Medford City (part 2 of 14)

To illustrate the peril supposed to exist in the early settlement, we copy the following order of the General Court. Sept. 3, 1635 : " It is agreed, that hereafter no dwellinghouse shall be built above half a mile from the meetinghouse, in any new plantation, without leave from the Court."

ers, and enforced the following order, passed Sept. 6, 1638 : " Ordered, That constables shall inform of new comers, if any be admitted without license."

That the Company in London had fixed firmly one point, the following extract from their second letter, May 28, 1629, will sufficiently prove : " The course we have prescribed of keeping a daily register in each family will be a great help and remembrance to you and to future posterity, for the upholding and continuance of this good act, if once well begun and settled, which we heartily wish and desire as aforesaid." This referred to a spiritual espionage which they had resolved should be held over every family.

It will be interesting here to see how the heirs of Mr. Cradock disposed of his large estate, and to trace how it came into the hands of Medford settlers.

Mr. Cradock's widow married her third husband, Rev. Benj. Whitchcot, D.D., in 1652. Damaris, Mr. Cradock's daughter, married Thomas Andrews, leather-seller, of London. Samuel, his brother, was elder of Chapleton, and had three sons. By instruments, dated June 2 and Sept. 6, 1652, they quit-claim to Mr. Collins "all that messuage, farm, or plantation, called Meadford in New England " by them owned.

Aug. 20, 1656 : Mr. Collins, after residing twelve years on his farm in Medford, sells to Richard Russell of Charlestown, sixteen hundred acres of it, with his mansion-house and other buildings. This track was bounded by Mystic River on the south, by Charlestown line on the north, by trees standing near a brook on the west, and by the farms of Nowell and others on the east. " Collins covenants to save Russell harmless from all claims from the heirs of Cradock, unto whom the said plantation was first granted " by the Court. No specification is given of the number of " cattle " or of " tenements." At this time, Mr. Collins deeds other portions of his farm to other persons.

May 25, 1661: Richard Russell, who had occupied the " mansion-house " five years, sold it, with twelve hundied acres of his land, to Jonathan Wade, who lived near the bridge on the south side of the river. After the death of Mr. Russell, his heirs sold three hundred and fifty acres to Mr. Peter Tufts. The deed is dated April 20, 1677. This tract is now the most thickly settled part of Medford.

The names of early settlers are found in their deeds of land. Oct. 20, 1656 : James Garrett, captain of the ship " Hope," sells, for £5, to Edward Collins, " forty acres of land on the north side of Mistick River, butting on Mistick Pond on the west."

March 13, 1657: Samuel Adams sells "to Ed. Collins forty acres of land ; bounded on the east by Zachariah Symmes, south by Meadford Farm, on the south and west by James Garrett." Paid £10.

March 13, 1675 : Caleb Hobart sells to Ed. Collins, " for £660, five hundred acres in Meadford, now in possession of Thomas Shepherd, Daniel Markham, Thomas "Willows, (Willis) ; bounded by Charlestown northerly, Mistick River southerly, Mr. Wade's land easterly, and Brooks's and Wheeler's lands westerly."

March 29, 1675 : Ed. Collins sells « a piece of land to Daniel Markham ; bounded by the river on the south, by Joshua Brooks on the west and north, and by Caleb Hubbard on the east."

Mr. Nicholas Davison, the mercantile agent of Mr. Cradock, and who lived near Mr. Wade, petitioned the General Court, in the name of Mrs. Cradock, for £676, which she said was due to her estate. The Court replied, that " the government were never concerned in Mr. Cradock's adventure," and therefore could not allow any such claim. Another attempt was made in 1670, and met with a similar fate. It was not long afterwards that the General Court took into consideration the munificent " disbursement of Mr. Cradock in planting the Colony," and resolved to show their grateful estimate of his worth ; and accordingly gave his widow, then Mrs. Whitchcot, one thousand acres of land ; and they relinquished all further rights.

1 658 : " In answer to a petition of the inhabitants of Mistick, the Court, Oct. 19, decided that they should have half proportion with the rest of the inhabitants of Charlestown in the commons lately divided, unless Charlestown leave the inhabitants of Mistick and their lands to Maiden, and the latter accept them."

We have here the names of the first persons who purchased of Mr. Cradock's heirs; viz., Edward Collins, Richard Russei, Jonathan Wade, and Peter Tufts. These laid out new lots and made many sales ; and, being added to the settlers already on the ground, the town may be said to have thus had two beginnings. The descendants of Mr. Tufts became the most numerous family in Medford; those of Mr. Wade were few, but rich : he came over in June, 1632. The names of Collins and Russell survived only a short period. The first bounds of lots cannot now be traced.

The Squa Sachem, residing in Medford, Aug. 1, 1637, gives lands to Jotham Gibbon, aged four, son of Ed. Gibbon. Jotham was born in 1633, and afterwards lived in Medford. For the deeds of these lands, as proofs of legal possession, see our account of " Indians."

Edward Collins, who bought so much land of Mr. Cradock's heirs and resided in Medford a long time, was the first specimen of a genuine land-speculator in the Massachusetts Colony. Besides his frequent purchases and sales in this neighborhood, we find him making investments elsewhere : for example, Dec. 10, 1655, he sells to Richard Champney five hundred acres in Billerica. In 1660 he sold four hundred acres for £404, in West Medford, to Thomas Brooks and Timothy Wheeler. These lands, held under the old Indian deed, have continued in possession of the Brooks family to the present day. #

Jonathan Wade, who for several years paid the highest tax in Medford, bought land on the south of the river, near Mystic Bridge. Oct. 2, 1656, he bought four hundred acres of Mathew Avery, then living in Ipswich. _

The purchasing of land was the most important business transacted by our early fathers. As a specimen of their keen appetite and steady perseverance, we give a list of purchases by Mr. Peter Tufts, chiefly on " Mystic Side : " -

History Of Medford

Mr. Peter Tufts, born in England, 1617, was the father of the Tufts family in Medford. He died May 13, 1700, aged 83. He was buried in Maiden, where his tomb may now be Joseph Tufts writes thus of him : -

" But he who sleeps within this sacred grave, He felt the tyrant's sting. Deep in his soul Sublime religion breathed. The stormy wave Here placed him free, beyond a king's control."

The old histories speak of " God's blessing on the endeavors of the first twenty years. The first settlers had " houses, gardens, orchards ; and for plenty, never had the land the like ; and all these upon our own charges, no public hand reaching out any help."

Monuments Of Early Times

1640 : As emigration ceased at this time, the provisions brought from England were very cheap. The fall of prices was remarkable ; and Gov. Winthrop says : " This evil was very notorious, that most men would buy as cheap as they could, and sell as dear. Corn would bring nothing ; a cow, which last year cost £20, might now be bought for four or five."

Monuments Of Early Times

That there were many defences raised against the Indians and the wild beasts, by the early settlers of Massachusetts, is most true ; and that many of them were not needed is also true. Not knowing at first how many Indians there were, nor what were their feelings towards the white men ; not knowing what ferocious wild beasts there were, nor what their modes of attack ; not knowing what the winters might be, nor the extent of the rainy seasons, - it was natural that an isolated, few, and defenceless people, thus situated, should take counsel of their fears, and erect more defences than were needful. That such a course was anticipated, appears from the following provision by the Company in London, passed Oct. 16, 1629: Ordered, "That, for the charge of fortifications, the Company's joint stock to bear the one half, and the planters to defray the other; viz., for ordinance, munition, powder, &c. But, for laborers in building of forts, &c, all men to be employed in an equal proportion, according to the number of men upon the plantation, and so to continue until such fit and necessary works be finished."

Any plantation, disposed to build a place of retreat and defence, was authorized by the above vote to do so, and to call upon the Company to pay half the expense. Undoubtedly, Mr. Cradock's house was so built. That forts were thought to be necessary appears from the following history of Charlestown: "1631: It was concluded to build a fort on the hill at Moulton's Point, and mount the six guns left by the Company last year upon the beach of this town, for defence, in case ships should come up on the back-side of Mistick River. The project was abandoned. By sounding the mouth of Mistick River, the channel lies so far off from Moulton's Point, towards "Winnesemit side, that the erecting a fort on the hill will not reach that end."

Governor Cradock's House. - The old two-story brick house in East Medford, on Ship Street, is one of the most precious relics of antiquity in New England. That it was built by Mr. Cradock soon after the arrival of his company of carpenters, fishermen, and farmers, will appear from the following facts.

The land on which it stands was given by the General Court to Mr. Cradock. When the heirs of Mr. Cradock gave a deed of their property, June 2, 1652, they mentioned houses, barns, and many other buildings, but did not so specify these objects as to render them cognizable by us. There is no deed of this house given by any other person. There was no other person that could own it. It was on Mr. Cradock's land, and just where his business made it necessary : the conclusion, therefore, is inevitable that Mr. Cradock built it. There is every reason to believe that it was commenced early iu the spring of 1634. Clay was known to abound ; and bricks were made in Salem in 1629. Mr. Cradock made such an outlay in money as showed that he intended to carry on a large business for a long time, and doubtless proposed visiting his extensive plantation. The very first necessity in such an enterprise was a sufficient house. The sooner it was finished, the better ; and it was commenced as soon as the land was granted, which was March, 1634. Who, in that day, could afford to build such a house but the rich London merchant ? and would he delay doing a work which every day showed to be indispensable ? He was the only man then who had the funds to build such a house, and he was the only man who needed it. Taking all these circumstances into consideration, the inference is clear, that the " old fort," so called, was Governor Cradock's house, built in 16.34. It is an invaluable historical jewel.

