Needham Town (part 7 of 12)

Mrs. Dunn became librarian, and held that position until April I, 1908, when she was succeeded by Miss Ella R. M'^Dowell. The organization and development of the library was a labor of love with Mr. and Mrs. Dunn, and for many years they rendered important services to the community. From its commencement to October, 1898, the library was in the small hall on the second floor of the Moseley Building, later known as the May Building. When the High Schoolhouse was completed the library occupied two fine, large east rooms on the first floor, and remained there till July, 1908, at which time it was removed to the Town Hall, having the two easterly rooms on the Chapel Street side.

The formal opening of the library In the High School building took place on December 3, 1898, with appropriate exercises. The fine oak furniture, which cost $687.15, was the gift of the Library Building Fund Association, which had been collecting money for some years. Miss Helen M. Knowlton, the artist, loaned the library twenty-five valuable paintings, and several persons presented good pictures, including Francis de M. Dunn, who gave three.

Early in January, 1903, it was announced that Leonard Dawson had secured by correspondence an offer from Andrew Carnegie, D.C.L., to give ten thousand dollars for a library building, and the town accepted this gift on March 2. After a spirited contest it was voted to locate the new building in Highlandville on land donated by William Carter, and on March 16 a building committee was chosen consisting of Mr. Dawson, Mr. Carter, Francis de M. Dunn, Charles E. Stanwood, Robert B. Walker, James F. Ryan, Henry T. Chllds, George K. Clarke and William Gorse. The first sod was removed on the site by Samuel Hudson on June 5, 1903, when there were appropriate exercises, including addresses by several officials, and singing. There was another large attendance of the citizens, and similar exercises, on August 20, when Mrs. Jane G. A. Carter laid the corner-stone. The keys were Informally handed over to the selectmen on April 6, 1904, and on June 18 the dedication exercises were held in the town hall with addresses by Lieutenant-Governor Curtis Guild, Jr., and by the Honorable Samuel L. Powers, member of Congress from this district. An excellent portrait of the venerable Samuel Hudson was then presented to the library by his son. At other times Mr. Carter gave the granolithic walks, Thomas G. Lester presented the historical tablet, and Selectman Joseph B. Thorpe gave the fountain for drinking water. The cost of the building with its furnishings was upward of $13,000, including $440 donated by citizens, and the expense of grading, and other outside work, made the total about $14,000. The town reports for 1903 and 1904 contain full particulars as to this building. The contractors were Fissell & Wagner, and the architect was Albert Randolph Ross of New York City, Walter L. Parks assisting him.

For years it has been the policy of the trustees to obtain annually some books of permanent and increasing value, and there is reason for pride in these volumes, which include a goodly number of fine English works. In 1890 the library contained two thousand and one volumes, and the circulation for that year was ten thousand two hundred and twenty-seven, in 1900 there were approximately six thousand two hundred and seventy-five books, and a circulation of fifteen thousand three hundred and five, in 1910 there were upward of thirteen thousand bound volumes, and the circulation was twenty-eight thousand and sixty-two, not counting twenty-three hundred and ninety-eight magazines and pamphlets.

Catalogues were printed in 1889, in July, 1892, 1895 (included books received from January, 1890 to January, 1895, except those found in the list of 1892), and in 1899. The catalogue of July, 1892, is only of the books added to the library. In 1908 and 1909 a complete card catalogue was prepared, and a printed catalogue for home use was dis- tributed in July, 1909. The total cost of these catalogues exceeded $1200, and was all paid from the regular appropriations. There were twelve hundred copies printed. In 191 1 the older library is open three afternoons and three evenings each week, and the newer one Saturday afternoon and three evenings.

On March 23, 1909, books were sent to the Eliot School for the use of the pupils, the principal. Miss Alice H. Eberhardt, having offered to act as assistant librarian, and this arrangement was continued until the neighboring delivery station was fully established. On September 28, 1909, a delivery station was opened for the service of the public at Mrs. Margaret F. M'^Donald's store, Upper Falls, and books have been sent there each Tuesday, the local circulation rapidly increasing.

In 1909 and 1910 three hundred and forty-five books were received from Miss Helen M. Bean, executrix of George Fellows Bean. When the town was divided Mr. Bean desired to go with Wellesley, but his house was left on the Needham side by a few rods. It is said that he rarely, if ever, visited any of the villages of Needham, and consequently did not vote from 1881 till his death, April 14, 1909. In his last illness his thoughts returned to the old town, and he said that he wished to give his books to its library, but died before he had carried his intention into effect. For years he had been a reader of good literature, and the purchaser of many volumes, some of which remained in their original boxes at the time of his decease. Miss Bean survived her brother but little over two years, and the destination of the rest of Mr. Bean's library is not known to the writer in June, 191 1.

The trustees have been: - Albert Ebur Miller, M.D., 1888-97 (nine years); chairman 1892-6 (five years). Mrs. Jane Greenough Avery Carter 1888-97 (nine years).

The History Of Needham 379

The first trustees were elected on March 19, 1888. Samuel H. Jones had been president of the Needham Library Association for several years, George K. Clarke its secretary from February 10, 1885, and George W. Southworth was the librarian for a long period, serving for a time also as treasurer.

Upper Falls

In 1688 John Clark of Watertown is said to have built a dam where is now the "Upper" or "Snuff Mill Dam", and in 1782 Thomas Parker constructed one by Turtle Island, about one hundred rods west of the other dam. Both Clark and Parker had sawmills; the later mill, and probably also the earlier one, was on the Newton side. About 1800 Rufus Ellis, who was the leader in industrial enterprises at the Upper Falls, completed a more permanent dam, and erected on the island the buildings of the Newton Iron Works Company, of which he was agent in 1799, but later sole owner under the name of Rufus Ellis & Co. In 18 14 Mr. Ellis built a cotton-factory on the Needham side, and equipped it with three thousand spindles for weaving sheetings, and in 1823 he formed the Newton Factories Company, which included this cotton-mill.^ By 1833 Rufus Ellis and David Ellis were the sole proprietors of the Newton Factories Company, and some years the Needham mill was taxed to Rufus Ellis only. The cotton-mill was leased in 1840 to Milton H. Sanford of Medway, who was to make Osnaburghs for the Southern market, but in 1844 Barney L. White became the lessee, and made improvements, including new wheels, and replaced the machinery for the manufacture of sheetings. In 1848 Salmon S. Hewitt leased

' In 1815 George Bird was taxed for "Ellis Paper Mill " located in East Needham, apparently at the Upper Falls, but this mill has not been identified. The wood used in the construction of the cotton-mill in 1814 is said to have been purchased at auction in Boston, and was originally taken on a prize captured at sea during the War of 1812.

The History Of Needham 381

the mill, which on May 8, 1850, w^s entirely destroyed by fire, and never rebuilt. At the division of the town the water-privilege and the stone storehouse were still owned by the heirs of David Ellis, to whom the property had been taxed in 1850. After the fire Mr. Ellis erected a nail-factory on the site of the cotton-mill, but it was operated only some six years, and was later changed to a grist-mill, and burned in 1873.

Many residents of Needham were employed in the mills on the Newton side, and in the thirties the Elliot Manufacturing Company conducted a savings department for its employees, and some of the Needham girls thus accumulated money for their wedding outfits. In 1840 the plant was sold to Otis Pettee, although his title did not become complete until 1845, and the depositors were paid in full, and their accounts closed. In 1889 there were perhaps seventy-five of these pass books in the attic of the late George H. Kuhn, treasurer of the Elliot Manufacturing Company from 1832 to 1845, who also had the books of the company. The first pass books were of twelve leaves, ruled for cash but not lined, the covers of a reddish tint and grained, and the dimensions six and five eighths inches by four and one eighth inches. Later pass books were both ruled up and down, and lined horizontally. These books contained eight leaves each, with grained covers of a brownish tint, and the dimensions were five and five eighths inches by three and six eighths inches. A third style of pass book was like the second except that there were fourteen leaves, with pinkish covers, and the books measured four and six eighths inches by three and one quarter inches. The paper of all of these books was of a quality to last. Of the few books preserved 52 is the highest number; Elmina Hale's number was 51, and Eliza BuUough of Needham was a depositor in 1840. Most of the deposits did not exceed $y$, but some were over $100, and Jason Morse, whose book was numbered 13, had $542.21 to his credit. High rates of interest were allowed. These details are given to illustrate the efforts of this company to encourage thrift and because the apparent success of this early system of saving may be of interest.

Lower Falls

The First Mill at the Upper Dam was owned in 1825 by Amos Lyon, later Amos Lyon & Co., who had purchased it from the estate of Ephraim Jackson, Jr. This papermill was the one nearest to the Upper Dam, and was burned on May 19, 1834, together with the machine-shop of Ware & Clark, which was close to it on the east. The paper-mill was rebuilt, but the business was not successful, and about 1843 it was bought by Nathaniel Wales, Jr., & Co., later the firm of Wales & Mills, William Mills being the junior partner. There was a fire at their stockhouse on June 11, 1843, but how serious it was does not appear. For ten years Wales & Mills made paper at this mill, and then sold the plant to Thomas Rice, Jr., and until the death of his son Frederick W., which occurred after the division of the town, it was one of the mills of the Thomas Rice Paper Company. The mill was burned in 1869, or 1870, rebuilt, and was again destroyed by fire in 1894, when owned by Robert Bishop, who was then erecting a large plant on the site of the Second Mill, intending to make the cotton and paper material that is placed under carpets.

The Second Mill At The Lower Falls

^ In 1 8 15 Moses Grant, Jr., was assessed in Needham for a paper-mill formerly owned by Ephraim Jackson, but whether the First or the Second Mill is not clear.

