World War l
Honor List 2,134
In 1847, the present Moody Street dam was built: previous to this time, it was a wooden dam which was built about 1813.
Rumford Hall, now gone forever, was erected in 1827.
Population
1728 142 Residents
1743 144 Polls
1753 147 “
1765 663 Population
1776 870 “
1800 903 “
1820 1,677 “
1840 2,504 “
1860 6,397 “
1875 9,967 “
1884 14,609 “
1927 37,000 “ Valuation of April 1, 1925, $52,684.00
Beaver Brook
Beaver Brook, now a small stream, was once four rods wide, tradition says. The first house on this north side, or Main Street corner Linden Street above the brook, was the Cutting Tavern and was used as such from 1742 until 1826, when it was taken down and the Massasoit House was erected on the same spot. This was burned in 1849.
Pond End
Pond end was the neighborhood on the Lincoln Road near the Great Pond, Hardy’s now called. Allen Flagg and his brothers settled here about 1684. So many of the leading men of the church resided here near one another that the name Piety Corner was given to the locality.
The list of taxpayers on October 6, 1738, gives the tax 3,521 pounds 11 shillings and 144 polls. On the Province rates of the same year there are 151 names, 119 residents and 32 non-residents, 87 residents being taxed on real estate.
In 1790, there were 10 colored persons, 6 in 1800 and 5 in 1810.
In 1760, the General Court assessed upon Waltham 97,345 pounds and 13 shillings.
Between January 1, 1767, and January 1, 1789, there were 244 deaths, In 1865, 150 deaths.
The first retailer of strong liquors was Jonathan Hammond in 1739. The Inns continued to increase and in 1765, with a population of 663, there were 6 taverns; in 1783, there were 9, the highest number ever reached. In 1798, there were but 5 and this has been reduced to 2, the same number there were in 1743 when the population was no more than 300. The latest house on Main Street was the Bemis Tavern owned by Isaac Bemis in 1798, later occupied by a Mr. Stratton and called the Stratton Tavern and which now stands on Stone Street.
Between 1780 and 1790, John Boise first made use of the water power by erecting a paper mill where now stands the cotton mill which was purchased by the Boston Manufacturing Company for $4, 550.
Newton Street was built in 1755 and ran from the main road to the river. In 1762, the first Newton Street bridge was built across the river.
Oldest Business Houses in Same Family Today
William Goodnow & Sons, established 1833
Rufus Warren & Son, established 1844
Isaac Warren, established 1869
H. L. Stone, established 1873
Waltham National Bank, established 1835
Mills
The first mill was a pulling mill and was built on Beaver Brook near Beaver Street in 1662 where the Waltham Bleachery now stands. In 1798, Nathan Upham built a mill at Stony Brook near South Street and what is now Robert’s Paper Mill. The cotton mill, now the Boston Manufacturing Company, was built in 1820; the Waltham Watch Company was built on 1854.
Grove Hill Cemetery was established in 1703 in Watertown at that time.
The first house above Newton Street In 1798 was situated where now stands the Leonard Cushing Estate, recently purchased by our ex-honored fellow member, Grafton E. Kirwin. This house was built in 1804.
Water Works were constructed in 1872.
Sewerage works were constructed in 1890.
(more excerpts on the next post)