Newstead Montegrade: The truth comes out

Here's another great thing about Boston: The reference desk at the BPL. You ask them a question, and they answer it. When the whole Newstead Montegrade issue exploded into the news a couple weeks back, I submitted an e-mail query to the reference desk. Just got back an answer from one of the librarians, Mary Devine, who basically says:

There is no such place, never was. There was once an estate called Newstead and another one called Monteglade (not "Montegrade"); the city bought them and other estates in the 1870s to create West Roxbury (now Franklin) Park (but not without controversy; seems the city didn't think the estates were worth as much as their owner did).

The websites that listed Newstead Montegrade as a city take information from other websites (i.e. data-mined them), such as MapQuest, to create generic pages. Unfortunately, that causes inaccurate websites and leads people to inaccurate information.

Ed. note: You mean, like this? You can read Devine's entire note (which includes more history and links to resources) below. The BPL reference librarians rule.

I am responding to your email request of April 6, 2005 regarding Newstead Montegrade, a location you found on MapQuest in the Jamaica Plain area. The location Newstead Montegrade does not exist in the sense that it is not a recognized section of Jamaica Plain nor is it a town or city as other websites suggest. The websites that listed Newstead Montegrade as a city take information from other websites (i.e. data-mined them), such as MapQuest, to create generic pages. Unfortunately, that causes inaccurate websites and leads people to inaccurate information.

The correct name of Montegrade is Monteglade. It was one of the estates that was obtained by the City of Boston from private citizens to create Franklin Park - originally referred to as West Roxbury Park.

Samuel E. Sawyer, in his book, History of the West Roxbury Park: How Obtained, Disregard of Private Rights, Absolute Injustice, Arbitrary Laws, Right of Eminent Domain, 1873-1887, describes his two estates. One estate was Newstead and was 476,360 feet (possibly square feet-not specified in the book) (p. 26.) The second estate was Monteglade and was 1,492,510 square feet. (p. 27.)

The book begins by describing the owners of the land suggested for Franklin Park. Samuel E. Sawyer describes his lots as charming property. He explains how much the property cost when purchased and how much people were getting for other private lots. Unfortunately, the city reduced the valuation of Samuel E. Sawyer's property so the city would not have to pay as much for the land as he had expected. There are many letters between Samuel E. Sawyer and the Park Commissioner, as well as other officials describing their unwillingness to pay the amount of money that Samuel E. Sawyer expected for his land.

One can get a general idea of where those estates were located based on descriptions in his book but not the exact borders of those areas. Newstead was located on the Eastern Side of Walnut Ave while Monteglade was located on the western side of Walnut Ave. The description for Monteglade also included other streets such as Ravenswood Park Circle (now in Franklin Park) and Glen road. Newstead was also referred to as lot number 17.

To get a rough idea of where those sections were, I used three maps: "General Plan of Franklin Park"- 1885, in Frederick Law Olmstead and the Boston Park System by Cynthia Zaitzevsky (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992, p. 69); "Map of Boston" – 1876, by Sampson, Davenport & Co.; and "Metropolitan Boston" – 1999 by Arrow. In 1876, Walnut Street (Avenue) extended through what is now Franklin Park about where the Circuit Road is located today. Ravenswood Park Circle was located in what is now considered the Wilderness of Franklin Park. This street does not exist on any maps today, although looking at the 1885 "General Plan of Franklin Park," it is possible that it was incorporated as a path in the design of Franklin Park.

I also consulted the book, A Record of the Streets, Alleys, Places, etc. in the City of Boston by Street Laying-out Department (Boston: City of Boston Printing Department, 1910.) This book helped clarify the history of the streets, such as when they were created, if they were still in existence in 1910 and if the streets were extended or shortened due to the creation of Franklin Park.

To find out the boundaries of the lands owned by Samuel E. Sawyer, and other nearby land owners, you may wish to search the deeds at the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds. The contact information is below:

Suffolk County Registry of Deeds
24 New Chardon Street
P.O. Box 9660
Boston, MA 02114-9660
Telephone: 617-788-8575
Website: http://www.suffolkdeeds.com

The Parks Department was in charge of the creation of Franklin Park and they may have some records in regards to the private lots taken for the creation of Franklin Park. You can contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 617-635-4505 to determine where the records are located if they are still available.

If you wish to read the various letters in Samuel E. Sawyer’s book, you may visit the Central Library of the Boston Public Library and request it from the Book Delivery Desk with the call number F73.65.F83S2. The book, Frederick Law Olmstead and the Boston Park System by Cynthia Zaitzevsky, is located in the Social Sciences Department and you request that book at the Social Sciences Reference Desk.

I hope this information will clarify your question regarding the location of Newstead Montegrade (sic.).

Sincerely,
Mary Devine
Reference Librarian
Social Sciences