According to Brian Lever, preservation planner for the city of Newton, “the Auburndale Local Historic District…consists of two National Register Historic Districts and four individually listed National Register properties as well as other historic buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.” The district was legally established on March 1, 2005, but there were no signs alerting the public to its presence, as there are in all the other historic districts in Newton. But that changed this year, when the Lasell Neighborhood Association expressed a willingness to donate the signs to the…

Cars are a relatively recent invention in human history, but in a short time they have become a pervasive part of our everyday life. Travelling here and there to school functions, sporting events, work, and family gatherings, cars are the primary mode of transportation for most people today. Two important players in the history of the automobile called Newton their home for many years: Freelan and Francis Stanley. The Stanley Motor Carriage Company was a family business founded by identical twin brothers Francis Edgar Stanley (1849–1918) and Freelan Oscar Stanley (1849–1940). The brothers …

Several weeks ago, Pam Hopkins, an intern in the archives of Historic Newton, made a wonderful discovery while cataloging a collection of letters. In a box of Kenrick family correspondence, Pam found two letters written by John A. Kenrick on October 19, 1863; one to his daughter Mary and one to his grandson. The letter to his daughter is typical of family missives of the era. He was responding to a letter from her, telling her who has visited and what has happened since last they saw each other, and just generally catching up. But it was the letter to his grandson that was truly remarkable. …

Boston is known throughout the world for its top-notch medical facilities. With Harvard, Tufts, and other major medical schools in the area, the city has tremendous intellectual capital that attracts the best doctors to this part of the world. But just west of Boston, Newton-Wellesley Hospital serves the metrowest area with the same high-quality medical care. The history of this fine institution is a story worth telling. The Newton Cottage Hospital was incorporated in January of 1881; however the hospital did not open its doors until June 5, 1886. According to Newton-Wellesley Hospital’s …

Although Columbus was preceded in the New World by the Native Americans themselves as well as previous explorers, he would set the tone of the conquest of the New World. Columbus viewed the natives he “discovered” as inferior to himself, describing them as “affectionate people and without covetousness…They love their neighbors as themselves and have the sweetest speech in the world.” While this may seem a flattering description, Columbus was primarily concerned with the ease of enslaving the natives. He justified enslaving them because he saw them as savages who needed to be rescued from …

Editor's note: This is the second of a two-part column on the Mass. Pike Extension in Newton. Click here to view Part I. In January of 1962, William F. Callahan sold the final bond to fund the building of the turnpike extension through Newton and was able to break ground on construction shortly afterward. Contractors were hired, and the taking of property by eminent domain began. Toby Berkman details that, in all, “approximately 350 homes and businesses would be demolished. $4.5 million in property would be destroyed. One-third of the business in Newton Corner would be wiped out. The loss of …

Beginning around 1950, discussion of the routing and funding of the Massachusetts Turnpike began, and it continued for over a decade. In Newton, it was a heated battle from beginning to end with citizens and city government teaming up against the Turnpike Authority. Located just west of the heart of Boston, Newton homes and businesses lay directly in the path of the new turnpike. From an urban planning perspective it was a relatively straightforward situation, as outlined in the 1948 Master Highway Plan for the Metropolitan Area: “The heaviest…line of travel in the metropolitan area is in the…

EDITOR'S NOTE 10/30/12: This 'Then & Now' column was published on Newton Patch on August 30, 2012, following Hurricane Irene. Now that Hurricane Sandy has plowed her way through the city, leaving similar damage, we thought it would be appropriate to re-feature this historical piece. --  This past weekend was dominated by the presence of Irene. My very own yard has surrendered one tree and discussion continues as to who will be responsible for picking it up.  With the winds of Irene still blowing strong and her waters still surging, let us not forget those hurricanes past which have wrought …

We all know that Newton has grown over time, but how exactly does a city grow, and who makes the critical decisions about how to control (or not) the continued development of the city? Today, a major tool for preserving recreation land, affordable housing and historic sites in Newton is the Community Preservation Act. For the first couple hundred years after English settlement of Newton, the population grew steadily over time, however the area remained fairly rural, characterized more by farmland, meadows, and trees than anything else. The arrival of the railroad in Newton drew a new …

There are 74 schools in Newton today—21 in the Newton Public School system and 54 private institutions. With a high ranking in state standardized testing and a number of new, sophisticated school facilities, Newtonians can pride themselves on the tremendous educational opportunities their city has to offer. But that was not always the case. In the early 1840s Newton schools lagged far behind others in the region. According to Henry K. Rowe, “out of 48 schools in Middlesex County Newton had the lowest percentage of attendance, only 43 percent.” So how did Newton go from being one of the worst …

