b, Dorchester Field; 
 C, Pequusset Meadow or Common; d, the portion of Newton 
 (about six hundred acres) annexed to Waltham in 1849. 
 Nearly all of this was included in the ancient Fuller Farm, and 
 constituted about two-thirds of it; e, Mount Feeke; m, Mount 
 Auburn Cemetery; /././ " lieu of Township " lands; n, Nonan- 
 tum Hill; p.h, Prospect Hill; S.R. Sudbury Road; x, the N. W. 
 corner of Watertown, according to the original order of Court; 
 y, the corners of Watertown and Cambridge (Lexington) con- 
 tiguous to Concord. The lines marked 1, 2, 3, 4, denote the 
 Squadron lines, or the dividing lines of the four Great Dividends. 
 This mark [*] denotes the sites of the three ancient mills on 
 
 This map and description are copied from Bond's "Genealogies of the Early Settlers 
 of Watertown." vol. 2, by the permission of the New England Historical Genealogi- 
 cal Society. The darker color is introduced to show approximately the present limits 
 of Watertown. 
 
HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 11 
 
 Charles River at the bridge, on Beaver Brook, and on Stony- 
 Brook. The village or the center of the town is denoted by 
 the figure of a meeting house. The four squadron lines on the 
 map, appear to begin at the eastern boundary of Waltham, 
 and they did so very nearly; but the exact line has not been 
 ascertained in its whole extent." 
 
 Whatever indefinite ideas its early settlers may have 
 had previously to this, they henceforth, to obtain more 
 room, must go beyond the bounds of other towns and 
 settle in the boundless wilderness beyond. They asked 
 for and received grants of such extraneous portions of land for 
 special services, as after the Pequot and again after the 
 Narraganset war. From the largest of such grants the town 
 of Westminster on the slopes of Wachusett was largely made. 
 In granting to the new town Concord six miles square, the 
 General Court, from the want of exact surveys, unwittingly 
 gave to Concord a portion of territory already included, as 
 one can see by looking at the map, within the limits of 
 Watertown. For this they later granted two thousand acres 
 of land, located on the side of Wachusett. Henceforward 
 the changes in her territorial possessions, like those which 
 preceded, will be by division, by curtailment. Watertown 
 henceforth, by division within, or by want of a common 
 interest, suffers loss of territory, loss of inhabitants, which 
 too often the people were, after long contest, too willing to 
 part company with. 
 
 The bounds of the town were hardly fixed before they began 
 to settle the outermost portions in systematic manner. On 
 October 14, 1638, it was " Ordered that the farmes granted 
 shall begin at the nearest meddow to Dedham line, beyond the 
 line runneth at the end of ye great dividents, parallel to the line 
 at the end of the Towne bounds, and so to go on successively 
 from Dedham Bounds," etc. The earliest map preserved in 
 the archives of the State is a map of a portion of the extreme 
 southwest corner of the town, next to the Dedham line, giving 
 the location of Hnes running east and north across " Nonesuch 
 Pond," which lies partly in Sudbury. 
 
12 HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 
 
 This ancient map,* bearing the date of 1687, gives the lines 
 in position with reference to this Nonesuch Pond, and their 
 direction by the compass, thus determining the boundary line 
 between Watertown and the north part of Dedham, after- 
 wards Needham, and later still, the line between Weston and 
 Wellesley on the south, while on the west the line in position 
 and direction between Watertown and Sudbury, now between 
 Weston and Wayland. By continuing this line in a northerly 
 direction until we meet the six miles square of Concord, 
 we have the early western boundary. Of course this was 
 fixed after many measurements and surveys by committees 
 appointed by the towns, but this remains substantially the 
 boundary between Weston and Wayland, the eastern part 
 of Sudbury, to this day. 
 
 Division and Reduction of Area. 
 
