Brookline Town (part 1 of 6)

The Richest Town In The World

THERE are only six cities and no individual towns in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with a larger tax list than the town of Brookline. The town of Milton is the only one approaching it in the value of its taxable property, ami the relative value on the tax lists of the two towns is as $65,- 000,000 is to $20,000,000. Watertown, Westll(.l,l Detlham, Manchester, Framingham, Plymouth, Falmouth, Weymouth, N'atick, Attleboro, Marblehead and Amesbury, all delightful colonial towns, each brin- to the Commonwealth a tax income of less than one tenth the amounl contributed by Brookline.

When the town of Brookline was bom mi November 13, 1705, Massachusetts bad over sixty towns in her family ranging in age from one to eighty-five years. The same form of town government inaugurated at the birth of each has been preserved by Brookline and carried nut in the town meetings of cad, year. The officers taking part in the celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of Brookline's birth, November 13, [005, were elected to office and performed the same functions as did i1m.sc chosen in 1705 to stand sponsors t<> the infant town. The voting list df the town lias increased to 1,300 and the limits of the town include the villages of Cottage population at the time of the celebration of its -w,, hundredth birthday numbered over 23,000. Brookline is unique, as a Massachusetts town, its limits, the only exception being electric motors and philosophical instruments. Its wealth and importance is due mainly to its natural and acquired beauty, and its healthfulness a- a residential town. The private fortunes of its inhabitants furnish the means for its multiplying wealth of attractions as a place of suburban residence, and unlike most Massachusetts towns, no rich corporations are sheltered within its borders.

To see Brookline to advantage the visitor to Boston and it:- suburbs must take a carriage or automobile, passing from the Back Bay, by way of the Fenway, within it- gates, and through it- quiet and beautiful shaded streets, avenues and boulevards, over perfectly constructed mads, along circuitous routes, gradually rising to the summit of its beautiful lulls. There is -hade, seclusion, comfort m every mile of the drive. Back from ,|,e roads on every available building site and dotting the hillsides slopes are innumerable private dwellings. Each home has an extended view, unobstructed by it- neighbor and separated from ,, by no defined boundary line. You now have a commanding view of the beautiful cities and towns contiguous to Boston, as they lie at your feet or cover the lull- of the surrounding neighborhood. The beautiful Charles River winds its way between the hill-, and the best examples of modern residential architecture are exhibited in elegant a,,d princely residences, many with extended park.- and all with ample grounds laid oul and beautified by the applied art of the most -killed landscape architects of the world. To add to the charm, a welcome is extended by the hospitable host or hostess of these beautiful park- and grounds to the stranger visitor-, who are through this courtesy enabled to visit more at their leisure the copies of the world-renowned gardens.conscrvatories and parks of the old world, touched up by tlle modernized skill of the landscape artist, who haS adapted the old to the new and added many examples of wealth, in shrub, tree, fruit and flower- to the grounds and conservatories, not found in the besl examples of England, France. Germany or Italy. In this way Brookline is always able to maintain the reputation for hospitality, accorded to Boston, in enabling the stranger within its -ales to view the best examples of modern home environments, a- well as the places of historic interest, and the museums and libraries of art and literature preserved and exposed to citv of Huston and state of Massachusetts, to England tor beauty and picturesqueness in ittrace, as we at'e ]ia--iiiLr the two hundredth mile- residence localities, which constitute the greater little over -i\ miles away. The territory is oblong m shape, between three and four miles in length bv about a mile and a half wide, containing

'ldie town of Hrookline has several unique dis- an area of about six square mile--, and is a rolling Unctions. It is said to be the richest town m the country with many hills, the highest in the west- 1 mted State-, the best governed and the most ern part rising to between three and four hundred beautiful. Geographically, it is a part of the feet above tide water. On the east, the territory territorv of the metropolitan city of Boston, and i< bounded by the Charles River, which was 10 all intent- and purposes of community and originally the town boundary, but in order to prosoda] lite it i- a- much an integral part of that vide for the extension of Commonwealth Avenue citv as an\ other section within the same radius. ai the time of the Hack Bay improvements, a I'nlike any other near-by suburb of Boston, strip along the river was ceiled to Boston. < In however, while it has a population larger and more the southeast, between Brookline and Roxbury. dense than manv Massachusetts cities, it i- an in- was a narrow and shallow tidal estuary, known as dependent town, governing itself under the forms Muddy River, or brook, into which a fresh water of the old New England town meeting, inherited brook flowed, and in t urn Muddy River debouched from our Germanic ancestors. It is. moreover, into the Back Bay. as the shallow tidal basin beso well governed. - or perhaps the better word to tween Brookline and tin' Boston peninsula was use would be. Administered - that in these days named. The shores of Muddy River and the Back when there is so much said, and proved, in regard Bay were low lying salt marshes, and on the i,i corrupl practices existing in cities, it is remark- Brookline side the_\ were backed by meadow laid able for the cleanness and efficiency with which suitable for grazing and farming purposes. 1 his its business has been conducted. This is largely substantially was the physical condition of the due to the fact that its people have applied mod- section of country now constituting the town ol ern ideas to the town meeting principle: have Brookline. at the time of the settlement of Boston conducted their gatherings a- orderly assemblies, and long afterward. It was a beautiful, picturesand prevented the intrusion of unauthorized que. hilly region, bordered by fertile meadows, person- or any mob-like tactics: and while dele- and they in turn faced by salt marshes and the gating authority to the competent and instructed tidal river and basin, the latter separating the for administration and investigation, have al- region from the town of Boston, so that in order to ways retained in their own hands the ultimate reach the locality by land a long detour had to be decision of public questions. This is the referen- made around the head of the river. The locality diim in actual operation: while the projection of and the village which sprang up here took its any public question into the arena of debate in name from the tidal river, and until the incorporatown meetings i- obviously easy, so that here is tion of the town was known by the name of Muddy the principle of the initiative, also in operation. River.

Brookline, Massachusetts

Brooklino is pari and parcel of Boston, historically. Her early inhabitants and landholders were citizens of Boston, and for seventy-five years the region u a- a par) of the town of I lust mi. Consequently Brookline, as an integral pari of old Boston, has .'in heritage in its splendid histon which il shares equally with all the surrounding country. The earlv histon of Boston is the most council and in action, lis history leads mil to and largely includes thai of the whole of New England, and it has been the germinating poinl of a large section of American life. The influences in the domains of literature and art diverging from Boston have I ii and are greater than from anv other American city. Talented sons of the old Bay State have from many standpoints, in sober prose, in stately orations, in graceful poetry, in tales, stories and novels, pictured forth on the

English colonies received their chief impetus. Although settled ten years after Plymouth, Boston early became the central colony, the head- before the mental vision with startling distinctness fittingly eulogized in noble orations on numerous occasions by Webster, by Everett, by Quincy, by Winthrop, and others, while the legends of the Red .Men. the traditions and stories of the settlers, and the aspirations of the people, have been grandly voiced by the poetry of Longfellow, of Lowell, of Holmes, and of \A hittier. The more recent life of the community has f< und able delineators in the pages of Howells, James, Robert (nam. Edward Bellamy. Louisa M. Alcott, Arlo Bates, and a host of others. With such a history and such historians, the life of Boston past and present, is an open hi ok. accessible not only to the studenl but to all.

first located on the neighboring shores, the name Trimountain, subsequently conl racted toTremont. The English emigrants who had come to the Xew World under the guidance of John Winthrop, first pitched on Charleston n as a place for their homes; but, it is said b\ some, finding that water was scarce there, on the invitation of Blackstone they went over to Shawmut, as the Indians and Blackstone named the peninsula, and settled there, thi' transfer being made on the 7th of September, 1030, and the name Boston given to the settlement, by order of the court held at Charlestown on that date This name was chosen in 11 i limn of Boston, England, the former home of

The first white inhabitant of Boston was an English clergyman named William Blackstone w ho had been living t here some years In 'fore 1 1 >: II I and had a house and garden with fruit trees. Tin territory was a pear shaped peninsula, connectei with the mainland at the south by a narrow neck u mile long, and so low that it was sometimes submerged by the tide. The narrowest part wa near the junction of the present Dover and Washington streets In extent the original peninsula was about two miles long by one broad, and contained 7S3 acre-. It was distinguished by three hills, which earni d for it from the settlers who had

Mime of the colonists, and especially oi Mr. Isaac Johnson, whose wife, the lady Arabella, died in Salem before their house could be built in Boston, and the husband survived her only a few weeks, his body being the first interred in King's Chapel Burying ( I round. The name ' ' I lost on" is a contraction of Botolph's town. The English Boston, in Lincolnshire, was founded in 6.50 L\ St. Botolph, a pious Saxon, and contains at presenl about fifteen thousand inhabitants. The principal building is St. Botolph's church, built in 1309. It is a mammoth edifice, and has a tower 300 feet high, which can be seen forty miles at Sea. The

Rev. John Cotton, the second minister of the First Church in Boston, and the most famous of the early Boston preachers, was vicar of St. Botolph's for t wiiii \ years. The firsl grant of land ai MuiUh River appears by the early records to have been made to Mr. Cotton, and his farm or "planting ground" included a large part of the land occupied by the original village of Muddy River.