Editor's Note: Today's column is written by guest columnist Laura Costello at Historic Newton. Regular columnist Allison Carter will be back in two weeks. -- Incorporated in 1688, Newton has a history as fascinating as it is long. Newton’s colorful past encompasses many unique features; not only was it one of the country’s first railroad suburbs, Newton was home to the Stanley brothers of “Steamer” fame, to General William Hull, and, briefly, to Horace Mann and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Newton, however, is best known not for the famous or nearly famous who lived here, but for some of the finest …

This Fourth of July, people around the United States will celebrate the birth of our nation. Fireworks, barbecues, and parades are all part of the national tradition, but so is song. Two major songs in our patriotic songbook, “America the Beautiful” and “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”, have ties to Newton. Katharine Lee Bates wrote the first draft of lyrics for “America the Beautiful” on a hiking trip in Colorado in the summer of 1893. Reaching the summit of Pike’s Peak, Bates was struck by the beauty of the landscape before her. Quickly, she jotted down the first draft of four stanzas of poetry …

Golf has long been a favorite summer game for folks around the world, and Newton has a role in the storied history of the sport. With several golf courses, some public and some private, Newtonians have ample opportunity to practice their skills on the links. Located in Newton Corner, Newton Commonwealth Golf Course is one of the oldest courses in the city. The land for the course was purchased in the early 1900s from the Kenrick family, once owners of a huge horticultural empire that encompassed much of what is now known as Farlow Hill. Many trees on the course today are descendants of trees …

Studying your family history can be extremely rewarding and personally fulfilling. It can also be an incredibly frustrating task, fraught with dead-end research and fruitless hours spent searching for someone who (eventually you discover) you are not actually descended from. Thankfully, there are tremendous resources for looking into your family history, many of them right here in Newton. Recently, the City of Newton made researching family history much easier by scanning and uploading a great deal of archival documents onto their website. Located on the Genealogical Research page of the city…

Lilacs, daffodils, and tulips! Robins, warblers, and mourning doves! Spring is in full bloom in Newton, and the Garden City is basking in the glory of its natural beauty. Newtonians have long been proud of their flora and fauna, and the tradition continues today. Throughout the late 1800s, Ellen Jackson, who lived all her life at the Jackson Homestead, drew and painted beautiful flowers she observed in nature. Over the years, she filled several books with her flowers, some from her own backyard and others from far afield. Today at the Jackson Homestead, we are graced with the presence of a …

This year marks the 150-year anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. Over the course of the next four years, commemorative ceremonies and events will help Americans today remember the history of our nation’s struggle to end slavery and the people who gave their lives in a war that remains the bloodiest in American history. A war fought on our own soil against our own people, the Civil War truly hit home for Americans who lived during the four years it ravaged our nation. Newton was no exception. Today, a monument stands in the Newton Cemetery in dedication to the soldiers from Newton …

In the geographic heart of the city of Newton lies Bullough’s Pond, which was created when John Spring flooded a meadow around 1647. More than any other body of water in the city, Bullough’s Pond has a unique history of human manipulation through flooding, filling, and recreation; beneath its placid surface is a history deeper than the pond itself. According to Henry K. Rowe’s Tercentary History of Newton, 1630-1930, “John Spring was a substantial citizen. He not only ground the grain of the farmers, but he held town offices and was representative to the General Court.” Although John Spring …

Newton’s oldest church, St. Mary’s Episcopal, is nestled in the village of Newton Lower Falls near the Wellesley border. When Route 95 was constructed, its course went straight through Newton Lower Falls, destroying many of the historic buildings located in the old mill village. St. Mary’s is a notable survivor of this period of destruction, and a jewel of the village. The cornerstone of St. Mary’s was laid in 1813, but its foundation in the community reaches back even further in time. Newton Lower Falls was a sparsely populated area of the city for much of the eighteenth century. When the …

Born in Newton on August 30, 1909, Virginia Lee Burton became one of the best-known authors of children’s literature in her lifetime. Publishing multiple books, none of which have ever gone out of print, this Newton native made an indelible mark on the world of children’s literature with her books. Burton's influence is still felt today; she addressed timelesss themes and illustrated her books masterfully with imaginative drawings. From her beginnings as the daughter of and English poet and musician and the first Dean of MIT, Burton left Newton at the age of eight, but the city of her birth …

Throughout the nineteenth century, no other issue dominated the political and social discourse in America as much as slavery. Beginning in the first half of the 1800s, the abolition movement in the United States was an effort to end slavery in this country. Abolitionism was not a mainstream, popular movement; however, abolitionists were not a monolithic group either. There was an entire spectrum of abolitionist activity based on peoples’ differing philosophical beliefs that guided their practical tactics to gain wider public support for the movement. Here in Newton, there were a small number …