 " Watertown has well been called ' the mother of towns,' 
 for out of her territory have been formed the towns of Weston 
 and Waltham, and parts of Lincoln, Cambridge, and Belmont. 
 Besides these contributions from her area, she sent forth col- 
 onists to the Connecticut river settlements, to Weathersfield, 
 Connecticut, Marthas Vineyard and neighboring new settle- 
 ments in eastern and central Massachusetts, so that hardly a 
 town in Middlesex County but has families which trace their 
 origin to this prolific and enterprising mother. In 1636 it 
 was the most populous town in the Colony." 
 
 The boundary on the east, between Cambridge and Water- 
 town, has been changed several times, always at the expense 
 of territory of Watertown. At first, as reported to the 
 General Court in 1635, it was near what is now Sparks street 
 and Vassal lane, thence across Fresh Pond to a certain poplar 
 tree on the northwest side; thence by a straight line north- 
 west by west, eight miles into the country, till it met the 
 west line between Sudbury and Watertown, or rather would 
 have met it at an angle beyond and above Walden Pond, had 
 
 *This is reproduced in "Watertown records," vol. 1. 
 
HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 13 
 
 not that portion been cut off by the grant to Concord of six 
 miles square. 
 
 Separation of the West Farms, or Weston. 
 
 Frequently during a period of many years after the appor- 
 tionment of lands to the one hundred and fourteen townsmen, 
 in 1637, the division of the lands at the West Farms was a 
 source of disagreement and contention at the regular and 
 irregularly called meetings of the town. 
 
 The historian of Weston will doubtless show how delightful 
 those fields were, and what objects of contention among all 
 the townsmen, who had naturally equal right to some posses- 
 sion among them; how many prominent men were drawn 
 away from the older settlement to gain by occupancy these 
 farms; of the remoteness from church privileges, and from 
 schools; of the injustice of church rates and other taxes, 
 which were spent where they could not easily profit by them, 
 till finally, March 13, 1682-83, it was voted in town-meeting 
 that " those who dwell on west of Stony Brook be freed from 
 school tax;" and November 10, 1685, it was " voted that the 
 farmers' petition should be suspended as to an answer to it 
 until it pleaseth God to settle a minister among us." In 
 1692 a town-meeting was held to decide upon a site for a 
 new meeting-house, but there was so great excitement and 
 such differences of opinion among the people, that the Gov- 
 ernor and Council were called in to decide the matter. The 
 Governor and Council were unable to please either the people 
 on the " Farms " or the people in the east part of the town. 
 In 1694, at a town meeting, the east bounds of the West 
 Farms Precinct were fixed at Beaver Brook, but the General 
 Court, in 1699, fixed them at Stony Brook. At the May 
 session of the General Court the petition praying for leave 
 " To set up the public worship of God amongst the inhabitants 
 of the west end of Watertown " was granted, the farmers 
 having been exempted from ministerial rates the preceding 
 year. After long and vexatious contention the act for the 
 incorporation of Weston was passed, on the first of January, 
 
14 HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 
 
 1713. Thus there was cut off from the territory of the old 
 town nearly half of its area. 
 
 Separation of Waltham. 
 
 The next reduction of area came with the incorporation of 
 Waltham in 1738, which took about six-tenths of the lands 
 left to her. Before Weston was incorporated that part was 
 called the West Precinct (Weston), this the Middle Precinct 
 (Waltham) and the eastern portion the East Precinct. With 
 the incorporation of Weston the part now Waltham became 
 the West Precinct. The incorporation of Weston took away 
 about 10,372 acres, of Waltham about 8891 acres and left 
 the old town only 3833 acres; this was less than a sixth of 
 the area of the three precincts together. 
 
 In April, 1754, a portion of the eastern part of the town 
 was joined to Cambridge — all that part between the most 
 northern bend of the river, near where Sparks street now runs 
 and along Vassal lane to Mt. Auburn Cemetery. This took 
 away, probably, most of the lands owned by Sir Richard 
 Saltonstall and his early associates, the cluster of dwellings 
 called " the town." The town of Watertown still retained its 
 right to the wharf and landing on the river for a century longer. 
 
