Belmont, Massachusetts

It was said, somewhat irreverently, by an earnest advocate of the Hoo.sac Tunnel, before that wonderful triumph of modern engineering had become an accomplished fact, that the finger of God marked the valleys of the Deerfield and Hoosac Rivers for the location of a great railroad, and the full force of the remark is readily grasped by any one who, standing on the ridge which separates those streams, observes the line of deeper green which indicates the descent of the hills on either hand to the course of the waters below. The objection was at once offered that, to make this argument avail, the finger should have pierced the mountain, and thus have made the route complete. Human enterprise has now supplied that which was lacking, and from the Atlantic plain of the Mystic and the Charles, across the valleys of the Nashua and the Connecticut with its tributaries, under and between the highlands of the Green and Taconic Ranges, the iron horse makes his regular journeys to meet the waters of the Hudson at Troy, It is interesting to note how, in its advance from one river system to another, the railroad has seized upon a depression here in the mountain wall of separation, a sloping upland there, and to observe again how communities spring into being all along the lines that help to tie the opposite ends of the land together. No town in New England, unless it be a railroad centre, owes its existence as a distinct municipality more directly to railroad enterprise, than does the town of Belmont. Its struggle for birth ended happily in the same contest that determined the completion of the Hoosac Tunnel, and there was a peculiar fitness in the union of the friends of the town and the advocates of the Tunnel in their ettbrts.

Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1890.

In the gradual growth of the ice trade, which was for so long a period of years an important factor in the development of Boston as a leading port of commerce, a railroad had been built from Charlestown to Fresh Pond, for the purpose of carrying its ice to tidewater. An extension of this road to the westward was projected. To pass from the valley of the Mystic to that of the Charles the most feasible route was found to be between Fresh and Spy Ponds, and thence along the southern border of Wellington Hill. At the western extremity of the hill, a slight elevation turns Beaver Brook from a southerly to a westerly direction, and causes it to empty its waters into the Charles River at Waltham, and the location of the railroad followed the brook in its westerly course. Aside fron> the advantages of this route, as determined by the topographical survey - advantages so great that another highway to the West has since taken the same outlet - it was an additional recommendation that the valley at the base of Wellington Hill was sparsely populated. It formed the outskirts of two old towns. Watertown and West Cambridge (now Arlington), and was, by reason of its remoteness from the centres of those towns, occupied exclusively by a farming population. In 1848 a charter was obtained for the Fitchburg Railroad, and it was opened to Waltham in December of that year. At the crossing of Concord Turnpike was placed the station of Wellington Hill, destined to make the centre of the charming surburban town of Belmont. At this time there were about one hundred and twenty-five families residing upon the territory now included within the limits of the town. Improved facilities for communication with the neighboring metropolis led to a steady growth in numbers. The increase was not rapid. There was no place of public worship nearer than West Cambridge or Watertown, no store, post-office, nor public hall. The policy of the railroad in respect to train accommodations and rates of fare was a fluctuating one, as, indeed, it continued to be for many years. The roads and the schools were not such as to otter special attractions to those seeking a residence.

Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1890.

For much of the early history of the territory now included within the limits of Belmont, one must look to the town from which it came. There was but little common interest among its scattered inhabitants until they united in the struggle for corporate existence. Ecclesiastically, politically and socially, they were identified with the towns in which they dwelt. In the latter part of the year 18.55 the need of a suitable building for public worship became felt to such a degree that January 1, 1856, a paper was put in circulation upon which the sum of $7000 was pledged in amounts ranging from $100 to $500. At a meeting held January 3d, of that year, the following committee was chosen to build a " meetinghouse:" David Mack (chairman), Samuel O. Mead, Charles Stone, Edwin Locke, Albert Higgins, John L. Alexander and J. M. Hollingsworth. In September, Mr. Mack resigned his position and J. Oliver Wellington was elected chairman in his stead. The church was located on Concord Turnpike, near the railroad station. It was built by John C. Sawin from plans by Enoch Fuller, and was completed in the fall of 1857. Its total cost was about $13,000. The church was dedicated December 2, 1857, and was occupied as a place of worship by the Belmont Congregational Society (Unitarian) until February 12, 1890, when it was destroyed by fire. At the time of the fire it had become the property of J. V. Fletcher. Nearly two years before it had been decid- the ladies of the Arachne Club ; subscriptions were secured, and entertaiuraenta in aid of the enterprise were given, prominent among the subscribers being the firm of J. V. Fletcher & Co. and Edwin F. Atkins, who gave $5000 each. The building committee consisted of J. Henry Fletcher, William E. Stowe, H. O. Underwood, Mrs. J. M. Hernandez and John F. Richardson. A site having been selected, nearly opposite the old church, the new building was erected in 1889, at a cost of upwards of $2G,000. Hartwell & Richardson were the architects of the new church, and the builder was E. Atwood, Jr. The walls are of field stone, the gables and tower of wood, covered with cement plaster. The tower, at the northerly corner of the building, contains the bell from the old church and a clock provided by the town. Within, the finish is of cypress, the roof of the auditorium being of hard pine. Beautiful memorial windows are placed in this room. The vestry and ladies' parlor are upon the same floor as the large audience-room, and can be made a part of it when required, and a well-appointed kitchen and dining-room testify to the fact that the modern church supplements its work as a factor in Christian civilization by ministering to the social needs of humanity. The church was dedicated April 9, 1890, with appropriate .services, including an original hymn by the pastor, and the dedicatory sermon by Rev. Brooke Herford, of Boston.

Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1890.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Belmont Town - it names this place 35 more 35 times.