It has been called the " Fort " and the " Garrison House," because its walls were so thick, and because it had close outside shutters and port-holes.

It is certainly well placed for a house of defence. It is on land slightly elevated, where no higher land or rocks could be used by enemies to assail it, and is so near the river as to allow of reinforcements from Boston. Its walls are eighteen inches thick. There were heavy iron bars across the two large arched windows, which are near the ground, in the back of the house ; and there are several fire-proof closets within the building. The house stood in an open field for a century and a half, and could be approached only by a private road through gates. As the outside door was cased with iron, it is certain that it was intended to be fire-proof. There was one pane of glass, set in iron, placed in the back wall of the western chimney, so as to afford a sight of persons coming from the town.

It was probably built for retreat and defence ; but some of the reasons for calling it a fort are not conclusive. Outside shutters were in common use in England at the time above mentioned ; and so was it common to ornament houses with round or oval openings on each side of the front. These ovals are twenty inches by sixteen. Mr. Cradock's company was large, and he was very rich, and had told them to build whatever houses they needed for shelter and defence. It is probable, that, as soon as the spring opened, they began to dig the clay, which was abundant in that place ; and very soon they had their bricks ready for use. That they should build such a house as now stands where their first settlement took place, is most natural. The bricks are not English bricks either in size, color, or workmanship. They are from eight to eight and a half inches long, from four to four and a quarter inches wide, and from two and a quarter to two and three-quarters thick. They have the color of the bricks made afterwards in East Medford. They are hastily made, but very well burned. They are not like the English bricks of the Old South Church in Boston. The house has undergone few changes. Mr. Francis Shedd, who bought it about fifty years ago, found the east end so decayed and leaky that he took a part of it down and rebuilt it. There is a tradition, that in early times Indians were discovered lurking around it for several days and nights, and that a skirmish took place between them and the white men ; but we have not been able to verify the facts or fix the date. The park impaled by Mr. Cradock probably included this house. It is undoubtedly one of the oldest buildings in the United States ; perhaps the oldest that retains its first form. It has always been in use, and, by some of its tenants, has not been honored for its age. Its walls are yet strong, and we hope it may be allowed to stand for a century to come. We wish some rich antiquarian would purchase it, restore to it its ancient appendages, and make it a depository for Medford antiquities, for an historical library, and a museum of natural curiosities. It would then be an honor to our town ; be made perhaps the scene of a noble tragedy by some gifted .writer ; and, above all, it would then be a proper monument to the memory of Medford's first friend and founder.

The other old brick house, built probably about the same time and by the same persons, was not large. It stood about five hundred feet north of Ship Street, and about five hundred feet west of Park Street, opposite Mr. Magoun's ship-yard, and was taken down many years ago by that gentleman.

The third house was built by Major Jonathan Wade, who died 1689. It was sometimes called, like the other two, a " Fort," and is yet standing in good repair, and used as a comfortable residence. It is seen from the main street as we look up the "Governor's Lane." Its walls are very thick, and it is ornamented with what have been called " port-holes." "When first built, it was only half its present size : the addition was made by Benjamin Hall, Esq., about seventy-five years ago.

That Medford is rich in monuments of its early history is a gratifying fact, saddened only by one circumstance, which is, that we have lost our first records. We must therefore rely on our early records which are not written with ink. From Pine Hill, south-westerly, to Purchase Street, there are scattered remains of houses, now almost lost in the forest, which prove that there were living in this region many families. The cellars are, in some places, so near together as to show quite a social neighborhood. When some of the " Scotch Irish," who settled Londonderry, N. H., in 1719, became dissatisfied with that place, they came into this quarter ; and many of them settled in Medford. They built some of the houses, whose cellars yet remain among us, and introduced the foot spinning-wheel and the culture of potatoes. They were as scrupulous about bounds and limits in these wilds as they had been in Scotland ; hence the remarkable stone walls which still stand to testify to their industry. They were Scotch Presbyterians in religion ; and the Rev. Mr. Morehead, of Boston, frequently came to preach to them. Some of them migrated to the District of Maine ; and there was recently living a General Jacob Auld, of that district, who was born about a mile north-east of Medford meetinghouse, whose father was Irish, and left Londonderry about 1730. These people kept up many of their European customs ; and tradition says, that once, when a young child died among them, they held a genuine " Irish wake ; " a conse- quence of which was so much drunkenness and fighting that the civil authorities were obliged to interpose. A few of these adventurers remained, and became good citizens ; and among their descendants we may name the Fulton, Wier, Faulkner, and McClure families. The mother of the late Mrs. Fulton was a Wier.

There was a " Pest-house," so called, erected in 1730, near the " Bower," south of Pine Hill, where remains of a cellar mark the spot, and near which three graves of those who died of the small-pox are still visible. The land was owned by John Bishop, Esq.

These oldest ruins of Medford may not be so interesting as those of Delphi or the Roman Forum ; but they serve to show that a part of our town, long since covered with wood, was formerly the abode of an industrious and thriving population.

The three brick buildings, mentioned above and called forts, having descended to us as specimens of ancestral architecture, may well compare with any specimens left in the neighboring towns. They show that the style of building here was ample and strong ; which style has been fashionable ever since. The house of Col. Royal was the most expensive in Medford. Built by his father, after the model of an English nobleman's house in Antigua, it has stood a tempting model to three generations. Mr. Thomas Seccomb's large brick house, on the north side of the market-place, was the first copy of Col. Royal's. Rev. Mr. Turell's house, now owned by Jonathan Porter, Esq., is a good example of another style ; also the one now owned and occupied by Gorham Brooks, Esq. The old dilapidated mansion of the late Dr. Simon Tufts, south-east corner of High and Forest Streets, is one of the oldest and best specimens of the second fashion which prevailed in New England. It has three stories in front, and the large roof behind descends so as to allow of only one story in the rear. It seems to lean to the south, to offer its back to the cold storms of the north. One enormous' chimney in the centre of the building serves every need, and keeps the house steady in high winds. The house so long occupied by Gov. Brooks, and in which he died, is a newer specimen of the same model. The next fashion, introduced as an improvement upon these, was the broken or " gambrelroofed " houses, many of which still remain. See a specimen at the end of this volume. These soon gave place to the present models, which are importations from distant ages and all civilized countries, not excepting Egypt and China.

They dignified a cow-path with the name of road. In the earliest years of the Medford plantation, there were but few people, and they had small occasion to travel. The laying-out of roads, therefore, was a secondary consideration, and the order of their location oftentimes conjectural in history.

The Ford, ten rods west of the bridge, meant the place where travellers crossed the Mystic River. At first it was little used, but afterwards became a popular way, not only for the inhabitants of Medford, but for those of the northern towns who took loads on horseback to Boston. If the earliest records of the town had been preserved, we should doubtless have found in them some notices of the Ford, and some regulations concerning it.

May 3, 1642 : The General Court say : " It is declared by this Court, that the selected town's men have power to lay out particular and private ways concerning their own town only." The road from the landing, called "No Man's Friend " (now Mr. Lapham's ship-yard), was made by Charlestown, 1641, to their land north of Medford. The road is now called Cross and Fulton Streets.

To have free access to the river, the great highway, they opened private roads for the use of owners of lands, and what were called " range-ways " for the free use of the public. Many of these are found in Charlestown. One of these was Cross Street ; the next, west of it, was at the Ford, and the " Governor Lane " was a part of it ; the next was by the easterly side of Mr. T. Magoun's house ; the next was east of Mr. Turell's house, the lane is yet open ; the next was at the Rock Hill, and the old tl Woburn Road " was part of it ; the next was above the Lowell Railroad Depot, in High Street, and connected with Grove Street, formerly called " the road round the woods." These roads to the river, in Medford, were opened soon after the main thoroughfare. The first public road laid out in Medford was Main Street, leading from the Ford to Boston ; the second was Salem Street, leading to Maiden ; the third was High Street, leading to West Cambridge ; the fourth was the road leading to Stoneham.

These sufficed for all necessary uses during half a century. The road on the south bank of the river (South Street), connecting the brick-yards with the wharf and the lighters, was early opened. No new public roads were opened after these for nearly a hundred years.

Oct. 5, 1675, the town passes the following vote : To levy a fine of ten shillings upon any one who shall take a load of earth out of the public road. They also vote, that every man may work out his own highway tax, and they fix the prices for a day's labor of man, and of a man and team.

In 1715, Rev. Aaron Porter, Peter Seccomb, Peter Waite, Thomas Tufts, and Benjamin Parker, wish some enlargement of the road near the bridge, they being residents there ; and the town direct a Committee to see about the matter. They fix the width of the road at the bridge at two rods and twelve feet ; and report the road leading to Woburn wide enough already.