 In 1859, nearly all that part of the town north of Belmont 
 street was set off to Belmont, so-called. This was the result 
 of a long struggle and a fierce contest like each other excision 
 of territory and loss of inhabitants. By this act, fourteen 
 hundred and forty -six acres were taken from the town. 
 
 In 1704-5 a committee was appointed to find out the line 
 between Watertown and Newton on the south side of Charles 
 River. The committee reported in 1705 the line nearly as at 
 present represented on the map on the south side, giving by 
 estimation about eighty -eight acres. This has at different 
 times been extended, till at present, with Water, Boyd and 
 Cook's Ponds, it includes one hundred and fifty acres. 
 
 The last excision of territory was arranged amicably with 
 Cambridge, she buying the lands of the owners and paying the 
 town of Watertown $15,000 for loss of taxable property for 
 
HISTORY OP WATERTOWN 15 
 
 lands taken between Mt. Auburn Cemetery and the river for 
 the Cambridge Cemeter^^ and authorized by act of the General 
 Court, which tr;msferred the Winchester estate to Cambridge; 
 also the road passing between Mt. Auburn and Cambridge 
 Cemeteries. 
 
 There now remain within the bounds of the town including 
 Charles River, the marshes, the ponds, Mt. Auburn and 
 Catholic Cemeteries according to the surveys of Henry Crafts, 
 2668.25 acres, of about four and one-sixth square miles. The 
 number of acres taxed in 1S90 was 2027, in 1905 it is 1882, with 
 a valuation, including buildings thereon, of $10,265,500. 
 
 If we had the space and this were an appropriate place, we 
 might enter upon the personal history of the town, upon the 
 educational, or the ecclesiastical history, or we might trace the 
 change in the modes of transportation, the streets and by-ways 
 of the town, the introduction of wheeled vehicles, of stage lines 
 or their various substitutes — railway cars, horse, steam or 
 electrical — the different modes of lighting the homes and streets 
 of the town, the introduction of water for house use, or of 
 sewers and other improved drainage, the new and improved 
 modes of policing the town, the control of the liquor habit, the 
 adoption of systematic district nursing and caring for the sick, 
 the spread of parks and open air modes of pleasing and 
 occupying the well. Any one of which if traced in its intro- 
 duction and relations to the general life of the town would 
 prove of wonderful interest to all. Any one of these topics 
 taken up by the diligent student and followed out in its 
 logical relations to the town's history would repay the student 
 for the necessary research required, for in the town's library 
 there are being gradually stored up works that contain the facts 
 which would enable the careful searcher to re-weave the web 
 which the centuries are weaving, far more interesting than 
 novels, the flimsy tissues so industriously woven from the im- 
 aginations of dreamers, which are now so much in repute. 
 
 Fortunately, as we have not now the space or the time, it is 
 not necessary to construct so elaborate a fabric to com- 
 memorate the great advance of the last two and three quarter 
 
16 HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 
 
 centuries. Any one of these lines of enquiry, or any similar 
 one will answer as well. In view of the great changes in 
 progress we will content ourselves in speaking more in detail 
 in regard to the old mill and its rights to water power and of the 
 life of the Great Bridge now about to be reconstructed, the 
 history of either of which has touched at so many points the 
 life and interests of the town. 
 
 It would be interesting to name the early ministers in order, 
 to note the introduction of new societies, to trace the history of 
 the churches and the progress of religion in the town. This 
 having been done by various clergymen, notably by the last 
 town minister, Dr. Converse Francis, before division of church 
 interests, and followed up since by others, it is only necessary to 
 refer to his history and to the columns of our local papers. 
 
 The genealogies of Dr. Bond, besides giving a most admir- 
 able account of the early history of the town in all its relations, 
 brings a wealth of information in regard to personal history 
 and the relation in families of most of the town's former 
 inhabitants. This work is more consulted by genealogical 
 students perhaps than any other, partly from the research 
 of its author and partly from the fact that Watertown's 
 honored citizens have spread to every part of the country, 
 and their descendants delight to trace back to our loved town 
 their honored ancestry. 
 
