Malden Historical Society - Malden

POSTCARD HISTORY SERIES

Malden

This birds-eye view of Malden is taken from Waitts Mount, the highest point in Malden. Once called Mount Prospect or Captains Hill, Malden residents watched the Battle of Bunker Hill from its crest. In the fall of 1778, during the Revolutionary War, a campsite and an alarm beacon were located atop this hill. Searchlights and antiaircraft batteries were stationed here during the early months of World War II. It has variously been spelled Waytes Mount or Waites Mount. It takes its name from Capt. John Wayte (16181698), who resided in a house at a northeast corner of Main Street and Mountain Avenue. Wayte was the son-in-law of Joseph Hills, who came from Maldon, England, in 1638. Hills named Malden after his hometown in England. (Courtesy of the Malden Historical Society.)

ON THE FRONT COVER: This c. 1900 photograph of Pleasant Street is looking west from Main Street in Malden Square. This intersection was once called Central Square. (Courtesy of the Malden Historical Society.)

ON THE BACK COVER: This view of city hall shows the facade facing Main Street. Note the horse-drawn merchant cart to the right. City hall was built in 1857 and originally called the town house. (Courtesy of the Malden Historical Society.)

POSTCARD HISTORY SERIES

Malden

Malden Historical Society

Copyright 2015 by Malden Historical Society
ISBN 978-1-4671-2342-6
Ebook ISBN 9781439652060

Published by Arcadia Publishing
Charleston, South Carolina

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014954867

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This book is dedicated to all who have helped preserve the record of Maldens past, to those who use this past as a guide for the present, and to those who may use what is recorded here as a plan for future action and preservation. We particularly wish to acknowledge those of recent memory who instilled in us our love for the city and its history and are no longer with usespecially Dorathy Rothe, Robert Graham, and Marion Baxter. We hope to carry on their labors.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Malden Historical Society wishes to thank its publication committee for the preparation of this work: Edward Flaherty, Frank Russell, Barbara Tolstrup, and John Tramondozzi.

The society also wishes to thank the librarians and staff of the Malden Public Library for their help, especially Judy Weaver, library administrative assistant; Jack Ryan for his invaluable computer skills; families and friends of the beleaguered committee for putting up with them; and especially the board of directors of the Malden Historical Society for its encouragement. These images are from the collection of the Malden Historical Society and some of its members who have allowed them to be used in this book.

The Malden Historical Society is located in the Converse Memorial Building of the Malden Public Library. Donations to the society of photographs, artifacts, and other memorabilia are greatly appreciated and help to preserve Maldens history for future generations. You may contact us by writing to the Malden Historical Society, 36 Salem Street, Malden, Massachusetts, 02148; by telephoning (781-338-9365); or at www.maldenhistoricalsociety.org.

INTRODUCTION

Malden is one of the oldest communities in Massachusetts. Originally a part of Charlestown in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Malden was in a section north of the Mystic River known as Mystic Side. Settled in 1640, it was made a town when its first church and minister were established in 1648. Much of it was rural farmland, but a good deal of flowing water made the area ideal for mill works. In the mid-19th century, industry and manufacture became the main endeavors. The area known as Malden was considerably larger than it is today. It abutted Chelsea and Lynn and included what later became the cities of Melrose and Everett. Today, those abutting areas are Revere and Saugus.

In the 19th century, industry flourished, and Malden became a town populated with businesses and businessmen. This was further strengthened by Maldens position at the crossing of two main roadsthe Salem-Medford Road and the Reading-Charlestown Roadone going north-south, and the other, east-west. When public transportation appeared, Malden Center became the hub for trolley, train, and bus transportation.

One of the earliest businesses was the Odiorne Mill, which manufactured nails. Barretts Dye House made a Turkey Red pigment that was shipped throughout the country. Elisha Converse, Maldens greatest benefactor, founded the Boston Rubber Shoe Company and made a fortune, which he used to fund many philanthropic endeavors in the town, including the library, the hospital, YMCA, and the Baptist church, and he also donated land for a public park, Pine Banks. A.H. Davenport Company produced furniture for a broad market, including the Iolani Palace in Honolulu, the US Department of State in Washington, and the United Nations Building in New York. Malden became a center of pewter production, and David Morey and his family did very well in the business. A number of smaller companies were also visible on Maldens main streets. Main Street and Pleasant Street became the center of town, and retail business flourished with Woolworth, Kresge, and Grant department stores.

Malden always was and continues to be an active and progressive community. The Reverend Peter Thachers Malden declaration of May 27, 1776, preceded the Declaration of Independence. The antislavery movement was embraced by a number of Malden abolitionists, including David and Almira Morey, whose home served as a central meeting place for the group. There were at least four Malden stops on the Underground Railroad: the Morey House on Hillside Avenue, the Redpath House on Maple Street, the Parsonage on Main Street, and the Cox-Haven House on Clifton Street. Although these houses still stand today, only the Parsonage has appeared on a postcard. Malden resident Harriet Robinson and Mayor Converses daughter-in-law Mary Parker Converse were early woman activists.

The town became a city in 1882. Grand residences were built by the businessmen, and nice residences were constructed by the middle class. Since very little remains of Maldens 17th- and 18th-century roots, most of its oldest buildings date from the late 19th century.

Being progressive, Malden tore down buildings as they got old and replaced them with more modern ones or ones more adapted to newer uses. In the 1960s, Malden became one of the first communities in the commonwealth to undertake urban renewal. This resulted in whole areas and neighborhoods being razed and put to new use. Suffolk Square and the Commercial Street factory area were transformed at this time.

During the 19th century, Malden became a center for the arts and artists. The earliest ones were probably Cyrus and Darius Cobb, the sons of minister Sylvanus Cobb, who left Malden in the 1820s. The Frenchman Joseph Morviller and native Albion Bicknell painted numerous Malden scenes. When Elisha Converse provided funds for a library, he made sure it contained art galleries. Bicknells Lincoln at Gettysburg has a prominent permanent spot in the Malden Public Library art galleries. Ernest Ipsen, a society portraitist, was born in Malden, as was Frank Stella, a modernist. One of the enduring forces of art in Malden was the presence of Horace Burdick, the nonagenarian resident and artist whose Malden home became a meeting place for many of the Boston artists. Malden continues as a center for the arts today.