Feb. 20, 1746 : Several gentlemen of Medford agree to open a road from the market to " Wade's Bank, or Sandy Bank" (Cross Street), and build a bridge over "Gravelly Creek." It was done; and made a convenient way to the tide-mill. See further account under the head of " Mills."

Medford Turnpike. - The construction of turnpikes in New England made an era in travelling and in speculations. Medford had long felt the need of a way to the metropolis more convenient for the transportation of heavy loads than that over Winter Hill. The first movement for a turnpike was made, about the year 1800, by citizens of Medford; and, in 1808, Benjamin Hall, John Brooks, Fitch Hall, Ebenezer Hall, 2d, and Samuel Buel, petitioned the Legislature for an act of incorporation. It was granted March 2d of that year. The name was " Medford Turnpike Corporation." The act required them to run the road easterly of Winter Hill and Plowed Hill. It must be three rods on the upland, and not more than six on the marsh. If not completed within three years, the grant was to be null and void. The Corporation were required to build all extra bridges over Middlesex Canal, and keep them and the sluices in repair. They could hold real estate to the amount of six thousand dollars. Shares in the stock were deemed personal property. Moderate tolls have made this the most frequented route to Boston. Attempts have several times been made to open it free of toll to the public ; and the town of Medford voted their con- sent, in 1838, to its conversion to a free road. This was not done ; and it yet continues as at the first. On this road, near the Charlestown line, the canal, turnpike, and river come into such close contact that a coachman, with a long whip, touched the waters of the river and canal without leaving his seat.

Andover Turnpike. - This road encountered the usual amount of opposition from those who saw it would lead travel away from their houses, and those who thought its passage through their farms would ruin them. But the saving of three miles travel, for loads of ship-timber and country produce, was too great a gain of time, space, and money, to be wholly abandoned. The first projectors, therefore, persevered, and subscriptions for stock were opened in 1804, and Medford was deeply interested in it. An act of incorporation was obtained, June 15, 1805, by Jonathan Porter, Joseph Hurd, Nathan Parker, Oliver Holden, and Fitch Hall. The route was designated in the act. It was to run from the house of John Russell, in Andover, in an easterly direction, to the east of Martin's Pond ; nearly on a straight line to the house of J. Nichols, in Reading ; thence to Stoneham, by the west side of Spot Pond, to the market-place in Medford. No time for its construction was named in the legislative grant, as the distance was considerable and the country hilly. A much longer time and much more money than were at first supposed, were required for its completion. Not proving a very profitable investment, there were propositions made, in 1828, for its sale. These were not accepted ; and, finally, it was concluded to abandon the road, offering it as a free highway to the several towns through which it passed. ' In 1803, the town of Medford vote to accept and support that part of it which is in Medford, whenever it shall be free of toll. Again, in 1831, the town express the wish that it may become a free road, and promise to keep their part in good repair. This disposition having been made of it, the town has performed its promise ; and to-day, under the name of Forest Street, it is one of the most popular localities for country seats.

easy. May 15, 1758: "Voted £10 for the repair of the roads." This is the first vote of the kind on record. Till this time, each citizen had worked out his " highway tax " by himself or hired man. Straightening and widening roads became each year a more imperative duty, since the first ones were little better than cow-paths. Seventy years ago began conversations on the expediency and importance of opening new routes for travel between this and the neighboring villages. March 9, 1761 : Many inhabitants of the town petitioned the Court of Sessions for a road across the marshes at " Labor in Vain ; " thus connecting the eastern part of the town with the Boston road. The petition was granted, and tne Commissioners laid out the road and assessed the damages ; but it was concluded not to build it. March 5, 1787, the town voted, " That Benjamin Hall, Esq., Gen. John Brooks, and Thomas Brooks, Esq., be a Committee to petition the Court of Sessions to obtain a new road through a part of Col. RoyalFs and Capt. Nicholson's farms." This was never obtained.

Dec. 7, 1795 : Voted to measure the route from Jonathan Brooks's Corner to Lexington. This road was not accepted. Voted to erect sign-posts through the town.

May 10, 1802: A Committee was chosen "to lay out a road between Medford, Stoneham, and Reading, through the woods ; " also to see if a road from the meeting-house to Joseph Wyman's was feasible. Purchase Street was opened many years after, according to this suggestion.

Sept. 13, 1802: The Court of Sessions direct, "that the road from Jonathan Brooks's Corner to West Cambridge shall be widened, Medford and Charlestown paying for the lands taken." Labor of a man on the highways, one dollar for eight hours ; and two dollars for a team. In 1819, one dollar and twenty-five cents, and two dollars and fifty cents.

May 7, 1804 : The town chose a Committee " to stake out the private ways in the town." The intention of the town doubtless was, that those avenues, paths, or range-ways, through which the public have a right of way, should be marked out and recorded. It is very important that these rights should be preserved, and as important that they should not be unjustly claimed. Settling near a river gave superior facilities for transportation in early times ; and, therefore, free access to a landing place was important. This accounts for so many of these " private " ways in New England. Nov. 9, 1846 : The town chose a Committee of three, to ascertain what riarht of wav exists for the use of " Rock Hill Landing." The owner of the land denies all rights ; and a suit is now pending, amicably to settle the question.

" As soon as ship-building laid its first keel in Medford, the town felt a new impulse, and began to increase in numbers by a new ratio. This required new streets; and from 1810 to the present time they have been constantly opening, either by municipal authority or by private experiment. These may be seen, and will be preserved, on the map of Medford, now just completed.

It has become a fashion to lay out small townships or districts anywhere within twenty and thirty miles of the capital. Private gentlemen open roads through their grounds, mark off many acres into small " lots," publish a map of the unborn city, and on the appointed day begin to sell the little enclosures at public auction. Many people are thus happily tempted to desert the city, and live in the more healthful country. By these means, the number of public roads has been doubled, in some towns, within the last twenty years. The town of Medford is not without such enterprise, and such results. Edmund T. Hastings, Esq., originated for "West Medford a beneficence of this kind in 1845 ; and, in conjunction with Mr. Samuel Teel, jun., has opened ten new streets ; and, within nine years, there have been erected thirty-five dwelling-houses within the enclosures and the neighborhood.

A similar outlay has been made (1852) by a Company whose enterprising agent, Mr. T. P. Smith, was promising great improvements in buildings and orchards, when death suddenly took him in 1854. The streets there are named Harvard Avenue ; Bower, Monument, Myrtle, Marian Streets ; Gorham Park, Lake Park.

Mr. John Bishop has clone the same thing on his paternal estate north of "Gravelly Bridge," and also on the deep forest south of Pine Hill. This last he calls Bellevue. On the first area, several dwelling-houses are built ; but on the second, none. He has pierced the woods by streets, which allow us to ride at ease among tangled shrubbery and ancient oaks, where, as children, we were forbidden to venture, for fear of being lost. Some hundred years hence, when this lovely spot shall have been occupied with country villas and beautiful gardens, the fathers may sit in a pavilion on Pine Hill, and tell their children how the rich fields below them were an impenetrable forest.

A similar show of diagrams is presented by Mr. Bishop on his lands east of the " Fountain House ; " and, we trust, corresponding good results will hereafter be experienced. This was done July 13, 1853 ; and, in honor of the Indian chief, he has called it " Sagamore Vale." In former times, they built houses, and then laid out roads ; now, they lay out roads, and then build houses.

The large farm of one hundred and sixty-five acres, belonging to Messrs. James and Isaac Wellington, situated on the eastern border of Medford, was divided into lots and parallel streets, Xov. 1, 1854. Its nearness to Boston, and the facilities of travel by railroad, offer tempting situations for suburban residences.

In 1854, twenty small houses were built on one street in East Medford ; ten on one side, and ten on the other. They are all of the same size and form, equally distant, very near together ; and each house is opposite a space left open on the other side of the street. The settlement is called Williamsburg, after the builder and owner of the houses.

From earliest times, the town chose annually a " Surveyor of Highways," whose duty it was to superintend the repairs of the public roads. He had full power to decide where and to what extent repairs should be made. As population and streets increased, several surveyors became necessary ; and they received compensation for their time and labor. After the brick Alms House was built in West Medford, near the Lowell Railroad Depot (1812j, Isaac Brooks, Esq., who had taken the deepest interest in the matter, proposed to employ the male paupers in repairing the highways. This plan was adopted ; and, under the guidance of a general surveyor, the keeper of the Alms House went forth every day with his picked men and horse-cart. As this procedure converted the Alms House from a place of ease to a place of labor, it had the magical effect of thinning the number of male occupants.

In 1814, the town opposed the opening of a road from the Charlestown Road, at the foot of Winter Hill, to Cragie's Bridge in East Cambridge. A long and warm debate concerning this project prevailed for a considerable time ; but, at length, the patrons of the measure succeeded, and the road was opened. For twenty years, it proved to be, what the town foretold it would be, an almost unused highway. Even now, it diverts very little travel from the better and shorter routes through Charlestown.

