![]() ![]() It is acknowledged that “The housing that survives from this period comprises one of Newton’s most important concentrations of Victorian-era architecture.”īy the 1880s, Newton Corner had over 4,000 residents this was one-fourth of the city’s population. These included:Īs the suburban dream extended to the middle class, numerous single-family homes were built, often in Queen Anne and Italianate styles, on what had once been large estates and farmlands. Most of the village’s churches and Farlow Park were also built within the next 20 years. The construction of the Newton Free Library by Alexander Rice Esty in 1865 marked the importance of this area. It collected 26,000 fares in 1866 alone.Īfter the Civil War, new homes were built across the southern and eastern sections of the village. The train depot, built on the south side of Washington Street near the Centre Street intersection, was among the most lucrative in the railway system. ![]() The population began to spread southward to Church Street and Richardson Street, along Centre Street, and directly north of Washington Street. ![]() This was a period of significant growth for Newton Corner. Newton Corner also became a popular summer resort for Boston families. The railroads enabled families to live in Newton year-round. While prosperous Bostonians had previously built homes in Newton to take advantage of the (presumed) healthier country air, most were summer places. The railroad company named the stop Newton Corner but residents, feeling the name did not adequately describe their prestigious community, petitioned to have the depot renamed Newton. The Meteor and the Rocket were the first regularly scheduled passenger trains in the Northeast, offering four trains to Boston each day for a roundtrip fare of 75 cents and traveling at (then astonishing) speeds of 25 to 30 miles per hour. The arrival of the Boston and Worcester Railroad (later sold to the Boston and Albany Railroad) marked the beginning of a new era for Newton Corner. Surviving homes from this period include the Durant-Kenrick house, built in 1732, and the Jackson Homestead, built in 1760-both now serving as historical museums. Even in 1830, Newton could only claim 1,850 residents. While it also had a post office, Angier’s Corner remained essentially a rural way station.īy 1765, the population had only grown to 1,300 people. ![]() This increase in traffic brought a new name to the area: Angier’s Corner (after its popular tavern keeper, Oakes Angier). A small cluster of homes and shops at the intersection of Centre and Washington Streets provided service to produce-laden farm wagons and stagecoaches going into Boston. About 300 people lived in or around Bacon’s Corner-a total of 50 families.įor the next 50 years, the village consisted of farms and a few factories. Upon becoming the first indigenous convert to Christianity in Massachusetts, Waban established a new settlement along the Charles River, which he called Nonantum, meaning Place of Rejoicing.īacon’s Corner, named after Daniel Bacon, a tailor who had settled here in the 1660s, was officially incorporated as a separate town. John Eliot converted Waban, the son-in-law of the Pennacook high chief, to Christianity. ![]()
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