Arlington Reservoir

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.

The town, as incorporated, took from Waltham 429 acres, from West Cambridge 1773 acres, and from Watertown 1446 acres, making a total of 3648 acres, or 5.75 square miles. Arlington bounds it upon the north, Cambridge upon the east and Watertown on the south. Its western boundary touches Lexington, Waltham and Watertown. Its town-hall is six and a half miles W.S.W. from the State-House. The population in 1853, when the first petitions for incorporation were circulated, was 1004, which was increased to 1175 at the date of incorporation. The valuation in 1859 was $2,036,077.

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 - 15,115 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.