Lost Massachusetts

Major highway projects can bring prosperity, ease of travel but can also cut through the soul of a community and make it vanish. In this episode we learn about how the Turnpike Authority cleared out swaths of homes in West Newton and Auburndale Mass. Myrtle Village formed around the Myrtle Baptist Church, which still stands today as a testament to the perseverance and faith of a community. However the construction of the Pike left visible scars on the neighborhood which can still be seen with a careful eye. A jumble confusing traffic patterns, dead ends and oddly configured streets make it obvious that the area used to look completely different.

We also discuss what a "Turnpike" is anyway and how the famous Star Market ended up straddling the highway.

By the late 1940’s routes 9, 20 and 30 were already completely congested with traffic. In an attempt to address the growing need for roads, one of the greatest monsters in Massachusetts history was created. Like most monsters this was a hybrid of two things. The key power of this monster is Eminent domain which gives the government the authority to seize private property in the public interest if they compensate the owner.

If you are driving through Ashland Mass you might notice something odd pop up on your GPS: a designation called “Workman’s Circle Camp” and if you zoom in you will see streets arranged in a semi-circle. If this made you really curious and you turn off the main road to drive through you won’t find anything that looks remotely like a camp of any kind. 

This is a ghost on the map and its real name is a further ghost. In Yiddish it would have been called Der Arbiter Ring. 

The 19th century saw a flood of European immigrants the east coast of the united states. Like many of these immigrant groups Jews from central Europe found themselves in the middle of what were at the time, the most crowded cities on the planet. These were cramped places full of tenements, sweatshops, poverty, oppression, crime and unfamiliar faces speaking dozens of different languages or dialects. 

Out of this chaos emerged a movement to not only escape the city but to preserve culture. In 1927 the site of an old mill in Ashland was purchased by the Jewish Workmans Circle and became the site of a kind of tent city called the Golden Ring Camp.

Join Lost Massachusetts on this mystery road trip and what we found at the end of it...We take an unexpected tour of a liminal space inside the lost town of Southerton Mass. Never heard of Southerton? It was and still is there. You can see it too.

We continue our investigations into Lost Dutch Mass (See Episode 25 Niew Nederlandt). On most early maps the area of current Boston Harbor is recorded as “Vos Haven”. Vos Haven is Dutch for Fox Harbor. This was no doubt named because of the abundance of foxes which are still prevalent in Massachusetts today. As the English gradually became dominant in the region and took more territory through a series of global and local conflict they replaced Dutch names with English ones. However, the English still had a problem with names that many people were already familiar with. The Puritans may have come up with a clever solution to make a particular place “english” while preserving the moniker travelers were used to.

In order to understand this we have to plunge into the history of how Massachusetts capital got its name which on inspection starts to fall apart. The Puritan Colony capital went through a few iterations before a name was selected but it seems to have been pulled out of thin air. Stories and explanations may have been backfilled later. Listen to the episode to learn more.

Also explained in detail is exactly how the Dutch lost their massive global empire. We reference Lotharingia by Simon Winder which covers the lost European country of Lotharingia. Not only is this a good reference for our topic it also illustrates how such large territories can be erased from maps and forgotten. 

About the time of Paul Revere’s death in 1818 the street name Mechanic Street begins to appear on maps in Boston's North End. This narrow street, connecting what was then Middle Street and Fish Street, was also connected to Board Alley in the center, forming a ladder on some maps or an arch on others. Mechanic Street in Boston is barely a street anymore. One end was cut off when the Sumner Tunnel was constructed and the other is now outdoor seating for a restaurant. This location is on the Freedom Trail but it is not part of a tour, there is no historical marker. This is a block away from Revere’s house but any connection to him is not drawn even though it easily could be.

Mechanic in this context is unrelated to automobiles or garages. This is an archaic, old-world definition of Mechanic that refers to people who work with their hands in a number of skilled crafts. One might guess the name of this street is intended to reflect Boston’s rising class of citizen artisans, but could it mean something much more in addition to that?