 In view of the fact that in this 275th year of our history one 
 of the earliest institutions, if not the earliest, is doomed by the 
 progress of events and the changes in manufactures and 
 commerce and the interests alike of the growing population of 
 the great metropolis, of which we are a part, in sanitary and 
 aesthetic matters, we will give some space to the old mill. 
 
 The Old "Corn Mill." 
 
 The old mill is no longer needed. There is no corn grown 
 here to be ground. Breadstuff s are prepared in the far West 
 and brought to our doors. We can get a peck of meal from 
 Minneapolis more easily and for less money than we could 
 from our farmers if raised in town. The old mill must yield to 
 
HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 17 
 
 the growth of a lawn with its grass and shrubbery and fresh 
 air. We have always seen the old mill by the river. Our 
 fathers and the farmers far and wide have always gone to the 
 old mill with their grists. What is its history? What its 
 origin ? 
 
 We must confess it is clouded in mystery. Old accounts 
 differ. No one speaks with absolute certainty. 
 
 In the cargoes sent out from London by Governor Cradock 
 in 1629 and 1630, were articles of apparel for one hundred men, 
 leather coats, shoes, stockings besides stuffs for other clothing 
 and for their bouses; food, seeds for planting as well, arms for 
 defence and for offence, ammunition, tools to work with, iron, 
 steel, also burrs and plaster of Paris for mill stones, etc., etc. 
 Governor Cradock sent also farmers, carpenters, sawyers, and 
 an engineer, one Thomas Graves, who was sent partly at the 
 expense of the Colony and partly at the expense of Matthew 
 Cradock to look out partly for his own private ventures. 
 
 Dr. Bond says that " neither the exact date nor the builder 
 of the first mill in Watertown has been ascertained, but it was 
 probably built in 1634, by Edward How, at the joint expense 
 of himself and Mr. Matthew Cradock." We have quoted 
 from the " records of Massachusetts Bay " the statements that 
 Matthew Cradock the first governor sent in the ships burrs and 
 plaster of Paris for mill stones and made a contract with 
 
 Thomas Graves, " an engineer skilled in iron works, 
 
 and in leading water for mills, partly at the expense of the 
 colony and partly at his own expense, and what is more natural 
 to suppose in the absence of any statement that this engineer 
 used these materials for the benefit of his employer and that 
 some one else on the ground furnished timber and labor. 
 The first mention of the mill in the records is that one-half of it 
 was sold by Edward How to Thomas May hew in 1635, and 
 the other half was sold to the same in May, 1639, by the agent 
 of Matthew Cfadock. 
 
 " It was built at the head of tide-water on Charles river on 
 Mill creek, which was a canal wholly or partly artificial." 
 " It is probably the oldest artificial mill-race or canal in this 
 
18 HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 
 
 country that has continued in uninterrupted use." Its use 
 has lately been discontinued as a mill, although an old build- 
 ing, — not ve y old, — and the race-way remain. Before the 
 building is destroyed and the race-ways are filled up some 
 pictures and maps should be prepared for reference, so that the 
 students of the future may understand the facts which are 
 matters of observation with us. The mill, " the corn mill," 
 was probably first used by the servants of Sir Richard Salton- 
 stall, who with others from New towne beyond brought up 
 their grain to be ground from the first town site near " the 
 landing." The road leading from there to the mill is called 
 " Mill street " on the old maps, now Mt. Auburn street. 
 There have been on the site various kinds of mills. We have 
 not its full history. It is recorded that in 1686 a fulling mill 
 was erected by the side of the corn-mill. We find mention of 
 a planing mill just back of the grist mill. There was also a 
 paper mill by the side of the grist mill. 
 
