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History of Land Development in Waltham, Mass.
Surveys of Land Development in the City of Waltham 1630 to Present
Early History of the Brandeis University Campus and Surrounding AreaMort Isaacson, 12/27/2023
Starting in the mid-1600s the area was probably used, as was much of Waltham, for cropland, orchards, pastures, woodlots, and marshes – depending on the terrain. South Street was a very early road, dating to the 1600s. East of South Street was the Oldham Grant and west of South Street were the In Lieu of Township Grants. There are stone walls on undeveloped Brandeis land behind the International Business School, which probably date back to the 1600s. Most are colonial lot lines from the In Lieu of Township grants, but there is a small section of Squadron Line still existing along the entrance road to the International Business School. We are very fortunate to have one house still existing from the mid-1700s in the area. It is the Samuel Harrington House on old South Street, owned by Brandeis. See more by following the link.
Starting in the mid-1600s the area was probably used, as was much of Waltham, for cropland, orchards, pastures, woodlots, and marshes – depending on the terrain. South Street was a very early road, dating to the 1600s. East of South Street was the Oldham Grant and west of South Street were the In Lieu of Township Grants. There are stone walls on undeveloped Brandeis land behind the International Business School, which probably date back to the 1600s. Most are colonial lot lines from the In Lieu of Township grants, but there is a small section of Squadron Line still existing along the entrance road to the International Business School. We are very fortunate to have one house still existing from the mid-1700s in the area. It is the Samuel Harrington House on old South Street, owned by Brandeis. See more by following the link.
Map of Brandeis University area of Waltham
Early Land Development of the Charles-Felton Streets AreaMorton S. Isaacson 4/17/23
For this historical review of the land development of the Charles-Felton Streets area of Waltham, the area has been defined as bordering on Moody Street on the east, South Street on the west, Main Street on the north, and the Charles River down to the Prospect Street bridge and then west over to South Street on the south. The area encompasses the northern half of the John Oldham Grant of 1634 (see map below) and other land grants around today's Waltham Common and Main Street from 1636. It also includes land along the south side of Main and Weston Streets, which were part of the Boston Post Road system, and was the primary route for the transport of cattle and produce to Boston from farms west and northwest of the city during colonial times. Consequently, many homes, shops, and taverns were established along it. Prior to European settlement, Main and Weston Streets had formed part of a primary native American trail going west from Massachusetts Bay.
For this historical review of the land development of the Charles-Felton Streets area of Waltham, the area has been defined as bordering on Moody Street on the east, South Street on the west, Main Street on the north, and the Charles River down to the Prospect Street bridge and then west over to South Street on the south. The area encompasses the northern half of the John Oldham Grant of 1634 (see map below) and other land grants around today's Waltham Common and Main Street from 1636. It also includes land along the south side of Main and Weston Streets, which were part of the Boston Post Road system, and was the primary route for the transport of cattle and produce to Boston from farms west and northwest of the city during colonial times. Consequently, many homes, shops, and taverns were established along it. Prior to European settlement, Main and Weston Streets had formed part of a primary native American trail going west from Massachusetts Bay.
References:
Deeds: In the rest of this document, deeds will be cited as Massachusetts (Middlesex Registry of Deeds) Land Records – MLR book/page.Nelson, Charles A., Waltham Past and Present: And Its Industries, Moses King, Cambridge (MA), 1882.Sanderson, Edmund L., Waltham as a Precinct of Watertown, and as a Town: 1830-1884, Waltham, Waltham Historical Society, Inc., 1936.Waltham Common – Waltham Historical Society Publication No. 3, Waltham Historical Society, Waltham, MA, 1926
Map of northeast part of Oldham Grant of 1634 drawn by Edmund L. Sanderson in 1923 (in the collection of the Waltham Historical Society). The red line is the northern boundary of the grant. South Street (Gale's Lane) is shown as existing in the early 1700s at the far left, and Harvard Street (Brown's Lane) is shown as existing in the early 1700s in the center. The dashed lines correspond to the modern street grid as drawn by Sanderson.
