Newton Centre Improvement Association records

Item Information

Title:
Newton Centre Improvement Association records
Description:
Papers of the Newton Centre Tree Club 1853-1859, the Prudential Committee of the First School District 1869-70, and the Newton Centre Improvement Association 1878-1926, including bound volumes, minutes, programs, maps, reports, plans, by-laws and correspondence. The Newton Centre Tree Club, forerunner of the Newton Centre Improvement Association, was Newton’s first improvement society and possibly the earliest in Massachusetts. It was organized by Town Clerk Marshall Rice, Luther Paul, and James F. C. Hyde (later Newton’s first mayor). In September 1852, the three men issued a call to the citizens of Newton Centre and vicinity who were "fond of cooling shade in sultry days," inviting them to form an association for the purpose of improving and beautifying the village roads and commons. Of particular concern was the Newton Centre Green, formerly the training field, which was in very poor condition. In choosing to form an association, they were also aware that by acting together they would be able to command more attention for their projects than they could as individuals, and they began to work on the Common and to plant trees along the roadways. Although the Tree Club lasted less than three years, it was a model for future organizations. In 1869-70, Rice and Hyde and others in the First School District (Newton Centre) formed a new committee with a broader mandate to look after a wide range of village interests. Their concerns for "sewerage, gas, water, police, railroad facilities and the development of those natural advantages, which need only judicious and concerted attention to make this the favorite Village of the Town for residences," reflected the aspirations of the emerging suburban community. In September 1879, citizens of Newton Centre came together again, this time forming the Newton Centre Rural Club, and recording their activities in the original Tree Club record book. At a meeting in March of the following year, Hyde gave an account of the early Tree Club, describing "how members labored in setting out trees along the roadsides, many of which are now standing and are large trees." Two months later, without an official change, the group began to call themselves the Newton Centre Improvement Association. Under the aegis of the Association, the Common again received attention, and an embankment and walkway were built along the shore of Crystal Lake where skating, swimming and Fourth-of-July festivities were held. A major accomplishment in the 1890s was the acquisition and development of the Newton Centre Playground, which was laid out by the nation’s foremost landscape architect, Fredrick Law Olmsted. The playground remains generally intact today, although a portion was taken for school construction in the 1950s. Despite development and changes in the area, the park exists today thanks to the foresight and perseverance of the Newton Centre Improvement Association.
Format:
Documents
Genre:
Records, Organizational
Location:
Historic Newton
Collection (local):
Jackson Homestead & Museum Archives
Subjects:
Neighborhoods
Civic leaders
Associations
Trees
Paul, Luther
Hyde, James F. C.
Rice, Marshall
Newton Centre Improvement Association
Newton Centre Tree Club
Prudential Committee
Newton Centre
Link to Item:
https://historicnewton.catalogaccess.com/archives/10159
Terms of Use:
Copyright Not Evaluated
Contact host institution for more information.
Identifier:
JHA-1978.1
10159