ied in the year 1689.
In the division of his estate it was set off to his daughter Katherine, who married Elizer Wyer—To Katherine Wyer, she hath the house by Marble brook and about 18 acres adjoining, allowing 2 acres for highways.
Elizer Wyer and wife Katherine sold, in 1710, house, barn, and sixteen acres of land lying on botpurchasers, and the Shepard house came into the possession of John Hall and Stephen Willis.
There was not a house, at that date, between the Shepard house and Marble brook.
When Brooks and Wheeler purchased their estate (1660) they also acquired a right in the landing at the Rocks, next to Thomas Marrable's (Marble's) house.
The Rocks are now know as Rock hill, and Thomas Marrable's house must have stood on the east side of Marble brook, and may have been (and probably was) the identical house set off to Katherine Wyer from her father's estate.
April 26, 1641. Mr. Cradock grants to Josiah Dawstin of Mistick at Medford in New England all that my me
g place now occupied by Mr. J. T. Foster.
[P. 8.]
This is merely tradition, there is no record of any such transaction, and further, the major never owned the land.
Brooks. [P. 9.]
Whitmore brook has its source in Bare hill meadow; Marble brook in Turkey swamp; Winter brook in the region south of Winter hill; Two Penny brook (which Mr. Brooks does not mention) has its source south and west of Walnut Tree hill (now College hill); Gravelly creek has its source in the region south of Spook runs, is the westerly bounds of the said marsh,. . . Excepting from the above, 12 acres of the meadows lying by Mistick river next unto the land of the said Edward Collins.
These twelve acres of marsh land above described are bounded by Marble brook (it being the brook mentioned above) on the west, Mystic river on the south, north on the upland between High street and said marshland.
It included that point of marshland that was cut off, when a new channel of the river was made by Messrs
d. This latter, in the quotation of Mr. H. from John Fiske, is doubly qualified.
Certainly the writer of the Midwinter Ramble is now in a maze, if not then in the Bower, for by the communication of Mr. H. the Bower mentioned by Mr. Brooks was not where the writer thought he had found it, not by a dam site.
We will now quote Mr. Brooks, (page 393):—
There was a mill at the place now called the Bower, about a mile north of the meeting-house of the first parish, carried by the water of Marble Brook.
The banks, race, canal and cellar are yet traceable.
This was used for grinding grain and sawing timber.
It was on land owned by Mr. Dudley Wade. The mid-winter rambler had read the above, had never heard or read elsewhere of this mill or dam site, and accepting the only mention known to him as correct, wrote, Yes, this is the Bower (so-called fifty years ago), the site of the ancient mill.
He regrets his inaccuracy, renews his plea of not guilty of historical falsehood, and suggests
Medford's first gristmill
Without doubt Medford people were served by the Broughton come-mill across the river above Menotomie brooke, but that was not in Medford territory.
If the statement of our historian is correct, the Wade mill on Marble brook was the first.
He says of it,This was used for grinding grain and sawing timber.
But no mention of it as a gristmill is found in the settlement of the Wade estate, which speaks of saw-mill pond and the saw mill.
(This in 1689.) Writing in 1855, he also said of another:
There was a mill a short distance below Wear bridge, but who built it, or how long it stood, we have not been able to discover.
The place is yet occupied. He quoted from Medford records the favorable action of the town about gristmills in two places, and added of the first:
This was not successful, nor was the following,. . .
We ask, was Mr. Brooks correct in these statements?
and reply that he was regarding one just below Wear bridge, and wish he had