In 1818, the town voted to expend one hundred dollars in repairing the roads; in 1831, voted three hundred dollars; in 1840, voted one thousand dollars ; in 1850, voted fifteen hundred dollars. Appended to the vote of 1840 was this prohibition : None but inhabitants shall be allowed to work in repairing the roads ; and each inhabitant .shall have the same right and opportunity of working out his highway tax.

In 1831, the Lowell Railroad was laid out through Medford, creating no small opposition in some quarters, and as warm advocacy in others. Its charter is dated June 5, 1830, and bears the names of John F. Loring, Lemuel Pope, Isaac P. Davis, Kirk Boot, Patrick T. Jackson, Geo. W. Lyman, and Daniel P. Parker. The number of directors was five ; the number of shares, one thousand. The act provided, that no other railroad should, within thirty years, be authorized leading to any place within five miles of the northern termination of the road. Its stock has, at times, maintained a higher premium than that of any other company ; and the road has caused fewer deaths than any one so long and so much travelled.

1832 : The town chose a Committee to sell the Alms House and lands adjoining to the corporation of the railroad ; and also to see that said road be no obstruction to travel.

The construction of this road through- Medford has added vastly to our wealth and comfort. It has doubled the price of land upon its borders. It has induced the building of the new houses in West Medford, and promises to make this beautiful portion of the town a rival in population to the older East. For the small fare of fifteen cents, it presents each day a dozen opportunities for going to Boston, and as many for returning ; and occupies about fifteen minutes in the passage. Rival roads have lately deprived it of some of its former exclusive advantages. This was the first railroad made in New England for public travel. Its cost was enormous, and its rails were all laid on granite blocks. These have been found to wear the machinery of the locomotives and cars so rapidly as to induce a substitution of wooden sleepers. The longest freight-train, drawn by one engine, that has passed loaded over the road, numbered one hundred and sixty-three baggage cars.

The " Medford Branch Railroad " was incorporated March 7, 1845 ; and the names of the petitioners are James O. Curtis, Henry L. Stearns, Jos. Manning, jun., Daniel Lawrence, Nath. H. Bishop, and Andrew Blanchard, jun. Jan. 22, 1845 : The town passed the following : " Resolved, as the sense of the people of Medford, that it is expedient that the prayer of the petitioners for a railroad to connect Medford with Boston be granted."

By the act of incorporation, " the capital stock shall not consist of more than one thousand shares at one hundred dollars each." The Act further stated, "If the said railroad shall not be constructed within two years from the passage of this act, then the same shall be void." It was readily finished, and proves to be a most productive and convenient road.

The " Stoneham Branch Railroad Company " was incorporated May 15, 1851 ; Thaddeus Richardson, Amasa Farrier, and William Young, named as the corporation. Section 7th of the Act has the following condition : " The construction of the said road shall not be commenced until the capital named in the charter shall have been subscribed by responsible parties, and twenty per cent paid into the treasury of the said company." This road was commenced and graded from Stoneham into the bounds of Medford, where its further construction suddenly stopped. That its proposed course through Medford may be changed, and the whole road then completed, is probable.

The streets in Medford are, in most places, furnished with sidewalks and ornamented with elm-trees. It is cheering to see the spaces at the meeting of some roads occupied with trees. The delta of four hundred feet at the meeting of Grove and High Streets, in West Medford, was the first example. The trees were planted, and the fences made and maintained, by Hon. Peter C. Brooks. The town granted him permission, Nov. 22, 1822. A legacy of five hundred dollars from Turell Tufts, Esq., was expended, according to his directions, in planting ornamental trees on the roadsides. May this growing charity of a good friend of Medford be imitated by many hereafter ! Others, from motives of taste and profit, have adorned our highways with forest-trees, whose summer shade will soon shelter the fashionable lady in her morning promenade, and the weary animals in their noonday labor.

The bridge across Mystic River, in the centre of Medford, is the first that was built over this stream. This primitive structure was exceedingly rude, and dangerously frail. March 4, 1634: The General Court, "holden at Newton," make a grant of much land in Medford, "on the north side of Mystic River," to Mr. Mathew Cradock, merchant in London. This distinguished friend of the pilgrims never came to this country ; but his agent and representative, Mr. Nicholas Davison, conducted an extensive fishing business in Medford, on his account, and probably was the person who first suggested the erection of a bridge.

Mr. Cradock's agent (Davison) commenced the building of a bridge over the river in 1638. The place selected was that where the present bridge stands ; that being the most easterly spot, where the marshes, on the south side of the river, would allow safe roads to it. The builder exacted toll. It was the first toll-bridge in New England. The town prosecuted the builder for his " hindrance of boats," and for " taxing cattle that go over that bridge." The bridge was long,

In 1639, we have the following record on the subject of a bridge : " At the General Court, Boston, the 22d of 3 mo. (called May), 1639, Mr. Mathew Cradock is freed of rates to the county, by agreement of the Court, for the year ensuing from this day, in regard of his charge in building the bridge ; and the county is to finish it at the charge of the public. Mr. Davison and Lieut. Sprague to see it done, and to bring in their bill of charges." This record further proves that a bridge had been commenced at this early day by Mr. Cradock ; that it was not finished by him ; that he received exemption from taxes by a vote of the General Court, because the bridge was so built and so placed as to be a public benefit ; and, finally, it proves that the bridge was finished at this time, and at the expense of the Province. Four years after this, we have the following record : " General Court, May 10, 1643 : It is ordered Mr. Tomlins should have £22 to repair Mistick Bridge, to make it strong and sufficient, for which sum of £22 he hath undertaken it." This extract proves that the bridge very soon needed repairing, and that about one hundred dollars were necessary for the work. The bridge therefore must have been important, as a public way, to have received such large attention from the General Court. The frailty of the structure must have been remarkable ; for, only three years passed before it again demanded the care of the General Court. The record is as follows : " At a General Court, at Boston, for Elections, the 6th of the 3 mo. (May), 1646, Ralph Sprague and Edward Converse appointed to view the bridge at Mistick, and what charge they conceive meet to be presently expended for the making it sufficient, and prevent the ruin thereof, or by further delay to endanger it, by agreeing with workmen for the complete repairing thereof, and to make their return to Mr. Willoughby and Mr. Burrell, and what they shall do herein to be satisfied out of the treasury."

These frequent draughts on the provincial treasury began to alarm the government, and the following record shows the steps taken accordingly : " At a Session of the General Court, the First month, 1648 : It was voted by the whole Court, that Mistick Bridge should be made and maintained by the county at the public charge." This movement created alarm through Medford, because strong fears were entertained that the county would let the bridge go to ruin. No penalty for non-performance of duty was imposed. Mr. Cradock's agent, therefore, sent his petition, the nature of xAvhich can be ascertained only by the following reply : - " General Court, 28th of the 7th mo., 1648 : In answer to the petition of Nic. Davison, in the behalf of Mr. Cradock, for the repairing and maintaining of Mistick Bridge by the county, the said Mr. Davison being sent for, the evidence he can give being heard and examined with the records of the General Court, it appears that the General Court did engage for an exemption from rates for that year, and finishing the same on their own charges, which accordingly hath been done."

We may infer from these proceedings, that the bridge was very likely to be out of repair, and that Mr. Cradock's workmen and business required it to be strong and safe. Five years roll away, and the county appears to have done little for the safety of the bridge. The indefatigable Mr. Davison, urged on doubtless by Mr. Cradock, appeals once more to the supreme authority. That the General Court should now feel determined to put an end to this standing annoyance, we cannot wonder. Probably by consultation with Mr. Davison, they came to the following financial conclusion : " 28th of 3d mo., 1653 : Upon a petition presented by Mr. Nicholas Davison, in the behalf of Mr. Cradock, in reference to Mistick Bridge, it is ordered by this Court, and hereby declared, that, if any person or persons shall appear that will engage sufficiently to build, repair, and maintain the bridge at Mistick at his or their proper cost and charges, it shall be lawful, and all and every such person or persons, so engaging, are hereby authorized, and have full power, to ask, require, and receive of every single person, passing over the said bridge, one penny, and for every horse and man sixpence ; for every beast twopence, and for every cart one shilling ; and this to continue so long as the bridge shall be sufficiently maintained, as aforesaid." This order of Court proves to us, that the county had not kept the bridge in repair ; that Mr. Cradock probably used it much in transporting heavy loads ; and, finally, that the bridge was at first constructed to allow the passage of heavy burdens in ox-teams.

Put all these legislative orders together, and the inferences drawn from them, and we have a very satisfactory history of the first bridge in Medford. We can see, in our mind's eye, a rude structure, sufficiently wide to allow but one cart to pass at the same time, and so poorly put together as to be endangered by every high tide and by floating ice. We can furthermore see that the bridge was placed where the present one stands ; and, lastly, we may say, that to Mr. Mathew Cradock, of London, our fathers were indebted for this great convenience.

