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A
Condensed History of Melrose
How
many times have you heard someone say, “Melrose is a richly historic
town,” or something else to that effect, and simply wondered, “Just
what is this history everyone seems so excited about?” Well, we are here
to assist you in your quest! The interns are proud to present our very own
condensed history of
Melrose. (
Special thanks to Melrose, Past, Present, and Future)
Originally
called “Ponde Fielde” for its abundance of ponds and streams (the
remnants of which probably invade your basement during the spring!) or
“Mystic Side” because of its location in a valley north of the Mystic
River
,
Melrose
was first explored by
Salem
brothers Richard and Ralph
Sprague in 1628. In 1633 it became part of
Charlestown
along with a large parcel of land encompassing most of today’s
surrounding communities. In 1649, part of
Charlestown, known as
Malden, became a separate community and what is now
Melrose
became the North End of Malden.
The
first real settlers of
North Malden
were the Lynde family.
Soon, the Uphams, Greens, Barretts, Rowands, Waites, and
Spragues settled. You can read about many of their properties in our
database. After the Revolutionary War, more families like the Pratts and
Emersons settled down to improved infrastructure and industry in
North Malden. The area, however, remained largely a farming community.
The
history of Melrose
took an historic turn in 1845 when the Boston
and
Maine
(B&M for you Monopoly lovers) built three stops (now commuter rail
stations Wyoming, Cedar
Park
, and Melrose
Highlands).
Boston
workers in search of a country atmosphere flocked to the area and began
commuting to work.
Due
in large part to the boom brought about by the arrival of the B&M
Railroad, Melrose
became a separate town in May of 1850. With the addition of the Melrose
Highlands from
Stoneham
in 1853, the new community grew. The name Melrose, a reference to the hills of
Melrose,
Scotland
which the new town resembled, was a suggested and advocated for by William
Bogle, a
Scotland native and longtime resident of
North Malden
.
By
1900, the new town had come into its own. There were fewer farms and more
residences and businesses. Public services like a fire department and
school system were incorporated and town hall was built (1873). In 1899,
the City of Melrose
became the
commonwealth
of
Massachusetts’ 33rd city. On
the first of January, 1900
, Levi
S. Gould became the city’s first mayor.
In
the latter half of the 20th Century, Melrose
continued to boom. In the 1980s, the downtown area became a nationality
recognized historic district. We interns are confident that the City of
Melrose
will continue to grow into the 21st Century and beyond.
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