The History Of Needham 383

and William Hurd, "Papermakers", both of Newton, bought of William Parker, a Boston merchant, the papermill which he had acquired the year before from Ephraim Jackson, with the exception of one building that had been consumed by fire. The purchase included all rights in the dam and "Flooms", as well as the wheels and other machinery. In 1 8 16 an agreement as to water-rights was made, and Simon Elliot and Solomon Curtis then represented two thirds of a paper-mill and of a sawmill on the Needham side, and Hurd and Bemis the other third. The paper and fuUing-mills were to have the first right, and the sawmill the fourth right. In 1822 Isaac Stevens, John Clark and Rufus Ellis, all of Boston, sold for $1000 to John Nichols and George Hooker, both of Newton, "Paper makers", a water-privilege and buildings in Needham, and soon after Mr. Hooker conveyed his interest to Allen C. and William Curtis. The same year Allen C. Curtis, William Curtis, John Nichols, all of Newton, "Paper Makers", and Rufus Ellis of Boston sold to John Dodd of Boston, one and one half acres at the Upper Dam in Needham, with paper-mill, flumes, dam rights and two engines. The deed stated that by the agreement of 18 16 theirs was the first of the six "Paper Mill rights", and named the four parties to the said agreement as follows :

1st, Simon Elliot and Solomon Curtis, 2d, Moses Grant, 3d, William Hurd and Charles Bemis, 4th, John Ware. The deed also reserves the water-rights conveyed to Amos Lyon, which were to run his mill. Mr. Dodd sold this property to Harris H. Wolcott and Lorenzo D. Willis in 1828, and in a short time they transferred it to Henry D. Wolcott. Alexander H. Twombly, a creditor of Messrs. Wolcott and Willis, acquired the property in 1830, which then included also a nail-factory, and the next year sold it to William Hurd and Lemuel Crehore. In 1834 Mr. Crehore conveyed his undivided half to Mr. Hurd, who for a dozen years carried on the manufacture of paper. Jones & Rice were the owners in 1848, then Mr. Bolt took the place of Mr. Jonesj and he was soon succeeded by Moses Garfield, who was in business with Charles Rice, Jr., until 1863, when Mr. Garfield bought out Mr. Rice, and for about four years continued alone. Mr. Garfield sold the mill to Thomas Rice, and it became one of the mills of the Thomas Rice Paper Company. For forty years the Rice mills made the paper for the Boston Evening Transcript. In the early years these mills produced about one ton of newspaper per day, having each a sixty- two-inch forming machine, four beating machines, and fifty horse-power. Thomas Rice paid $16,500 for the Wales & Mills plant and $22,000 for the mill long known as the Garfield mill. In 1868 the water-privileges were each assessed at $5000. The Honorable Thomas Rice was born in that part of Needham now Wellesley Hills. The Second Mill was taken down about 1893 by Robert Bishop.

The Machine-shop, once an important industry, employing one hundred men, dates from 1832, when Reuben Ware and William Clark erected the building which was burned in 1834. Ill 1846 the shop, which had been rebuilt, came into the possession of Joseph Stowe, and in 1850 Henry P. Eaton, Rufus Moulton and Harvey Eaton bought it; the latter died in 1852, and the shop was again burned in 1853 and rebuilt. In 1854 Mr. Jordan joined with Messrs. Eaton and Moulton, and in 1855 the firm was Eaton, Moulton & Jordan, but the latter soon retired, and for years Eaton & Moulton were the only proprietors, until Adam Beck became their partner in 1858. Mr. Beck was the sole owner in 1876, and continued the business to his death in 1905, although two of the buildings had been made into tenements. From i860 to 1862 the machine-shop appears to have been taxed to Lemuel Crehore, who long had interests on both sides of the river.

The History Of Needham 385

to Peter Lyon, assigning to Mr. Lyon in 1807 a bond obtained in 1799 from Ephraim Jackson to let the water through and to raise the dam to a mark picked on a rock.^ This bond proved to be a personal one and not assignable, and in 1822 Mr. Lyon conveyed the property to William and Adolphus Durant of Newton. In 183 1 William Durant, who had bought out his brother, Adolphus, or "Apolas", as the deed (183 1) called him, sold the mill, "Raghouse", and all of the water-rights and privileges, to John L. Rice of Newton. The land was only one quarter acre, and there was a "coper house" on it. The price is not clear, but the largest mortgage on the property at any time prior to 1840, that of 1825, when the Durants bought the mill, was less than $4000. The same day that he bought the mill Mr. Rice conveyed an undivided half to Luther Crane, who sold it to Thomas Rice in 1835 for $4000.^ John L. Rice died about 1834, and his brother, Thomas, and brother-inlaw, Moses Garfield, took the mill, but the latter withdrew from the firm by 1840, when for a brief time Benjamin F. Martin succeeded him. For twenty years Thomas Rice was the sole owner of this mill, and did an important business until about 1867, when he sold the property to the Dudley Hosiery Company. The Evans Collar Company had occupied the building for a year, or more.

^ In November, 1799, Ephraim Jackson of Needham, "Miller", gave a bond of $2000 to Benjamin Slack, "Clothier ", to "convey water through the said Jacksons damn near his Grist mill into the pond of the above named Benjamin Slacks fulling mill sufficient and for the purpose of carrying a paper mill or any other mill that may be erected near said pond ". Jackson was also "to build or caus'd to be built one half of a new Damn where the fulling mill damn now is" and to permit the fulling-mill "Damn" to be raised. In 1799 Peter Lyon was taxed for a papermill in Needham, in 1802 for one half of Ephraim Jackson's paper-mill, valued at $600, and in subsequent years for a paper-mill without other description. There was once a canal by Walnut Street, further east than that now used, but the mill owners nearer the dam appealed to the Court, and got it closed.

^ This deed granted all of the real estate and the water-privileges conveyed to John L. Rice "and me" since August 10, 183 1, by Benjamin Slack and A. C. & W. Curtis, except what Rice & Crane may have conveyed, meaning all that Rice & Crane had had at the time of Rice's death. Presumably Rice & Crane had expended considerable money on the works, for when Mr. Crane bought the undivided half the consideration was stated to be $800.

William Hoogs is said to have built in 1790 the Second, or Lower, Dam, at the Lower Falls and to have soon after erected a paper-mill on the Newton side, which mill his son William sold in 1809 to Peter Lyon, and it was the predecessor of the mill of Augustus C. Wiswall & Son. The site is now (191 1) included in the Reservation. Apparently before he built this paper-mill Mr. Hoogs had a tannery near the ford below Pratt's Bridge, and presumably on the Newton side. In 1794 Edward Jackson of Newton deeded for £200 "one undivided moiety of y^ stream which runs through y^ s- Land", and a paper-mill, to Francis Wright and Joseph Greene of Boston, "Merchants". The land bounded on the "County Road Bridge", and was the other half of that conveyed by Mr. Jackson to William Hoogs, for £100 on August 5, 1793, and which they in turn had the same day granted to Messrs. Wright and Greene, who executed articles of agreement "to build & erect a set of paper works in Needham". The deed to Wright and Greene from Jackson and Hoogs refers to the "back water dam in the river", and recites "Together with the exclusive right of the stream for the recting of a Paper mill to be owned by the Grantors, together with the Grantees & Stephen Crane of Watertown". The grantees were to have one quarter, and Messrs. Crane, Wright and Greene each one quarter, but Mr. Crane acquired only one eighth, which he sold in 1796 to Messrs. Wright and Greene for $500. There were then buildings on the land, including a paper-mill. Jackson and Hoogs had been allowed £200 on the expense of building as they had furnished the land. In 1809 William Hoogs bought of Mr. Wright four forty eighths, of Russell Sturgis sixteen forty eighths, and of Joseph Greene, or his estate, twenty-one forty eighths for $3333.33, all the interest that these Boston men had in the land and paper-mill. Mr. Hoogs was already the owner of seven forty eighths.

The History Of Needham 387

Apparently Mr. Greene was dead in 1803, when Francis Hoogs discharged the obHgations under a bond for $6423, which WiUiam Hoogs, the elder, who was not living in 1802, had given to Messrs. Wright, Sturgis and Greene in 1800. In 1799 Dea. Francis Wright & Co. were taxed for one half of a paper-mill in West Needham, and their interest was valued at $939, which was doubtless a nominal appraisal. In 181 1 the Hoogs paper-mill was owned by Samuel Brown of Needham, who had been a creditor of Mr. Hoogs. In 1816 Mr. Brown sold it, together with "moulds felts & all other utensials ", for $4000 to Artemas Murdock of Needham, who in 18 18 deeded the property to Charles Rice at a large advance in the consideration.

In 1835 Gen. Charles Rice conveyed this paper-mill on the Needham side, with a dry-house and out-buildings, to Parker H. Pierce of Boston, who had acquired one of the two mortgages then on the property. Joseph Greenwood and Paul Dewing succeeded General Rice, but the latter retired in a few years, and about 1847 Mr. Greenwood sold the plant to Benjamin Farlis, who was from Salem. In 185 1 this mill was owned and operated by Allen C. Curtis, the well-known papermaker, under the firm name of A. C. Curtis & Son, and they sold it during the Civil War to Thurston Priest, who had a paper-mill at Watertown. In 1866 it was taxed to Joseph G. Loring and William B. Newbery of Boston, and for a time Loring & Co. made paper from Esparto grass, but the mill was burned, and the privilege and remaining buildings were bought by Binney & Co., who had a fire in 1868, when the plant was known as Binney's Mill. In 1870 and 1871 the property was assessed to the Boston Belting Company, but was not used by them, and it was sold to Charles Francis of Brookline, who built a mill. As early as 1874 the establishment was owned by Richard T. Sullivan, who erected several buildings on the premises, and for many years he and his representatives have manufactured "shoddy", or carbonized wool there.