William Blackstone sold all the peninsula of Shawmut to Winthrnp and hi- a--ociale-, except six acres where his house stood, for thirty pounds. Blackstone's home lot extended from the top of Beacon Streel to the Charles River, and included

Mr. Blackstone, in regard to a "rate of thirty pounds," probably the price paid to him for his land- At the time of "the great allotments al Muddy River," to the inhabitants of Boston. January S, Id:!?. "Mr. William Blackstone" received the forty-third allotment, which is described as follows: "Fifteen acres bounded on the southeast with Thomas Wardall extending itself eighty rods in length to the southwesl and northeast and on Robert Titus to the northwest, li was probably before this dale thai Blackstone removed to Study Hill, a- no further mention of him i- found in the records, lie received lhi> allotment al Muddv River as of righl because of the land through which Beacon and Mt. Vernon -i reel - now run, and his house is supposed to have been in the neighborhood, of the presenl Louisburg Square. He did not continue to live in Huston. Soon he tired of his neighbors, and removed to Study Hill "ii the Blackstone River i named after him), within the limit.- of the presenl village ef 1. mi-dale. R. I., where he lived all isolated life, varied by occasional visits to Boston, or to Roger Williams at Providence, until his death in 1 r, 7 ."> . at the age of eighty years. The first his ownership of land in Boston. The greatest of the early Boston preacher-. Rev. John Cotton, and the firsl settler en the Boston peninsula, William Blackstone, were thus among the original landholders at Muddy River, and are consequently connect ei I historically with the genesis of the town. John Winthrop, the leader of the immigrants who settled at Boston, was elected by the people themselves in "General Court assembled" as the governor of the colony. He had also been appointed governor by the land company under whose auspices the settlements al Salem had been begun bv Endicott in 162S. This company had obtained a charter dated March 4, 1628-9, for the "Plantation in Massachusetts Bay in New England," and Winthrop was the firsl governor under this charter to exercise authority in \<'\\ England. The charter was iiol very explicit, but the colonists gave it a liberal interpretation, assuming powers not granted b\ its terms, and practically governed themselves under its authority, while still stretching its limits.

Between 1630 and 1640 twenty thousand persons arrived from England, and during this period the colonies on Rhode Island and at Providence, and those in Connecticut, were formed by compa-

Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire and Maine. and the Narragansetl Country or King's Province- Sir Edmund Andros succeeded Dudley in December of the same year, and exercised his authority in Boston m a very tyrannical manner. When the rumor of the English revolution of Kiss and the accession of the Prince of < (range to t lie throne reached Boston in the spring of 16S9, the people rose in rebellion, deposed Andros and put him in prison, and then instituted a provisional government under the old charter officers.

were compelled to emigrate because of differences in religious opinion. After 1640, immigration dwindled, and for years, it is supposed that inure people returned to England than came from there to Boston.

The restoration of the Stuarts to the English throne in 1660 brought trouble to the settlers at Boston. Soon there began a series of differences with the home government which resulted in the abrogation of the charter in 16S4. The charter government expired with the appointment of Joseph Dudley in 16S6 as Presidenl of the Council for

\ mce. a ic I the governor was sent from England instead of being elected by the people as under the old charter. At this time Boston had about seven thousand inhabitants. This charter continued in force down to the tune of the Revolution, and the colony was ruled over by eleven royal governors. Boston took an especially prominent pari in the Revolution. Her sons, with the strong instincts their education and association, resisted t he aggressions of the British government. The celebrated "Boston Tea Party" occurred Dec. Hi, 177.'!. In 177o the war really began, with the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord in April of thai year. The Battle of Bunker Hill occurred June 17th, followed by the seigc of Boston by the American army under < leneral Washington, and the evacuation of Boston I iv the British troops in March, 1 776.

1 ur seventy-five years, from the settlement in 16.30 I" 1705, the territory now comprising the present town of Brookline was a pari of the town ot Boston. The relation ii bore to Boston was is evidence which apparently shows that ii came near being annexed to Cambridge. According to the colony records for Sept ember, 1634, the < leneral Court at a session held in Cambridge, ordered "that the ground aboul Muddy River belonging to Boston, and used by the inhabitants thereof, shall hereafter belong to New Town, the wood and timber thereof growing and to be growing, to be reserved to the inhabitants of Boston; provided, and it is the meaning of the court, thai if Mr. Hooker and the congregation now- settled here shall remove hence that the ground at Muddy River shall revert to Boston. The Rev. Mr.

Harvard Square In 1905 Looking South

"The inhabitants of Boston for their enlarge- By vote of the governor and council. Dec. 30, inent have taken to themselves farm houses in a 1639, five hundred acres at Muddy River were replace called Muddy River, two miles from then- served for "perpetual commonage to the inhabi- Iiiwii. where is good ground, large timber, ami tants there and the town of Boston." To such an store of marsh land and meadow. In this place they keep their swine and other cattle in tin' summer, whilst corn is on the ground at Boston; and brine; them to town in the winter."

extent were these common meadow- al Muddy River used for the pasturing of cattle that on t his account the locality likewise became known by the name "Boston Commons" ; and the early re- prohibition of waste by the cutting of timber. \i the -ainc time the land was being allotted to inhabitants of Boston, some of whom evidently cultivated ii or used it for their rattle whilst others, and an increasing number as the years went by, I mill boniest eads and settled here.

The resident inhabitants gradually began to wish tn control their own affairs independently "I Boston, largelv because of the fact that they ty (upon a public hearing of the inhabitants of the said Hamlet I shall determine. As also maintain an able reading and writing master there from and after that day, and that the inhabitants annually meet to choose three men to manage their affairs.'' The inhabitants of Muddy River accepted tins grant six weeks later. Jan. 10, Kisii- 7. "at full ting" and elected Andrew Gardner, John White. Jr., and Th asStedman as the wen' so isolated and consequently had interests distinct from the parent town. < Mi Dec. S. 16S6, in response i" t heir petit inn in the town of l>"sti>n, the Provincial Council exempted their paying rates tn Boston mi condition that thev maintain in niie year next coming thev raise a schoolhouse discharged from Boston t" be a hamlet by themin such place as the two next justices of the coun- selves, but stand related tn Boston as they were before the year 1686." The village in 169S was, however, given the privilege of choosing its own assessor, who was ''to set with the selectmen" of Boston for the making of the rate for Muddy River. Thus was recognized the principle that taxation and representation must go together.

The independent spirit in Muddy River continued active and the inhabitants continued to elect their own village officers, notwithstanding the vote of the Boston meeting. In 1700, another attempt was made by the inhabitants to secure control of their own affairs, as the following extract from the records for that vear shows: in the town rate, yet for the time to come the selectmen should rate them in the town tax a- the other inhabitants and a- formerly thev used to be

"And fur their encouragement, it was voted that the selectmen should provide a schoolmaster for them, tn teach their children to read, write and cypher, and order his pay out of the town treasury."

This action, however, although it practically granted a free si hool to the inhabitants of the hamlet, evidently did not satisfy their desire for independence. But mi further definite action was taken until 1704. when the inhabitant- of Muddy River presented two petitions to the General Court, the

"Upon the petition of the inhabitants of Muddy River, to be a district or hamlet separate from the town for these reasons following, namelv, the remoteness of their situation which renders them incapable of enjoying the equal benefit and advantage with other of the inhabitants of public schools for the instruction of their children, relief of their poor, and repairing of their highways.

"Their petition being read and the reasons given therein debated, it was voted in the negative, and that though they had not for some years been rated first of which recited the action which had been taken in 16S6, and went on to "further humbly pray that being grown to a greater number of good settled inhabitants we may be allowed a separate village; to have selectmen and all other rights belonging to ,1 township, whic h may further encourage us as we may lie able to settle a minister and other benefits amongst us." Hearings were held and delays occurred: Boston opposed the separation, strenuously, at these hearings and by answers to the petitions. A second petition w as sent in as follows:

"The humble petition of the inhabitants of Muddy River, showeth, that at a session of this Honorable Courl held in Boston on the thirteenth of August, 1704, the said inhabitants exhibited their humble petition praying that the said Muddy River might be allowed a separate village or peculiar and be invested with such powers and rights as thev mav be enabled b\ themselves to manage the general affairs oi >aid place. Whiili petition has been trans mitted to the selectmen of the town of Boston that

Benjamin \\ hite,- Thomas Stedman, John \\ ini hester, Samuel Aspinwall, I leazer Aspinwall, William Sharp, Edward 1 levotion, [osiah Winchester. |r. John Ellis, ]< ihn \\ ini hester, I'll imas \\ lward.

they 111,1} consider the same, since which your humble petitioners not having been informed of any objei tion made by the town of Boston aforesaid, we presume thai there is no obstruction to our humble request nude in our petition.

"Wherefore \\e humbh beseech Your Excellency that this Honorable Court will be pleased to proceed to pass an act for the establishing the said place .1 separate village or peculiar with such poweras aforesaid, and your petitioners will ever pray, etc. Samuel Sewall, Jr., John Winchester.

In response to this petition from the "fathers of the hamlet," a granl constituting the community an independent village or peculiar was finally passed in concurrence November 16, 1705, in the following form :

"Read and ordered that the prayer of this petition be granted, and the powers and privileges of a township be given to the inhabitants of the land commonly known by the name of Muddy River, the town to be called Brookline, who are hereb)

Brookhne, Ma Ssa Ch U Setts

"Provided thai all common lands belonging to the town of Boston lying within the bounds of the said Muddy River, not disposed of or allotted out, shall remain to the proprietors of said lands."

