History of Land Development in Waltham, Mass.
Surveys of Land Development in the City of Waltham 1630 to Present
Neighborhood Survey
The South Side →
3. Forest Grove Area
South of the Island, is a small undeveloped strip of land along the river, which is today in Waltham, and is known as Forest Grove. This is the extreme southwest corner of the South Side. Before the 1890s, it was not connected to the Island by a bridge and road, but, in fact, started out as part of the next colonial farm in Newton south of the Williams Farm. This was the 200-acre William Robinson Farm of c. 1678. According to Jackson (map and p. 401), William Robinson was one of the freemen of Cambridge, who petitioned the colonial Great Court to have today's Newton separated from Cambridge, in 1678. According to the Jackson map, the Robinson house probably stood about where today's Auburndale Avenue comes into Lexington Street in Newton, or nearby on Freeman Street (Fleishman). Jackson noted that it was occupied by William Robinson, Jr., in 1705; John Robinson, in 1753; Jonathan Williams, in 1767; and subsequently by Elisha Hall. A Hall house is shown in about this spot on the 1831 Newton map. There is a house still standing at 473 Auburn Street, which was probably built in 1724 and is on the National Register. According to its MACRIS form, it may have been built by William Robinson, Sr., and lived in by William Robinson, Jr., but was clearly not their first homes, since William Robinson, Jr., had children by 1705. The MACRIS form also credits William Robinson, Sr., as being the first English settler in Auburndale.
According to Jackson, south of the original Robinson house, along the river, was the house of William Upham in 1740, subsequently occupied by Elisha Seaverns and then Elisha Ware. William Upham was the son-in-law of William Robinson, Jr. The Walter C. Ware farm was shown in this approximate location in the 1874 Newton atlas.
In 1890, Harvey Bartlett, along with Henry C. Hall and George C. Lyon, acquired 70 acres of the former Robinson Farm, including the Forest Grove section, from the heirs of Royal M. Pulsifer (MLR 1980/222). It was bounded by Ware on the southwest, Elisha Hall on the southeast, Nathan Morse on the northeast, and the Charles River on the northwest. It appears that this land came from a farm owned by Amos Brown, Jr., in 1793 (see MLR 1479/389, 1431/237, 1421/415, 1350/292, 1147/246, 1066/296, 785/443 & 444, 241/228 (from Nathaniel Weld Farm in 1821), and 114/310). The Amos Brown Farm was bounded by the heirs of William Upham on the southwest, the Charles River on the northwest, Isaac Williams on the north, the heirs of Joseph Morse on the northeast, and Samuel Wheat and John Allen on the east.
In 1893, Harvey Bartlett opened a popular amusement park at Forest Grove. The first bridge on Woerd Avenue over the inlet to Cram's Cove had been built in 1890, and the bridge over the inlet to Purgatory Cove must have been built by 1893. The amusement park was popular enough that a street railway spur was built from Crescent Street to the park in 1895. However, in 1897 the much larger Norumbega Park in Newton was opened, and Forest Grove went into eclipse.
In 1893, Harvey Bartlett opened a popular amusement park at Forest Grove. The first bridge on Woerd Avenue over the inlet to Cram's Cove had been built in 1890, and the bridge over the inlet to Purgatory Cove must have been built by 1893. The amusement park was popular enough that a street railway spur was built from Crescent Street to the park in 1895. However, in 1897 the much larger Norumbega Park in Newton was opened, and Forest Grove went into eclipse.