In the later decades of the nineteenth century Billings, Clapp & Company had their chemical works where is now the mica plant, which is west of the R. T. Sullivan Company's mill.

In Norfolk County alone there are on record at least one hundred deeds and mortgages affecting these mills at the Lower Falls, and the writer has devoted much time to examining the earlier ones. There were many real estate transactions in the vicinity of the mills by Edward Jackson, and by different individuals who bore the name of Ephraim Jackson, beginning with Colonel Ephraim, the tavernkeeper at the Lower Falls, who died in the army in 1777.

Below the Upper Dam the fall of the water is sixteen feet on the Newton side, and ten on the Needham side, with the exception of a place near the Third Mill, where it is but six feet.

On the brook in the ravine, which is northwest of Saint John's Church, and near the Lower Falls, preliminary steps were taken prior to 1850 to establish an industry, and a dike and a canal were constructed, perhaps also a building. This enterprise was not a success, but as early as 1851 Henry Wood started here the manufacture of mineral paint, and, it is said, began also to make bricks from Portland cement and sand with a mixture of lime, an industry continued by him and his successors for many years, but eventually given up. These paint works were among the few of that kind then existing, but before i860 were burned by an incendiary, it was supposed, and Mr. Wood resumed business on Natick Brook, where an important and extensive manufactory flourishes in the present century, under the control of Mr. Wood's successors, Henry Wood's Sons Company.^

* Its letter-head in 191 1 describes it as "Makers of Fine Colors", and states that its business was "Established 1837 by Henry Wood". The present Henry Wood of this company is a son of Edmund M. Wood.

The History Of Needham 389

When Mr. Wood retired in 1866, his son, Edmund M. Wood, formed a co-partnership with Horace Humphrey, and in the early eighties they made about six tons of paint per day. In 1873 there had been a fire at their paint-shop to which Natick firemen were summoned. At one time they are said to have made utensils from copper and tin plate at their paint-factory.

Edmund M. Wood was connected with various enterprises, including the Middlesex Stone Brick Company, and was the proprietor of the great Waban Conservatories, which are situated on one of the ancient Goodenow farms, in what was Needham Leg. These conservatories are noted abroad, as well as in this country, for the large number of huge greenhouses devoted entirely to roses, and there are few, if any, rose conservatories in the world that rival these in size. Mr. Wood died in Natick in 1901.

After the loss of the paint-shop, and the removal of Mr. Wood, General Charles Rice built there a grist-mill and a planing-mill, which were carried on by his son Charles, who also erected a paint-shop about fifteen feet from the mills. This shop was leased for a number of years to Hanchett & Morse, paintmakers, but the two mills and shop were burned completely; it was thought that the fire was incendiary. Charles Rice, Jr., had a deed of this property from his father about i860, and built the present large shop, which he rented to Farwell & Conant for a silk-factory, and for seven years spool silk was made there. Isaac Farwell removed to Newton, and Mr. Rice subsequently leased the building for various purposes. In 1870 Charles Rice, Jr., was assessed on $2400 for two acres of privilege and a silk-factory.

Longfellow'S Mill

In 1836 Isaac Keyes of Needham sold to Zenas and Luther Crane of Newton, "Papermakers ", one and one quarter acres of land on the Worcester Turnpike, with a paper- mill. Mr. Keyes also granted permission to raise the dam two feet higher, and to flow his land above it. In 1847 Rebekah Crane "of the Village of the Lower Falls in Newton", administratrix of the estate of Zenas Crane, sold an undivided half of this property at auction, and it was bought by Nathan Longfellow for $1100, who at the same time acquired the other half of Luther Crane at the same price. This mill stood at the northwesterly end of Longfellow's Pond, and for years Mr. Longfellow did a fair business there, but the old building was burned in 1870.

On Natick Brook the "Praying Indians" had a sawmill in 1658, but it was destroyed by the white men during King Philip's War, and the saws were taken to Sudbury; the pond was known as "y* sawmill pond". This sawmill on Natick Brook is said to have been the first in Eastern Massachusetts, not including the District of Maine.

The Henry Wood's Sons' paint-works have been referred to. Eighty years since Daniel Morse had his grist-mill on this brook, and earlier Thomas Broad ran a sawmill at or near the same place. Mr. Wood bought the privilege and mill of Mr. Morse.

Within the territory granted to Edward Hawes in 166 1, and formerly called "Hawes Hundred", there was nearly two centuries ago a mill on the stream once known as Hawes Brook, which brook connects Morse's and Nonsuch Ponds. About 1725 this mill came into the possession of the Loker family, who were inhabitants of Needham for several generations. In 183 1 there was a mill on this site, and it is possible that Otis Jennings made paper there in 1834, when he was taxed for paper-mill stock.

For some years before and after the division of the town, James Tucker & Co. had a shoe-factory of considerable size at the corner of Washington and Cottage Streets in Wellesley, but the prevailing sentiment of the people of Wellesley did not favor an industry of that kind, and the factory was purchased by Mr. H. H. Hunnewell and Mrs.

The History Of Needham 391 Mill At Charles River Village

This beautiful and valuable water-privilege has been more often availed of by lessees than by owners. Jesse Lyon, a Mr. Daniell and Moses Grant were early proprietors of a paper-mill here, but were not the first ones, as there was a paper-mill, or mills, in the south part of the town in 1796. From 1826 to 1840 John Welles was taxed for this property, together with the Ambler house, except in 183 1-9, when Josiah Newell, who ran the paper-mill, or his assignees, were the nominal owners. In 1842 and 1843 Barden & Newell were assessed for this mill, and from 1844 to 1846 Benjamin Newell alone. Mr. Newell was for years a paper-manufacturer, but from 1849 to 1852 the plant was owned by Otis Pettee.

Christopher Hancks was designated in deeds as a "Papermaker" from 1 8 16 to 1835, and Benjamin Newell was succeeded by Hancks & Hagar, and they, prior to the Civil War, by Goss & Russell, who were lessees from H. H. Hunnewell and others, trustees. Apparently William L. Ward purchased this mill about 1862, and made shoddy. He was soon followed by Porter & Lancey, in whose time the mill was burned, together with a small house erected within the mill-grounds by Mr. Ward. All of the foregoing made coarse wrapping paper, but William Hill & Son, who had a small paper-mill on the Dover side, bought from the mortgagees the privilege on the Needham side, built a mill there and made Manilla paper in the early seventies. In 1877 Eugene H. Sampson had acquired the plant, and named it the Waban Mills. He made leather-board for ten years, when he sold out to Edwin Hill, who expended $15,000 for an equipment to make bookpaper, including a Fourdrinier machine eighty feet long. After six years the cost of freight on the wood used for pulp led Mr. Hill and his sons to retire from the business, and in 1892 Frank H. Brown purchased the property of Mr. Hill. In 1893 the mill was burned, and for some years Mr. Brown gradually replaced the buildings intending to make paper.

Dr. Noyes noted in his diary "Building the Dam C. River", September 2, 1828, and "Breach made in Dam at Dover Iron Works", September 23, 1832.

More than a century ago supplying poles for barrelhoops and faggots for the bakers of Roxbury and Boston formed such a considerable industry in Needham that the faggots came to be known as Needham Currency, and, judging by some old accounts, were bartered for goods. New England rum representing an undue per cent of the trade. The manufacture of glue was introduced into Needham by Robert Evans, who lived on the O'Neil place, at the corner of Rosemary Street, near Nehoiden Street. He had as apprentices John Mills and Allen Fisher, and did not intend that they should learn the whole process of making glue, but they did acquire the knowledge, owing to certain complications, and Mr. Mills became a successful manufacturer on a larger scale than Mr. Evans, whose shop was also his dwelling. Mr. Mills for many years made glue in his shops on Great Plain Avenue, nearly opposite the old Mills place, and acquired a fortune. His brother, Matthias, had shops in the rear of his house on Central Avenue, and later purchased John's and made glue in them until into the seventies. In 1872 four nephews of John and Matthias Mills, associating with them for a few months their brother-in-law, Timothy Otis Fuller, built two shops a short distance west of the older ones, and for several years manufactured glue. They found, however, that the conditions had changed from the older time, and that there was great difficulty in getting the stock, which once was abundant and cost but little more than the expense of transporting It a few miles; moreover competition with large concerns was ruinous. The business Involved nightwork, which did not add to Its attractions. Galen Orr and his brother Thomas made glue In shops off of Great Plain Avenue, about half a mile west from the railroad track, and Nathan M<=Intosh produced some on the premises where his home was. Lemuel Kingsbury had glue shops on Great Plain Avenue, about half a mile east of the railroad, and Otis and J. Willard Morton had a glue plant north of Rosemary Street, and not far from the railroad, but the best days of these glue industries were prior to the Civil War, and few of them survived to 1870, although the shops remained for many years. The glue shops were all in East Needham, and that part of the town was also engaged in the manufacture of hats, and in 1831 there were three small hat-factories, - Lemuel Lyon's was about where the boiler rooms of the Lower Mill of the William Carter Company are now. William G. Jones had a hatshop on Central Avenue, and between the Lyon houses on Greendale Avenue, near Lyon's Bridge, was the hatshop of Joshua B. Lyon. Hats, however, do not appear to have been made In Needham much after 1850, although William Bennett is designated as a hatter in 1853. Apparently Mr. Jones's place of business was in the old "Bake Shop", which was built by Rufus Mills In the thirties. Mr. Mills was a baker but a short time, and the building was for many years a dwelling.