The use of the terms "a separate village or peculiar" in the petition has occasioned much comment. Hon. Robert C. Winthrop in his oration at the dedication of the new town hall. Feb. 22, 1873, thus explains the matter: part of Norfolk county in 1703. Its area, according to a survey taken in 1S44, was 4,695 acres. When the town was incorporated in 1 705 probably not more than fifty families lived within its limits. The signers of the petition numbered only thirtytwo, but there were only half that number of surnames. Undoubtedly these petitioners were the most prominent and substantial of the inhabitants, but that there were many other families both the town and other records show. 1'or more than a century after its incorporation, however, it continued to be a sparsely settled rural communitv, and not until about 1875 did it begin to term which stood for a parish exempt from the jurisdiction of the ordinary of the diocese, and subject only to the metropolitan. lint there was another signification, for which 1 )r. Worcester has given ii- the authority of John Milton's glorious prose. - 'Mine'- own property." This doubtless was the sense in which it was used in the petition. B rook line was henceforth to be "its own property, and to do its own rating and taxing."

With sume slight changes in its boundary lines on the oast and south. Brookline has, since 1705, continued as an independent town. It became a

After the civil war a movement began in Bosinn fur die annexation of the surrounding cities and towns. The city of Roxhury to the southward, was annexed in IS67, the town of Dorchester in 1.S09, 1 1n- city of ( 'harlestown and the towns of Brighton and \Vesl Roxhury in 1S73. In 1S70 an at tempi was made to annex "towns and parts

.May 16th, of that year, an act was passed providing for the annexation of Brookline to Boston, to take effecl the following January if a majority of the voters, on the first Tuesday in ( k'tober, IS73, casl their ballots in favor. The proposition was defeated, however, by a vote of 299 in favor to 7ti7 against. This result was accomplished by means of a strenuous agitation conducted by of the must influential citizens of the town, of t c i\\ n> lying within six miles of the city hall of the oil \ of Boston, on the southerly side of Charles liner " These included the towns of Brighton, Brookline, and VYosi Roxhury. This attempl was not successful as to any of these three towns. In InTl' the question of the annexation of Brookline was broughl up on the petition of some of her own citizens, hut the project was again defeated. The real struggle, however, began in 1873. when on including T. I'. ('handler. Augustus Lowell, Ignatius Sargent, John L. Gardner, Amos A. Lawrence. Robert Ainory. T. K. Francis, James S. Amory, John C. Abbot i. Isaac Taylor, A. 1 1 Chandler, and other-, and the outcome demonstrated that they had worked hard anil effectively. Although defeated, the advocates of annexation persisted, and further attempts were made in 1ST"). 1 n 7 < > . and 1879, but in no instance in these

D. Chandler, Ksq., a prominent lawyer, who had taken an active pari in the legal proceedings againsl the ad of 1S73. Mr. Chandler appeared before the legislative committee in 1879 and demonstrated that the petitioners in favor of annexation l'epri sented only aboul seven per cent of the valuation of the town, and of the 333 petitioners only 210 were legal voters. A tesl vote was taken in Brookline in the spring of 1SS0, which independence "I' Brookline. In 1SSU Wesl Roxlinry exceeded Brookline in valuation. At present Brookline exceeds in valuation Brighton and West Roxbury combined.

Since LSSO in i further attempts have been made to bring Brookline into the jurisdiction of Boston. Although almosl surrounded by the annexed territory of Boston, and being in reality pari and parcel of the metropolitan district, Brookline has during the past quarter century made greater gains in population and wealth than any other section of the metropolitan territory. In the resulted in 5 1 1 votes against annexation and 'J?'-' votes in its favor. The legislative committee reported againsl annexation, and the report was accepted by the legislature.

Brookline has since LSSO increased in population and wealth much more rapidly than West Roxbury and Brighton, which were annexed to Boston in 1ST:!, and ii is I he -el tied belief of many of the Brookline people and of students of the si'uation that this result is mainly due to the political opinion of many of her own citizens and ol students of municipal affairs, these results are due to her admirable town government, which has made possible a policy of public improvement superior in administration and consequenl results to that practiced in any neighboring localities. These points of superiority in Brookline's government are three, and may be summarized as follows: which separates Roxbury from Boston. From the land described, this line is known to run up the lane which passes by the engine house, in a southwesterly direction, and which is now (1S05) the boundary be1 ween Roxbury and 1 Srookline.

In 1S70 the low lying and marsh lands at the end of the old mill dam, where the three Mill Dam Roads converged, nanielv, Beacon Street, Brookline Avenue ami Brighton Avenue (now Commonwealth Avenue), were annexed to Boston in order to facilitate the street and park improvements. This boundary was readjusted in 1S72, largely for sanitary reasons, so that Brookline might improve its sewer system and erect a dam and tide gate at within a few rods, we pass alternately into Roxbury and Brookline, eight times." The further side of Commonwealth Avenue (then Brighton Avenue), between thai highway and the Charles River was annexed to Boston by an act of the legislature which went into effect May S, 1S74, largely in order to give to Boston a connection with Brighton, which had been annexed to it the year before. The southern line of the avenue was made the boundary line, May 27, 1S90, in order to provide for park improvements, the boundary bel ween Boston and Brookline was readjusted and defined along the parkway from St. Mary's Street to Chestnut Street, the mouth of Muddy River, and the present line was then established at the easterly side of St, Mary's Street, while the alignment of 1X70 had left the line on the westerly side of that street. The readjustment of 1872 followed the line of Muddy River from Washington Street to the mouth of the river, and thereby the crooked lines to which Dr. Pierce referred in his discourse at the opening of the town hall in 1845, were then straightened out. He said: "As the boundary between Brookline and Roxbury is now constituted, it is somewhat amusing, that, on entering the Brookline Avenue, toward the main dam,

Brookline has probably accomplished more tor the money spent by the town than any other town or city in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, or indeed in the United States, The citizens have obtained tic worth of their money to a much greater extent than elsewdiere. This result is undoubtedly due to the efficiency of the town government , as compared with other similar governments, and with city governments, in the state. All the great improvements, including the parkway, Beacon Street widening, the construction and ii aintenance of the l>est description of roadways throughout t he town, the erection of schoolhouses presented to the view of the first setl lers al Boston a beautiful prosped of forest-clad hills behind smiling meadows. Two miles westward across the salt marshes and waters of the Back Bay the present Town of Brookline filled the landscape in the background, the conspicuous features being route followed the present line of Washington Street, through Roxbury Street to Roxbury Crossing, and thence by Tremont Street and Huntington Avenue to the present parkway bridge at Brookline village.

Babcock's and Corey's hills on the lefl and Aspinwall and Fisher's hills slightly to the southward. The Charles River bounded the territory on the northeast, on the easl the w hole width of the Back Bay intervened between it and the peninsula of Boston, while the Muddy River with it- marshes meandered along the southeast frontier. To reach it from Boston a long detour of mure than four n iles, over the neck, around the Back Bay, and the head of the river, was necessary; and the bridge, March 1. 1634-5, il was "ordered, thai Mr. Rich, Dinner and John Johnson shall build a sufficient carl bridge over Muddy River before the next Genera] Court." and that Boston. Roxbury, Dorchester, Watertown and Cambridge shall equally contribute to its cost. This is supposed

According to the Boston records, on < let. 26, 1640, William Colborn, Jacob Eliotl and Peter Oliver were detailed to see tci the building "f a bridge al

Muddy liner. Undoubtedly the reason why the cost of the first bridge was assessed on all the surrounding towns, was because of the fact that it formed the connecting link or converging point for all the early roads connecting those towns.

Evidently between 1635 and 1640 the village at Muddy River had its origin, as the principal allotment of land was made during this period ol five years. Who settled here and \\ ho did nol . of :l i Boston men \\1m> had hind allotted to them at this time, it is impossible to say definitely, but probably only a few" erected houses and transferred their dwelling places from Boston here. It is certain that only a very small and scattered village grew up; but it probably was established im-

One thing which contributed to the growth of the village was l he tact that it was situated at a. central point -at the natural parting of the ways to the adjoining towns, as is evidenced by the circumstances connected with the early building of the bridge. Two oi' the men who were appointed to -,r thai a bridge was built. William Colborn and Jacob Eliott, and who were evidently "firstcomers," were on March 30, 1640, "appointed to lav out the highways at .Muddy River towards Cambridge." This is the first record in reference to the laying oul of a road, March 27, L654. "Mr. William Davis, and Mr. Peter I Uiver, John White and Peter Aspinwall" were " chosen to join with Cambridge to lay out a highway through Muddy mediately after the principal allotment was made in 1637, and grew very slowh after that time. It was in fact, a community settlement, as were all the English .settlements at that lime- by a company of people who had been previously associated and who considered themselves bound to each other much closer in religious and social fellowship than can be conceived today. In 1679 the number of men living in Muddy River who took the oath of allegiance, was only 64, representing but little over forty families. In 1705, when the place became an independent town "a separate village or peculiar," - it i- -aid there were only fifty families in its limits.

