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HomeMy WebLinkAboutarea-ajFORM A - AREA MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSE'1-1 S ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON, MA 02125 See attached sketch maps RECEIVED 06 27 199E MASS. HIST. COM Assessor's Sheets USGS Quad Area Letter Form Numbers in Are 72, 79, 66 Boston N. Maynard Town Lexington Place (neighborhood or village) AJ 783-799, 1000— a 1015 Name of Area Meagherville Present Use Residential/Conservation Construction Dates of Period 1891—present Overall Condition Fair Major Intrusions and Alterations Route 128 constructed through western portion in 1949-50 Acreage apx. 138 A. Recorded by Nancy S. Seasholes Organization Lexington Historical Commission Date (month/year) January 1998 FollowMassachuse'' t-listorical Commission Sun°yManual instructions r -completing this form, AREA FORM ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION ►:1 see contimration sheet Describe architectural, structural and landscape features and evaluate in terms of other are community ithin the What remains of the original 260 -acre area known as Meagherville, or Lexington Heights, in northwest Lexington is today approximately 138 acres east of Route 128. A small section of about 11 V2 acres is located north of the bikepath (formerly the railroad tracks) along the west end of Valley Road but the major part of Meagherville—about 126'/2 acres—is south of the bikepath/tracks (see sketch map 111). Meagherville today includes both residential neighborhoods in the vicinity of Reed Street and along Valley Road as well as the 86 -acre town -owned Meagherville conservation land. The Meagherville area slopes west and is cut by two streams—North Lexington (formerly Farley) Brook in the northern section and Kiln Brook in the southern—, both draining into the Tophet Swamp, most of which is now on the west side of Route 128. Much of Meagherville is thus low-lying land with residential areas on the more elevated parts. HISTORICAL NARRATIVE 151 see continuation sheet Explain historical development of the area. Discuss how this relates to the historical development of the community. In August 1891 Mark C. Meagher, then a Chicago resident, purchased the 260 -acre Elm Hill Farm off Bedford Street in nortwest Lexington. The farm had belonged to the Reed family since the early 18th century. In the third quarter of the 19th, century it had been owned by Hammond Reed, a prominent citizen who lived in the center of town and leased the faro). Reed had sold the farm in 1883 to a John Stimson of Boston and it was Stimson's son Alfred who sold it to Meagher. Meagher planned to make a financial killing by selling the land as a residential development. He named the area Lexington Heights, laid out paper streets, and subdivided the resulting 93 blocks into tiny lots, generally 25 feet wide and 100 feet deep, snaking a total of 2814 lots (see sketch map #2). To attract buyers, he "boomed" (advertised) the lots in Boston papers and organized free rail excursions for prospective purchasers from the city. These excursions were held on Saturdays and Sundays, the participants usually disembarking in Lexington Center and conveyed from there to Lexington Heights by horse-drawn barge. The excursions were initially quite successful—on October 13, 1891, the Lexington Minute -man reported that 150 people had come out to Lexington Heights the preceding Saturday, 75 lots had been sold, BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES El see continuation sheet Clippings book. "1891-2," Scrapbook of late 1940s -early 1950s clippings from Lexington Minute -man. In possession of Nancy S. Seasholes, Lexington, Mass. Hinkle, Alice. "Meagherville: They came in search of 'a piece of America'. " Lexington Minute -man, 19 June, 1980. Lexington Minute -man, 13 October 1891, 20 October 1891, 6 November 1891, 29 July 1892. Lexington Town Reports. for 1895. 118. Sileo, Thomas P. "Many swindles, the biggest Meagherville." Lexington Minuteman, 22 February, 1996. Historical Guide to Open Space in Lexington. Lexington, Mass.: Thomas P, Sileo, 1995. 55-64, I I Recommended as a National Register District. If checked, you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form. INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSb I FS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION (continued) Towm Property Address Lexington Meagherville Area(s) Form No. 783-799, 1000-1015 The houses in the residential sections are mixture of late 19th -/early 20th -century and post World War II but, in contrast to many other neighborhoods in Lexington with such a mix, the more recent houses predominate (see sketch map #1), a reflection of the failed late 19th -century real estate development (see Historical Narrative). The earlier houses range in style from Second Empire through Queen Anne to Craftsman (see data sheet). Examples are the Second Empire cottage at 68 