About 1830 Michael M'^Intosh bought the property where the hinge-factory Is. The dam was then known as the Amos Fuller Dam, and there was a dilapidated sawmill, which Mr. Mcintosh ran for two winters, and did a considerable business, as the accumulation of logs and lumber on the premises testified. He paid the Rev. William Ritchie $500 for this water-privilege and land, rebuilt the dam in a substantial manner, put in a flume, and blasted a ledge for the pit and raceway, which was for a twelve-foot waterwheel, with six buckets. He also had another wheel "in the same race way 40 feet with two feet buckets these two wheels, and steam engine were burnt with the buildings". There was a fall of about twenty feet where the first wheel was. Mr. M'^Intosh, who was a skilful machinist, blacksmith, moulder, pattern-maker and inventor, had previously had a shop on Great Plain Avenue, west of the residence of the late George C. Mcintosh, where he carried on the business of a country blacksmith, besides making blind-hinges. The need of motive power led him to purchase the water-privilege, and after he moved to his new site his business rapidly increased, requiring additions to the plant until there were nine roofs. He continued to make hinges and fastenings, and also had a sash and blind-shop, which stood where the west end of the present hinge-factory is, but was much larger, and was equipped with the most improved machinery valued at $5000. Here for some years an average of four hundred sashes per day were made, except in the warm weather, and one year Mr. M'-Intosh had a contract to furnish the sashes and blinds for one hundred brick houses that were built in Boston. Mr. Joseph Fisher, a brother-in-law of Mrs. Josiah Noyes, was Mr. M'-Intosh's principal man, and was a first-rate mechanic who could make machinery. In 1840 [1841.''] the entire property was destroyed by fire, and no insurance was received because of the introduction of a steam-boiler without permission. There was certainly a fire at Michael Mcintosh's mill in 1841, as on November 29 of that year a selectmen's order was drawn to pay $2.97 for refreshments supplied to the firemen on that occasion. Edward A. Mills remembers seeing the firemen from the Upper Falls hastening to this fire, and says he was much impressed by their red shirts. Mr. Henry Michael Mcintosh, who was eighty years old in 1907, when he furnished the foregoing information as to his father's business career, stated that he did not remember when the new dam was built, but did "recollect some gravel was added to the dam and a new sluice way was made at the east end of the pond to carry off the excess of water. It used to be so that all the water could be drawn out of the pond and leaving but the brook, but some water was always left on account of the fish". Michael M'=Intosh owned the Kingsbury-Rollins place, and had in all about sixty acres bordering on the ponds. His son said that the ponds were very high in certain seasons, and flowage damages had to be considered then, as in Mr. Orr's time. "The small pond next to the hinge factory is not as wide as it was". "On Father's side he filled up and made a wall to the water line, and made a garden of that part. Previous to 1840 Mr. Luther Morse's blacksmith's shop stood mostly on piles over the end of the South corner of the small pond up to the road. On the opposite side of the road from Mr. Morse's shop was the large pond, and there were no buildings, the space of land between road and water belonged to Father; it was land east side, water west side, and he bought the land of Mr. Ritchie so as not to pay flowing damages". (Letter of Henry M. Mcintosh of September 26, 1907.) Mr. M'^Intosh also sent to the writer an interesting plan he drew of his father's manufactory, including the immediate vicinity. He died March 13, 1908, aged eighty years, seven months and fifteen days. The sash and blind-shop, which was taller than the present building, was plainly seen from Nehoiden Street, but the other portions of the plant were farther to the east and north, and were conspicuous from Rosemary Street. About 1836 Mr. Mcintosh had located a grist-mill at the Amos Fuller Dam, and had obtained large granite mill-stones from Salem, but lack of water led him to abandon this business. About 1835 he had petitioned the General Court for permission to build a reservoir between the hills, southeast of the George C. Mcintosh ice-pond, and to draw water from Pine Swamp for his mill-pond by means of a ditch, which was to run nearly parallel with Great Plain Avenue, and to cross the road near where the Daniel Kingsbury barn stood. He stated that this would lower the water about six feet in the swamp, and redeem many acres of land, but the opposition of the mill-owners on Charles River was fatal, and Mr. Mcintosh had leave to withdraw his petition.

The blacksmith's shop, referred to by Mr. H. M. M-'Intosh, was moved to the south side of the road, and about 1837 Isaac H. Greenwood built another shop adjoining the Luther Morse shop on the south. For many years Mr. Greenwood followed his calling as a blacksmith on this site, and in the early seventies John H. Fitzgerald became his associate, and later his successor, remaining in the old shop until about 1900, when he removed to a larger establishment on Chapel Street, Mr. Fitzgerald took down the Morse shop many years ago, and the Greenwood shop in 1906.

In 1844 Galen Orr acquired the Mcintosh water-power, together with five acres of land, with buildings thereon, extending to the junction of Nehoiden and Rosemary Streets, and also two acres on the other side of Nehoiden Street, opposite the larger parcel. He built some shops, and for many years carried on a successful business as a manufacturer of blind-hinges and fastenings. In 1872 he associated with him his son-in-law, Edgar H. Bowers, under the firm name of Galen Orr & Co. Mr. Orr died in 1881, and Mr. Bowers has continued the industry. Mr. Orr was one of the most enterprising citizens of Needham, and in his youth had learned the business, or trade, of a nailmaker, working, it is said, in the nail-factory at Charles River Village. From 1839 to 1844 he made hinges on forges, at home, on Central Avenue in the house which he sold to the Rev. Mr. Maynard in 1844. Atone time Mr. Orr had a grocery store in the Nehoiden Block, then sometimes called the Revere Block, as it was built by Mr. Revere in 1844, and owned by him for twenty-five years.

The History Of Needham 397

Lemuel Lyon built the dam at the northwest end of Rosemary Pond, which owes its origin to this dam, and to excavations made by Mr. Lyon, who for a year employed John O'Neil, with a horse and cart, to remove land from one side-hill, and gravel from another. The Honorable Enos H. Tucker stated that in his youth he worked digging out this basin. Henry M. M<=Intosh said he well remembered when the place was an alder swamp and Dewing's peatmeadow, and recalled a road by Dewing's Hill. Although a part of Rosemary Brook, it is not strange that for some years the pond was known as Lyon's Pond. Mr. Lyon built a small mill, and did business under the firm name of Lyon & Hersey. Their chief industry was the manufacture of huge beaver-hats, with bell-shaped crowns, large rims, and covered with long hair. One of these hats was in the possession of the late Dr. Noyes at the time of his decease, and Leon Divoll is said to have been a skilled hat-maker in the employ of Mr. Lyon. The Lyon mill was burned and rebuilt, and before 1850 had become the silk-mill of Lemuel Cobb, who was from Dedham, and who had some mulberry trees and silk-worms.^ In 185 1 Galen Orr acquired the property succeeding Robert Prentiss, who made batting, and for some six years had a cotton-batting-mill, known as the Rosemary Brook Batting Mill. Later he sold the machinery, and in i860 had a grist-mill there, dealing in flour. This business he continued for several years, and Charles A. Hines, better remembered as the veteran gravedigger, was Mr. Orr's miller. Apparently Mr. Orr retained some of the batting until the Civil War, as he then supplied the women of Needham with it, and they prepared it for

^ At the time that Mr. Cobb started his silk-mill it was thought that a new industry of importance had come to town, and some people, particularly the women, were zealous in setting out mulberry trees in order to feed the silk-worms, anticipating employment, but were disappointed, although the trees remained for many years. There are, or were a few years since, mulberry trees that Mr. Cobb set out near his mill. He was followed by Messenger Brothers in the business of winding silk, and they in turn for a time by Rufus Haven Mills and Dexter Townsend Mills.

the use of the soldiers, particularly for the hospital service. Beginning with 1857 he had for a year and a half engaged with Thaddeus Bullen of Haverhill in the manufacture of tacks and finishing-nails in the former batting-mill, but it was not a success. In 1864 Mr. Orr sold this property to George and Edward Smith Ashwell for $3000. It then included the dam, mill-privilege, one half acre of land, and "Also the right to raise water by means of said dam to the height of the top of a copper bolt, driven into a hole drilled in a rock in the race way of the upper mill privilege of said Orr and to flow all lands which will be flowed by a pond raised to that height". Another half acre of land near had been purchased by Mr. Orr of Warren Dewing, and was also conveyed by this deed.

George Ashwell, who lived in Needham, soon became the sole owner, and in 1866 he deeded the plant to Isaac A. Hatch of Boston, to George Ashwell (the grantor) and to David A. Andrews, as co-partners under the name of Hatch, Ashwell & Co. This firm erected a new mill, adjoining the old batting-mill, and transferred their title to the Ashwell Manufacturing Company, which engaged in the manufacture of hosiery and jackets, chiefly the former. The old mill is referred to in deeds as "Orr's lower mill". From 1868 to 1874 the building was occupied by Samuel Sutton & Co., manufacturers of hosiery, and also of yarn, including Merino. They gave employment to one hundred persons, as they had other hosiery establishments in Needham.

Mr. Sutton was an experienced and wealthy manufacturer, and his two older sons were in partnership with him, Thomas Sutton having an interest in the business before he was eighteen years old. Samuel Sutton is said to have been the pioneer in Needham in the employment of power machinery lor making hosiery. At first the legs only were made by power, then later also the feet. The goods had to be sewed.

The History Of Needham 399

From 1868 to 1874 "this building also continued the mill of Isaac A. Hatch & Co., who had the two upper floors during the time that Samuel Sutton & Co. had the lower floors. From 1874 to 1879 the former company had the whole plant, and made hosiery and some jackets. In 1880 WilHam Claflin and others as trustees owned this property, and about 1883 it came into the possession of Richard T. Sullivan, who made blankets there for a brief period.^ From 1884 to 1887 the plant was owned by the Keeler Manufacturing Company, who made a high grade of what is technically known as cut, or flat, underwear, employing upward of one hundred persons. In 1888 William Carter bought the mill, with other property, at a bargain, and leased it to the Union Cycle Company, which company increased the size of the building, and did a large business in the manufacture of bicycles. About 1902 the plant became Mill No. 2, or the Lower Mill, of the William Carter Company, which transferred all of its machinery to this mill.