River to Cambridge." William Colborn and Jacob Eliott, with Mr. William Paddy and Peter Oliver, were directed to lav out a highway to Watertown mill, April 30, 1657. On the '-'1st of May of that year, it is recorded, this road, probably the present Washington Street, was laid out by this committee aided by committees from Watertown and Cambridge. ' 'four rods in breadth and directed by mark i rees.

All these mads had undoubtedly existed as paths through the primeval forests, originally developed and used by the Indians, and were utilized by the white settlers. These trails followed tin hue- of least resistance, avoiding the swamp-.

Brookline. Massachusetts C0Xtag101 S Hospital

going around the water courses, fording the streams at shallow places, flanking the hills, and following the easiesl routes through valleys. Such were undoubtedly the characteristics of the first highways laid out by the village fathers at Muddy River. Like their contemporaries elsewhere, they only enlarged or widened the old trails, preserving their lines and direction.

Probably it is not possible to definitely decide which of the well-known highways of the present day the records already quoted refer to. Traffic westward passed over the old Sherburne road, now the presenl Walnut and Heath streets, which ran along the southern slope of Fisher's Hill. The general impression is that this is the oldest road. which is very likely, as probably it was the leading trail westward from very early times. Reservoir Lane, now only a cart path, which lead- out of the old Sherl mrne road a mile or more from the village is said to have been the trail which the Indian Apostle Eliol followed on his journeys from Boston to his Indian freinds and congregation at their village of Nonantum, now- Xewton. < In old maps this read is named Eliot's trail, The Watertown Road was in the valley between Aspinwall and Usher's Hills, and is now- the present Washington Street; while the Cambridge Road, the presenl Harvard Street, probably, passed along the northern base of Aspinwall Hill and between it and Babcock 1 1 ill These three main arteries of tra\ el -till constitute the main travelled ways in and through the town. The locality from which the) radiated became by force of circumstances the centre of population.and here the village of Muddy River grew up. Xo path seems to have existed and no road was laid out in the valley between Fisher's and Aspinwall Hills, but this depression,

Inevitably at this "cross roads." a tavern was built to accomodate the travellers passing to and from Boston and the various towns and settlements near and remote. This house of entertainment was built before 1740. and was known as the Punch Bowl Tavern, from the fact that on its sign, suspended from a high red post, was depicted a punch "bowl and ladle overhung by a lemon tree, resplendenl with fruit, some of which lay around the bowl as if fallen from the tree." I he building stood on the eastern corner of Pearl and Washington Streets, and was of a yellowish color, two stories in height, the upper story projecting. A seat ran along under the projecting story, where travellers or village worthies foregathered. Fot a century this tavern was the nucleus of the life of the immediate community. Its porch and common r ns were the centre of a social lite tor the which afforded them the most direct mean- of communication with the outside world. It likew i-e was a famous place for convivial reunions and social parties from Boston and elsewhere. I he old inn. like all it- contemporaries, was in fact a social clearing house of intelligence, news and opinions for the people in the vicinity, and consequently became the be-t known institution ill the community, so that the place before the revolution and after was better known elsewhere in \ew England as the "Punch Bowl Village," than by any other name. The tavern was a very busy and livelv place in the heyday of its prosperity, during the stage coach era. between the time of the Revo- lution and the building of the railroads; but with the coming of the latter its usefulness departed, and the old house was torn down. The original part of the tavern was buill by .lames Goddard as a private dwelling, and about 1710 came into the possession of John Ellis, who enlarged it and converted it into a tavern, li was subsequently conducted by William Whitney. Eleazer Baker, Eliphalet Spurr, William Panghton in 1S01, franklin Gerry in 1S20, bonis Boutell in 1826, William Jenerson in 1sl>7.

The Punch Bow] Tavern was pulled down about 1833 by .Mr. Isaac Thayer, and the substantia] old timbers of which it was constructed were used to

Whereas. The recent painful and distressing occurrence in the death of Robert Noyes from Ardent Spirits, and by the verdict of the jury his death was caused "by liquor obtained at the Punch Howl anil elsewhere,'' and whereas the location of the Punch Bowl Tavern renders it identified in the weal orwoeof the town of Brook- Inn', and by the indiscriminate sale of Ardent Spirits is more clearly identified as injurious to the town, producing consequences that call loudly on resolved, That this meeting view the untimely death of Robert Xoyes from intoxication with pain and sorrow, and that as good citizens we will do all build tenement houses in the neighborhood. The old Wynian house, which stood on Washington Street near the Punch Bowl, was originally the residence of Dr. George Griggs, was converted into a tavern after the destruction of the original inn, and retained the old name, as t he original sign had been acquired and erected in front of this second Punch Bowl Tavern. Miss Woods says: "it hail little except local patronage, and that of of the lowest sort, and was finally given up." The following action taken at the town meeting, March 25, 1844, substantiates this statement:

Vote On Punch Bowl

Voted, That a committee of twenty of the inhabitants of the town of Brookline be appointed who shall repair in a body to the Punch Bowl Tavern, and under the sanction and authority oi the town remonstrate with Mr. .1. Sprague or whoever may have charge of the Punch Bowl, against intoxicating drinks hereafter being sold by him orthem. the results of which are disastrous to the town and community and especially to the youth, and should a friendly remonstrance prove unavailing, then said committee are hereby fully authorized and instructed to abait said nuisance

Brookline, M. 1 Ss. 1 Chi Setts

Voted, Thai the Town Clerk furnish the proprietor and Mr. J. Sprague, the keeper of the Punch Bowl, or whoever may occupy the same (asi the proprietors with a copy of the foregoing Preamble, Resolution and Vote.

were covered with a primeval forest and traversed by a few Indian trails which had been gradually developed into cart roads. The few Ik. uses .if the settlers, constituting the village, were in the near neighborhood of the cross mads, chiefly along the hue of the old Sherburne road, while the cattle of the settler.- and of the inhabitants of Boston who had allotments here, were pastured on the meadows belonging to their owners, or on the five hundred acre common field. A school had been secured in 16S6. Before the incorporation, and afterward, the inhabitants of Muddy River, worshiped with the First Church m Roxbury, and did 11. .t have a church building of their own until 1.11.

At the time of the organization of the village into an independent town or "Peculiar," in 170.'). the physical characteristics of the locality were as appears by the records, substantially as follows: Natural marshes and meadows on the Charles River, the Back Bay. and Muddy River, suitable for pasturage; hills of a gentle slope, which were separated from the rivers and bay by these meadows, while their slopes and the valley- between

When the settlers from Boston came to Muddy River the mosl noticeable artificial -tincture within the limit- of the territory was the Indian fort, which stood on a knoll in the centre oi "the great swamp, "as the low lands in Longwood were called bv the early settlers, on what is now the eastern 'corner of Powell and Beacon Street-. Tin- "old fort", which remained an object of historic interes1 in a tolerable state of preservation ,mll| L844-45, was built of pah-ad.-, enclosing abou1 an eighth of an acre ,.f ground in square form and surrounded by a ditch about three feel in depth, and a parapel three feet in height, with an opening or gateway on each side, one of which was toward the swamp," The first mention of Muddy River is in connection with this fort, by Governor Winthrop in his journal, under date of 1632, as follows:

' ' It was a log house, with one door but no windows in the lower story. The upper story projected overt Ik dower three or four feet on all sides. This was fort and storehouse for the whole settleineiit, and into it were huddled the women and children in all cases of alarm from the Indians. In

Baptist Church Corner Of Harvard And Pierce Streets

It is to be regretted that this old fort could not have been preserved, as no other memorial of the red men in existence would have been so typical of their life anil manners, nor would have made such an appeal to the intelligence and sentiments of the people of today.

holes, from which the boards could be taken up. and through which the women could pour down boiling water upon the savages in case they came close to the building to set it on fire. Whether the Brookline garrison house was ever thus attacked and defended, we have unfortunately no historical records in existence to tell us. "

Several brooks flowed through the eastern part nf the territory and exercised an important effect on its development. Themost important of these was Muddy River, or brook, which gave its name to the original village, and has always had an important influence on the locality. Village Brook was a beautiful stream of clear water, with considerable volume, flowing down the valley between Aspinwall and Fisher's Hills: it emptied into .Muddy River a short distance north of the Bridge, and was the largest supply of fresh water now remains. Smelts Brook starts at the foot oi Corey Hill near Winchester Street, and follows a natural valley t<> the Charles River, taking the general direction of the Naples Road. The lower portion of this brook formed the original boundary between Boston ami Cambridge, and between Brookline and Cambridge. It also formed the western boundary of Judge Samuel Sewall's farm, which according to his diary was allotted to him in June, 1687, and probably from the fact of its location on the town's boundary the judge nai I his which that tidal stream received. At present in most of its extent it is now covered over, as it was degraded in its lower portion to be a "common sewer," many years ago; still it can be seen in snme approach to its original form along the railmad tracks in the highland district, where its clear waters and pebbly but turns still afford pleasure to the passing traveller on the highways or on the trains, and adds to the beauty of the landscape as it flows along or passes under the railroad and highway bridges. Tannery Brook was a small stream flowing between Corey and Aspinwall Hills, and emptyinginto MuddyRiver; but of it little trace honor of the judge, a- he was at that time chief justice of the colony, while his sun, also named Samuel, was town clerk of Boston, a resident and land holder at Muddy Kivcr.and sun-in law to the governor, Joseph Dudley. The references to this farm in the judge's diary are: Under date of Monday, June 20, 1687 - "Went to Muddy River with Mr. Gore and Mr. Eliot to take a pint of Brooklin"; and Wednesday, June. 22 - "Went to Muddy River. Mr. Gore finishes comparing the land with his plain table; [doit chiefly that I may know my own, it lies in so many nooks and corners." Judge Sewall's farm extended to the

