Maynard Historical Commission

07/16/2021

Did you know that anyone can get a Maynard Historical Commission historical plaque for their home or business? Find the application here: https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/gov/committees/historical-commission/historic-house-plaque-program/

07/12/2021

Up on Maynard's Hill, overlooking his mill, both Amory and his son Lorenzo built mansions in 1877. This handsome Second Empire style carriage house has been subdivided from Lorenzo's home and is now a double home on its own property. (In the background is the former servants' cottage, under separate ownership.)

07/09/2021

There are several former carriage houses around Maynard; some have been attached to the main building to add to the living space. Can you think of a former carriage house which has been subdivided away from its main house and is now a home in its own right?

06/28/2021

The oldest still existing house on Concord Street is the Asa Dexter House. It was built between 1830 and 1857 for Asa Dexter Smith (1809-1864), son of Haman Smith, descendant of early Sudbury settler John Smith. The building has been changed quite a bit over the years, adding dormer windows and incorporating the attached carriage house.

06/25/2021

Concord Street is one of the most ancient roads in town, used by the Stow Minutemen on their march to the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775. But no structures from that time survive. What is the oldest house on Concord Street?

06/21/2021

Architect Charles R. Greco designed two Maynard buildings: the St. Bridget's Rectory on Percival Street (1906), and the old Maynard High School/Artspace on Summer Street (1916). Both of these are from fairly early in his career. Fun fact: he also designed the cast iron historical markers issued by the Massachusetts Bay Tercentenary Committee in 1930, like this one in Stow.

06/18/2021

Charles R. Greco was a well-known Boston-area architect in the first half of the 20th century. His buildings include Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline, the Central Square Post Office in Cambridge, the Middlesex House of Correction in Billerica -- and two buildings in Maynard. What buildings are they?

06/07/2021

Besides the Red Brick Schoolhouse on Summer Street, the other 18th-century schoolhouse is the Turnpike School, first erected by the town of Sudbury at the corner of Old Marlboro Road and Parker Street. After Maynard became a town, it was moved farther north on Parker Street, before being sold and moved again to the corner of Acton and Concord Streets to become a private home.

06/04/2021

I posted about the Red Brick Schoolhouse (c.1789) on Summer Street back in March. There is another similar vintage schoolhouse in Maynard; where is it?

05/31/2021

The Maynard Hotel was on the southeast corner of Summer and Nason Streets; the property is now Memorial Park. It was first dedicated in 1925 and commemorated Maynard's war dead from the Civil War, Spanish-American War, and World War I. More recent conflicts have been added since, and in addition, all town residents who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam are listed.

Come to Memorial Park today at 11 am for the service; no parade this year.

The Maynard Hotel was on the southeast corner of Summer and Nason Streets; the property is now Memorial Park. It was first dedicated in 1925 and commemorated Maynard's war dead from the Civil War, Spanish-American War, and World War I. More recent conflicts have been added since, and in addition, all town residents who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam are listed.

Come to Memorial Park today at 11 am for the service; no parade this year.

05/28/2021

This is the Maynard Hotel, built in 1867 and destroyed by fire in 1921. Where was it located and what is there now? (Admittedly, this has nothing to do with Historical Commission markers!)

05/24/2021

The oldest thing that has a Maynard Historical Commission marker is the Marble Farm ruin, at the corner of Brown and Acton Streets, on the bike path heading to South Acton. The cellar hole, steps, and stone walls are all that remains of the farmhouse, built around 1700. It was occupied by 7 generations of the same family until 1924, when it was destroyed by fire. Recently the area was rehabilitated and Town Meeting voted to create Maynard's newest park.

05/21/2021

What is the oldest thing that has a Maynard Historical Commission marker?

05/17/2021

Historical Marker Dedication: June 5 at 10:15AM - Maynard Town Administrator

This interpretive panel brought to you by the Maynard Historical Commission, with generous public donations

Join the Maynard Historical Commission and the Maynard Sesquicentennial Committee on Saturday, June 5th at 10:15AM for the dedication of the historical marker for the Maynard Mill at Olsen Plaza, on the corner of Main and Walnut Streets.

05/17/2021

The oldest Maynard business still owned and operated by descendants of the founder is Erikson's Ice Cream, established in 1902, at this location since 1937. As demand changed, Erikson's switched from producing milk to distributing it, to producing and selling ice cream. The fourth generation since Hans Eriksen now manages the business, with the fifth generation among its employees!

05/14/2021

What is the oldest business in Maynard still owned and operated by descendants of the founder?

05/10/2021

Have you noticed the new interpretive panel about the mill? Dedication ceremony June 5!

05/10/2021

The Levi Smith House started life as a 1700s farmhouse. In 1816 it became a tavern (eating and drinking establishment and hotel/hostel) and is now back to being a private home. It is one of only a few pre-Revolutionary homes in Maynard.

05/07/2021

What private home in Maynard used to be a tavern?

05/03/2021

The first church building in what would become Maynard was the Union Congregational Church on Main Street. In 1850, a committee formed to organize a local Sunday School. They elected Amory Maynard as their superintendent -- just 4 years after his arrival in town. Amory and his business partner donated the land on Main Street, and fundraising began for the building. It was dedicated in 1852.

Today, the building houses Sanctuary (a performance venue), The Community School non-profit preschool, and other businesses.

04/30/2021

What was the first church building in Assabet Villlage, the area that became Maynard?

04/26/2021

Mary Gibson Davis, the mother of Captain Isaac Davis of the Acton Minutemen, grew up on the Gibson Farm on Summer Street. The Gibsons sold the farm in 1828 to Lucius Maynard (an unknown, probably distant, relation of Amory Maynard). After the farmhouse burned down in the 1830s, Lucius built the house that now stands. It is notable for having both a carriage house and barn still existing.