Notwithstanding the traditional "Old Indian Curse" resting on this valley, the industry now located there appears to be entirely successful.

Before the Lyon dam was built there was a small one at what is now the south end of the large pond, where the water flows in from the hinge-factory pond, and there was a building in which an Englishman, named Townsend, had two carding machines for making woolen rolls. Henry M. M<=Intosh said that he saw the machines in operation, and that after the Lyon mill was burned Mr. Lyon built a small dam near the one that Mr. Townsend had, and a canal was made along the side-hill extending several hundred feet to a building subsequently finished into a dwellinghouse. There was no water-wheel on this canal, and later it was filled up.

The extensive greenhouses of Denys Zirnglebel, formerly of the Botanic Gardens of Harvard University, have been located in Needham for forty years, or more, and are justly noted for rare and beautiful flowers. In 1868 James Cartwright had greenhouses on Cartwright Street in what is now Wellesley, and his family has continued in the business, both in Needham and Wellesley, to the present time (191 1). Prior to the Civil War James Cartwright had been a grower of fine vegetables in Needham.

Arthur Whitaker for a number of years supplied Marston's restaurants with sweet corn, and was described in the newspapers as the " Corn King of New England ". In September, 1903, he sent to Boston, by his own teams, three hundred bushels per day, and is said to have had ninety acres in sweet corn, but apparently the acreage was nearer seventyfive. Mr. Whitaker was an enterprising man, and for more than twenty years the Hillside Farm, as he called his estate, was widely and favorably known, and its herd of cows, about forty in number, was a credit to its owner. He died in 1906, while in the prime of life.

John T. Wye made "Ladles'" Scotch gloves in Leicester, England, and came to Needham in the early eighties. His sons, William H. and George E., did business on a small scale for some years, and then built a factory on Pleasant Street, on the Great Plain, and established an important industry. They made "Ladies'" mittens, and for a time silk gloves. It has been said that Robert G. and William Roper, while in the employ of the Wye Brothers, made athletic goods on a hand-frame, outside of the regular working hours, and that In this way the Wyes were led to make a variety of athletic goods, including sweaters and aquatic garments. About 1900 the firm of Wye Brothers dissolved, and William H. built a factory on Highland Avenue, where he has since continued the manufacture of aquatic and athletic garments, employing forty, or more, persons. His eldest son, William H. Wye, Jr., is associated with him In business. George E. Wye incorporated his industry as the George E. Wye Company, and makes the same kind of goods as his brother, giving occupation to about forty people. The "Great Dane" sweaters are made by this company. John J. Wye, another son of John T., made gloves on one of the hand-frames, such as were in common use as late as 1894, but now makes sweater coats.

Needham had its share of small shoe-shops, usually by the roadside, where shoes already cut out were brought to be soled and heeled by men whose other occupations were varied, many of them being farmers. There were perhaps a dozen of these shops in town, but in 1907 Needham and Wellesley did not contain more than four of them, all then used for other purposes than shoemaking. The shop on Blossom Street, where Isaac Flagg for many years cobbled shoes, passed the residence of the writer on September 18, 1903, on its way to a new site, where it was to be used, but not as a shoe-shop. After Mr. Flagg ceased to work on shoes it had continued to be the shop of a shoemaker until a short time before its removal. Some work was done in these small shoe-shops as late as the seventies, and the Rimmele Brothers continued the business for many years subsequent to 1870. About the time that the railroad came through East Needham, Charles E. Keith engaged in the manufacture of heavy shoes, employing a number of men, and for years carried on the business in Keith's Block, which formerly stood where the Kingsbury Block is now. The Keith building has been moved at least twice, and now fronts on Chestnut Street. Stephen F. Harvey was a contemporary and associate of Mr. Keith in the making of shoes. The firm was Keith Brothers & Co. in 1857. In 1856 shoes were made, or put together, in the Nehoiden Block by George B. Revere.

In 191 1 the William Bourne and Son Piano Company are building a factory on Highland Avenue, intending to remove their long-established business to Needham. Charles

E. Bourne has been a citizen of this town for twelve or thirteen years, and owns the Bourne Building, formerly the May Building, which is the principal business block in Needham.

Industries Of Needham Heights

This portion of the town, although its natural advantages are greater than in other sections, owes its settlement and growth chiefly to its industries. Jonathan Avery, who was instrumental in bringing the knit-goods business to Needham, died April 19, 1875, aged sixty-eight years, nine months and seven days, and had then witnessed a development which probably exceeded his expectations. The village of Highlandville, as it was called for fifty years, is situated upon a high plateau commanding fine views, and has an excellent record for its healthfulness. As early as 1900 there was a disposition to change the name, and an attempt was made to call it Needham Highlands, but this was obviously impracticable with Newton Highlands within five miles. After consideration a change became popular, and on May 28, 1907, the name of the post-office became Needham Heights, and by the following November the name of the railroad station conformed to that of the post-office. Never was so important a transformation made more easily or more completely, or with less opposition, and in a brief time the name which for half a century had been familiar was passing into oblivion.

It is now more than sixty years since English people began to locate in Needham, and many of the best citizens of the town have been, and are, of English birth. Within twenty years the appearance and speech of many of the people were characteristic of their earlier homes, and when the writer was a youth, Highlandville was decidedly English, and yet in 191 1 it is only in the speech of a few of the older inhabitants that Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire is suggested.

The History Of Needham 403

John Turner came to Needham prior to 1833,^ and lived for many years on what is still known as the " Turner Place ", at the junction of Brookside Road and Oakland Street. In the late forties and early fifties he gave employment to a number of his countrymen in making knitgoods in a shop near his house, and was one of the first to engage in this industry in Needham. He died in 1854, but in 1856 there were several English families living on Brookside Road, either at the Turner place or not far from it.

William Freeman came to Needham from England in 1848, and a year or two later located near Mr. Turner, and was one of the first knitters in town; his descendants are numerous and well known.

The Beless family came to Needham in 1852, from Loughborough, Leicestershire, and in 1856 the brothers James, Thomas and John had already made their homes at what is now Needham Heights. James and Thomas were then partners, and made gloves, stockings and some jackets. Their brother John was similarly employed, and all three lived on High Street. As early as the Civil War, if not before, the Belesses also made underwear, and were the pioneers in this line of goods, which now made on a large scale, and by different methods, forms the principal industry of the town. The Beless family when they first came to Needham occupied the small house at the corner of Greendale Avenue and High Street, and have always been respected citizens.

Gloves and stockings stretched on boards to dry were a familiar sight about town until after 1880, and all of the work was done on hand-frames. With few exceptions the English people who came to Needham were engaged in the knit-goods industry, and small shops containing one or

' Mr. Turner of Newton, who was seventy-four years old in 1909, then stated that his grandfather, John Turner, came to Needham as a weaver in 1825, first living in the ancient Ware house, now owned by Mr. Sheridan, and that John Turner, Jr., lived on the Floyd place. Edwin Turner, another son of John, was the father of the informant, and resided on Cedar Street seventy years ago.

more frames were to be seen throughout the eastern part of the town, principally in Highlandville. These shops were also numerous about the old Centre, but rare in the South section.

The William Carter Company

The William Carter Company, formerly the firm of William Carter and Company, has long conducted the most important industry in town, and its development represents the results of more than thirty years of energy and enterprise. Mr. William Carter, the founder of this business, has made a great variety of knit-goods at different periods, but for years the children's underwear, and the union suits for all ages, have been extensively advertised, and favorably known throughout the United States. The treasurer of one of the largest mills in New England when asked what he knew of the William Carter Company replied: "I know that they [meaning the Carters] make as high a grade of goods as are made in this country, and that they keep up their standard. That is their reputation". The plant of this company has been repeatedly increased in size, and no expense has been spared to procure the best machinery that is made, even when it is necessary to import together with the machine a man to run it or to care for it. In 1880 Mr. Carter had machinery, and in the eighties and nineties manufactured "Hosiery and Fancy Knit Goods." The Lower Mill has been referred to, and in 1909 a further addition was made to the company's means of production by the purchase of the Springfield Knitting Mill, a four-story brick structure, in Springfield, Massachusetts. A portion of this mill had been used for the manufacture of yarn, and the rest of it for knit-goods of a coarser quality. It was equipped with two thousand spindles, and gave employment to about two hundred and fifty persons. William Carter has no less than five sons associated with him in making knit-goods, but William H. and Horace A.

The History Of Needham 405

have the chief responsibility. The number of persons employed at the mills in Needham Is between three and four hundred. In addition to much advertising, including some of the best magazines, the company have agents in different cities, and to some of them considerable salaries are paid. William Carter was born in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England, and arrived in America on January 28, 1857, the fiftieth anniversary of which event was duly observed by a large reception which he gave in the town hall. Mr. Carter often visits his birthplace in the summer season, and has appropriately named the new street on which his mansion in Needham Heights is located, Alfreton Road.

