History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

434 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUXTY
There are few hills of any magnitude. Straw-
berry Ilill and Whitney's Hill are mentioned in
the old records. The former is the highest land
in the town, and is identical with School-house Hill,
afterwards called Meeting-house Hill. Whitney's
Hill is supposed to be that latterly known as
White's Hill. Near this hill, at the corner of Lex-
ington and Belmont streets, stood the pound, con-
structed about 1687. Prospect Hill, four hundred
aTid eighty-two feet in height, now in Waltham, the
highest elevation in old Watertown, commands a
very wide, diversified, and beautiful prospect. Bear
Hill, west of it, and bordering on Weston, has about
the same heigiit. Mackerel Hill, near the northeast
corner of the town, has borne that name from a
very early date. Mount Feake, the first hill spoken
of in the early records of the town, named for
Robert Feake, is insignificant in magnitude, and
has been nearly obliterated for the grading of a
railroad.
None of the very early towns could compare
with this in respect to its ponds and water-courses.
Fresh Pond, the largest in the town, with an area
of one hundred and seventy-five acres, now within
the limits of Belmont, is the source of numerous
underground streams. It has long been a famous
resort for summer recreation, and its attractive bor-
ders have furnished sites for many beautiful country-
seats. The water of this pond is remarkably pure,
and its ice is shipped in large quantities to all jiarts
of the world. The public-house then on the mar-
gin of the pond was a place of refuge for the panic-
stricken women and children of the neighborhood
on the memorable 19th of April, 1775. Forest
Pond, probably the ancient Shallow Pond, is in
Mount Auburn Cemetery. Sherman's Pond, of
about one hundred acres, more recently known as
Fiske's Pond and Mead's Pond, is within the high
grounds of Waltham, and is tiie source of the an-
cient Chester Brook, or West Branch of Beaver
Brook. In the summer of 1670 a remarkable
mortality occurred among the fish in this pond,
immense numbers of which were found lying dead
on its shores. A pond and an extensive bog called
Beaver Meadow, tiirongh which Chester Brook
))asses, is about half a mile west of tlie site of the old
Waltham meeting-house. It is supjjoscd that this
bog was formerly covered with water, and was the
])ond where, as Winthrop tells us, "the beavers
had shorn down divers great trees, and ukuIc ilivcrs
dams across the brook." A litllc simih df ibis
is Lily Pond, of about four acres, wilh its outlet
through Beaver Meadow into Ciiester Brook. The
town originally contained a part if not the whole
of Walden Pond, now in Concord, a part of Sandy
Pond and the whole of Beaver Pond, now in Lincoln,
and a part of Nonesuch Pond, much of which is
now in Natick.
Most of the southern border of the town is
watered by the C harles, originally called the Massa-
chusetts River. Its average width is eight rods
tide-water extends above the east border of the
town, and it is navigable for small vessels as far
as the dam where the manufactories stand. At this
point a fall furnished water-power for the first mill
builtinthetown. Otherfalls above furnish powerfor
the Etna ]\Iills and for the upper and lower Waltham
factories. Smelt Brook, one of the branches
of the Charles, enters it on the south side, its source
being in Newton. Beaver Brook, its first consid-
erable tributary, is made up of two main branches
which unite about two hundred and fifty yards
from the river, entering it at the lower end of
Waltham Plain. The West Branch, two miles long,
originating in Siierman's Pond and passing througli
Beaver Pond, had upon it a 7nill, built probably
by Deacon Thomas Livermore in the early part of
the last century. The eastern and larger branch
begins in Lexington, and runs through the eastern
border of Waltham. "
This branch in early times
was always called Beaver Brook, and the other,
which watered Chester Meadow, was the ancient
Chester Brook, named for Leonard Chester, who
was here in 1633. Stony Brook, the largest
tributary to Charles River, originates in Sandy
Pond, runs south-southeast, and passing through
Beaver Pond unites with the Charles about two
miles above Beaver Brook. There are several
mills upon it. Its principal branch, the ancient
Stower's Brook, or Hobbs' Brook, originates in
Lincoln, ami after a course of four miles due
south unites with Stony Brook about two miles
from its junction with Charles River. This is
sujiposed to be the stream formerly called Four-
Mile Brook. Above and west of it is another
small branch, called Cherry Brook.
Distinctive names marked the several localities
of the original town. The Small Lots, as the house-
lots and iiomestalls were called, were scattered over
its eastern portion, which embraces the present
territory of the town. They also included the meet-
ing-house common of forty acres, Pecjuusset or
King's Common, and Pequusset Meadow. Tiie
Great Dividends were four vraets of land, sometimes
;