Throughout the nineteenth century Mechanic Streets begin appearing in towns across Massachusetts, over 70 in fact, many with a very specific configuration. Is there a lost meaning in the street layout itself?  In this episode of Lost Massachusetts we begin looking at the lost history of Mechanic street to see where it takes us.

The Watertown Arsenal is a property that has had many lives. It is mostly known today as a shopping center but for 175 years it was a U.S. Army research facility responsible for some of the most critical innovations in military technology, many of which ended up in civilian use later. It started as an Army base for storing munitions after the War of 1812 but was used to make new kinds of artillery in the Civil War. The focus on artillery continued in the 20th century turning the base into a sprawling factory, making essential contributions to the war efforts throughout the decades. In its Cold War phase the research became focused on creating new materials. The site was host to a one-of-a-kind nuclear reactor in the 1960's. Its operations gradually wore down and the property has been sold off in pieces, most famously becoming a premier shopping mall in the 1980's. For a time this was a dead mall but has been reimagined as Arsenal Yards. The vast property is a patchwork of public parks, businesses, crumbling factory buildings, gardens, classic architecture and mysterious underground tunnels. Some of the land has been contaminated at various times by the research conducted at the Arsenal, some of which is still classified. Most of the Arsenal is open for exploration. 

In this episode we play a clip from our interview with Noah Hatton on WPKZ Fitchburg and respond to listener comments. We also puzzle over other things that come up in searches for Lost Massachusetts. Locations of possible future episodes are revealed as well. 

In this Lost Massachusetts Episode we take a zig-zag drive through the Mass/Conn border examining the odd crossings between Southwick, Mass & Granby, Conn; Longmeadow, Mass & Enfield, Conn; and a 12-second crossing in the Douglas State Forest. There are also waterfront properties where the house is in one state but the beach is in another.

Take a good look at the Mass/Connecticut border, it's not a straight line, not even close. From New York the mass border slopes north, then south, then drops into Connecticut for miles in places, slopes north again, then south again and then finally straight down where it meets the Rhode Island border.

A bad survey line established in 1642 marked a disputed state line that placed a dozen or more Connecticut towns within Massachusetts. It would take almost two hundred years to settle this dispute. Why was the line so inaccurate? Because the people who did it conducted their measurements from a ship instead of on the land. They took measurements from the ocean and the Connecticut River which were not much better than guesses.

Connecticut did not even have its own royal charter 1662, it was a mishmash of adjacent colonies centered around New Haven and Saybrook that did not combine until later. This was the period of history where the Netherlands was loosing control to England, including the Dutch possessions in New England.

When they received their charter, Connecticut put its version of the state line well above the 1642 line, but this remained an issue of dispute and confusion between the two states. More settlers moved into the towns not always clear on where they lived.

Connecticut conducted a new line survey in 1695 which massachusetts ignored.

Mass did not like the results from another survey conducted in 1702 either. in 1713 the two colonies simply agreed to divide up the towns in the disputed area, but the towns impacted by the change did not like being tossed around so another survey was chartered. Strangely, the new border agreed to by massachusetts put several towns that were clearly settled by massachusetts in Connecticut. These towns were shifted back to massachusetts which made the various jogs we see on the map. If you think this ended the issue it did not since some settlers in massachusetts wanted to be part of connecticut because the taxes were lower. Imagine that. So the border shifted again for some people. In 1797 part of the border was adjusted because a river used as a marker had...moved. After the revolution the issue was revisited in 1801 but was not redrawn until 1826 and agreed on until 1840. All of this confusion was compounded by the fact that many stone markers, while intended to show the actuate borders were in the wrong place. It was also found that some settlers have moved marker stones to expand their own farms. These discrepancies were not fixed until 1941. The issues did not end there as new technology in the early 2000s made more accurate measurements and these results showed many border lines to be invalid. Believe it or not, Connecticut's eastern border with Rhode Island is still in dispute.