Mark Lee, who was born in Matlock, Derbyshire, February 27, 1829, came to Needham in 1853, and for a year lived on the Turner place near the junction of Oakland Avenue and Brookside Road. In 1856 Mr. Lee with his brother, John, who for many years has been a manufacturer in New Brunswick, N. J., made gloves in a small building, now a dwelling-house, on Hunnewell Street. In 1864 they built the older portion of the large factory now Mill No. i of the William Carter Company, and in 1869 William Carter became a member of the firm then Lee, Carter & Co. Mark Lee retired from the company in 1875, and Mr. Carter continued the business alone. Mr. Lee invented a machine for testing the strength and tension of yarn, another for putting striped colors into stockings, and when he was postmaster at Highlandville he patented a double postal card, which attracted the attention of the postal authorities, but which was not adopted. In the eighties Mr. Lee was superintendent of a mill at Laconia, N. H. He died January 12, 1890, and his portrait hangs on the wall of the selectmen's office, and there Is also one In the town report for 1889. Among the offices held by Mr. Lee was that of member of the board of health 1887-90.

and gloves, and had less than one hundred employees, mostly men. Mr. Carter had manufactured cardigan jackets before he became a member of this firm.

Alexander Lynes, a man of sterling integrity and worth, was born in Leicester, England, and came to Needham during the Civil War, and died in this town January 2, 1897, aged seventy-one years, four months and fifteen days. For many years he made hosiery, also cardigan jackets, gloves and underwear, at one time employing over one hundred men. About 1886 he introduced power machinery, having used the old hand-frames exclusively till then, and was the first in Needham to make children's underwear. It is said that he continued to employ some hand-frames as long as he was in business. In the early nineties Mr. Lynes retired, and his factory off Hunnewell Street was purchased by John F. Brooks, later the head of the John F. Brooks Company, who continued the manufacture of children's underwear, having at times seventy-five employees. A brick wing has been added to the factory on the south.

The Thorpe family were from Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, and came to Needham soon after the close of the Civil War. About 1883 Joseph B. and John Thorpe engaged in business for themselves, and were the first in town to make "ladies'" full-fashioned mittens, which required less sewing than the earlier gloves known as cut work. John Thorpe is to be credited with having personally made the first silk mittens that were made in Needham. They continued together for a year, or more, and then made extra fine silk and Merino mittens independently of each other. In the late eighties John Thorpe also manufactured some hosiery, caps, etc. at his shop on West Street. Both were makers of "ladies'" silk mittens, and were the only manufacturers of "Ladies' Silk Goods" in town, or of any other distinctly silk goods. Both made "ladies'" silk hosiery, as well as mittens.

The History Of Needham 407

The factory of Joseph B. Thorpe, on High Street, dates from 1893, and has been twice enlarged. He followed Mr. Lynes in making children's underwear, which has continued his principal product.

In the late seventies Robert Shaw and his son, Herbert, had a factory where Christ Church is now, and had a patent on glove machinery. Prior to 1880 John and Thomas Scotton made hosiery in a shop at the corner of Hillside Avenue and Webster Street, and employed upward of twenty-five persons. Later Thomas Scotton had a shop on Hunnewell Street, and John did a smaller business on Webster Street.

Twenty-five years ago there were a number of small establishments where elastic stockings and other elastic goods were made. Dea. William Moseley was a veteran in this business, and for many years resided on Maple, or Oak, Street on the Great Plain, and in his latter years manufactured in a shop near his house. At one time he made "women's" hosiery, but did not continue this line of goods for more than four years. Deacon Moseley served in the Civil War, and was one of the most highly respected citizens of the town. He was born in Duffield, Derbyshire, September 4, 1824, came to the United States in 1854, and to Needham in i860. He died September 13, 1909.

William Gorse has for many years been a manufacturer of elastic goods in his shop on Hunnewell Street, and since about 1896 his son, Frank W., has had a similar business of his own. Mr. Gorse was born in Duffield, Derbyshire, came to Needham during the Civil War, and is a prominent citizen.

For years John Moseley rented a portion of Carter's factory, but in 1883 he purchased an acre of land nearly opposite, and Moseley & Co. built a factory, which was seriously damaged by fire in 1906 and rebuilt. This factory is on the site of the planing-mill of Webber Brothers, who sold the property to John F. Mills, and he carried on the

In 1888 Moseley & Co. made woolen hosiery and children's fine underwear, and In 191 1 the product is chiefly children's underwear and gloves. This industry gives employment to about fifty persons, and In the nineties was known as the Highland Mills.

William Roper and his family came from Hawick in Roxburghshire, Scotland, to Guelph, Canada, in 1864, and in 1881 they removed to Needham, and became makers of athletic goods on hand-frames in a small shop on West Street. The firm name In 1888 was Roper & Sons.

After Mr. Roper's death his sons, Robert G. and William, enlarged their shop and introduced machinery, and In a few years their business expanded, and Roper Bros, had a fine plant devoted exclusively to the manufacture of athletic goods, the first one answering that description in New England. Robert G. Roper died in 1898, aged forty-two years, and William in 1907 at the age of forty-nine years. At the time of the death of the latter they were making the goods for Wright & DItson, and the business has been continued by Robert B. Smith, formerly the superintendent in their factory.

Among the well-known woolen manufacturers in Needham have been Charles S. Hall of Hunnewell Street, who in the eighties made a specialty of "Ladies' and Children's Fancy Mitts" of worsted and silk, Toone Bros., later William Toone & Co. of Hunnewell Street, and Joseph Langdale, Dale Street; the latter made fine woolen gloves.

Samuel Hudson, who had a love for books and learning, and was for many years a trustee of the Free Public Library, advertised in 1888 "Shetland Shawls, Polka Mittens, Gloves and Hosiery". He lived on Hunnewell Street, and made the goods there. His portrait is in the new library. Several of the men mentioned did only a small business, but it all contributed toward the growth and prosperity of the town. In 1908 a few individuals were still engaged in making the coarse woolen gloves on the hand-frames, and Frederick Lathom made gloves of a finer grade in the same way.

In 1865 about $300,000 were Invested in manufacturing, and the stock used was reported as worth about $333,000, and the goods made were valued at about $527,000. There were two hundred and twenty-one men and one hundred and eighty-five women employed in making these goods.

In 1875 about $640,000 were Invested in manufactories, and the product was about $1,375,000. The stock used was estimated at $495,752. The two factories that made paints and colors represented a capital of $245,000, and the product was valued at $550,000. Next in importance were the eleven hosiery establishments, which represented a capital of $251,000, and produced goods estimated at $520,000 (57,354 dozen). The other manufacturing industries were as follows: - paper, capital $25,000, product $96,000, Manilla paper, capital $18,000, product $26,000, shoddy, capital $10,000, product $25,000, boots and shoes, capital $10,000, product $70,000, mouldings and doors, capital $30,000, product $25,000, elastic hose and bandages, capital $9700, product $19,600, blind-hinges and fastenings, capital $15,000, product $10,000, glue, capital $4350, product $13,025. There were seventy-three manufacturing plants, and they employed six hundred and forty-three men and one hundred and nineteen women. In the hosiery business there were two sets of machinery, fifty-four hand-looms, on which woolen goods were made, and three on which worsted goods were made. There were seven steam-engines in Needham, and their total horse-power was actually about two hundred and thirteen; the eleven water-wheels had a nominal horse-power of four hundred and sixty-three. In the different census tables the statements are conflicting In the absence of explanations. In one place the value of the buildings used for manufacturing is estimated at $149,400, and the machinery at $168,000, of which $50,000 was imported. The motive power in eighty-eight instances was by hand, and four machines were run by the feet. These were evidently the English "frames". One table indicates that there were thirty-eight places where hosiery was made, having previously given the number as eleven. The former figures seem more reasonable. Another table states that four hundred and ninety-three men and two hundred and twelve women were employed in the town making articles for sale, and the inference is that four hundred and three men and all the women were given work by the hosiery or silk industries. It says that two hundred and thirty-five women were given some work at home, and presumably most of them sewed gloves. It nowhere appears whether the two hundred and twelve were included In this number, or not. The amount paid In wages annually was then estimated at $341,220. The statement that there were four glue plants in Needham in 1875 Is clear, and probably correct. In some tables the products of the building trades, wood, and a variety of merchandise are evidently Included.

In 1885 the capital Invested in manufacturing was reported as $302,827, the stock used was estimated at $170,1 18, and the finished products as worth $377,247. There were thirty-three private manufacturing establishments, with thirty-eight Individuals Interested as partners, and there were two corporations with fifteen stockholders. There were three hundred and sixty-nine persons employed, and the wages paid them amounted to $109,817. Two hundred and fourteen women were given some work at home by the fifteen hosiery and knit-goods shops and factories. At three places silk goods were made.

The History Of Needham 411

was $322,047, and the products $720,777; the latter included "work done", which may cover a wide range of trades. The machinery and motive power was valued at $114,631, and the buildings at only $27,406. Five hundred and fifty-eight persons were in different employments, but apparently were not all engaged in manufacturing. There were twelve steam-boilers, with a total horse-power of three hundred and thirty-seven, twelve steam-engines, with a horse-power of two hundred and twenty-three, and the two water-wheels were credited with fifty horse-power. Thirtytwo establishments made hosiery, and all were carried on by private individuals, or firms. The seventy-four establishments classed as manufactories gave occupation to three hundred and eighty-eight persons, of whom one hundred and ninety-three made hosiery. In Needham $164,221 were invested in making "Hosiery and Knit Goods", and the stock used was estimated at $103,815, and the "value of goods made and work done" at $247,771. There were thirty-nine partners, or stockholders, in this business, and the amount paid in wages was $70,119. This was a particularly dull period, and many plants were idle.

