View of Heinlein's Shadybrook Farm from Main Street. Chet's
father built the barn in 1901 and the house in 1910.
Marian Heinlein Gerrity Photo
On May 10, 1975 I picked Chet up at his house on Claybrook
Road and we drove around town so he
could show and tell me about Old Dover. Following is a summary of the notes
I wrote after our tour.
View of Heinlein's Shadybrook Farm from Main Street. Chet's
father built the barn in 1901 and the house in 1910.
Marian Heinlein Gerrity Photo
Claybrook Road
As we went down Claybrook Road Chet told me he bought acreage on his side of Main Street from Ben Sawin. Sawin used to have it as an orchard but it never grew too well. Chet cultivated this land. Also all the other land he had on this side of Main Street down as far as the stonewall beyond the deck house. He also owned land on the other side of Main Street some presently owned by his son Chet, Jr. Land passed to young Chet and some to his daughter.
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[A neighbor] cleared the wooded land on the other side of Claybrook and farmed it. Also made hootch there (bootleg liquor) to supply his place at East Boston, the America House Club, patronized by sailors from the ships anchored in the harbor. The authorities caught him one day and he had a heart attack and died on the spot when they took him under arrest.
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The pits near the river on Claybrook Road by Royce's house were gravel excavations that he worked on. They were not clay deposits as some people believe.
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The small summer colony camps near Riverside Drive were first used in early 1900's.
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The frame for Pete Blodgett's house with dormers was brought down piece by piece from Dover, New Hampshire about 1915. Chet says I should look in the town records as Blodgett is the only one who ever owned this house and maybe we can tell when they came to town and thus when the house was moved.
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The steps at the entrance to the Baptist Chapel near Fishers Bridge were uncovered when Centre Street was being widened. The Chapel had been close to the road. He hasn't looked for any other foundation traces on the land and believes there probably aren't any since they just built buildings on top of stone piers in those days. Thinks the Baptist order still owns the land.
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There used to be a large tree and a green triangle at the intersection of Centre Street and Claybrook Road in the early days. There was a big hassle when it had to be removed for the streets.
Cross Street
On Cross Street there was a house at the left end of the big field just about to the right of the present grove of trees. Man used to make bootleg whiskey and had a piggery there. Chet told a story about the man bringing the hootch into town. His wife or girl friend carried the bottles so they wouldn't be discovered.
Willow Street
We went down Willow Street. He thinks there was a horse watering trough at one time about halfway down the hill on the right side, fed from a spring up on the hillside.
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The little white house on the left after Quinn's house is old. Opposite that house there is an (early 1800's stonewall with steps and railing that go up to where an old house used to be.
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The little white house on the Island at Charles River Village that burned was built by his great grandfather who moved there from Boston. German people in Dedham settlement also in the area out beyond South Street . Family info and his readings of Smith make him think that maybe part of Newell's house, a part of the store, was moved to this lot and that his relative added to it to make the house.
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They were putting in MDC Sewer while he was garbage collector and they had
Weld's place all dug up. People who lived on Strawberry Hill (Sargent/Adams)
house owned Weld house before Weld but could not make a go of it. Had canoe
landing that had to cross land owned by mill along Sawmill Creek.
Strawberry Hill
We drove up Mill Street to Dedham Street and then up Strawberry Hill Street. House on left is where the East Schoolhouse used to be.
We stopped in the driveway of an old white house owned by Pete Bean. Across the street at Blake's house on the uphill side is the old East Schoolhouse which has been added to the main house. French doors now instead of the old school doors. Lawyer Hale was the man who owned the place originally and added the schoolhouse to it as a library room. He also bought the old bulls-eye doors from the Tisdale house at Walpole/Hartford.
Took two pictures of the schoolhouse. It was beautiful set among the spring tree and shrub blossoms.. Building looks about as it was in old days.
Continued up Strawberry Hill to see the old Clancy house. Passed Sargent/Adams house and Chet explained about the ownership of Weld's house at Charles River.
Turned around at Crittenden driveway. Chet said he'd only been up to to old
Larrabee place once and that he had been able to drive up in there at that
time by horse and buggy.
Mill Farm
The stone water trough at Mill Farm used to be either in front of the old Town Hall or else on the hill going down Willow Street. He's not sure which.
The Center
Stopped at the center and he showed me where the old Center School stood and the Sanger School and the Horse Shed. There were two white birch trees at one time, one on each side of the entrance to Sanger School. Only one now. The Charles River School was a house where Allen Smith lived. There was no one story part connecting the house to the barn at that time. Also there was a depressed area between the present Post Office and the Charles River School at that time.
The Common toward the Training Field along Center street was below the level of the roadways then. The land where the Mobil station and drugstore is now was a high knob hill. Can see remnants at back of Mobil Station now (1975).
Chet likes the old granite signposts ..