Charles River and the Back Bay, and the land lie- only on Brookline bu1 on Boston and all its entween the river and bay was known as Sewall's virons, was the building of the Mill Dam from the oyster beds and later to the brick and lumber several years' work this "real engineering underyards, bul the building of the mill dam across the taking was completed in L821. About six hum

In 1806-07 the Worcester turnpike, a loll road, from seven to ten feet deep, were enclosed by the was built over Bradley Hill to the reservoir. Il main dam. A loll of six and a quarter cents was was intended to take the place of the old Sher- charged on this road, which had the effect of preburne road -Walnut and Neath Streets - and, venting the small population of Brookline village following tin' custom of the time, when road at that time from using it freely. In lime, howbuilding by private corporate ms was the mean- In ever, the Mill Dam Road, or Beacon Street, as it which transportation facilities were secured, it wa- finally called, became a much patronized was Imilt in a straight line over hill and dale. ( >n thoroughfare and gradually made the remote and this accounl it never was popular with earners. isolated town of Brookline accessible for suburban as a condition to induce the town to assume the "The road from Boston to Roxbury over Tref ut lire care of the highway. mont Street was opened September 10, 1832. " i m.- phases, including the development of Boston's magnifieenl park sj'stem, has been going on ever since the dam was first built, and the end is not yet; but the result lias been, so far, to build up here the finest part of modern Boston, on the tidal flats and salt marshes which formerly intervened

A consequence which might have been foreseen but one which it took three decades t' i bring about, was the construction bv the town of Brookline of a ington Street to the Mill Dam, was laid out. The road was completed in IN52 at a cost of between thirteen and fourteen thousand dollars, t lie lower part of it being built through the ancient salt marsh. In 18S6-7 this street was converted into a parkwaj . Hid to lso feet in width, at an entire cost of $615,- 000, of which the town of Brookline paid $465,000. bur two miles this beautiful boulevard extends through the town, from the end of the old Mill Dam, In the ( 'In- 1 m it Hill Reservoir of the Boston continuation of Beacon Street or the Mill Dam road. Mr. George (Jriggs seems to have been the moving spirit in advocating this new highway. Although he brought up the question repeatedly, his conservative fellow townsmen defeated the project in 1S49 and 1850, but on July '_'-"> of the latter year a vote was passed appropriating money for building the section of the road from Washington Street to the Brighton line, and on June following the other portion of the road, from Wash-

Water Works, and consists of two macadamized roadways, between which is a grass-grown parkway through which the electric ears now run. It forms a continuation of Beacon Street in Boston, and makes at present one of the great avenues ni the world. As an investment the construction of this road paid the town of Brookline in the enormously increased valuation of the property ahing its mute, brought about by the erection of elegant and expensive residences an increase of for travel. It diverged from the main line near concealing the foul and muddy flats, and renderthe end of the Mill Dam road, and passing along ing the prospect much more pleasing. The and Fisher's Hills, following the course of Village the land-rape architect : Brook. Although the road was bitterly opposed, it proved of greal benefit to the community.

The topographical changes which were brought alioiit by the building of the railroad-, were of "Only a few years ago the tide from the sea great moment. In ls.il both the Boston & Wor- ebbed and flowed in a narrow channel which cester and the Boston & Providence railroads were wound through broad and narrow salt marshes projected, and when built their tracks were laid from tin' Back Bay to Brookline. At low water across the tide-flowed lands enclosed by the Mill each day the muddy bed of this tidal creek was ex- Dam. As a result the usefulness of the basin for posed to the air and to view, while at extreme furnishing power was affected, while the claims of high water the marshes were flooded so that the riparian owners to fill in the fiats opposite their salt tide lapped the bases of the bluffs on either land also introduced questions difficult of solution. hand. Before the Brookline branch of the Boston Ultimately on sanitary grounds, because the and Albany Railroad was built along the fool of water area had become an ''open cesspool, re- the western bluff, the sinuous creek, the sunny ceiving the sewage of a large community.'' and marshes, and the framing woods, composed a pretafter discussions and negotiations extending over ty picture of a type characteristic of the Massachuinany years, the entire area was filled in by the setts seacoast . |J,ut with the incoming of the state, with the exception of narrow waterways, a railroad and the accompanying great increase in large portion converted into a park, while the re- the adjacent population, an ominous change maindcr was built upon and now constitutes the took place. The bluffs became the backyards of developed into places of surpassing beauty, and set too low. The situation, indeed, seemed hopethe unsightly, foul-smelling, mud-bordered water- less. The valley of Muddy River was ob\ iouslj the town meeting, March 26, 1872, said: "The have thwarted 'destiny' through the coopcradifficulty arises mainly from the setting back, by tive action of their park < imissions. The prithe tides, of water loaded with impurities of the vate owners of the backyards, bluffs and mat drive, but also a desirable frontage for private and debt limit for the purchase and improvement of apartment houses. By means of a dam the tide land for park purposes. The work then went on has been completely shut out, and prevented from according to the original plans, and the parkway alternately drowning and exposing the low lands. in Brookline was substantially completed in 1S95, By means of a gate at Brookline Avenue, the fresh and then presented the appearance depicted by water, which now fills the channel, is kept perma- Mr. Eliot. At present | 1905), the vegetation has nentlvat about the level of the high water in Bos- grown up, and the whole outcome of the design ton Bay. By means of suitable pathways and as conceived by Mr. Olmstead justifies his forebridges the completely changed but pleasing seen- sight, presenting as it does a satisfying and harery of the transformed valley has been made acces- monious landscape effect. The total cost of sible and enjoyable." Riverdale Park, including maintenance, but de- Within the limits of Brookline this parkway, ducting the amount received for betterments, has formed of the valley of the Muddy liner, extends been $457,069.97. for about two miles along the sout heastern border

Lyman. Charles S. Sargent, and Francis W. Law- powers of the water commissioners was adopted, rence, who could cooperate with the Boston Park April 26, 1875, $75,000 was appropriated to corn- Commissioners. At the adjourned annual town plete the works which were completed within

"to be expended by them from time to time in accepted April 17. 1876. Complaints were freprocuring by purchase or otherwise the land lying quent in the early days of the water system as to sums, the whole amounting to about 844,000 "The water now distributed through Brookline square feet. For a time Boston was hampered by for household uses has the advantage of being lack of funds growing out of her inability to bor- taken from subterranean sources of remarkable row as the debt limit had been reached. Under purity, at a temperature of about fifty degrees, these circumstances, Bo-ton wished to de- and of never being exposed to the sun or light unlay the work, but Brookline insisted thai a- the til drawn at the faucet for use. It has been found to its high service system a covered receiving tank upon a hill, with the result that the algse did not form there. A covered reservoir of larger dimensions was I hen I mi It fur general use, and the effect upon the water has been all thai was promised, for now every household can have water as pure and almosl as cool as when taken from the underground gravel conduits six miles away on the shores of the Charles River, these conduits intercepting the percolating waters on their way to i lie river, and the sii|>|>lv being ample. The value from the covered reservoir; while mi the southern side of the hill on Boylston Street, is the old Brookline Reservoir formerly the property "I the Boston Water Works, but recently purchased by the town of Brookline.

of this pure, cool water to the development oi Brookline can hardly be over-estimated. It is often the reason why householders have selected Brookline for a residence. Its importance is such that the town has no hesitancy in appropriating whatever sum of money is reasonably needed for tin' maintenance of such a necessary luxury."

(-n the top of fisher's Hill two covered reservoirs are situated; while about a mile westward, mi the still higher elevation of Single Tree Hill, is a high service tank into which the water is pumped hundred and sevent} driven wells situated mi the banks of the upper reach of that stream. They are supposed tn tap the springs which supply the river, so in this sense the water comes from the Charles. From the wells the water is pumped direct t<> the reservoir mi fisher's Hill, withoul having been exposed t" the light. By an act passed March 13, lsss. Brookline was authorized Intake an additional 1,500,000 gallons daily from the Charles River presumably in the same indirect manner.

one of the corners in 1S57 by William D. Coolidge ami ni her members of his family, and was conducted for many years by them under the firm name of Coolidge Brothers. From this fact the locality became known as "Coolidge Corners," which name it has since retained. ' 'The old store, with familiar landmark, and was torn down only a few years ago to make room for S. S. Pierce's mamthai it was the natural channel for the surface tary condition-, conveniences and habits. A system of sewers was, however, projected in 1869, and $62,500 was appropriated to build them. I he\ all finally emptied into Muddy River, through the Milage Brook. As Muddy River and the Back Bay were at thai time more or less obstructed

Before the building of the Brookline branch railroad in 1M7. the land immediately west of Washington Street through which the railroad now runs was a beautiful meadow, and included plan tor a system ol sewerage, designed by J. Herliert Shedd. civil engineer, and which provided for a main intercepting sewer emptying into the Charles River, was adopted. This has proved to he a very complete and satisfactory system, and was designed to take in "all the sewers heretofore built and hereafter to lie built in said town'' Brookline'.- -ewer- were connected in 1891 with twice as long, and then Mowed under the road through a broad culvert. < m the east side, where il came out, exactly where Mahoney's building -lands, it was covered by the engine house which the town built, after the old one at the foot of Walnut Street was torn down. The brook as it stretched along beside the road over a stony bottom, was clear and not very deep, and its which came from Brighton on market days: and few drivers were so heartless as to hurry them through without allowing them to drink their till The railroad bridge and the street cover all the space 1 he brook thus occupied, and the driveway to the depoi is where the old road used to be. The railroad was not continued beyond the depot in the village for several years, and therefore there being no necessity for a bridge, the old road and the watering-place beside it remained a few years longer.