 In 1777 Hezekiah Learned conveyed to John Remington the 
 ancient grist mill. In 1805 the grist mill building was 
 extended seventeen feet and an additional story erected 
 making four stories, and a water-wheel put in and power to 
 run six hundred and forty-eight spindles with other necessary 
 machinery guaranteed, for the spinning of cotton warps, 
 Joseph Pierce, gentleman; Jonas Wood, miller; Uriah Moore 
 and Enoch Wiswell, paper makers, all of Watertown, made 
 deed to Jeduthan Fuller of Beverly, spinner, of space and 
 necessary power. 
 
 These warps were used by farmers' wives all through the 
 country in weaving coarse cloth for clothing, blankets, coarse 
 sheeting and for rag carpets. 
 
 The water-wheel used was an undershot wheel which sup- 
 plied the required power. This may be seen by the story of 
 " a boy five years of age of a Mr. Smith's who fell into the 
 water just above the mill. He was drawn by the current 
 under the wheel ; there happened to be a board out so he 
 passed through underneath and was found by the miller sit- 
 ting in shoal water under the mill unhurt." 
 
HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 19 
 
 This mill being the oldest mill on the stream had the first 
 right to water. Few people may know that the rights of this 
 mill have been the subject of much legislation and of many legal 
 contentions in the courts. Few may know that it has had 
 much to say about the quantity of water allowed to be drawn 
 ofE by Mother Brook at Hyde Park from the Charles River 
 to the Neponset which was finally fixed at one-third part. 
 The town as the present owner of the mill and the water 
 privilege must see to it that the proportion of the water to 
 which it is entitled, especially when the water is low from 
 a general drouth in the summer months, is not taken away 
 from our water parks and led away by Mother Brook. 
 
 Each topic of our history is connected with all other topics 
 at many points. 
 
 The population of the town at first was as large or larger than 
 Boston. In the tax levy of September and again November, 
 1630, the amount assessed to Watertown was the same as to 
 Boston and larger than to any other town in the colony. 
 
 The levy of 1632 for a " pallysadoe " about Newtowne, the 
 first fortification of the colony against the Indians, was again 
 Watertowne and Boston eight pounds each, Newtowne (Cam- 
 bridge) three pounds, Charleton seven pounds, Rocksbury 
 seven pounds, Salem four pounds. 
 
 This proportion continued for some years, the relative 
 amount charged to Watertown growing smaller as Boston and 
 other places increased in wealth beyond the farming town of 
 Watertown; but not tor four years, perhaps not for fourteen 
 years, was the population of Watertown less than that of 
 Boston. 
 
 In connection with taxes, as we have before mentioned, 
 the protest of Watertown against being taxed without repre- 
 sentation led to the appointment of representatives from the 
 towns and so to the introduction of representative govern- 
 ment in this country. 
 
 In regard to the government of towns by boards of selectmen, 
 and in regard to the history of the Great Bridge, I can not do 
 better than to quote from a recent address of the Chairman of 
 
20 HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 
 
 the Board of Selectmen, Mr. Bartlett M. Shaw, given at the 
 two hundred and seventy-fifth anniversary of the founding of 
 the First Church. 
 
 He said, " Speaking for the Board of Selectmen, it might be 
 fitting for me to mention the origin of this body. 
 
 " Preserved in the vault at the Town Hall are the original 
 Town Records beginning in 1634. If any existed previous to 
 this time they were lost. These records at the beginning show 
 that a body of freemen were chosen annually to order the civil 
 affairs of the town, and thus originated that peculiarly New 
 England municipal body, the Board of Selectmen. By 
 referring to the original records it will be seen that they were 
 not at first designated as Selectmen. The first time this title 
 is found in the records is in 1647. The number varied, but in 
 1634 there were three as at present. 
 
 " It has been stated that Watertown has the distinction of 
 being the first town to be governed by a Board of Selectmen. 
 
 The Great Bridge. 
 