Introduction to the Chemistry Village Area(Note: deeds are identified by Massachusetts-Middlesex Land Record – MLR Book/Page)
In the early 1800s, Samuel L. Dana developed a commercial process for producing sulfuric acid, which was needed for the bleaching and coloring of textiles. With the aid of the same financial interests that were invested in the Boston Manufacturing Company, Dana established the Newton Chymical [sic] Company in 1824. It was a pioneering enterprise, and became, probably, the largest commercial chemical plant in America at the time. He originally developed the process in a small building on the north side of the river by Newton Street, but then built the large plant on the other side of the river in a much more isolated location. The Newton Chymical Company's plant was located on a large lot the company owned stretching north from High Street to the River and from Lowell Street to Newton Street. Some housing for employees was built along Pine Street, but otherwise the lot was mostly used only for industrial buildings. However, company housing for employees was built on the land east of Newton Street, along with many private houses, which were rented to chemical works employees. This area acquired the name "Chemistry Village".
The land to the east of Newton Street was one of the parcels, which Francis C. Lowell II bought from Nancy Spring's holdings in 1844 and consisted of 60 acres of woodlot and pasture along the Charles River called the "Brush Pasture" (MLR 459/65 and 68). It stretched east from today's Newton Street about 2,000 feet (to about Flood Street) and south from the river about 1,600 feet (to about Clinton Street). Marshall Spring had acquired the lot in 1802 as part of the much larger Captain Joshua Fuller Farm, see below.
In 1845, Lowell sold to the Newton Chymical Company some of his Brush Pasture land on the east side of Newton Street, opposite the land the company already owned on the west side of Newton Street. (MLR 478/80 and 81). The lot went from opposite about where Pine Street comes into Newton Street, south to the back yard line between today's Clinton and Cutter Streets, and from Newton Street east to the back yard line on the west of Cedar Street.
In 1846, Lowell sold most of the northeast corner of the "Brush Pasture" to Horatio Moore (MLR 495/98). Moore was the manager of the Newton Chymical Company, associated with the Boston Manufacturing Company, at the time. The lot, containing a bit over 10 acres, stretched from east to west from today's house lots on the east of Flood Street to those on the west of Moore Street, and from north to south from today's house lots on the south side of today's Calvary Street (then called "Spring Street") to those on the south of today's John Street. Lowell maintained possession of the strip of land between Calvary Street and the river. Moore sold the lot for today's No. 6 John Street to Patrick Kenny, who worked for the Newton Chymical Company, in 1855 (MLR 747/251), and the house was built sometime between 1855 and 1860. Lowell sold the lot for today's No. 142 Calvary Street, on the north side of Calvary Street, to James Shaughnessy in 1866 (MLR 992/438 and 1023/88), who sold it to Mary Dolan in 1873 (MLR 1294/304), and the house was built between 1873 and 1875.
In 1849, Lowell sold a one third part interest in another portion of his "Brush Pasture" acquisition also to Horatio Moore (MLR 568/208). This lot stretched south from today's Calvary Street, past Oak Street, to include the lots on both sides of Cedar Street. On the west side of the street, it stretched south for about 900 feet to Clinton Street (including today's No. 53 Cedar Street) and about 180 feet west from Cedar Street. On the east side of the street, it stretched south about 1000 feet to include the lot of today's No. 72 Cedar Street, and about 215 feet east from Cedar Street. In 1855, Lowell and Moore sold the lot for today's No. 60 Cedar Street to Michael McDonald (MLR 718/352), and the house appears to have been built that same year.
Subdivision of Brush Pasture and adjacent land: Lot No. 1 from Lowell to Newton Chymical Company, 1845; Lot No. 2 from Lowell to Horatio Moore, 1846; Lot No. 3 one-third portion from Lowell to Horatio Moore, 1849; Lot No. 4 part of Brush Pasture retained by Lowell and later subdivided; Lot No. 5 from Joel Fuller to Davis and Newhall, 1838, to George Lawton, 1839 and 1840; Lot No. 6 from Sarah Fuller to Seth Davis, 1854 (base map from OpenStreetMap)
There was a small gap separating Marshall Spring's 60-acre Brush Pasture on the north, which was later sold to Francis C. Lowell, and Spring's 115 acre woodlot on the south, which was also later sold to Lowell. This was a 10-acre lot on the northeastern corner of today's Newton and High Streets, from approximately Clinton Street on the north and Cedar Street on the east. In 1838, Deacon Joel Fuller sold the lot to Timothy Davis and Chauncy Newhall (MLR 377/550). Deacon Joel Fuller had acquired the lot as part of a larger 78-acre lot from Marshall Spring in 1823 (MLR 249/31). The larger lot extended east and south of the Brush Pasture. Marshall Spring had acquired the lot from David Fuller in 1802 (MLR 145/35), which also included the Brush Pasture as well as 48 acres of woodland and cranberry bogs, which were not part of the sale to Joel Fuller. This was all part of approximately 160-acre farm of Captain Joshua Fuller, who died in 1777. Captain Joshua was a grandson of John Fuller, and was also David's father. Deacon Joel had married David's daughter, Sarah. According to Jackson's map, Captain Joshua Fuller's house stood on the south side of Waltham Street in Newton (which becomes High Street in Waltham), and a bit east of today's Waltham border. Captain Joshua Fuller, along with Stephen White (see next section), was instrumental in getting the first bridge built across the river on Newton Street about 1761 (The Emergence of Waltham's South Side by Nancy Seymour).