The next step of interest, relating to Mystic Bridge, was the appointment of a Committee by the County Court to decide what bridges should be built and maintained. They report as follows, May 15, 1657 : -

"In obedience to an order of the County Court, held at Charlestown, Dec. 30, 1656, we, whose names are underwritten, meeting at Cambridge, March 2, 1657, to weigh and consider what bridges are fittest to be built and maintained at the county's charge, after due examination of things, we find the bridges of this county, already erected and to be erected (as we conceive), to exceed for number and charge all the other counties within this Colony ; and, withal, considering the great necessity of bringing in all that are alike useful, which would amount to such a charge that we question the county's ability to maintain and bear the charge thereof; and having some experimental knowledge that towns will be more cautious in laying out their own costs than the counties, both in building and repairing, do therefore conclude, according to our weak apprehensions, that as few bridges should be built at the county's charge as possibly may be ; only those two bridges, i. e., at Billerica and Mistick, to be finished at the county's charge, and for time to come maintained in repair by the towns and precincts in which they are, and those towns that are forced to build bridges more for the passage of others than their own benefit may have help from the county, by this honored Court's appointment ; if their burden in building bridges exceed their sister towns, and in case any town shall propound to this honored Court for erecting of bridges contrary to what is here present, - we are ready to give further account to this Court why the county should be no further charged that way. And, whereas it appears to us that Concord, Sudbury, and Lancaster are at a greater charge in bridges for the public use of the country than some other of their neighbor towns, we conceive it meet that they be abated as followeth : Concord and Lancaster all their rates, whether paid or to be paid, to those two bridges above named, and Sudbury the one-half of their rates to the said bridges, and their abatements to be satisfied to the undertakers of those bridges, or repaid again to such as have paid, as followeth : i. e., Chelmsford, two pounds ; Billerica, one pound ; Charlestown, ten pounds ; Meadford, two pounds ; and what these shall fall short of satisfying those above-mentioned abatements, made up out of the county stock, either fines or otherwise, as the Court shall please to determine.

"Provided always, we think it meet that no stop be made of any the above-said abatement, so as to interfere or obstruct the performing of the present engagement respecting those bridges.

"April 7, 1657: This return being made to the Court, it was accepted by the Court, who order that this return of the Committee shall be presented to the next General Court, by the Clerk of the Court, for their confirmation and settling thereof.

The plan of taxing the county, or the towns that use it, for the support of Medford Bridge, was productive of constant trouble to all concerned, and led to lingering lawsuits. It being the only bridge over Mystic River, it must be used by many travellers from Salem, Saugus, Andover, Reading, &c. Woburn was obliged by law to help support it, and they of that town constantly complained and objected.

Woburn records, of Oct. 28, 1690, say : " Serg. Mathew Johnson, Serg. John Pierce, chosen to meet the Court's Committee, and treat with them about Mistick Bridge." The same records, of May, 1691, say: "The selectmen met with Maiden men and Reading men to consult about defending ourselves at the County Court ; being warned to appear there about Mistick Bridge."

1693 : Woburn grew very emphatic, and said : " Woburn was not concerned in the presentment of Mistick Bridge ; neither would they do any thing in order to the repairing thereof, except by law they were forced thereto." In 1694, Woburn was again cited by order of Court, and threatened with a fine of £5 ; yet was inflexible, and put itself in the posture of defence. The question was ti;ied at Boston, and, after able attorneys had spoken on both sides, the' Court decide as follows : -

" Whereas, there was an order of the General Court, in the year 1691, referring to the settlement of Mistick Bridge to the County Court of Middlesex, the said Court ordering the repairing of said bridge to be by the respective towns of Charlestown, Woburn, Maiden, Reading, and Medford, according to their wonted manner, till the Court make further provisions, and the defects of said bridge having been presented to this Court before the late law respecting bridges, this Coui't order that the said respective towns do forthwith make sufficient repairs of the said defect of said bridge, upon pains and penalty of £5 fine, to their Majesties for their respective defaults of each of the said towns ; and then to make return of their doings therein to the next General Sessions of the Peace for Middlesex ; and that for the future it shall be left to the determination of the law."

This decision was not palatable to the defendants. Medford's action in the premises is recorded as follows : Voted, in a "general town-meeting, January 11, 1694, that the persons above said are to attend the premises, from Court to Court, until there shall be a final determination and settlement of Mistick Bridge." This Committee performed their duty faithfully, and the result is recorded above ; but, in 1698, Medford was again presented to the Court for defect in the bridge. On the 7th of March, the town came together, and voted " to empower a lawyer referring to answer a presentment for defect in Mistick Bridge." March 28, 1698 : "Voted to empower Mr. John Leverett for the further defending the town referring to Mistick Bridge, in case there be need ; and said town to pay lawyer's charges and other necessary charges that may arise in defence of said bridge, as above said." In connection with this case, the town resolve, that, if a man attended Court for sixty days, he should be paid £3 ; and for any less term, Is. 6d. per day. The bridge seemed to have a wonderful aptitude in getting out of repair ; and, as Medford was liable to be indicted for the fact, the bridge became the standing vexation of the town. April S, 1702, the inhabitants appoint three of their number as a Committee to treat with Woburn, Reading, and Maiden, on the repairing and maintaining said bridge. Nine years bring up again the same question; and, May 24, 1711, the town voted "to desire the selectmen of the town to procure such records of Court or Courts as may give information of the division of Mistick Bridge to the several neighboring towns for the repair of the same." This vote, while it shows us there had been a legal division of the bridge liabilities, shows also that the contiguous towns had not done their duty in the premises. Sept. 21, 1714, a rate of £15 was assessed by the selectmen " for Mistick Bridge." The bridge was now rebuilt ; but the adjoining towns refused to pay their shares, and Medford voted to carry the question before the " General Sessions of the Peace," sitting at Charlestown. The object of this appeal was to show from records that there was no valid reason for the refusal of the neighboring towns in bearing their share of the expense of rebuilding. The Committee chosen to prosecute the whole matter to its final settlement were Deacon Thomas Willis, Ensign John Bradshaw, and Mr. Ebenezer Brooks.

The appeal of Medford was just, and it was met by " the Court of General Sessions of the Peace," sitting at Charlestown, Feb. 16, 1715, thus : " The Court apportion the charges of rebuilding Mistick Bridge as follows : Charlestown, £64. 14s. ; Woburn, Maiden, Reading, and Medford, each £17. 12s. 3d. ; total, £135. 3s." To this award Woburn, Maiden, and Reading objected, and therefore appealed. The consequence was a legal trial of the case; and Medford, July 11, 1715, passed the following: "Voted to empower Deacon Thomas Willis, Ensign John Bradshaw, and Mr. Ebenezer Brooks, as a Committee to defend the town against any suits in law having reference to the rebuilding of Mistic Bridge." The decision was in favor of Medford.

When the tract on the south of the river became annexed to Medford from Charlestown in 1754, the town says : "April 30, 1754 : The southerly half of Mistic Bridge, and the causey adjoining, by a resolve of the General Assembly, is now within the limits of Medford." "May 8, 1754: Samuel Brooks, Esq., Lieut. Stephen Hall, jun., and Jos. Tufts, were chosen a Committee to manage the affairs relating to the southerly half of the Mistic Bridge, and the causey adjoining thereto."

The increase of travel over this bridge rendered it liable to frequent repairs, and Medford became sole owner of it. The annexation, in 1754, of that part of Charlestown which lies near the south bank of Mystic River, released that town from all obligations connected with the " Great Bridge," as it was called. Accordingly, July 25, 1757, we find the follow ing record: "Voted, that Samuel Brooks. Esq., Stephen Hall, Esq., and Capt. Caleb Brooks, be a Committee to agree with suitable persons to rebuild the south side of Medford great bridge with wood or stone ; and that said Committee empower persons to wharf out on each side of said bridge."

May 13, 1761: "Voted to treat with Woburn, Reading, and Maiden, concerning Medford Bridge, and acquit any of them that shall comply from all further charge ; and also to treat with the General Court, if there be reason."

Woburn, as we have seen, always contended most stoutly, but ineffectually, against paying for the support of the bridge, because, as she maintained, her people did not use it. They sometimes went to Boston through Charlestown (now Somerville). So troublesome grew this litigation, that Woburn paid to Medford a certain sum to be released from all further liabilities.

The next movement for this important passway, worthy of record, was in 1789, when it was proposed to widen the bridge and pave the market-place. The plan devised for paying the expenses was a common one in that day ; it was by a lottery; and, May 11, the town petitioned the General Court to grant them a lottery for these purposes. Our fathers did not think that such a lottery was doing evil that good may come. The petition was not granted.