Ward St. (MHC #795; see area photo), which appears to have been built in the 1870s but was actually built in the 1890s, an example of what a city purchaser chose when moving to the country; the Queen Anne farmhouse with attached ham at 42 Ward St. (MHC #1000; see photo); the brick Craftsman house at 38 Ward St. (MHC #1001; see photo); and the bungalow at 9 Ward St. (MHC #1006; see photo). Also in contrast to many other neighborhoods in Lexington, Meagherville has a sense of isolation and in some parts seems almost rural. The latter is particularly true along Valley Road, which is poorly paved and, for a long stretch, has almost no houses, (A greatly altered Italianate farmhouse that was on the Reed farm still exists at 34 Valley Rd. [MHC #€1011; see photo]). Several other streets are unpaved and the woods, which are quite dense, are immediately adjacent to the last houses on Earl, Ward, Centre, Reed, and Avon streets. Most of the houses are quite modest and many of the earlier ones are in only fair condition and/or have been sided. The conservation land, which is south of the residential area (see sketch maps #1 and 43), is composed of several vegetation zones. The higher eastern portion is a late successional pine -beech woods with Lexington's most abundant stand of beech. Old stone walls still mark the eastern and southern boundaries of the property as well as some internal divisions that undoubtedly date from the time when the land was farmed (see sketch map #3). The area near Kiln Brook is noted for its wildflowers. The brook flows west into the section of the Topbet Swamp that remains east of Route 128. Although most of the conservation land is woods or swamp, there are pockets of meadow grass and an old orchard, again remnants of the days when the land was a farm. HISTORICAL NARRATIVE (continued) the streets were plowed and ready to be graded, and two cellars were under construction, And on November 6 of that year the Minute -man recorded that 100 person had visited the site the previous Sunday. Meagher's project seemed initially to be accepted by the town. This was the period when both the Meriam and Munroe hills neighborhoods were also being developed, but both of those were high -style areas with large houses designed to appeal to middle- and upper middle-class residents. No other Lexington development at that time had such tiny lots clearly intended for working-class buyers as was the case with Meagher's. His advertising circulars, for example, claimed that two factories—a shoe and a rubber—were to be built within 10 minutes' walk from Lexington Heights. (The only other development in Lexington with tiny lots aimed at working-class occupants was the Carville Avenue area in East Lexington, which was not laid out and promoted until the turn of the century when an electric trolley line began to operate on Massachusetts Avenue.) After the first Saturday excursion to Lexington Heights in October 1891 the Minute -man commented that the participants were "a very respectable set of people, and in no way an objectionable element, as was feared by some of our more conservative citizens..." The Minute -man did go on to say, however, that they hoped Meagher's enterprise would not tum out as had a similar, and unsuccessful, speculative venture in Arlington Heights. INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 HISTORICAL NARRATIVE (continued) Town Lexington Property Address Meagherville Area(s) Form No. 783-799, 1000-1015 By 1892, however, the town's attitude seems to have changed. In July the Minute -man reported that although the 45 excursionists who had visited Lexington Heights on a recent Sunday were "an orderly company and no occasion was given for offense," it was only to be expected that nearby residents would be "annoyed by the class of people who are attracted to this tract of land and, should they settle on it, [would] make uncongenial neighbors." The paper added, "We may depricate [sic] the misfortune which makes Lexington the scene of real estate schemes and speculations .. ," F. 0, Vaille, who lived in a large house now at 27-29 Vaille Ave. (MHC #767) not far from Lexington Heights, had sued Meagher for disturbing the Sabbath. Meagher was acquitted because it could not be proved that he was present at any of the excursions, but his agent was found guilty of doing business on Sunday. When Meagher would not promise to end the excursions, he was fined $200. By 1895, when the assessors noted approvingly, in a reference to neighborhoods like Meriam and Munroe hills, that "Lexington is being filled with a very desirable class of people, who are anxious to embrace the opportunity of locating beyond the line of electric cars," they added that "the so-called `land booms' are different in character," for land in Lexington Heights had been purchased by "representatives of 'all kingdoms and tribes on earth'." Sale of the lots was successful -300 were sold by 1895 and 700 