In 1839 and 1840, Davis and Newhall sold the lot on the northeast corner of today's Newton and High Streets, to George Lawton (MLR 384/489 and 391/406). Interestingly, in the deed, Davis also sold Lawton the northern part of the old Patrick Tracy Jackson estate, which had been sold to Miller and Maynard in 1833, and which formed the start of Lawton's acquisition of almost the entire old Patrick Tracy Jackson estate. Lawton was noted as living in Watertown at the time and being a reed maker, so he must have been a skilled mill worker before he became senior management at the Boston Manufacturing Company. Lawton was still shown as the owner of the land in on the 1875 map. However, in 1871 he had sold the land to Dexter J. Cutter, who was the paymaster of the Boston Manufacturing Company (MLR 1177/198). Cutter then sold off the house lots along the north side of High Street and both sides of Cutter Street.
Historical Survey of Homes in the Waltham HighlandsMorton S. Isaacson — January 30, 2021, August 26, 2021
The Waltham Highlands is considered to be the part of Waltham lying north of the former Massachusetts Central Railroad right of way (just south of Guinan Street), south of the "Lanes" section of the Piety Corner area (just north of Dale Street), west of Bacon Street, and east of Prospect Hill Park. However, some houses on and off Dale Street east of Bacon Street will also be included. The survey is also limited to houses built before around 1900, or shortly thereafter. Before the mid-1800s, most of the western portion of this land was heavily forested, while some the eastern portion near Bacon Street was used for farming, as well as for wood lots and peat bogs. Geographically, Bacon Street marks the approximate dividing line between upland areas to the west and wet meadow lands to the east (merging into the Chester Brook, Beaver Brook, and Charles River plains).
The Waltham Highlands is considered to be the part of Waltham lying north of the former Massachusetts Central Railroad right of way (just south of Guinan Street), south of the "Lanes" section of the Piety Corner area (just north of Dale Street), west of Bacon Street, and east of Prospect Hill Park. However, some houses on and off Dale Street east of Bacon Street will also be included. The survey is also limited to houses built before around 1900, or shortly thereafter. Before the mid-1800s, most of the western portion of this land was heavily forested, while some the eastern portion near Bacon Street was used for farming, as well as for wood lots and peat bogs. Geographically, Bacon Street marks the approximate dividing line between upland areas to the west and wet meadow lands to the east (merging into the Chester Brook, Beaver Brook, and Charles River plains).
Detailed History of the Early Land Development of Waltham's South Side
Morton S. Isaacson — 9/25/2022
Waltham annexed the South Side from Newton in 1849. The dividing line ran from the Charles River opposite the boundary between Waltham and Watertown, to the Charles River opposite the boundary between Waltham and Weston (Stony Brook). Because of this, deeds prior to 1849 referred to lots lying in today's South Side as being in Newton, while later deeds referred to them as being in Waltham, or both Waltham and Newton. Before the second quarter of the nineteenth century, this was a very rural part of Newton, with only a few, large, widely spaced farms. The Newton Street bridge and the road across it connecting Newton and Waltham had existed since the early 1760s; however, urban development in the area only began after the Newton Chymical [sic] Company was established off of what later became Newton Street south of the river, in 1824. According to Samuel Francis Smith's history of Newton, p. 489, as early as 1844 the Newton residents, who worked for and lived near the Newton Chymical Company, had been petitioning the state to allow the annexation. This was even before the Moody Street bridge had been built, in 1846, and the western side of the South Side started to be developed. The urban development of the South Side centered around these two hubs, one along Newton Street, and one along Moody Street. However, to follow the ownership of land on the South Side, we must begin with the colonial development of the northwest portion of Newton. I will then discuss large land purchases and trace them forward to the land division in different sections of the South Side through the late 1800s.