April 2, 1804 : On this day, the Committee, chosen at a previous meeting to inquire into the necessity and expediency of building a new bridge, report that it is expedient that a new bridge be built ; and they recommend that it be thirty feet wide, and also that it have a draw. They further say it should have " four piers of white oak timber of seven spoils each ; the two outside piers to be set twenty feet from each other. To have an arch in the centre of twenty-six feet in the clear, and a draw the width of the arch." There were two hundred and eighty dollars afterwards subscribed by private persons, as a donation, to help forward the work. The estimated expense, without a draw, was one thousand dollars. This proposition was received with favor ; and the increasing business on the river required this width, and also a draw ; but it was not immediately adopted. Various plans for meeting the expenses of the draw were proposed, but without much success, till a resolution was taken by the town, in 1808, to do the whole thoroughly. It was done ; and a toll of twelve and a half cents was charged upon every vessel that passed the draw. The next year, May 20, 1809, we find the following vote : " Mr. Timothy Dexter to demand of

This bridge answered all its intended purposes till 1829, when the question of building a new draw came up. The matter was referred to a Committee, who report, May 4, as follows : " That the town is under no legal obligation to make or maintain a drawbridge, but may build without a draw, as heretofore." Nevertheless, the final result was a vote to build a new bridge, with a draw. It was so built, accordingly; but the draw was so narrow that, in 1834, the town voted to widen the draw, whenever the selectmen shall judge proper. This was done. The idea that ships could be built above the bridge became common ; and, as ships of the largest size became fashionable, it was found that the draw was not sufficiently wide to allow the transit of one then on the stocks. The petition for widening was granted ; and, in 1852, it assumed the form it now wears. This bridge, among the earliest in the country, and among the most important in the Colony, has had an eventful history. Seldom, if ever, has there been so much legislation in the General Court about seventy -five feet of bridge ; and, certainly, no town has talked and voted and petitioned and litigated so much about such a matter. It was part of a great thoroughfare, and was second to none in importance to all travellers, from the east and north, who were going to Boston. For one hundred and fifty years, it was on the nearest land-route for all the travel of Maine and New Hampshire ; and, within the memory of some now living, the farmers of New Hampshire, who brought large loads of pork and grain in pungs to Boston, passed over that bridge in companies of five, ten, fifteen, and twenty within the months of January and February. Perhaps the strangest fact connected with it is, that it is still the only bridge for common highway travel now (1855) across the Mystic River in Medford ! That another bridge, for free public travel, is imperiously demanded by the growing wants of the town, is generally acceded ; and probably such a bridge will soon be built.

The other bridges of the town were of minor moment ; though that at the Wear cost the town much money, and some trouble. March 6, 1699 : " Put to vote, whether the town of Medford will give Mr. John Johnson three pounds towards the building a sufficient horse-bridge over the Wears ; said bridge being railed on each side, and the said bridge raised so high as there may be a fit passage under said bridge for boats and rafts up and down said river. This was voted in the affirmative." This is the first mention of a bridge of this kind at the Wear. The dwellers in the western parts of Charlestown and Cambridge came so often to Medford that they petitioned for the erectiqn of a bridge " at the Wears." As Medford would be obliged to pay for half of it, a protest by the town was made against the proceeding, and the two arguments used were, first, that the ford was sufficiently easy and convenient ; and, second, that Medford people never, or seldom, travelled that way. The building was deferred ; but, in 1722, the grand jury present the town of Medford for not maintaining a bridge across the Wears. Aug. 17, the town "put to vote whether the town will choose a Committee to answer a presentment by the grand jury of the want of a bridge over the Wear ; said answer to be made at Concord Court next. Voted in the affirmative."

The next important action of the town was May 29, 1746. They petition Gov. Shirley and the General Court to order a bridge built over the Wears, and then apportion the expense upon the towns that would most use it ; or on Middlesex County. The just decision of the Court was, that Medford and Charlestown should build a bridge, and each pay half the expenses and keep it in repair. August, 1747 : The General Court " order that Samuel Danforth, William Brattle, and Edmund Trowbridge, Esquires, be a Committee of said Court, empowered and directed to cause a good and sufficient bridge to be erected over the place called the Wears, between Charlestown and Medford ; one-half of the charge to be paid by the town of Charlestown, and the other half by the town of Medford." Nov. 4, 1747: Andrew Hall, Ebenezer Brooks, and Francis Whitmore, jnn., were appointed a Committee to build one-half of the bridge. £200 (old tenor) was raised to pay for it. May 12, 1760, the selectmen were chosen to divide this bridge with the town of Charlestown. Ever since that time, the two towns have kept it in good repair ; and, recently, it has been rebuilt, and is now wide and strong. Its support devolves on Medford and West Cambridge.

" Gravelly Bridge," so called, was first built by Mr. Cradock's men probably, and was the usual route for all the travel between the east and west parts of the town. It was very low, narrow, and slender at first, and received frequent repairs. April 27, 1716, "put to vote whether Dea. Thomas Willis, John Whitmore, Jonathan Tufts, Ebenezer Brooks, and John Willis, shall view and consider what method may be most proper for the repairing of Gravelly Bridge, and what may be the cost thereof, and make report to said town at their next town-meeting. Voted in the«niirmative." June 11, 1716: Voted " £5 to be raised for the repairing their meeting-house and mending Gravelly Bridge."

The bridge over Gravelly Creek, in Ship Street, was built by a few Medford persons, in 1746, for the purpose of making a road to the tide-mill.

March 4, 1751 : Voted to build a new bridge of stone where the present Gravelly Bridge is. This continued till recently, when a new one, built of stone, has been widened so as to cover the entire street.

The bridge over Marble Brook, in West Medford (called " Meeting-house Brook " in later times), was made of wood at first, and so continued for more than a century ; it was then built of stone, in 1803, and so continued till 1850, when it was rebuilt of stone, and made as wide as the street. The same remarks belong to the small bridge, called " Whitmore's Bridge," farther west, and near the Lowell Railroad Station in West Medford.

There is one feature connected with each of the four bridges, herein described, which is worth a passing notice. It is this. These bridges were only half the width of the road, and thus allowed fording ways at their sides. It was formerly the custom for those travelling with horses or driving cattle to let their horses and cattle pass through the brook, and drink. The multiplication of wells, in public squares and frequented places, has helped to change the old habits ; and now, generally, these " watering-places " are covered.

The bridge at Penny Ferry (Maiden) was opened for travel, Sept. 28, 1787 ; and President Washington rode over it in October, 1789, when he visited Salem. At that time, he came to Medford to see his friend, General Brooks, who lived in the first house west of the meeting-house. Medford opposed the building of the bridge on two grounds : first, that it would encumber navigation ; and, second, that it would divert travel from Medford. March 4, 1802, the town chose a Committee to compel the proprietors of Maiden Bridge to build the piers, next the draw, required by their act of incorporation.

To show how general and how sharp was the opposition to the erection of Mitlden Bridge, we will quote from a letter of the Pastor of Medford to his friend in Charlestown, dated Monday, June 26, 1786 : -

" Almost ever since I saw you, I have been so agitated about that execrable bridge at Penny Ferry, that law and divinity have both been obliged to stand by, whilst I bave rallied all my powers to tight the bridge-builders. And still the combat is not over. The people are bridge-mad. Old Judge R. is in a perfect frenzy, and raves about Charlestown and bridges with as little reason as the wildest lunatic in the defence of his imagined crown and sceptre. I do think it unpardonable in him and in the other inhabitants of Charlestown, who are abettors in this business. After the danger and terror they were all in, from the apprehension of a bridge at Leechmere's Point, and the assistance which they received from this town in making their escape, - for them, so immediately to turn upon us and appear so zealous for the destruction of Medford, is a conduct so base and ungenerous as nothing can palliate. 1 shall be tempted, when I preach to them again, to take total depravity for my subject, though that be a doctrine of which I had begun to doubt till I had this recent proof of it.

" Last Saturday week passes among them for the Great Day. I felt but little disposed to see the transactions of it, and believe I should not have gone had I been invited. But neither I, nor any of my people, except Father C, came to that honor. I may say, as Nathan the Prophet did to David, with reference to Adonijah's feast, ' But me, even me, thy servant, &c, they have not called.' I am told that their preacher, the sabbath after, gave them an occasional sermon. My informer (one of my own people, you'll sup- - pose) could not tell the text ; but added, that, in his opinion, the most suitable one would have been these words: 'And the devils entered the herd of swine, and the whole herd ran violently down a steep place,' &c.