by 1902. The lots were purchased on the installment plan, the owner receiving title when the last installment was paid. Under the circumstances, the assessors felt it was not fair to assess the lots for the full purchase price, so the tax on each was only about a dollar. Not many houses were built on these lots, however. The 1898 map shows 13 houses on Ward St., one on Earl St., and two on what is now Centre St., most of which are still standing (see sketch map #1), and the 1906 map shows no additional houses. And not a single house was built solely on one of the tiny lots Meagher had laid out—all were on larger lots formed by combining some of the original ones (see sketch map #1). Although Meagher did eventually sell almost every lot, the purchasers soon discovered that he had no intention of laying out most of the streets or of providing water or gas to the lots. Furthermore, many learned that their lots were in the Tophet Swamp! As a result, most buyers abandoned their land and did not pay the taxes on it. In 1950 the former Lexington Heights area was cut apart when Route 128 was constructed through it (see sketch map #2). Then, in 1951 the town assessor decided to put back into taxation the vacant land in what became known as Meagherville. To do so was a massive project which involved tracing the titles of almost 900 tax delinquent lots. It was carried out with federal funding and by November 1951 Lexington had already put 478 lots back into taxation. The town soon obtained title to 51 acres of former Meagher land west of 128 and 84 acres east of it. The former area became the Tophet Swamp conservation area and the latter what is today the Meagherville Conservation Property. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES (continued) Stadley, George W. & Co. Atlas of the Towns of Watertown, Belmont, Massachusetts. Boston: George W. Stadley & Co., 1898. Walker, George H. & Co. Atlas ofMiddlesex County, Massachusetts. Worthen, Edwin B. A Calendar History of Lexington, Massachusetts, 1946. 94. Arlington and Lexington, Middlesex County, Boston: George H. Walker & Co., 1906. 1620-1946. Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Savings Ban INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON, MASSACHUS1 `rrS 02125 Town Property Address Lexington Meagherville MEAGHERVILLE AREA DATA SHEET Areas) Form No.. 783-799, 1000-1015 Street address MHC # Style Date 118 Reed St. 783 Colonial Revival post 1906 128 Reed St. 784 Dutch Colonial Revival post 1906 153 Reed St. 785 Bungalow post 1906 159 Reed St. 786 Bungalow post 1906 20 Avon St. 787 C fD ei ,,,D , s i G i, 2 -Le Colonial Revival post 1906 17 Avon St. 788 Dutch Colonial Revival post 1906 12 Avon St. 789 Colonial Revival post 1906 33 Centre St. 790 Colonial Revival post 1906 10 Centre St. 791 Queen Anne 1891-98 82 Ward St. 792 Queen Anne 1891-98 74 Ward St. 793 Queen Anne 1891-98 70 Ward St. 794 Queen Anne 1891-98 68 Ward St. 795 Second Empire 1891-98 63 Ward St. 796 CiL-rv,e+Lt5t , 76 ) Bungalow post 1906 59 Ward St. 797 Bungalow post 1906 51 Ward St. 798 Bungalow post 1906 42 Ward St. 1000 Queen Anne (w. attached barn) 1891-98 38 Ward St. 1001 Craftsman (brick) post 1906 37 Ward St. 1002 Queen Anne 1891--98 25 Ward St. 1003 1)e1.1614,, tt :D Queen Anne 1891-98 20 Ward St. 1004 Queen Anne 1891-98 10 Ward St. 1005 Colonial Revival post 1906 9 Ward St. 1006 Craftsman post 1906 4 Ward St. 1007 4 -square post 1906 40 Earl St. 799 Queen Anne 1891-98 40 Garfield St. 1008 4 -square (stuccoed) post 1906 22 Garfield St. 1009 Workers housing? post 1906 19 Garfield St. 1010 No style post 1906 34 Valley Rd. 1011 Italianate before 1875 48 Valley Rd. 1012 No style post 1906 62 Valley Rd. 1013 Colonial Revival post 1906 67 Valley Rd. 1014 No style post 1906 100 Myrtle St. 1015 Queen Anne post 1906 INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSE I I S ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Town Lexington Property Address Meaghervilie Area(s) Form No. tRlfFt[ aiiIktEgEra anann1J11it111It111tf It - 4 ti��iY idilp; Mt imkr re �{Uii{/t!• {11Ilp11I1[ 1llliiy111lPL�iiiil IIIIIIIz= �_ ' r . = I Mme: 1783-799, 1000-1015 Sketch Map #1 Mcagherville, Lexington Area A7, #783-799, 1000-1015 Source: Town of Lexington, Engineering Department house not on cement foundation, i.e., pre -1930 11 ti 11 11 11 INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON, MASSACHUSE ITS 02125 Sketch Map #3 Meagherville Conservation Property Source; Sileo, Guide to Open Space, 56-57 Town Property Address Lexington Meagherville Area(s) Form No. 783.799, 1004-1015 Meagherville Meagherville 0 0 INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Town Lexington PZT Property Address Meagherville Area(s) Form No. AJ 1000, 1001 Roll #2, Negative #32 Roll #2, Negative #33 1006, 101tj INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Town Lexington Property Address Meagherville Area(s) Form No. Roll #3, Negative Roll #1, Negative #19A