04/23/2021

Because of the 100% chance of rain, possibly heavy, I have rescheduled Sunday's Guided Maynard History Tour to TOMORROW, Saturday, 4/24, at 2 pm. Some of the participants cannot make it at the new time, so I have a few openings. If you would like to attend, and can walk 1.5 miles, comment here.

04/23/2021

There is a house in Maynard that has a connection to Isaac Davis, the Acton Minuteman Captain who was the first person killed at the North Bridge, April 19, 1775. Where is the house and what is the connection?

04/19/2021

Several buildings that started life in secular use, later converted to religious use:

The building that now houses St. Mary's Indian Orthodox Church was built as a coal-fired electricity plant for the Concord, Hudson and Maynard Street Railway. After the streetcar line was discontinued in 1923, the building became the Polish St. Casimir Catholic Church. By 1999 St. Casimir was absorbed into St. Bridget's.

In 1921, Eastern European Jewish immigrants purchased an existing residence on Nason Street in the way of commercial development, moved it to Acton Street, and converted it into the Rodoff Shalom Synagogue. In 1980 the Torah scrolls were walked in procession to Beth Elohim in Acton and the building went back to being a private residence.

Then some residents pointed out others that I had overlooked:

Lori Greenaway Byrne mentioned the St. Stephen's Knanaya Church, whose Main Street building was first built as the Finnish Temperance Society, then was the VFW Post 1812.

Lori also mentioned the First Bible Baptist Church, meeting in the former Italian Social Club on Waltham Street.

David Gavin added that the Church of the Nazarene meets in a former DCU building on Parker Street.

Way to go, local historians!

04/16/2021

Maynard, like many other towns, has a number of church buildings that have been converted to other uses. Can you think of an example of the opposite -- a building first built for some other use, later converted into a house of worship? (I can think of two in Maynard!)

04/12/2021

The first passenger rail station in Maynard, c.1850, was on the southwest corner of Main and Sudbury Street, where the gas station is now. Some time before 1875 a second station was built on the little triangle where Main Street meets Railroad Avenue. This station was replaced with a larger one (the third!) around 1900, and finally demolished in 1952.

Artemas Whitney had the original station moved to land he owned on High Street and sold the house to Assabet Manufacturing. It housed mill workers, then was auctioned in 1934 with the rest of American Woolen's housing, to the Finnish immigrant Selma Saari. It remained in her family until the 1980s.

04/09/2021

If Maynard has a rail-trail, it must have had a railroad line. If Maynard had a railroad line, did it have a passenger station? Where is/was it?

04/05/2021

Elizabeth E. Cleary (1855-1918) was born in Stow of Irish immigrant parents. In the 1910 census she is the head of a household of herself, her uncle, her younger brother, and 3 boarders. Catherine E. Williams (1859-?) was widowed before 1900 and lived on Glendale Street with her mother and son. Together Elizabeth and Catherine ran the business Cleary and Williams Dry Goods and Millinery on Main Street, though the business may have existed earlier in another location. Today the building houses the Pleasant Cafe, owned and operated by the same family since 1945.

04/04/2021

Happy Birthday to...us! On this day in 1881, the Maynard Public Library was opened on the 2nd floor of the Acton Street School, about where Jarmo's Auto Repair is now located. The town gave the library a start with $1,000 for book and supplies.

The library has bounced around to a few different locations around town, but here we are in this beautiful building 140 years later!

Also, Happy Easter to those who celebrate it!

04/02/2021

Guided Maynard History Tour

Wow, the guided tours filled far faster than expected! Most of the sponsored dates are sold out all the way to October! However, you still have a chance to attend:
1) Some of the people who registered for the low mobility tour on 5/16 did not realize it was a special version and have since cancelled. As of right now, there are slots available. If you cannot walk the 1.5 miles of the regular tour, I invite you to sign up for the stationary, bring-your-own-chair tour on Sunday 5/16. Go here: https://maynard-tours21.eventbrite.com
2) The attendance limit of 10 people each tour may be able to be increased as pandemic restrictions lift. A waiting list has been added to all tours; those on the list will be contacted first for additional slots. To add your name to a wait list, go here: https://maynard-tours21.eventbrite.com
3) I have added some paid tour dates to April and May, and if demand remains high, I will add more to later months as well. These are priced at $16/person, about half what you'd pay for a similar tour in Concord or Boston. To register for these, go here: https://maynard-tours21-16.eventbrite.com

Walk downtown Maynard with your costumed guide, Maynard resident Ann Gibson. Learn how the town developed and what makes it special today.

04/02/2021

Question: What turn-of-the-20th-century downtown Maynard business was named for and operated by two unmarried women?

03/29/2021

The oldest worker housing still standing in Maynard are these two cottages, built not for Amory Maynard's mill but for Nathan Pratt's gunpowder mill near the Acton town line. They appeared here around 1835 -- though from their 18th century design, it's possible that they were moved from some other location or built with materials from pre-existing houses.

03/29/2021

Maynard Sesquicentennial swag is available for purchase! Show your town spirit by purchasing a sweatshirt, t-shirt, mask or mug. Learn more about our town's history by purchasing the committee's book "Maynard a Brief History".
Orders can be made:
Via this site in comments
Instant messaging the site
Emailing committee member Jen Picorelli - [email protected]

03/28/2021

Maynard residents invited to view Concord Museum's newest exhibit for free

Maynard residents invited to view Concord Museum's newest exhibit for free

Maynard residents are invited to a complimentary in-person evening at the Concord Museum, in partnership with the Maynard Historical Commission.