"The upper Common, pictured shortly after the dedication of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument which occurred in 1902. Before the Town received a bequest from Cornelius Sweetser of $10,000 which stipulated that the money be used to improve a public park, the common as we know it was a bit run down, with debris from a nearby tin shop littering the area and a ditch running through the upper Common. The Town agreed to match the donation in 1883 and the common was transformed by the park commissioners. The end result was the draining and regrading of the Upper Common and the addition of new fences. In 1990, the Common District, referred to as the land between Lake Quannapowitt, Main Street, Common Street, Church Street, and Lake Avenue, was added to the National Register of Historic places. The Upper Common was officially named as the Veterans' Memorial Common in 2011." Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2012