These are the towns above the 1642 survey line: Thompson, Woodstock, Union, Stafford, Somers, Enfield, Suffield, Granby, Windsor Locks, Hartland, Barkhamsted, Winchester, Colebrook, Norfolk, Canaan, Salsbury, Millerton NY.

The towns specifically settled and claimed by Massachusetts: Woodstock, Somers, Enfield, Suffield.

What exactly is "Massachusetts" anyway? Where is the real, original Massachusetts? In this episode we explore the name and initial location it refers to. This is a good starting point for exploring the deep history of Lost Massachusetts.

The word Massachusett (sometimes Massachuset - with one T) loosely translates as: "at the range of hills" in the Algonquin dialect spoken by the native people of Massachusetts. The hills referenced in the term are the Blue Hills and in particular the Great Blue Hill in Milton.

The people referred to as Massachusett ("Massachuseuk") controlled an area much smaller than the current size of the state. Its frontier was roughly from Cape Ann in the North, Natick in the West and Weymouth in the South.

What became the colonist state of the Massachusetts Bay Colony also did not include Plymouth plantation, the Cape and Islands (The "Old Colony") or generally lands further to the West or North until later.

Outermost house of Henry Beston. Come with us over the sand dune cliff to search for Henry Beston's lost Outermost House in the most recent episode: The Fo'Castle E35. 

Viking MASS part one...It is claimed by many people that there was viking exploration and even settlement of Massachusetts seven or eight hundred years ago, long before any other European’s arrived. Did this happen? How valid are the claims? Is it possible? Where is the evidence?

First Who were the vikings? These are various medieval people originating out of Sweden, Norway and Denmark who became notable for raiding coastal settlements in Europe in the ninth century from Russia to the British Isles. They often raided monasteries that were undefended for the gold. The image conjured in many people’s minds of vikings is the raiding and piracy, but what is more interesting for this discussion are the expansions, settlements and take over of various European territories by vikings. It surprises people to find out that Dublin Ireland was a viking settlement, and that parts of England and France were viking-sized. This helps answer the question as to why Vikings might have pushed deep into north america. This story is not about raiders and pirates, it’s about the need for new territories to move people into. Some of the motivation was about inheritance or rivalries between siblings that led them to want to find unexplored territories, especially places where they wouldn’t have invade with an army.

We begin our story by visiting the statue of Leif Erikson on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston near Kenmore Square. This is one of many monuments in the area dedicated to Viking exploration. Some are at locations claimed to be actual landing sites or possible settlements. We will attempt to visit and evaluate many of these in parts 2 and 3.

Chestnut Hill Does Not Exist...or does it???

The Oblong - A mysterious phantom territory between Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York.

One might think it is easy to draw three straight lines to a point and say: This is Massachusetts, this is Connecticut and this is New York, but apparently that is actually very difficult and literally took centuries to sort out.

Lost Massachusetts Returns...to Cornhill in Truro on Cape Cod. This place represents a pivotal moment in the history of Massachusetts, the site of a lost village now surrounded by summer homes. 

There had been encounters between natives of Massachusetts and Europeans for possibly hundreds of years. This was possibly the first time Europeans set foot in a Native American village. It is remembered as the moment Mayflower Pilgrims saved themselves from starvation by taking stored food from what is now known as Cornhill, what was a village of the Pamet people. The Pamet had relocated to their winter homes and were not there when the Pilgrims entered the village. Cornhill gets great ocean breezes in the summer but can be brutal at the time the Pilgrims arrived in November. The Nauset had good reason to be suspicious of the English but eventually became allies after the Pilgrims paid them for the stollen corn later. Find out more details in the second episode from season 2, including some possible information about the Nauset dogs. 

Lost Haunted Houses: The Bird Lady

In this episode of Lost Massachusetts we read some listener experiences with haunted places and go into detail about the house of the Bird Lady. Listen if you dare...

