By Elizabeth Lawler {nee Donohoe}; Circa 1980’s
Butler School built in 1790 of wood twelve feet wide, 14 feet deep, one-story high. No plaster or clapboards. It had four small glass windows with wooden shutters. It was used in the summer only. In the winter, pupils were transferred to the teacher’s home. The teacher’ salary was $13.00 a month and board for six months for which the district paid $2.00 per week. Then Dorchester crated a new district called the western district. It included all the territory to the Dedham line from a half a mile below Mattapan. This was district number five. Reverend Henry Lyman named Hyde Park in 1854. He lived on Gordan Avenue at Austin Street. He belonged to an organization called the Hyde Park Land Company. Readville was known as the Dedham Low Plains. The Readville name was not until 1847. It was named after a James Reed who owned the cotton mill. The Sprague Farm was of the Revolutionary Period, the Donohoe family lived there until 1888. They were the last family to free their slaves. The first school in Readville was in 1814. It was at Milton and Sprague Streets. There were eight to ten pupils.
The U.S. Army built a hospital at Camp Meigs in 1863. 152048 men trained there. They bathed in Sprague’s Pond. Two hundred structures were built, fifty barracks, stables for 1,000 horses, a prison, a chapel, and a pumping station on 125 acres.
On April 22nd 1868 a bill was approved granting the petition for a Township. Territory was taken from Dedham, Dorchester and Milton, a total of 2800acres which was incorporated as the Township of Hyde Park. The Town was named by Reverend Lyman. There were 3,500 people in the new town. Three small schools, one large school, six religious societies, three churches, a cotton mill, a paper mill, a woolen mill, a vice factory, iron works, carshops, and a needle factory. In 1871 the beginning of the Public Library. 1874 the first Post Office. 1868 First Catholic Church. 1888 first Catholic School. Hyde Park taxes were $5.00 per thousand. On January 1st 1912 Hyde Park passed quietly into the hub part of the City of Boston. It was no longer a town. Aa general dissatisfaction with Town water rates and service.
Jackie, the first school was on River Street halfway down to Mattapan. It was called the Butler School. There were no railroads at the time. It was during the Civil War where the trained at Camp Meigs, That is over Readville [square] I guess you know that. There was Sprague Pond and part of o river [Neponset] all the way down to Hyde Park [that ran] right through Readville. My father once told me, the people had to use a boat to get over to where the factories were. Which later was Hyde Park Avenue. The railroad came in after, I don’t know what year. This is just part of the information I onetime picked up at the library. If I ever get anymore and you are interested, I will see that you get what I have.
Signed Love Eliz.