Walpole Street
Out Walpole Street. Showed me where they lived at the end of Taylor Lane. The foundation is still there under the lilacs, The barn was located lower and to the left about in front of the present house. The old well and pump platform for the barn is still visible near the road. Horses came in under the barn from Taylor Lane side rear.
His maternal grandfather Gergler owned a lot if acreage on both sides of Walpole Street. Extended up to stone wall on side of hill past house beyond Kunz house. On the other side of Walpole Street he owned a lot of land presently owned by Miss Peabody..
Out to Hartford Street to see the Tisdale house. I showed him picture of
Toll House from Dover Historical Society but he did not recognize it.
Springdale Avenue
Back to center of town and out Springdale Avenue. Dunn's Spring and footbridge over the brook was between Lowry's house and DiFrancesco.
Used to water horses by driving down off the road and ford the brook on both sides of Springdale Ave.
Main Trout Brook did not have a fording place as the banks were too steep.
Farm Street
Out Farm Street to West End Park. He showed me where the school had set close to the driveways that entered from Farm Street at both ends. There are logs across the driveways now to keep cars out. The other tracks up into the land were result of parkers. The pile of bricks and the edges of stones in the ground that look like foundation he says are not from the school because they are on the Hanchett parcel that the town did not own at that time. Town took it by eminent domain for the park sometime later.
Took photo of Chet pointing out the location of the West End Schoolhouse. The building was moved to Sweet's land (later Donnelly) and foreman made a house out of it. He thinks it is changed so much now that it's not recognizable.
The Old Town Hall
He described what it was like inside the old building. There was a drop curtain that came down at front of the stage but you could see in from the ends a little. No exit door on the right rear side as that went down three floors to the ground. The stage was rectangular with steps up to it from both sides. Steps did not project out from the stage . Were about in line with the front.
Had to walk past men and women toilets inside sand then came to stairwell to upper lobby. The upper lobby was a big space. Could look down to the landing at open stairs. Coat room was about same size as Selectmen's room on ground floor.
In lower level there were two dingy little cells under the Selectmens room. No windows. He remembers peeking in as a little kid because legend had it that one of the local men had hung himself in one of the cells.
Looking at old Photos at Sawin Museum
The four horse hitch in the old photo is a tree department wagon same as the one he drove at one time. The arsenate of lead came in wooden barrels as a paste and was carried on top of the wagon. They added it to water in the tank at the front of the wagon. The men pulled the hoses into the woods to spray for gypsy moths. A gasoline motor at back of the wagon ran the pump.
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In a school class picture taken in back of Sanger school he pointed out the Horse Sheds with monitor roof and windows and metal sides in background. Also the depressed land adjacent to Al Smith's house (now Charles River School before the barn was converted and connected to the house with a one story shed.)
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Picture of a group of small shed type buildings with a pond and wagon wheels. Tip of gable shows at the end of house in background. Chet says the small building beside the pond probably was the wheelwright shop next to Rufus Battelle's and King's BS Shop at Farm and Springdale. Wheelwrights made and repaired wagon wheels. Used elm for hubs of wagon wheels and oak for the spokes and rims.
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Chet was in the last parade float in 1936 movie film with corn stalks and the heifer. Also young Chet and daughter were on the same float as little kids holding the heifer.
Skimmings Corner
Mrs. Skimmings lived at the corner and had a small grocery store in bottom floor. He is not sure if it was still there in 1915. He remembers buying penny candy there on the way to school on barge about ten years earlier, about 1905.
One of the girls who lived with Mrs. Skimmings, a "home kid", named Nellie Kennedy in her early teens used to be the one to put the lantern in each evening and probably take it out every morning. She had to climb up onto the rim of the trough and reach up to pour the kerosene lantern in the glass globe at the top of the cast iron part. It must have been a precarious perch and a delicate balancing job. Mrs. Skimmings or Nellie also attended to the filling of the lantern and trimming wicks.
The trough was probably about four feet in diameter of cast iron. Water was fed in underground from a spring up on Pegan Hill. He was not sure when the trough was removed but probably sometime after the street was paved and auto traffic increased. Last Chet remembers was that the bowl and stand were junked in behind the Fire Station (not sure when but possibly in the 1920's??) Must have finally been sold to junk man. He does not know what became of the lantern and post.
Light poles went up Pegan Lane for Boston Electrical Illuminating Co., EEICo.
Looking at Helen McGills old 1915 photo at the bottom of Pegan Lane:
-Roads probably not paved in 1915 when the photo was taken.
-The Barn at left of picture belonged to Colburn. It was the first barn raised
in the town without hard cider. The other little building is a corn crib.
-Bob Fuller lived on Pegan Lane in 1915 on land where Peg Clowes house is
now. Later lived in Bagg's house and also owned the double house near it
and field at corner of Springdale and Farm.
-Pegan Lane was great place for kids coasting. Very steep. Steeper than it
appears in the photo.