Preview of Season Two

The Postcard Episode

We are recording from an abandoned Post Office somewhere in rural Mass. There are at least 24 post offices in Massachusetts that have been closed since 1900 and had their zip cods retired. Wait, how did a post office closed before 1963 have its ZIP cancelled if there were no ZIP codes? THAT is another mystery for a different time...

For a number of reasons Massachusetts is thought of as a product of British colonialism. We fought a revolution against the British, English is our primary language, our legal system is based on English law, and the state is part of “New England”. However, many may be surprised that before Massachusetts became English it was Dutch. Cape Cod was referred to as New Holland and most of the Northeast was either called New Belgium or New Netherlands. The dutch were setting up shop in Mass. a decade before the Pilgrims set foot in Plymouth. Yes, long before the English colonial charters were issued, Dutch explorers pushed through the wilderness, traded with native tribes, built settlements and created maps that showed them controlling the entire territory. What did Dutch Mass look like? What happened to it? Can we see any of it today? The Dutch did not control Massachusetts by the end of the 17th century and is generally not thought of as Dutch today. This episode of Lost Massachusetts starts with the early history of Dutch claims while pointing out a number of things that have Dutch origins. We interview Dutch Emma, who has lived in Massachusetts for years, about her knowledge of the Dutch legacy. 

Adriaen Block (thehistoryjunkie.com)

Did you have a dark, creepy house in your neighborhood growing up?

Lost Massers, I’m looking for your input! I want you to send me a short ghost story about where you grew up.

We’re developing a concept for our Halloween episode this year and its related to Haunted Houses, not haunted attractions but real haunted houses you may have grown up with in your hometown in Massachusetts.

I had several where I grew up, rotting, decrepit old mansions that were set back from the road or on a hilltop somewhere. Sometimes they were completely empty, sometimes someone lived there, but someone we never saw. Kids would dare each other to bike by the house, ring the doorbell, look through the windows.

The key is that legends would grow around these creepy buildings, rumors, weirdness, spooky occurrences, exaggerated tales about the history of the place. I think every town in Massachusetts had at least one and I know you all remember them and the stories behind the ghost houses.

What kind of short stories am I talking about?

I’ll give you a quick example: On my street growing up there was a boarded up house that for some reason kept getting newspapers delivered to it for years. They would pile up on the doorstep, get yellow with sun, they melt into pulpy piles because of the rain and snow, but there would always be fresh ones on top of the old trash.I finally met the kid who delivered the papers on his bike and I asked him about it. He said there was an envelope with cash in it every week plus tip left for him in the mailbox so he kept brining the papers. but he never saw anyone in the house.

That’s what Im talking about, what’s your old neighborhood haunted house?

I’m sure many of them are now gone, knocked down and replaced with a development, a department store or a McMansion. Some are just overgrown fields with old wall around them, there are a few like the in my town now.

Here’s what you can do: I want you to send those stories and I will read or play them on the show. There are a few ways you can get these stories to lost Massachusetts. You can write us through our usual contact methods or you can send a voice message that we will play in the show.

Closed section of Interstate 95 now hiking/biking trail. You can walk on a real Lost Highway...Just off the real Interstate 95 in Newburyport there is a hidden nature trail that is actually a paved road. Originally, a relocated section of Route 1 it was repurposed as part of the new Interstate system only to be abandoned and replaced with updated sections of 95. Converted into recreational area, this is a great place to explore and wonder at how nature reclaims what leave behind but still leaves discoverable pieces under new growth.  

In 1834 Boston's growing Irish Catholic immigrant community met the fiery resistance of a suspicious native Protestant Yankee mob. The Ursuline Convent and School in Charlestown (now Somerville) was burned to the ground following strange rumors of women being held captive and even murdered behind the walls. But Bostons Irish would not be deterred and rose from the ashes in a triumphant symbol that can still be seen today.