" The Charlestown Bridge is indeed a grand and noble affair, beyond any thing ever effected in this country before. The only thing that I much regret about it is, that it has deprived so many, both wise men and fools, of their reason, and set them raving. Judge R., and his connections, are the wise men ; S., and the Maiden gang, are the fools. As for the Maiden miserables, they were never awake till the talk about this bridge put them in motion, like men who walk in their sleep. They now leave their corn unhoed, and their grass not cut, to carry petitions to Court for a bridge, which, if built, rather than pay two coppers toll, for going over it, they would choose to come round by Medford. But the distracted creatures think, that, if there should be a bridge, they shall at once commence a seaport town, have still-houses, stores, and what not. And in consequence of this wretched delusion, and that neglect of business among them, which it occasions, their families next winter will have no bread, and their cattle no hay. It will be a deed, not of charity, but of indispensable justice, in Judge R. to provide for the support of the poor ignoramuses; since it is owing to his superannuated whims that their brains have been turned. As for the old Judge himself, I told him, the other day, that, if he had gone to a ' better country ' some weeks since, it might have been well for him ; but, whether he would ever get there now, there was too much reason to fear, as he had of late so greatly and egregiously missed the way. His delirium is so great that it is not possible to reason with him. When my people tell him that the proposed bridge will ruin them, he answers all their objections with ' Well, come and live at Charlestown then.' W. H. says, that, ' were it possible, the judge would try to persuade the saints in heaven to come down and live in Charlestown.' Indeed, the Charlestown people in general, since the bridge is done, are so very high, that I know not whether they will not think it proper to add another story to their houses ! Knowing how a-tiptoe they were when I went down last week, though I could not very well afford to pay the toll for my carriage, yet, rather than stop among them, I chose to ride directly into Boston. Like all other religious and political enthusiasts, their heat will abate in time ; they will gradually recover their senses, and become like other men. And, if the bridge should stand seven years (of which, by the way, I have still my doubts), by the expiration of that period the inhabitants of Charlestown will get their eyes open, and will see that it would have been more for their interest if it had never been built. This town feels the ill effects of it already in another respect besides the stir it has occasioned for a bridge at Penny Ferry. A trader, from the country, who, previous to the bridge, had all his goods brought up here in our lighters, did last week send five teams by us into Boston, there to unload and load again. And, if the country traders generally do so, our boatmen will lose a profitable part of their business. But this does not give us much concern, provided we can prevent the bridge at Penny Ferry. I scribbled a very long letter to Judge Phillips upon this subject last week ; and he told me to-day that it is circulating among the members of the Court. I have kept a copy, and will send it to you in a few days. At present, I may possibly want it to show to some whom I may perhaps wish to influence by it. If the facts which I have produced do not carry conviction, and overwhelm these bridge-builders with confusion, I shall think that all the world is mad ; and that I and my people, with the few who have hitherto joined us, remain the only sober and rational part of this lower creation."

May 4, 1801: "Voted, that the selectmen, with Benj. Hall, Esq., and John Brooks, Esq., be a Committee to attend at the General Court on the first Tuesday of the next session, to prevent, if possible, the erection of another bridge across Mystic River." Nevertheless, Chelsea Bridge was built in 180-4. The town directed the selectmen to petition the General Court to have the bridges over Mystic River widened ; and that no one should be less than forty-six feet in width.

March 12, 1713: John Clark & Co. petition for a bridge across Charles River. Many in Medford strenuously opposed it ; and the wits had some playful ridicule of the project. The press, in 1714, has the following: "One great thing proposed hath been the building of a bridge over Charles River, and that it would be a service to us. This I look at to be next to building castles in the air. For, if we could sink forty or fifty thousand pounds in building such a bridge, the matter is uncertain whether it would answer the end ; for, « I can't learn of a fast bridge, over such a river, where there is such a stream, in the whole world."

"When or where the Indians first appeared, ethnologists do not inform us. They have always awakened a strange and poetic interest, and have called out a deep and Christian sympathy. They who connected themselves with the first settlers of Medford, and continued their alliance through so ma,ny years, were too numerous and influential to be omitted in this history.

Two large and powerful tribes held sway in this region when our fathers landed ; the Massachusetts and the Pawtuckets. Their chief enemies were the Tarratines, on the Penobscot, who, at harvest, would come in their canoes, and reap the fields in this neighborhood. One hundred of them attacked Sagamores John and James, Aug. 8, 1631, by night, and wounded them and killed seven men. The renowned Sachem of the Pawtuckets was Nanepashemit, who removed from Lynn, 1615, and took up his abode on Mystic River, where he was killed in 1619. During his short and eventful residence in Medford, his house was placed on "Rock Hill," where he could best watch canoes in the river. Winslow gives the following account : -

"On the morrow (Sept. 21, 1621), we went ashore, all but two men, and marched in arms up in the country. Having gone three miles, we came to a place where corn had been newly gathered, a house pulled down, and the people gone. A mile from hence, Nanepashemit, their king, in his lifetime, had lived. His house was not like others ; but a scaffold was largely built, with poles and planks, some six foot from the ground, and the house upon that, being situated on the top of a hill. Not far from hence, in a bottom, we came to a fort, built by their deceased king ; the manner thus : There were poles, some thirty or forty feet long, stuck in the ground as 'thick as they could be set, one by another ; and with them they enclosed a ring some forty or fifty feet over ; a trench, breast-high, was digged on each side ; one way there was to go into it with a bridge. In the midst of this palisado, stood the frame of a house, wherein, being dead, he lay buried. About a mile from hence, we came to such another, but seated on the top of a hill. Here Nanepashemit was killed, none dwelling in it since the time of his death."

The histories represent him. living in Medford, not far from the river, not far from the pond, and on the tops of hills. This eminent Grand Sachem was the father of Sagamore John of Mystick, Sagamore James of Lynn, and Sagamore George of Salem. George finally became Sachem of the Pawtucketts.

After the death of Nanepashemit, his wife, as Queen and Squa Sachem, reigned. She married Webcowit, the physician of the tribe, "its powwow, priest, witch, sorcerer, and chirurgeon." In 1637, the Squa Sachem deeded a tract of land in Musketaquid (Concord). In 1639, she deeded a tract to Charlestown (now Somerville) ; also another tract to Jotham Gibbon, of Boston. This last deed is as follows : -

" This testifies that I, the Sachem, which have right and possession of the ground which I reserved from Charlestown and Cambridge, which lies against the Ponds of Misticke with the said ponds, I do freely give to Jotham Gibbon, his heyres, executors, and assigns for ever ; not willing to have him or his disturbed in the said gift after my death. And this I do without seeking too of him or any of his, but I receiving many kindnesses of them, and willing to acknowledge their many kindnesses by this small gift to their son, Jotham Gibons.

Aug. 1, 1637: "Squa Sachem and "Webber Cowet did acknowledge in Court, that they had received of Mr. Gibbins, for the town of Charlestown, 36s. for the land between Charlestown and Wenotomies River, which they acknowledge themselves to be satisfied for."

"The 15th of the 2d mo., 1639: Wee, Web-Cowet and Squa Sachem, do sell unto the inhabitants of the towne of Charlestowne all the land within the line granted them by the Court (excepting the farmes and the ground on the west of the two great ponds, called Misticke Ponds), from the south side of Mr. Nowell's lott, neere the upper end of the ponds, unto the little runnet that cometh from Capt. Cook's mills, which the Squa reserveth to their use, for her life, for the Indians to plant and hunt upon, and the weare above the ponds they also reserve for the Indians to fish at whiles the Squa liveth; and, after the death of Squa Sachem, she doth leave all her lands, from Mr. Mayhue's house to neere Salem, to the present Governor, Mr. John Winthrop, sen., Mr. Increase Nowell, Mr. John Willson, Mr. Edward Gibons, to dispose of, and all Indians to depart ; and, for sattisfaction from Charlestowne, wee acknowledge to have received, in full sattisfaction, twenty and one coates, ninten fathom of wampom, and three bushels of corn. In witness whereof, we have here unto sett o'r hands, the day and year above named.

"Mr. Francis Norton and Nicholas Davison (Mr. Cradock's agent) do, in the name of the inhabitants of Charlestown, lay claim to the tract of land reserved to Squa Sachem during her lifetime, and which is at present possessed and improved by Thomas Gleison of Charlestown ; this land bounded on the east by Mystic Pond, on the west by Cambridge Common, on the south by the land of Mr. Cooke, on the north formerly in the possession of Mr. Increase Nowell.

" This demand and claim was made in the person of John Fennell and Mr. William Sims, the 25th of March, 1662, at the house of Thomas Gleison.

Sagamore John, whose Indian name was Wonohaquaham, lived in Medford, and probably occupied at times the house of his father. He was friendly to our ancestors ; he gave them permission to settle, and afterwards apprised them of the premeditated assault of the unfriendly Indians. He died in Medford, Dec. 5, 1633. His last hours are thus described in " New England's First Fruits : " -

" Sagamore John, Prince of Massaquesers, was, from our very first landing, more courteous, ingenious, and, to the English, more loving than others of them. He desired to learn and speak our language, and loved to imitate us in our behavior and apparel, and began to hearken after our God and his ways, and would much commend Englishmen and their God, saying (much good men, much good God) and being convinced that our condition and ways were better far than theirs, did resolve and promise to leave the Indians, and come live with us ; but yet, kept down by the fears and scoffs of the Indians, had not power to make good his purpose ; yet went on, not without some trouble of mind and secret plucks of conscience, as the sequel declares ; for, being struck with death, fearfully cried out of himself that he had not come to live with us, to have known our God better. ' But now,' said he, ' I must die, the God of the English is much angry with me, and will destroy me. Ah ! I was afraid of the scoffs of the wicked Indians ; yet my child shall live with the English, and learn to know their God, when I am dead. I will give him to Mr. Wilson : he is much good man, and much love me.' So sent for Mr. Wilson to come to him, and committed his only child to his care, and so died."