While the town takes care of and builds its own local sewers, the operation of the general system and the disposal of the sewage are under the control of the Metropolitan Board. The cost of the Metropolitan system is apportioned to each locality in proportion to service estimated to be rendered, and the moiiev i- paid by the town or city into t he state treasury annually as a portion of the -late tax.

First, there is the old village on the southern border of the town, along the parkway and at the conjunction of the highways, which contains dwellings, stores and simps of an ordinary character, and is not particularly different from any similar community. Second, tin1 eastern end of the town, including the districl known as Longwood, which adjoins the Hack I '>a\ in Boston ; this contains many closely limit Mocks of buildings, and lias a citified appearance, especially mi the lower portion of Beacon Street and the immediate

It i- to tins latter part of her territory that Brookline owe.- much of her reputation. As has been said : " The w hole of t his neighborhood is a, sort of landscape garden. " lion, Ftoberl C. VVinthrop In Ins address at the dedication of the town hall. teb. 22, is?:!, said: "Brookline was for a neighborhood. Third, the middle and northeastern part of the town, including the region occupied by Fisher's, Aspinwall and Corey Hills, the .-lopes of which and t In- valleys bet ween are dotted with detached residences situated in small estates ot from a few thousand feet to an acre or two; the effect being an appearance of neighborliness wit hout close contact . Fourth . the west el ii I of t he the town, and especially the southwest part . w here are situated many extensive estate.-, the country se.lts of well-known people or families. These rich ami varied margin of lawn and lake and mi a dow and wooded hillside, and encircling its old 'plain neck' with an unfading wreath of bloom and verdure. I think no one will dispute her environs for rural culture and beauty. Visitors from other countries or from other state-, carried home with t hem a deeper impression of the charms of this spot and its surroundings than of any other region in New England. Nature had done much, but cultivation and taste had hardly done less in producing this result. Nowhere did horticulture fiii< 1 earlier or more successful votaries than here. Nowhere could there be sought and tumid mure exquisite flowers or more delicious fruits in season or nut of season, in the open air or under glass

During the early pari of the nineteenth century the estates of Colonel Thomas Handasyd Perkins and his brother Samuel (!. Perkins in this neighborhood were noted for their fine landscape effects and for the quality of fruit and flowers rawed in their greenhouse? Col Perkins was one of the chief patrons n\' the Institution for the Mine] in South Boston, and it was named after him. His estate was kepi up at an expense of more than ten thousand dollar- annually, experienced foreign gardeners being employed. In his time Col. Perkins was one .it' the leading merchants of Boston. Mr Samuel Perkins, who had a fruit house on his estate two hundred feet in length, excelled all his neighbors in his ability to raise fine fruits and flowers, and he introduced many new varieties ol iii 1 1 1- from abroad.

At one time the old Aspinwall estate on Aspinwall Hill was famous for it- orchards. Augustus Aspinwall who died in IMi.~>. was a very successful cultivator of grapes, and at the exhibitions of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society he made frequent exhibitions ol n ises

\iiiu- Lawrence, a celebrated Boston nierchanl and philanthropist, became t lie owner of that portion ui' the old Mull gran! which forme. I the lower part of Judge Sewall's farm, in the section known as l.ongwood, which derived its name from the 1 1 ; 1 1 i .I w Hand formerly extending from Aspinwall Avenue to the Mill Dam. on the bluff along the northern bank of Muddy River. Here Mr, Lawrence established an elegant estate which a quarter oi a century ago ranked with the finest in other portions of the town.

i tiie of the iiiu-t famoii- estates in Brookline is thai uf the Sargenl family. It is known as "Holm Lea." is a beautiful place of over one hundred acres, composed of hill and dale, gi mh

Ignatius Sargent, the father of the present owner. Prof. Charles S Sargent, devoted a greal deal of time, mure than half a centurv, to the cultivation of grapes, and since then it has been famous for its abundance of rhododedrons, azaleas, and an extensive and rare collection of native and foreign trees and shrubs. At certain tune- this estate i- throw n open to the public Before it came into the possession of the Sargenl family this estate was the property of Mr. Thomas Lee, whose wife, Mrs. Eliza Buckminster Lee of an old Brookline family, was an author of some repute in her day.

1 ndoubtedly at the present lime the most picturesque and the must beautiful estate in Brookline is Faulkner Farm, the property ol Mrs. Edward D. Brandegee, formerly Mrs, Sprague, widow of the late Congressman Charles F. Sprague. I he estate lies west of those already mentioned, on the southern border of the town, south of the grounds of the Country Club, casl <>( Walnut Hills Cemetery, and i- bounded by Newton Street and Allendale Road. This extensive tract has been improved by the utmost skill of the landscape architect, so thai to original features of rugged hillsides and woods have been added all the charms thai the art of man can devise, by clearings giving beautiful vistas, and the placing of tree- and shrubs where the best effect- are had. until the result hasbeenacuhnination ol effects thai is very impressive and satisfying, On the estate is a hill of considerable elevation- much higher than on t he neighboring properties and on this the house is built. It is a modern brick structure, three stories in height, with wings mi each end, a fine facade facing an inclosed courl on the south. and an Italian garden at the we-t end. It is situated en the brow of the lull, and with the surrounding grouping of tree- i- eminently in harmony with it - setting, From it- terrace- and garden- a mosl magnificent view is spread out. including till the hills in the western part uf Brookline; to the southeast, on the horizon, are the Blue Hills; to the south and ea-t in the foreground are the Ron bun Hill-: northward is Chestnut Hill, and beyond tire I he elevations in the New tons, i he whole forming an unsurpassed picture of beauty. The Italian garden i- about 200 \i-r\ by I 13, and i- entirely enclosed by a wall with gate- "At the lartlie-t puint from the house .and marking the limits of the garden, is the Casino, a graceful, charming structure, entirely unenclosed on the garden front .and decorated within in the Pompeiian style in colors. Beyond is a poo] with a fountain, and mi either side stretch the columns and piers of the pergola. The whole of the pace otherwise unoccuj>ied is given to the garden proper, to the plants and shrubs which make it joyous, and to the aii \\ > irk- which give il life. The foliage is chiefly that of perennials, but ample space has been left for annual plant.-, and many brilliant notes of color are worn by this combination of natural growth. The garden contains not a few furnishings in the form of old wine jars, well heads from Venice, classic busts, carved stone work and balustrades. Vet every one of these objects has been placed with care and with a result in view times as the Walley place and the Tildeii place. Faulkner Farm estate is open to the public even Wednesday afternoon, during the summer, and many people avail themselves of the opportunity t<> visit it.

Among the other extensive and beautiful estates worthy of mention in this section of Brookline, a few may be noted: The Farz Andersen estate. formerly the Weld, on Avon Street, is situated conspicuously on a hill, and has an Italian garden similar to Faulkner Farm in dimensions and con- thai has justified its employment." The hill on which this house stands was one of the outposts of Washington's line of circumvallation around Boston when he besieged the British army there during the Revolution. A house stood here at that time, and the hill has long been known as Mount one time owned the house and estate. The old house was a square hip-roofed structure, was built early in the eighteenth century, had many successive owners, and was knownt at various struction. On Warren Street is the extensive estate of Mrs. John Lowell Gardner, who resides here in the summer and in her Italian palace on the Back l'.a\ . Boston, in the winter. In the near

Robert ('. VVinthrop, now the property of Mr Moses Williams. The estates of William Whitman. Dr. Charles G. Weld. Flint C. Fee, John G. Wright, (ieorge F. Fabyan, Sherman F. Whipple, and alsu .1. M. Longyear who is erecting a beautiful residence on Fisher's Hill.

Warren Street, is a large property, and its sunken rounding landscape. The marshes and the valgarden bordering the roadway i- especially strik- leys have been drained, many depressions filled up.

changes of ownership it 1 ame the prop- well-kept winding roads and paths, present a conerty of Mr. Samuel Goddard. in whose family it stanl succession of charming effects which are

English word - which in its presenl condition, such a scene of beauty as compared with its origioutside the limits of the original village and it- nal condition, the hope springs up that finalh hi covered with mar-he-, were generally impassible. When Mrookline was incorporated in 1705, it and, from a scenic point of view, uninviting. was on condition that the inhabitants "build a Now, as a result of the labors of ten generations of n eeting house and obtain an able orthodox minismen, the original conditions have been greatly ter * * * * within the space of three years next modified The highest of the original hills re- coming." hi those days in the colony of Massamain. while many of the lower elevations have chusettes May the church was a very essential part been cul away or greatly changed. All the origi- of the community; indeed church and state < re in reality firmly united, for the man who refused to affiliate himself with the town church was both a social ami political outcast, as membership in and attendance at church were pre-requisites to the full enjoyment of tin- political privileges of a freeman.