The census of 1905 states that there were $546,196 invested in manufacturing, that stock worth $327,029 was used, and that the product was valued at $688,024. There were twenty-four establishments of all kinds, and apparently sixteen firms and three corporations made clothing. The number of partners, or stockholders, was thirty-two. Employment was given to three hundred and sixty persons, of whom one hundred and nine were males over sixteen, and two hundred and thirty-nine were females over sixteen. The smallest number employed at any time during the year 1904 was three hundred and four, and the largest was four hundred and twenty-nine. The amount paid in wages was estimated at $155,432, and the average number of days when the plants were in operation was two hundred and ninety-two. There were seven steam-engines, three gas, or

Beams Placed In The Bed Of The Charles River

About 1830, before steam-power was employed, there was a demand for water to run the mills at Dedham, and where the river divides, one stream forming Mother Brook, the mill-owners deepened the channels in a dry season. The Commonwealth then required beams to be placed in the bed of the river to regulate the amount of water flowing in either channel. A short distance west of Highland Avenue Bridge, in Needham, the river is narrowed thirty or forty feet, by means of walls which form a channel. Eleven beams each about fifteen inches wide, and placed six feet apart, were located in the bed of the river, and can be plainly seen when the water is low, or when passing over them in a boat. These channels were constructed by Otis Pettee, the elder, an enterprising and energetic man, and his work appears to have been well done, for the walls and beams seem in good condition after the lapse of eighty years.

On the east of the Turnpike Bridge, at the Upper Falls, was a basin of several arches for the storage of water. The facts about these beams and the channel were obtained from the venerable Henry Michael M'^Intosh.

The Needham Business Association And Board Of Trade

The Needham Business Association and Board of Trade was organized in the spring of 1906, with William Carter, the principal manufacturer in town, as its president. The membership was then limited to sixty, but was extended to one hundred in 1910. The interests of Needham are largely residential, but the board serves an important purpose in affording a means of concurrent action on all sorts of matters connected with the welfare of the town. Much attention has been given to securing the best railroad facilities, remedying grievances, and to "village improvement" work. There are a number of standing committees. The board usually meets on Monday, but until November, 1907, the meetings were on the third Wednesday of each month, and were then changed to the third Thursday.

On April i, 1834, the selectmen were directed to attend "to the Incrochments made on the town roads by the Boston & Worcester railroad". This railroad was opened to West Newton on April 16, 1834, and to West Needham, Grantville, on June 20th following. On September 4, 1867, the Boston and Worcester Railroad Corporation was consolidated with the Western Railroad Corporation under the name of the Boston and Albany Railroad Company, and on February 17, 1883, purchased of the New York and New England Railroad Company for $411,400 its road from Brookline to Cook Street in Newton Highlands. The Newton Circuit of the Boston and Albany was opened on May 16, 1886.

Charles River Railroad

On March 6, 1851, the town resolved in favor of extending the Charles River Railroad to unite with the New York and Boston Railroad, the resolve to be sent to the General Court. By notice dated December 30, 185 1, the subscriptions for the capital stock of the Charles River Railroad were called in to the amount of $25 per share, payable on or before February 2, 1852. On certain days these payments could be made at the following places: - i. Nahaton Hall, Newton Upper Falls. 2. House of Marshall S. Rice, the treasurer, Newton Centre. 3. Office of Artemas Newell, Esq., Brookline. 4. House of E. K. Whitaker, Needham.

train left the Boston and Worcester Railroad station at 12 M. on that day, and stopped five minutes at each way station to receive stockholders and guests. The notice states that "On the arrival of the train, a procession will be formed at the Great Plain Station, Needham, and proceed to a Grove in the vicinity of the station, where a collation will be provided. The return train will leave Needham at 5.15 P.M. Committee of Arrangements E. C. Hutchins Henry Billings

The opening of the railroad transferred the business of East Needham to the Great Plain, and in 1879 the meetinghouse of the First Church and First Parish was removed from the old Centre, the flag pole, which was a fine tall one, was soon after taken away, and the eclipse of the "Centre" became total.

The unwillingness of one citizen to give his land is said to have led the railroad prospectors to abandon the route by the Centre, and to substitute that over the Great Plain, where land was cheerfully offered. In 1855 the Charles River Railroad became a part of the New York and Boston Railroad Company, and was united with the Charles River Branch Railroad and with certain roads in Rhode Island and Connecticut. In 1865 the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad Company acquired the New York and Boston. In 1873 the General Court ratified and confirmed to the New York and New England Railroad Company all of the franchises of the Boston, Hartford and Erie; the former represented the bondholders under the Berdell mortgage of 1866, who had been incorporated as the New York and New England Railroad Company. This new company was in turn purchased by its mortgagees in 1895, who were authorized to change its name, and they called it the New England

The History Of Needham 415

Railroad Company, although they had been incorporated the previous year as the New England and New York Railroad Company. The New England Railroad was leased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company under an Act of the General Court passed in May, 1898, and in 1905 the latter company was authorized to purchase the former, and obtained a deed in the spring of 1908.

In 1878 William Emerson Baker completed a large hotel in Needham, which he named Hotel Wellesley, and within a year or so he persuaded the New York and New England Railroad Company to build a branch from their road at Charles River Village to this hotel, raising a bridge over the tracks at Central Avenue, and running along the river to a point southwest of the hotel. This road was operated for several summers and then abandoned, the town removing the bridge and restoring Central Avenue to a reasonable grade in 1889. The expense was about $750, of which the railroad paid $300, and Harold W. Windram $200.

In 1889 the town had a controversy with the railroad as to Oak Street, as the County Commissioners refused to lay out a road over a railroad crossing at grade. The railroad claimed the right to close the crossing, and the town brought suit, employing Henry E. Fales as counsel. The next year the town removed the obstructions placed by the railroad company, replanked the crossing, and ultimately won its contention. This Is not the only instance in which the town has had a controversy with the steam railroad, and in later years dissatisfaction with the street railways has led to official action from time to time.

At a town meeting on December 21, 1892, the town unanimously urged the Old Colony Railroad Company to build a road from South Framlngham to West Roxbury, and offered "a free right of way over lands owned by the town

Street Railways

In March or April, 1893, the selectmen of Needham granted a franchise to the Needham Street Railway Company from the Wellesley line to the Dedham line over Great Plain Avenue, also over Webster Street, and on Great Plain Avenue and Highland Avenue from the Needham post-ofRce to the Newton line. The petition was signed by William Carter, William G. Moseley, James Mackintosh and thirteen others. It was an ambitious project, and in March, 1893, the petitioners, or some of them, asked the Board of Aldermen of the City of Newton for a franchise over some of the principal streets of that city, the description ending with "through Walnut Street to the Boston and Albany Railroad in said City of Newton". The location granted in Needham was accepted by the directors of the company on April 8, 1893. Dr. Albert D. Kingsbury was then an officer of the corporation, and subscriptions were received for stock. On January 7, 1896, the selectmen conceded a franchise to the Needham and Newton Street Railway Company to lay tracks on the easterly side of Chapel Street to Highland Avenue, thence on the easterly side of this avenue to Morton Street, thence in the centre of the avenue to a point opposite a private way on the north side of the property of the Methodist Church, thence on said Highland Avenue, on the easterly side, to the Newton line. Charles Atherton Hicks was interested in this enterprise, as in others for the development of the town. A bond of $1000 was given as a guarantee, but the death of Albert C. Pond of Newton prevented the construction of the railroad, and the town surrendered the bond, after some discussion.

The History Of Needham 417 The Newton And Boston Street Railway Company

The Newton and Boston Street Railway Company received a franchise from the selectmen, William G. Moseley, Francis L. Fuller and George K. Clarke, on February 2, 1897, and was the first street railway built and operated in Needham. The locations were accepted by the directors on February 24th. The corporation was desirous of this franchise, and the selectmen were negotiating in order to protect the town from expense caused by damage to its streets while the road was being built, and to have the company assume certain responsibilities for the care of the streets it was to use, particularly with reference to the removal of snow. Reduced fares for the school children, and the acceptance of transfer checks from other street railways within the limits of the town, so that but one fare should be collected for a continuous ride from one section to another, were matters then under consideration, and everything was progressing favorably. A public hearing was necessary, and it was held in the town hall on December 7, 1896, where it was declared that the road was "a necessity", the selectmen were criticized for attempting to protect the interests of the town, and everything was to be left to the generosity of the railroad officials. "What we want is a railroad, and I don't care whether the fare is five cents or ten" was the statement of one orator, and equally discreet sentiments were expressed by others to the evident amusement of the representatives of the Newton and Boston Street Railway Company. The selectmen declined to accept the verdict of this meeting, but were nevertheless embarrassed by its action, and could not secure for the citizens all of the advantages that they might otherwise have had. Early in 1907 grievances against this street railway company were discussed in town meetings, but the events at the time the franchise was granted were ignored, and criticism was confined to the selectmen for

1907. The petitioners for this railway were Horace B. Parker and five others, and their petition of November 10, 1896, asked for a franchise "to the Square at Needham Depot", but this the selectmen, with a view to the future, refused to grant, and time has shown the wisdom of their position. Extensions of this franchise have been granted, but only two of them are of special interest. On January 15, 1900, a permit was given to extend wires on three poles of the West Roxbury and Roslindale Street Railway Company, across the tracks of the steam railroad, in order] to supply the Natick and Cochituate Street Railway Company with additional power. On February i, 1907, an extension of the tracks on Chestnut Street, from South Street to Great Plain Avenue, was granted.

This was the second street railway that materialized in Needham, and the location or franchise was obtained from the selectmen of Needham on November i, 1897, and the first car ran from Wellesley to Needham at one o'clock P.M., on April 6, 1899. The franchise had granted a location not only to the present terminus, but to the Dedham line via Great Plain Avenue, Dedham Avenue and Great Plain Avenue again to the Dedham line, but the location east of the track of the steam railroad was subsequently cancelled by mutual consent, and would have expired by limitation on November i, 1S99.