The Indians were powerful on this shore ; and Gosnold, who was at Cape Cod in 1602, says " this coast is very full of people." Capt. Smith, who was here in 1614, says it "was well inhabited with many people." Sir Ferdinando Gorges adds, "At our first discovery of those coasts, we found it very populous, the inhabitants stout and warlike." Speaking of the Mattachusetts, Capt. Smith observes, " For their trade and merchandise, to each of their principal families or habitations, they have divers towns and people belonging, and, by their relations and descriptions, more than twenty several habitations. It is the Paradise of all those parts ; for here are many isles planted with corn, groves, mulberries, savage gardens, and good harbors. The seacoast, as you pass, shows you all along large cornfields."

This picture of Indian prosperity was almost wholly effaced by the terrible plague of 1617 and 1618. Morton says of it, "They died on heaps as they lay in their houses ; and the living, that were able to shift for themselves, would run awav and let them die, and let their carcasses lie above the ground without burial. And the bones and skulls upon the several places of their habitations made such a spectacle, that it seemed to me a new-found Golgotha.'*'

Dermer, who was at Cape Cod in 1619, says : "I passed along the coast, where I found some eminent plantations, not long since populous, now utterly void. In another place a remnant remains, but not free from sickness ; their disease the plague."

Rev. Francis Higginson, in 16.-29, speaking of the Sagamores, says : " Their subjects, above twelve years since, were swept away by a great and grievous plague, that was amongst them, so that there are very few left to inhabit the countrv." Gookin says : " I have discoursed with some old Indians, that were then youths (in the time of the plague), who sav that the bodies all over were exceedingly yellow ; describing it by a yellow garment they showed me, both before they died and afterward;. "

It is estimated that, on the arrival of the English, there were about twenty thousand Indians within fifty miles of Plvmouth. Their government was rather patriarchal than monarchical. Several hundreds, united under one head, made a family ; and their head was called Sagamore. TThen several families were united under one head, that head was called Sachem. The territory for many miles round Mystic River was owned and occupied by small tribes or detachments, each having its own head. The land on which we live belonged to Sagamore John. He had a brother James, who was Sagamore at Saugus. Their father bequeathed his sovereigntv in equal proportions to his two sons, as was the common rule. The Sagamores were subordinates to the higher chief. The Xaumkeags owned the territory from ^s orth River, in Salem, to Charles River ; and their numbers were computed at six thousand.

Hubbard says : " Xear the mouth of Charles River, there used to be the general rendezvous of all the Indians, both on the north and south side of the country. It was the seat of the great Sachem, who was much venerated by all the plantations of Indians. At Mistick was the seat of a Sagamore, near adjoining which is a great creek that meets with the mouth of Charles River, and so makes the haven of Boston.''

April or May, A. D. 1630, there was a great design of the Indians, from the Narragansetts, and all round about us to the eastward in all parts, to cut off the English, which John Sagamore (who always loved the English ) revealed to the inhabitants of this town."

Such threats as these induced Mr. Cradock's men to build brick houses which would answer the uses of forts. For this reason, Charlestown this year " erected a small fort on the top of Town Hill ; " the women helped the men to dig and build.

So destructive had been "the plague" (or yellow fever) that Mr. Higginson says, 1629 : " The greatest Sagamores about us cannot make above three hundred men (warriors), and other less Sagamores have not above fifteen subjects, and others near about us but two." Gov. Dudley, in 1631, says : " Upon the river Mistick is situated Sagamore John ; and upon the river Saugus, Sagamore James, his brother. Both these brothers command not above thirty or forty men, for aught I can learn." "We have it from Gov. Winthrop, that in 1633 Sagamores John and James, and most of their people, died of the small pox. Of the subjects of John, thirty were buried in one day by Mr. Maverick. The disease spread to Piscatoqua, where it proved mortal to all the Indians, except two or three.

Thus we learn that the region round Mystic River was " almost wholly deserted." It became a dreaded region, and Indian superstition kept it so ; for Johnson says, " The neighboring Indians did abandon those places for fear of death." A writer of 1632 says the "peninsular," meaning the space between Boston and Medford, "is full of Indians." We apprehend that this statement needs qualification. Thus reduced and disheartened, it was not difficult for our Medford ancestors to govern them. Wisdom, virtue, and valor have a natural right to govern. The strong characters of our fathers carried a magnetic influence to the Indian's heart. He saw that they had intelligence to plan, courage to persevere, and power to execute ; and the natural consequence was submission. But it was not the rule of tyrants on the one hand, nor the subjection of slaves on the other : it was the friendly influence of Christian missionaries among heathen, for whose conversion they labored and prayed. Gov. Cradock writes to his agents here, " Above all, we pray you be careful there be none in our precincts permitted to do any injury (in the least kind) to the heathen people ; and if any offend in that way, let them receive due correction." Our Medford settlers were forbidden to buy lands of the Indians without leave ; and they were forbidden to sell them " strong water." We find the following record, May 9, 1632 : " It is agreed that there shall be a trucking-house appointed in every plantation, whither the Indians may resort to trade, to avoid their coming to several houses." The Indians had great confidence in our fathers ; and nothing was omitted which justice or humanity required. An Indian was murdered in the Old Colony ; and three Englishmen, fairly convicted, were hung for it. Sagamore John complains (March 8, 1631) that two of his wigwams had been burnt by the English. He was immediately paid for them, and went away perfectly satisfied. Eliot's translation of the Sacred Scriptures into .the Indian tongue (1648) was circulated by our fathers among the tribes of this region.

This godlike man speaks of " the Mistick Indians " with affection and respect in a letter, Nov. 13, 1649, and says they were ingenious and good and prayerful, and came often to the place where he preached. They were called " Praying Indians."

August 7, 1632 : " Sagamore John promised against the next year, and so ever after, to fence their corn against all kinds of cattle." " Chickataubott and Sagamore John promised to make satisfaction for whatever wrong that any of their men shall do to any of the English, to their cattle, or any other wares."

March 7, 1644 : By solemn compact, all the Indians in this jurisdiction put themselves under the government and protection of the Massachusetts Colony. The General Court, with true Christian policy, institute special legal tribunals for the trial of their causes. The laws enacted concerning them were wise and tolerant. Among them were these : Titles to land to be purchased at satisfactory prices ; Indians never to be molested ; not allowed fire-arms ; a crime to sell them firearms or ammunition ; intermarriage with them discouraged ; strange Indians to be kept out. Governor Winslow, in a letter, dated May 1, 1676, says: "I think I can clearly say, that the English did not possess one foot of land in this Colony but what was fairly obtained' by honest purchase of the Indian proprietors." Governor Cradock (1629) says: " If any of the savages pretend right of inheritance to all or any part of

Although our Medford ancestors took every precaution to conciliate their copper-colored neighbors, and although hostilities did not commence between the settlers and the natives till Philip's "War, nevertheless the chiefs felt jealous of the whites. Of this there is as little doubt as there is that they sometimes had reason for it. The erection of forts in this plantation, and the placing of palisades about their houses, testify to the apprehensions of our fathers. Is it not natural fro suppose that between the red men and the whites there might be suspicion ? The Indians led lives of hunting and war, and they saw the white men banded together for trade and self-defence. "What so common in a savage breast as suspicion ? The English appeared to the Indians to be dan- , gerous intruders ; and every new act was misconstrued into a premeditated encroachment. Philip's "War (1675), as it brought the great question of supremacy to its crisis, gave form to the feelings of both parties, and settled the terms of future companionship. Six hundred whites were slain, which was one man in every eleven ; six hundred buildings were burned, and twelve towns utterly destroyed. The Indians believed that they were called to fight for their wives and children, their homes and hunting-grounds. They felt themselves to be great, as they knew themselves to be brave. They held themselves to be chieftains of the rivers and the waterfalls, lords of the mountain-pass and the mountain-peak, owners of the illimitable forests, and conquerors of the panther and the bear ; and they felt that all was held by a titledeed, which ran back farther than human dates and parch- . ment registers. For such men, with such a faith, to succumb to foreign intruders they felt to be worse than death.

Philip's army numbered three thousand five hundred ; and our town furnished its quota of men and money to oppose it. Not a soldier nor a penny was furnished by the mother country to protect or aid the whites in that eventful struggle.

To the honor of the first settlers of Medford be it said, that they followed the advice of Mr. Cradock ; and no instance of injustice or oppression towards the Indians can be traced in our history. The town often passed laws touching those who dwelt among them ; but those laws were executed with kindness. There were some here as slaves : for the General Court in early times passed a law that any Indian convicted of crime, or taken in war, should be sold as a slave. The law of 1646 gave them some trouble. It ran thus : " It is ordered and decreed that no Indian shall, at any time, powwow, or perform outward worship of their false gods, or to the devil, in any part of our jurisdiction." Penalty £5. In 1698, there were four thousand one hundred and sixtyeight Indians in Massachusetts ; and there were enough in this neighborhood to keep our fathers wide awake. It was common to go armed to the ploughing field ; and Mac Fingal, in his way, gives us the following history of those times : -

" For once, for fear of Indian beating, Our grandsires bore their guns to meeting ; Each man equipped, on Sunday morn, With psalm-book, shot, and powder-horn ; And looked in form, as all must grant, Like the ancient true church-militant ; Or fierce, like modern deep divines, Who fight with quills, like porcupines."