 ' ' On account of the changes which are now going on in the 
 center of our town, necessitated by the widening of Galen 
 street, the town has recently voted to build a new bridge across 
 the Charles River, and has also recently purchased the grist 
 mill and water rights, and is contemplating the filling of the 
 canals. It has seemed to me that a review of that portion of 
 the town's history which relates to this bridge and the water- 
 way, would be of interest. 
 
 "In the Town Records there is no notice of any ferry, but 
 from the Colonial Records, it is found that the Court on 
 November 5, 1633, granted a license to Mr. Richard Brown to 
 keep a ferry over Charles River opposite his house. The spot 
 where this was kept has not been ascertained. It was sup- 
 posed to be a little to the east of Mt. Auburn where said 
 Brown owned land. 
 
 " The first bridge was built by Thomas May hew in 1641, and 
 was supposed to be merely a foot bridge. No reference to this 
 is made in the Town Records. The earliest reference to it is in 
 
HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 21 
 
 the records of the General Court in 1641, when it was ordered 
 that the toll of Mr. May hew 's bridge is referred to the Governor 
 and two magistrates to settle for seven years. The privilege 
 of a toll bridge was not granted, as appears by the record of 
 the Court; for in 1643, he was granted 300 acres of land in 
 regard to his charge about the bridge at Watertown Mill and 
 the bridge to belong to the Country. 
 
 " The granting of one hundred and fifty acres on the south 
 side of the river to Mr. Mayhew was supposed to have been on 
 account of this bridge. While in 1644, the Court ordered the 
 grant of three hundred acres to be laid out to Mr. Mayhew, 
 there is no record of its location. 
 
 "It is evident that this was only a foot bridge, and although it 
 was to belong to the country, there was no provision in the 
 three hundred acre grant to Mr. Mayhew for the repair and 
 maintenance of it, and very soon after obtaining this grant, 
 Mr. Mayhew moved to Marthas Vineyard. 
 
 " The earliest mention in the Town Records of a bridge over 
 the Charles River in Watertown, was at a meeting of the 
 Selectmen in December, 1647, when a committee was chosen to 
 consider how a bridge over the river should be built, and to 
 agree with the workmen for doing it according to their best 
 discretion. This action of the Selectmen seems to have been 
 upon the order of the General Court in May, 1647, when an 
 order was sent to the town to build a horse bridge. 
 
 " When the bridge was completed does not appear in the 
 records, but on the 28th of November, 1648, the Selectmen 
 ordered payment for the work done at the bridge. 
 
 ' ' The construction and materials of the bridge were so defec- 
 tive that it was frequently repaired or rebuilt, and it proved to 
 be a very heavy burden to the town. As it appeared in the 
 grant to Mr. Mayhew that the bridge was to belong to the 
 country, not to the town, the town asked aid from other com- 
 munities, but without success. 
 
 " It seems that between 1648 and the building of the great 
 bridge in 1719, there were times when the bridge was either 
 unfit for use, or was entirely carried away, which caused many 
 
22 HISTORY OP WATBRTOWN 
 
 applications to the Court to reqviire Watertown to repair and 
 rebuild the same. Several applications of the town to the 
 General Court to have the cost and expense of the mainte- 
 nance of the bridge maintained by Middlesex County, seem to 
 have been in vain, as in 1716, the Court dismissed a petition 
 finding that Watertown had maintained and supported a foot 
 and horse bridge over said river upwards of fifty years, and 
 ordered Watertown to repair said bridge, forthwith. 
 
 " The foot bridge which had for many years been the only one 
 over the Charles River in Watertown, having gone to decay, a 
 question arose in a public town meeting on the 5th of Septem- 
 ber, 1718, whether it was better to repair the bridge or to 
 build a new one on the same or another place. A committee 
 was appointed to consider the question, and in their report 
 they advised to build one at a place further up the river. 
 The report was accepted and the town voted that the pro- 
 posed bridge should be a good and sufficient cart bridge for the 
 accommodation of the public, and especially some particular 
 towns. 
 