The following is organized based on early large land purchases, and is divided into sections based on these land purchases. At right or below is a listing of the sections and what areas of the South Side they cover. The map is a key map showing the areas covered by the different sections. Deeds are referred to by MLR (Massachusetts-Middlesex Land Record) Book No./Page No.
.jpg "Portion of South Side Map")
- Fuller and Williams Colonial Farms
- The "Island" and "Cram's Cove" Area
- Forest Grove Area
- Parmenter Road and Derby Street Areas
- Chemistry Village Area – East of Newton Street to Flood Street, and North of High Street to the Charles River
- Calvary Cemetery Area
- Watch Factory (Waltham Improvement Company), Crescent Street Area
- South of the Watch Factory, West of Moody Street, and North of the Island Area
- Boston Manufacturing Company Area (Charles River to Taylor Street/Moody to Newton Streets)
- Newton Chymical (Chemical) Company Area (Lowell to Cedar Streets/Charles River to Fuller Street)
- Central South Side Area (Taylor to High Streets/West of Moody to Lowell Streets; High to Derby Streets/Lowell to Tolman Streets)
- Washington and Wadsworth Avenues Area Just East of Moody Street
- Spruce and Crescent Street Area
Waltham's Antebellum Mill Village Area →
Waltham's Antebellum Mill Village AreaArea surrounding River and Central Streets in the mid-1800sMorton S. Isaacson — (for the Waltham Historical Society)
Waltham was initially settled during the 1600s as an outlying part of Watertown and was not incorporated as a separate town until 1738. Consequently, it did not possess a town center recognizable as an architectural entity until as late as the 1830s. In the late 1700s an incipient town center had started to form near where Linden Street meets Main Street. However, after the coming of the Boston Manufacturing Company (BMC) in 1814, the commercial and industrial center of Waltham shifted down Main Street about one mile west to the present "Central Square" around the “Common”. In a sense, the area between Main Street and the river and from Moody Street to Newton Street can be considered Waltham's pre-Civil War mill village.
Waltham was initially settled during the 1600s as an outlying part of Watertown and was not incorporated as a separate town until 1738. Consequently, it did not possess a town center recognizable as an architectural entity until as late as the 1830s. In the late 1700s an incipient town center had started to form near where Linden Street meets Main Street. However, after the coming of the Boston Manufacturing Company (BMC) in 1814, the commercial and industrial center of Waltham shifted down Main Street about one mile west to the present "Central Square" around the “Common”. In a sense, the area between Main Street and the river and from Moody Street to Newton Street can be considered Waltham's pre-Civil War mill village.
The Manors, a Gallery of 19th and Early 20th Century Homes →
Manors, Parsonages, and an Outstanding Gallery of 19th and Early 20th Century Homes: by Morton S. Isaacson — 8/30/13
The Waltham Historical Society’s tour of the historical sites found in the Lyman and Pleasant Streets area of Waltham, the area roughly bounded by Lyman Street in the west, Ellison Park in the east, Beaver Street in the north, and Main Street in the south. This is a self-guided tour to survey the exteriors and surroundings of the many fine historical structures that still exist along the route. Because most of the tour is along major streets, please be very careful when driving or walking. While driving, in general, it is dangerous even to slow down. Parking must be done only where public parking is legally permitted. Finally, please be very respectful of, and do not enter, private property. Arrangements have not been made for touring the interiors of the houses and buildings on the tour.
The Waltham Historical Society’s tour of the historical sites found in the Lyman and Pleasant Streets area of Waltham, the area roughly bounded by Lyman Street in the west, Ellison Park in the east, Beaver Street in the north, and Main Street in the south. This is a self-guided tour to survey the exteriors and surroundings of the many fine historical structures that still exist along the route. Because most of the tour is along major streets, please be very careful when driving or walking. While driving, in general, it is dangerous even to slow down. Parking must be done only where public parking is legally permitted. Finally, please be very respectful of, and do not enter, private property. Arrangements have not been made for touring the interiors of the houses and buildings on the tour.
