History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

178 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Thomas and Beiioui Vinton, direct descendants
of John Vinton, of Lynn, who came to this country
not far from 164:3, settled in that part of Melrose
called the Highlands, then a part of Stoneham, about
the year 1742. Thomas left three sons, Thomas,
Timothy, and Ezra, all of whom had farms at the
Highlands ; the old homesteads are yet standing.
These three brothers joined Captain Sprague's com-
pany of minute-men which iiiinrlicd from Stoneham,
to Lexington when the ricxolutionary alarm was
sounded. During the latter part of the eighteenth
century a number of other families came to Mel-
rose, among them the Howards, the Emersons,
Pratts, Grovers, Edmundses, Larrabees, Boardmans,
Hemenways, Tainters, Goulds, Coxes, Eatons, and
FuUers.i
At a session of the General Court held Septeui- |
ber 10, 1653, a committee of three, Thomas Mar-
shall, John Smith, and John Sprague, was " chosen
to lay out the country high way between Reddinge
and Winnesemett." This was the first and only
road through Melrose for many years. The various
bounds were given by the committee, beginning at
Reading, until it reached Melrose, and then they
say it is to run " along on the east side of Thomas
Coytmores lott, by Ele Pond, in the old way, to
Thomas Lynds land, then through the first field, and
so by the field by his howse, from thence, on the old
way, by Maldou meeting howse, through the stony
swampe, etc the sd way to be fower pole
broade in good grounde, and six or eight where need
rec]uires." " The old way " here referred to means
the old, crooked Indian path, or trail, in use before
this date, winding hither and thither, going around
this hill, shuiniing that swamp or bog, and over
which the early traveller wended his way between
Reading and Chelsea. On a plan of Maiden sur-
veyed by Peter Tufts, Jr., of Medford, in 1795, the
only roads laid down in what was then North Mai-
den are the main road, called the Reading road,
and a Stoneham road, which leaves this near the
corner of what are now Wyoming Avenue and
Main Street, where stands the Masonic Hall. There
is one essential change between the main road as
laid out in 1653 and that on this plan; it then
went to the right of Boston Rock, in going north
from Maiden, and at the time the plan was made it
passed to the left. The old-time residents of North
Maiden had to wend their way down this old road
1 Other details concemine the old families and liomcstrads arc
Kivon ill the Uisloncal Address delivered at Melrose, July 4,
to " middle-town " whenever they attended divine
worship, or when they wished to vote on election-
days, or take part in any of the town-meetings.
The present :\Iain Street was built in 1806. A
short time previous to this, in 1798, a two-horse
stage, the first public conveyance through Melrose,
commenced running between Boston and Reading,
driven by Mr. Parwell Brown ; and after the new
road was built stage lines between Boston, Ando-
ver, and Haverhill were established, which .also
carried the mails.
The first preaching service in wliat is now ]\Iel-
rose was in the year 1813, and was held in the
little old district school-house which was situated
near the corner of the old road, now Lebanon
Street, and Ujiham Lane, now Upham Street, which
led up to the hill on which lived so many of the
LTphams. This school-house was the only one then
in North Maiden. From these meetings the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church was organized in 1816,
which continued to hold its services in this house
until 1818, when a small meeting-house was built-
on the green at the junction of Main and Green
streets. This was occupied until 1842, when it
was removed, and a larger edifice built on the same
spot, and dedicated November 30, of that year.
In this the society worshipped until 1857, when
it was sold, moved to the corner of Main and Essex
streets, became Concert Hall, and was burned November
30, 1875, just thirty-three years from the
day it was dedicated. The society then built the
church now used by them on Main Street, which
was dedicated April 1, 1857. Wright says in his
HistoricalDiscourse, preached at ilalden on Thanks-
giving Day, December 1, 1831, "Two individuals,
formerly members of this church, are now success-
fully engaged in publishing the tidings of salva-
tion to their fellowmen." This refers to Rev.
Frederick Upham and Rev. Warren Emerson, both
born in Melrose, and both still preaching, — the
former in Fairhaven, Mass., and the latter in West
Thompson, Conn. The present pastor of this
church is Rev. Isaac H. Packard.
During the years just previous to 1828 serious
troubles, " petty jealousies, and bitter animosities,"
had existed in this church ; certain members became
displeased with the form of church govern-
ment, and in that year events culminated in a
division, a new church being formed, called the
Protestant ^lethodist ; sometimes called the Re-
formed Methodist. This society bought the old
district school-house, and moved it down to Main