Other Street Railways

The Needham and Boston Street Railway Company was granted a location by the selectmen on November 10, 1898, on petition of Charles Atherton Hicks and four others. The railway was to start on the easterly side of the tracks of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company (New England Railroad Company), and to run over

The History Of Needham 419

Great Plain Avenue to the Dedham line. It was to be completed by June i, 1899, but on May 25, 1899, the selectmen extended the time one month. On February 14, 1899, an additional location via Dedham and Harris Avenues to Great Plain Avenue, crossing Webster Street, had been granted by the selectmen, and this was practically substituted for the earlier plan so far as the route was changed by it. Charles Atherton Hicks, who subscribed for sixty shares, was president of this railway company, Frederic G. Tuttle clerk, and Edward F. Howe treasurer, but the control was acquired by others, who built the road, which was advertised to open for travel on June 28, 1899. On June 6 the selectmen had consented that the Needham and Boston Street Railway Company should exchange cars with the West Roxbury and Rosllndale Street Railway Company at the Dedham line. In 1900 the Needham and Boston became a part of the West Roxbury and Rosllndale Street Railway, and in 1901 of the Old Colony Street Railway. On petition of seven men, including some citizens of Needham, a franchise was granted on November 4, 1899, to the Natick and Needham Street Railway Company. The route was from Great Plain Avenue, over Chestnut, South and Charles River Streets to the Dover line. In 1901 this railway became a part of the South Middlesex Street Railway, and the cars ceased to run on December 18, 1903. Within two years the tracks were removed, with the exception of those on Chestnut Street, which were later acquired by the Newton and Boston Street Railway Company. The selectmen, however, for a time withheld the franchise from the latter company because it increased its fares to six cents, and required two fares instead of one to Watertown. When the Natick and Needham Street Railway was first opened there was considerable travel over it, as was the case with all of these roads, but in this instance it was particularly dependent upon pleasure riders and did not last. On November 28, 1899, the selectmen granted a franchise to the Medfield and Needham Street Railway Company from Day's Bridge on Chestnut Street to South Street, but no road was built, nor has the Boston and Providence Street Railway Company availed of a franchise granted them by the selectmen on March 5, 1905. This latter road was petitioned for by James F. Shaw and four others, under date of December 6, 1904, and the proposed route was on Highland Avenue to Webster Street, thence on Webster Street to its intersection with Great Plain Avenue, thence via this avenue and Chestnut Street to the Dover line at Day's Bridge.

New Steam Railroad

In August, 1905, the New England Railroad Company began to build a railroad from a point south of the Needham station in order to connect with the Boston and Providence Railroad at West Roxbury. Both of these railroads were leased and operated by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company. The lease of the Boston and Providence to the Old Colony Railroad Company was the first of the consolidations now controlled by the New York, New Haven and Hartford. This new railroad was elaborately constructed, with many costly bridges over the roads, several of them in Needham, and was completed and opened for travel on Sunday morning, November 4, 1906. Its superior service has brought Needham within twenty-one minutes of the South Terminal station; many of the trains are express between the new station at Needham Junction and the Back Bay, and others stop only at West Roxbury. In 191 1 an extensive granolithic platform, largely roofed, was completed at the Needham station.

All of these railroads, including the street railways, had formal openings, and the first cars run were practically private cars, as is the custon.

The History Of Needham 421 Engineers And Conductors

Henry Hitchcock ran the engine that drew the train at the opening of the Charles River Railroad, but whether this was the opening through to Needham is uncertain. In the early days of this railroad Mr. Hitchcock was the engineer between Brookline and Needham, and drove the "Mercury", James M. Alger taking the train between Brookline and Boston with the "Lion". Mr. Alger had driven the "Lion" drawing the gravel cars between the Upper Falls and Brookline during the construction of the railroad. The "Marshall Rice" and the "Hiram Allen" are said to have been the first engines in regular use on the Charles River Railroad.

From 1861 to the present time (191 1) Myron A. Munson has been known to successive generations as a conductor, and a respected citizen of Needham. He is in charge of trains between Boston and Cook Street, via the railroad completed in 1906, and has survived all the re-organizations, leases and sales of the different railroads connecting Needham with Boston. Another genial and popular conductor, and a familiar figure to all who have used the steam railroad for the past thirty years, was George Frederick Story, who succeeded Luther J. Hamlett of Woonsocket. Mr. Story died November 2 (or i), 1909.

For a quarter of a century Edmund C. Hawes of Woonsocket ran trains through Needham, retiring in the early nineties on account of age. Mr. Hawes is pleasantly remembered. For twenty-two years ending in 1889 Enos H. Tucker was the superintendent of the Woonsocket Division, and his son, Frederic H. Tucker, who was a railroad official for thirty years, acquired his early experience on this division. Of the engineers Horace [G.?] Witherell was a faithful servant of the public, who lost his life many years ago at the crossing of the Providence Railroad, near Huntington Avenue. John Heath and Charles A, Lord, both citi/.ons ot Niwlh.un. :\vc \c[cv.\\\ drl\cis of the locomotives that ha\o drawn In safety the train loads of people to and from their vlaily occupations in the city. Isaiah W. Heath and Paniel Barnes were ior \ears engineers on the W oonsoeket Oixision, and both li\ed in Needham.

In iS>*.) M\ ron C, Munson ot Shirle\- began to transport graNel to till the Rack \^a\ in Boston fron\ b'ast Needham, near the Charles Ri\er and southeast ot the \illage ot the I'pper Falls. Fowertul loeon\oti\"es ».lrawing tort\' loaded cars, and the best machinery were employed, and in ten N'cars hills were le\elled, more than one hundred acres east of the Boston, Hartford and I'a'ie Railroad were totally changed in character, .uul the work was extended west of the railroad to Central A\emie. In this terrilor)' were scN'cral special tracks, and two hundred men were required, as there was no cessation ot the trains at night. Fhis renunal ot gra\el tron\ Xeedham continued into the early seventies. 'Fhe tirst reference lo it is the \ote ot the town on Pecember 27, 1851). which referred to the selectmen the proposition of the "Cua\el Companx " as to taking dinvn the hill between Otis Alden's and josiah l-'.aton's. and in June, iSc\;, an otTer of Mr. Munson to renuwe the hill near Kendrick's Bridge, and to build .1 proper road, w.is referred to the selectmen, with the provision that Mr. Munson give a bond, which he did, and as late as 187? this bond was the subject ot discussion. Hundreds ot acres were transfornu\l into .1 desert b\- the remo\al ot this soil, to the depth of many feet, and for twent\-tive years the land was practically of no value, and the valuation of Sio per acre w.is thought to be high.

The History Of Needham 423 Land Enterprises

In 1853 Daniel Ayers of Lowell bought the Jesse (Luther) Kingsbury farm of sixty-eight acres, which extended from Washington to Worcester Streets, and on the southeast side of the former to the brook. Mr. Ayers built Kingsbury and State Streets through this farm, and he also purchased one hundred and seventy-five acres of Holman, Paine and Childs, between Forest Street and Wellesley Avenue, reaching from Washington Street and the aqueduct to a point opposite the Abbott Road. This territory was called Bostonville, and was the subject of the first real estate boom in Needham; auctions were held and free lunches provided for possible purchasers. It does not appear whether people were brought to these auctions at the expense of the owners of the land, as was the custom in the nineties when such sales occurred at River, Fremont or Home Parks.

In Bostonville space was left for Churches, schoolhouses and other public buildings, and for a time there was active competition to secure lots in the contemplated city, which Mr. Ayers assured the purchasers was inevitable. This land in Bostonville was the first that was taxed in lots in Needham, and in the sixties was designated by the names of its former owners, - Kingsbury Land, Paine Land or Holman Land. In i860 the Blanchard Land was also assessed in lots to many diff"erent owners.

Soon after the railroad came to the Great Plain, a Mr. Whitaker made a prospective plan of "Needham Great Plain Village," showing a thickly settled place, with a high school where Is now the blacksmith's shop of John H. Fitzgerald. Highland Avenue was then called East Street. The land of Stephen F. Harvey, on the west side of Chestnut Street, was laid out in lots for a long distance, and also the land of Charles E. Keith to the west of it, and close to the railroad. About 1854 Mr. Harvey built Village Hall, which was a small structure.

From 1869 to 1872 many houses were built in East Needham, as well as in West Needham, and the demand for house-lots led to the belief that the whole town was about to show a rapid growth. Charles E. Keith and others on the Great Plain had been enthusiastic for years, and some of them had paid high prices for fields and pastures, which, in some instances, they still possessed in 1905. The Nehoiden Land Company was organized by William H. Crocker in 1875, and offered attractive building sites on the Great Plain. About the same time the Avery Land at Highlandville had been divided into lots, and was owned by William Carter, and in the West John W. Shaw had laid out in lots an estate on Laurel Avenue. Similar enterprises multiplied. Prior to 1876 Dr. Albert E. Miller was the owner of the Colburn and Morton estates (Nehoiden Land Company), and that year became a resident of Needham, and rapidly developed "Millerville ", where he built and sold many houses. William Carter was constantly engaged In land and building enterprises in HighlandvIUe, which village owed its origin to the courage and foresight of his fatherin-law, Jonathan Avery, who induced industries to locate there, provided houses, and is justly regarded as the founder of this Important portion of the town. Avery Square, Avery Street, and the Avery School perpetuate his memory.

The years 1893 and 1894 saw the beginning of a number of the "parks" that since have attracted much attention. On the Great Plain there were several fine tracts of land offered for sale in lots, including Oakland Park, of which John Moseley is the owner, and Oakhurst, then controlled or owned by Charles Atherton Hicks, who constructed a costly boulevard through it, on which the tracks of the street railway, now the Old Colony, were laid. Mr. Hicks was usually in advance of the time, but there can be no question that his enterprises benefited the town, if not the investor.