Sights and sites to see in an and around Worcester Mass. that may puzzle or intrigue you. We discuss the concept of road trips in general and explain how the road trip itself started in Massachusetts. I want to talk about 5 or so things. A hat, a tower, a pumpkin, an unpronounceable name, and a strange street. 

Mysterious (or not so much) manmade(?) cave in Upton - Attributed to various groups but still unsolved, the Upton Chamber is one of hundreds of structures throughout the region with an unknown past. It is, however, the largest and most accessible (and probably the coldest). 

Weird beard: The story of a persecuted follicle fashion and an unofficial community that vanished before it could become a real town. Also, we talk to a born-and-raised son of Leominster. 

Norton Furnace (Meadowbrook) and the Copper Works Now a quiet residential area with a hiking trail, the lower portion of Norton was once home to a dense collection of industrial factories.   

Working with boy scouts to find what is hidden beneath this spacious state part on the south shore...

The Long Ditch and Mother Brook are the first man-made industrial water ditch projects in America. You can canoe/kayak or hike this area that holds a critical part of our early history. Also we read some online comments about the podcast. 

Mysteriously named and somewhat dreamlike to match, Questing Mass has long history that could be as elusive as the monster it is named after. 

The cutoff community of Boston Corner was eventually literally cut off from Massachusetts and added to New York. Hidden behind the Taconic Mountains, beyond the reach of Massachusetts law, the Mount Washington section called Boston Corners become a haven for gamblers, bootleggers and horse thieves. The small town was wrecked in a riot brought on by the "Fight of the Century", an illegal boxing match that pitted leaders of two different Irish gangs from New York against each other in the ring. 

Within Rutland State Park there are the ruins of an abandoned state prison farm camp and former tuberculosis hospital. Between 1903 and 1934 this was home to hundreds of drunkards, vagrants, tramps and vagabonds, The growing power of the temperance movement put many drinkers on the outside of society. Many of the inmates were foreigners caught in various social upheavals. This is not a difficult hike. You are basically walking along a dirt road until you reach the complex, getting there by bicycle is easy. Be careful searching the ruins, lots of nasty holes to fall into. 

Show Notes:

Recap episode for our initial shows and a Lost and Found Boston Christmas story.

Where does Thanksgiving really come from? Especially the food? The modern meal we eat is nothing like the original meal and the reasons for the Thanksgiving holiday (including the observed day) are Lost. History is always more complex and interesting than we think. In this episode we attempt to reconstruct the Plymouth dinner and the winding path to our own holiday meal.

Sources and Notes

Peddocks Island is one of Boston's larger harbor islands. Peddocks has a number of Lost stories, but this episode covers the U.S. Army Artillery base, Fort Andrew, first created during the Spanish-American War as a defensive position that was updated for World War I and World War II. Many buildings from the old base are still standing and the locations of the canons or mortars can still be seen. But, there are more hidden histories to be found....The island is available for day hikes and overnight camping by permit. 

Show Notes and References

Come along with us on a journey to the Land of the Dead on this All Souls Day as we visit Forest Hills Cemetery to examine its lost history and mysterious present. Every civilization struggles with the task of where to place its dead. One thing is certain, the dead will always outnumber the living and as cities grow church graveyards become cramped and chaotic. Concerns that having the dead in proximity with living and working spaces called for new solutions. The phenomena of ground creep would often result in dirt walls crumbing with coffins and skeletons falling into the street or even building cellars. The 19th century witnessed many social innovations, a key one being the open-space movement. The idea of, for example, establishing public play spaces for children is a relatively new one. Another open space initiative was to provide municipal burying spaces which Forest Hills was one of the first in America in 1848. Forest Hills is in and of itself a work of art full of individual works of art. On our adventure, we look for a village of tiny houses that are part of a sculpture project called Neighbors by Christopher Frost.  We read "Picnic in a Graveyard" from Lets Bring Back... by Lesley M. M. Blume which gives a different perspective on cemeteries.