 " This, however, was considered so great an enterprise, that 
 they would not consent to undertake it without the assistance 
 of the public, as the expense would be unavoidably great, far 
 greater than Watertown and Wesion can bear. Weston hav- 
 ing been set off from Watertown in 1713, was not relieved of its 
 responsibility in the cost and maintenance of the bridge. 
 
 " In 1719, the town entered into a contract with Mr. Thomas 
 Learned and Capt. Thos. Prentice to build ' the big bridge,* and 
 voted to pay one hundred and sixty pounds. Beside this they 
 were to have what they could obtain from other towns which 
 were interested in the undertaking. This bridge seems to 
 have been regarded as the common cause of nearly all the 
 towiis west of Watertown, tor a great proportion of the people 
 from that quarter passed over the river at this point and went 
 to Boston over Roxbury Neck. 
 
 " The bridge, when finished, cost a little over three hundred 
 and nine pounds, and was the first bridge for wheel car- 
 riages in the town. The building of the bridge marks the 
 
HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 23 
 
 location of the present bridge crossing the river on Galen 
 street. The foot or horse bridge which had been used pre- 
 vious to this time is supposed by some to have crossed the 
 river at, or near, the old town landing. This first cart bridge 
 was (Dr. Francis states in his history) within the memory 
 of some then living, so narrow that only one carriage could 
 pass at a time. 
 
 " The bridge has been rebuilt and made wider from time to 
 time during the past one hundred and seventy-five or more 
 years. A vote was passed in 1734, asking the Court to grant 
 some of the unappropriated lands belonging to the Province to 
 enable the town to support the bridge, and in 1744, in con- 
 nection with Weston and Waltham (Waltham having been set 
 off in 1738) applied to the General Court for a land grant for 
 this purpose. Both of these applications were unavailing. 
 They persevered from time to time to try to get assistance, and 
 in 1752, their representative was instructed to join with the 
 representative of Weston and Waltham in searching the 
 Province records to find a grant of fifteen hundred acres of 
 meadow; having thus proved their right to such a tract, to ask 
 the General Court for an equivalent to it in some of the 
 unappropriated lands belonging to the Province which might 
 be applied for the rehef of the great burden relating to the 
 bridge. It does not appear that the town ever obtained the 
 fifteen hundred acres of meadow or the equivalent for which 
 they petitioned, and probably help of the Provincial Govern- 
 ment in maintaining the bridge was abandoned. 
 
 "One incident in connection with the attempt at widening the 
 bridge twelve feet, in 1784, was the authority of the General 
 Court given to the Watertown Bridge Lottery, wherein the 
 town pledged to indemnify and save harmless the managers. 
 The scheme seems to have been a failure, and in 1791, the 
 town chose a committee to look into the matter, and soon 
 after, appropriated money to compensate for the losses. 
 
 " In 1797 and 1798, Weston and Waltham petitioned to the 
 Legislature to be liberated from the burden of caring for the 
 bridge over Charles River, but these towns do not seem to have 
 
24 HISTORY OF WATERTOWN 
 
 been then relieved. In 1801, arrangement was made with 
 Weston and Waltham discharging them forever from any 
 further expense in maintaining the bridge, those towns 
 giving up to Watertown all the privileges in the fishery 
 which were granted to them in common with Watertown in 
 1798. 
 
 " The coming year it is the purpose of the Committee on the 
 Widening of Galen street, appointed by the town, to replace 
 the old bridge by a new one which will probably be built of 
 masonry in beautiful proportions, eighty feet in width. 
 
 " The territory called Watertown at its early period was very 
 large and its boundaries on the west for a long time undefined. 
 
 " Now, our territory has narrowed down to small limits; our 
 lands are fast being covered with dwellings; the census taken 
 the present year shows a rapid increase in population." 
 
 With this quotation, we must bring this historical sketch to 
 a close. 
 
 SOLON F. WHITNEY, 
 
 Member of the Historical Society. 
 
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