'I'lif people of the new town of Brookline naturally expected to establish a meeting house of their own and seftle a minister, but for the first few years after the incorporation they were too poor to do so. During this period it appears they worshiped with the First Church in Roxbury, which

171(1 was favorably considered. June 10, 1713, a further extension of time was granted; but early in that year a committee of three men was appointed to survey the town "to find the centre or middle thereof and to inquire where a convenient place may he procured whereon to build a meeting house, a- near the centre of said town as may he." It was reported to the town meeting, Dec. -J. 1713, that Mr. Caleb < lardner, Jr., would give a piece of land near his dwelling on "the left hand of the n.ad leading to Roxbury." on which to 1, uilda meeting house. This offer was accepted, that one fifth part of the expense of repairing the Roxbury meeting house be paid by the people of Muddy River; and in 1699 this sum was found to be six pounds and four shillings.

Brookline petitioned Governor Dudley in 1709 for three years longer to build the meeting house and settle a minister, and a similar petition in

At the town meeting March 1 . 17K'>-1 I an assessment of one hundred and fifteen pounds was vot< d lo pay the expense of building the meeting house, this amount tube "levied by way of rate upon the inhabitants in the same way that the Province tax is." November in. 1711. the building was raised, and was located westward of Mr. ( Gardner's house on the north side of Walnut Street, on the the 26th of < Ictober, 1717. by the Rev. Mr. Thayer of the Second Church in Roxbury. At that time seventeen males and twenty-two females were united in church fellowship." Dr. Pierce says thai the Rev. Mr. Allen was ordained "minister of this church and people'' on November 5, 1718, bu1 the town records say thatat a meeting on Oct. 7, 1717. it was "voted thai the 13 day of November lie the day for the ordination of Mr. Allen." The founders of the Church and original members, according to I >r. Pierce, were : building of a steeple, and the opening of roads so about the withdrawal from the church of a nunithal the townspeople could reach H more readily, ber of members, who in a letter addressed to him pews were held is evident from the following re- so common at that period, but which are so dilticord of March Hi. 1716, confin 1 in substance cult for the people of the present to understand.

IllJ^'. Cotton Brown succeeded Mr. Allen as minister. He was chosen by the town meeting Feb. 29, 1747-S, and ii was voted his salary be pounds a year ok] tenor, and thai lie have 600 pounds towards lus settlement." lb' accepted "ii condition that Inn pounds be added to the amount of his settlement, making in a thousand pounds, "the last part of it to be paid within 3 years. ' ' ( lei . 2(i, 1 7 IS, lie was ordained, the town having voted t<i raise 120 pounds to defray the expenses thereof. Mr. Brown died April he accepted the call December IS; "but parlies arising among the people on the ground thai he was a foreigner whose early life they had nut personally known, he was induced to leave them withoul ordination, and was settled at Rehoboth, where he fulfilled a long ministry, honorable to himself and profitable to his people. " This settlement was in conformity with the advice of a mutual council of the neighboring churches, suggested to be held 1>\ a vote of the town, Ma\ Hi, I 7">ii. and the tm\n by advice of t his " Veneral;l SIDEXCE hi MR. El. MOT C, l.l'.i: \\ \RREN STREET.

1 or si n ne years thereafter the town was wit In ml a settled minister, bill the pulpit was supplied by the neighboring ministers. 'The Rev. Samuel Haven, afterwards of Portsmouth, was invited Dec. 10, 1751, to become the minister by a vote of the town meeting, and Jan. I, 1753, the Rev. Stephen Badger, afterward of Natiek, was invited, but both declined. Oct. 15, 1753, Rev. Robert Rogerson, "a young man of unimpeachable character, a native of Scotland," was invited, and

I'll. in \'..\ . 19, 1755, in June 17. 1759, the \l<-\ Nathaniel Potter was minister, and was dismissed at his own request, on condition, however, thai he would repay the town his settlemenl monev amountingtoan hundred and thirty-three pounds, six shillings and eighl pence. Mrs. 1'ntter appeal's tn have settled this indebtedness by paying £66, 13s and Id. less £20, Is and Sd, due Mr. Potter from the town, on November 5, 17.V.). as appears from the record. Mr. Putter evidently did not give satisfaction, and the refusal of the town to raise his salary or increase his allowance of firewood, prompted him to tender his resignation.

incurred in connection with the ordination of Mr. Potter, Nov. 19, 17.")."). illustrates the habits of the limes, and explains, perhaps, some of the reasons which prompted the protest as to the "cost ami manner of t he dinner at the raising of t he meeting house," Nov. HI, 171 1, This bill, which was presented to tin' town by Deacon Elisha Gardner, was as follows: to monney Pad til The ordination, old tenor

"( if 1 1 1 is charge the selectmen ordered the paying of £2, 8s, Id. and probably the society paid t In1 rest . « trili nations in t hose days evidently involved the consideration of material as well as spirit ual wants.

With its next minister the low n ha.l better success than with his immediate predecessors. At the town meeting held on Dec. 24, 17">'.>. the Rev. Joseph Jackson, then a tutor at Cambridge, was chosen, anil he accepted by a letter written Feb. 1760. lie had pleached ill the chinch and was well known to the people. lie was ordained April 'J, 1760, and "through a ministry of more than thirty-six years maintained a uniform character for prudence, integrity and piety.'' Mr. Jackson was the pastor during all the exciting period of t he Revolution. He seems to have been a man of equable temper, dignified in manner, and a good preacher. The chief troubles which confronted tin' church during his ministry wen- the losses of membership through organization oi other church societies, started originally in Mr. Allen's time by some of the seceding members of the old church, but none of which obtained a permanent foothold in the town, although the "New Lights" under the lead of Elhanan Winchester

Samuel While offered a woodlol in Needham to the town lor t he use of t he ministry, a in I on March 7. 1 7.")7. t he gift was accepted. At that time only the wood on the lot was given, evidently, as the shall hold out.'' A deed of this lot containing about twenty acres, was delivered to l he town May 18, 1761, by Henry Sewall, Esq., one of Mr.

White's executors ; it was dated March 12, 17.">'.t, and the consideration was fort)' pounds: m 1835 the wood on this lot was sold at public auction and realized about eight hundred dollars, which was divided between the two parishes then ill the town. At the annual town meeting March '_', 1846, a committee consisting of Thomas Griggs, Samuel Craft and A. W. Goddard, made a report in regard to this woodlol in which the statement is made that t his lot as " appears from t he original deeds was bought by the town of Samuel White for the sum of forty pounds in the year 17">'.h as expressed in the deed for the use of Brookline for a woodlot to supply I he minister or ministers that may be settled in said town from time to time.'' This statement does not agree with the general impression that I his lot was a "gift " to t he town, but its accuracy is unquestioned as n is thoroughly borne out by the record. What Mr. White evidently did give to the town was the wood on the lot. before he sold it to the town ; as to the lot itself he may have sold It at less than lis value, and color is given to this supposition by the fact that the expression occurs in the records under date of May 18, 1771. "wood lot lying in Needham, which said Samuel gave to the town of Prookliiie." March 2, 1846, the selectmen were directed to sell this lot "and pay over the proceeds thereof, one third part to the t reasinerof each of the religious societies now exist i 1 1 l; in Brookline." This vote was reconsidered March lb. 1846.

During Mr. Jackson's ministry the town built a parsonage. May 31, 1781, it was voted to raise the sum of two hundred pounds in silver money ' ' for the purpose of purchasing a piece of land and building a Congregational Ministerial House thereon,'' and on March 21. 17S'_', it was voted that this amount "be raised by a tax on polls, real and personal estates of the inhabitants of this town and on non-resident possessors," The lot for the parsonage was given by Mrs. Hannah Walcott, wife of Edward Kitchen Waleott and a daughter of Judge Sewall, and the building was erected in 17m'. Mr. Jackson at once occupied the house, which adjoined the church, and there spent the remainder of his days. August 21, 1S06, after the erection of the Second Church, the town meeting "voted thai the old meeting house yard be added, and is hereby added to the parsonage.

the local history of the town to which all subsequent workers in this field have resorted as their primary authority on many points. Dr. Pierce was born in Dorchester, July 14. 177:i. was graduated from Harvard College in 1793, and for the nexl two years was assistant preceptor al Leicester Academy. lit- was married to Miss Lovell of was ordained March l~>. I7!>7, and continued as minister of the church until his death, August 24, 1849, a period of fifty-six years. Dr. Pierce's ministry was the most notable not only in the history of the church but also of the town. He was an active, energetic man. imbued with public spirit and with a decided interesl in men and affairs; during the course of his long pastorate he became thoroughly acquainted with the town and its

Med way in October, 1798, but she died in July, 1800, leaving an infant son. who lived bul two years. In 1802 he was married to Lucy Tappan of Northampton. An interesting sketch of Dr. Pierce's life, written by Thomas B. fox, was published in 1861, in the second volume of American Unitarian Biography edited by William Ware.

town meeting May 13, 1802, it was voted to choose a committee "to examine the slate of the meeting house, whether it is in a situation to enlarge, and it' it will admit of an enlargement, how many new pews may lie made and what measure is best Ini- the town in adopt to accomplish the same.'' Dr. Aspinwall, Stephen Sharp, Deacon Robinson, Colonel Gardner and Nathaniel Murdock, were members "1 this committee, which on June 1 1. reported in favor of enlarging the meeting house.

The same men. with the exception of Nat ham el Murdock, were chosen in carry nut the work. This vote was. however, reconsidered on May 11. 1803. Meanwhile an attempt was made in burn i he did edifice, l>ut t he lire was discovered and e . tinguished after it had dune some damage in one of the rear corners. April L\ 1804, the town meeting "Voted that a reward of five hundred dollars be given to any person who may detect i he villain or villains that attempted in hum the meeting house in i his town." Ai the same meet ing a cum mil lee of nine persons was chosen ' ' to enquire whether a new situation for a meeting house can be procured ami on what terms whether an addition to the presenl spot can be obtained In make an estimate oi the expense oi a new meeting house - and what shall be done with the present meeting house and what compensation shall he made to the presenl pew holders in case the town should determine in build, and all such other matters a- pertain in the subject." The committee reported, May lii. 1804. in favor of building a new house, on t lie site of t he old edifice, a- a small piece of adjoining land could I"1 -< cured. To use the old site was found, however, impracticable, probably from lack of room, and mi Sept ."). 1804, it wa- voted in build the new house on the largest of two lots of land east of the ci. riier -tmie wa- laid in April. 1805, and the structure was creeled li\ Mr. 1'eter Banner, an Englishman, who was both architect and master builder. This church is thus described by Miss Woods:

''The new meeting house stood fronting the -treet, with a grass plot in front of ii. li was sixty-eighl feet long and sixty-four feel wide, with a porch nineteen feet long and thirty-eight side of the porch, eleven feel square. There was nn cellar under the building, it being a rocky foundation, and the house was raised up a little from the ground, and openings on either side in the underpinning afforded space fur ventilation. The height of the house wa- thirty-five feet and six nches from the foundation to the eaves. The spire measured one hundred and thirty-seven feet from the ground. There were seventy-four pew- on the Hour and fourteen in the gallery."

In the original church there was no arrange mem I'm- heating, according to the custom of the period, bill I he women carried foot stoves with them. In the new edifice the conditions at lirst were the -ainc iii regard to heating as hail prevailed in the old, and il was not until the winter of IMS thai stoves were introduced, as is shown by the following vote passed on November Sth ol thai year:

"Voted the report of the committee be accepted and that permission be granted to have the stoves erected in the meeting house agreeable to the re port of t he committee.

Among the donations to the church were; The bell, which was cast in London, cosl a thousand pounds, and was given by lion. Stephen Higginson : the pulpit and caps of the pews, of southern cherry given by Mr. Stephen Higginson, son of the above; a clock, purchase, I out of four hundred dollars given by Mr. John Lucas; i he -tone steps. given by Richard Sullivan. Ksq..; a pulpit Bible, given by Mr. Thomas Walley; and a baptismal basin, given by David Hyslop. "The were $160, and in the gallery $1 10, and the highest price paid was $525, which included a bonus paid for a choice. 'The manner of buying I he pews was regulated by the following vote, passed May 22, 1S06, which likewise well illustrates the close connection between t he town a in I the church : "Voted that the right to choose an) pew (subject to the conditions hereafter mentioned) shall be Mild to the highest bidder at public auction, being a freeholder or inhabitant of the town of

Brookline and all aon residents being proprietors of land in the said town, and those persons belonging tn the first parish in Roxbury who live west of Muddy River and adjoining Brookline may have an equal privilege to bid al said auction and purchase a pew. provided they or any of them signify their intention to bid for the same to the Town Clerk on the day before the sale, and the purchaser shall make his choice forthwith, and shall pay the sum he shall bid for his choice, together with the sum apportioned on the pew of his choice in the following manner, viz.,

When it is considered that the population of Brookline in 1800 was |,ut 605, and that these people with the small number of persons added who were drawn from the portion of the village thru in Roxbury, constituted the entire neighborhood, it is evident thai the available congregation was limited. Still, all were church going people and were obliged to contribute to the support of the church in paying their taxes.

Residence Of Frederick I.. Gay, Holland Road

' ' Voted that a Ai-al shall be given by the town clerk to each purchaser when his or her payments are completed, provided they are made in due season, otherwise the purchaser shall not be entitled to his died, and shall forfeit his pew and all his former payments to the town.'' besides an excellent pastor, and a man of cultivation and education, lbs written and printed reminiscences contain a very complete record of the in ha bit a nt.-. t heir houses and details of t heir lives.

During the earlier years oi his pastorate, Dr. Pierce's salary was only S400 annually, but was afterward gradually increased to double thai amount. In addition, however, he had a free house and his tire wood from the minister's lot in Xeedham.

landholders and old families. The church was the liable to taxation on his poll and property real and real centre of the intellectual and social life of the personal for the support of public worship; but community. No other influence equalled it in any inhabitant, being a member of any other rescope and power. The town meeting only met ligious society in another town, was entitled under occasionally, but the people, both men and alawoflSll to require that any such tax assessed women, mel at the church every week and some- should be paid over to his own minister. The astimes oftener. tnder these conditions the meet- sessorsofthe town were the parish assessors, the ing house Idled the place in the life of the people town clerk was also the parish clerk and the town which is now occupied by a large variety of inter- treasurer was the parish treasurer. The parochiests. and its power was as much or more social al expenses were not paid from any fund kept than it was religious. apart fr the funds of the town, but in the esti- though then 74 years of age, was alert and vigor- "The Supreme Court have decided that whenotts. It was during the closing years of Dr. Pierce's ever any number of individuals, being inhabitant lice of the Baptist Society was erected on the cor- the land on which the house stood to be "approner of Harvard and Washington streets. Eventu- priated to the exclusive use of said parish"; liver to the first Parish in Brookline, a quit claim deed on the part of the town, releasing in fee simple all the rights of the town in and to all that lot of land on which the meeting house now stands. bounded north and west by Walnut Street, south by land formerly of Samuel Clark, east by a line identical with the east side of the range of horse sheds standing in the rear of the late town house, north by a line passing along the north side oi the shed nearest said house, and east by a line drawn parallel to the west side of said house and fifteen

With the settlement in 1834. the separation of the church from the town may lie said to have taken place, and it was emphasized in 1S47 when the property was definitely divided. From that time the history of the town and the church are distinct.

feet distant therefrom, upon receiving from said parish a like deed of release to this town and all persons claiming under it. of all the residue of the land described in the deed to this town from William Aspinwall and Stephen Sharp, dated Sept. .">. 1804. * * * But the legal rights of the owners of the horse sheds standing on the land to be reh asi d to the parish are to be excepted in the deed. and the tow n is to cove nant that the triangular lot of land lying east of the c state of John E. Thayer shall forever remain open and unencumbered, for more than two centuries been the only housi ol worship in the town, it had well fulfilled its functions. It was not only a religious but a political institution, a publicly owned and managed church , but the form of its organization was in harmony with the character of the people whom it served. The New England people were a homogeneous race, descended largely from the same stock, an community; its people have always been among the must progressive and public spirited, and its ministers and leading men have always taken an active interest in education and in the movements which have made the town what it is at present. A pleasant survival of the old times, which in sentiment connects the best of the present with the best (if the past, is thus told by Mr. Bolton ill his book, "Brookline: the History of a Favored Town," as follows: ''The old custom of ringing the bell at seven every moring, at noon, and at nine o'clock everj evening, has been continued through all these years of change. And still upon the tow n records will be found an annual appropriation for this purpose."

March, 1S30, and he was succeeded by the Rev. Joseph A. Warne. who began In- ministry April II. 1831, and remained with the church until December 31, IS36. During Mr. VVarne's ministry the baptisms took place in the salt waters of Muddy River near the present bridge al the cud of Washington Street ; but his successor, Mr. Shailer, preferred to go to the more open waters oi the Charles River.

The next pastor of the Baptist church was Rev. William II. Shailer. who was installed Sept. 1, 1S37, and continued to serve the society until Jan. 31, 1854, a period of over sixteen years. He did much to upbuild the church, and was greatly interested in the cause of education and in promo-

After holding meetings in private houses, for some time in 1827, a number of persons m Brookline, of the Baptist faith, in March, 1S2S, erected a church, twenty-six by thirty-six feet in dimensions, on the corner of Harvard and Washington streets. On June 5th, the Baptist Church in Brookline was organized in this edifice with thirtysix members. Before the first year had passed the first building proved to be too small and the which was dedicated November 1. 1828, the three deacons of the church. Elijah Corey. Timothy and Thomas Griggs, together with Daniel Coolidge and Elijah Corey, Jr., agreeing to bear the expense. Rev. Joseph Driver became pastor in ting the interests of the town. Shailer Hall in t he new Highschool building is named in his honor, in recognition of his interest in and services to the school- of Brookline. Mr. Shailer was a great friend and close associate of Dr. Pierce. From May, 1855, to August, 185S, the Hew Neheiniah M. Perkins was pastor, but ill health compelled him to give up the work. During Mr. Perkins's pastorate a new church building was in process of erection, and it was dedicated \>n\ 1. [858. A \ear later the Rev. William Lamson became the minister, and served the church until February, LS75. He was an eloquenl and forceful preacher. Since then the pastors of this church have been: Rev. Henry C. Malm.