More information on this image is available at the Easton Historical Society in North Easton, MA
www.flickr.com/photos/historicalimagesofeastonma/albums
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Lothrop House, James, 306-310 Purchase Street, South Easton, MA, Harry Avery Lothrop, WWI Draft Card, 1918 info, Easton Historical Society
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The development by Oliver Ames and Sons Corporation of the factory and village land use in a rather organic manner with a mix work-related classes created an integrated geographic network. The housing on perimeter edge with factories and business affairs in the center creating the village concept in North Easton. Other important concepts were the Furnace Village Cemetery, Furnace Village Grammar School and the Furnace Village Store, which explains Furnace Village and other sections of Easton.
source: Massachusetts Historical Commission
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Description of Purchase Street below
History of the South Easton and Eastondale Fire and Water District below
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306-310 Purchase Street
In 1820, the James Lothrop House at 306-310 Purchase Street was owned and occupied by James, and Hannah Reed Lothrop. In March of 1814, James Lothrop’s parents, Solomon and Mediatable White Lothrop, sold their son, three parcels of land on Purchase Street in South Easton. One of the two parcels, on the north side of the street, was next to the property at 306-310 Purchase Street. The second parcel at 306-310 Purchase Street had a house on a twenty-seven-acre parcel including a barn, shop, corn barn, and shed. The third parcel was located on the south side on Purchase Street, across from 306-310 Purchase Street. On September 18, 1782, James Lothrop’s father, Solomon Lothrop married Mediatable White in Taunton, daughter of Cornelius and Susanna Howell White. On June 29, 1789, James Lothrop was born in Easton to Solomon, and Mediatable White Lothrop. In 1790, James Lothrop was residing on Prospect Street with his parents, Solomon, and Mediatable White Lothrop, with his sister, Celia Lothrop, and his brother, Howell Lothrop. In 1800, James Lothrop was residing on Prospect Street with his parents, Solomon, and Mediatable White Lothrop, with his three sisters, Mediatable, Susanna, and Celia Lothrop, and his three brothers, Howell, Darius, and Solomon Lothrop, II. In 1810, James Lothrop was residing on Prospect Street with his parents, Solomon, and Mediatable White Lothrop, with his two sisters, Mediatable, and Susanna Lothrop, and his four brothers, Daniel, Howell, Darius, and Solomon Lothrop, II. On September 1, 1814, James Lothrop married his first wife, Hannah Reed, daughter of Abijah and Sarah Reed. In 1820, owning and residing at 306-310 Purchase Street were James, and his wife, Hannah Reed Lothrop, with their daughter, Hannah Reed Lothrop. In 1830, residing at 306-310 Purchase Street were James, and his wife, Hannah Reed Lothrop, with their daughter, Hannah Reed Lothrop. On November 6, 1834, James, and Hannah Reed Lothrop’s only daughter, Hannah Reed Lothrop married John Vose, son of John and Hannah Vose. On January 15, 1837, James Lothrop’s first wife, Hannah Reed Lothrop passed away in Easton at the age of forty-seven, with her burial in the Isaac Lothrop Cemetery located at 396 Purchase Street. On December 2, 1838, James Lothrop married his second wife, Ruth Carr in Easton, daughter of Caleb and Amity Harvey Carr. In 1840, residing at 306-310 Purchase Street were James, and his wife, Ruth Carr Lothrop, with their two sons, James Franklin, and Eugene Terry Lothrop. On October 2, 1844, James Lothrop passed away in Easton at the age of fifty-five. James Lothrop’s Will noted that his children be paid one hundred dollars each. The rest of the estate was stipulated to go to his sons, William Howard, and Eugene Terry Lothrop, including their father’s one hundred and sixteen-acre family farm. A committee of the Probate Court noted the homestead farm was valued at twenty-five hundred and seventy-nine dollars and personal property at four hundred and eighty-two dollars. In 1850, residing at 306-310 Purchase Street was James Lothrop’s widowed wife, Ruth Carr Lothrop, with her two sons, William Henry, and Eugene Terry Lothrop. In 1855, residing at 306-310 Purchase Street was widow, Ruth Carr Lothrop, with her two sons, William Henry, and Eugene Terry Lothrop, and a boarder, Shepard L. Littlefield, a farmer. In 1855, the map of South Easton shows two parcels at 306-310 Purchase Street, on the north side of the street, as noted with the name, – Mrs. James Lothrop. – In 1855, the map of South Easton shows a parcel on the south side on Purchase Street, across from 306-310 Purchase Street as noted with the name, – Mrs. James Lothrop. – In 1860, residing at 306-310 Purchase Street was widow, Ruth Carr Lothrop, with her sons, William Henry, a farmer, and Eugene Terry Lothrop. On June 2, 1863, widow, Ruth Carr Lothrop’s son, Eugene Terry Lothrop married Sarah Vinci Southworth in Easton, daughter of William Henry, and Lucy L. Washburn Southworth. In 1865, residing on the south side of the street, from 306-310 Purchase Street were Eugene Terry, a farmer, and his wife, Sarah Vinci Southworth, with their son, Lawrence Eugene Lothrop. In 1870, residing dialogical across, on the south side of the street, from 306-310 Purchase Street were Eugene Terry, a farmer, and his wife, Sarah Vinci Southworth, with their three sons, Bradford, Daniel J., and Lawrence Eugene Lothrop, and their daughter, Sarah M. Lothrop. In 1870, Eugene Terry, and Sarah Vinci Southworth owned real estate valued at one thousand dollars and personal property at two hundred dollars. In 1871, the map of South Easton shows the parcel on the south side of the street, from 306-310 Purchase Street as noted with the name, – T.E. (E.T.) Lothrop. – In 1865, residing at 306-310 Purchase Street was widow, Ruth Carr Lothrop, with her son, William Henry Lothrop, a farmer, and a boarder, Joanna Mullins. In 1870, residing at 306-310 Purchase Street was widow, Ruth Carr Lothrop, with her son, William Henry Lothrop, a farmer. In 1870, Ruth Carr Lothrop’s son, William Henry Lothrop owned real estate valued at two thousand dollars and personal property at three hundred dollars. In 1871, the map of South Easton shows the parcel at 306-10 Purchase Street as noted with the name, – Mrs. Lothrop. – On November 1, 1872, Ruth Carr Lothrop passed away in Easton at the age of seventy. Following her passing, the property at 306-310 Purchase Street was passed to Ruth Carr Lothrop’s son, William Henry Lothrop. On October 11, 1874, Ruth Carr Lothrop’s son, William Henry Lothrop, a carpenter, married Elizabeth Dean Hall in Raynham, daughter of John Avery, and Euphemia Eustacia Reed Hall. In 1880, owning and residing at 306-310 Purchase Street were William Henry, a carpenter, and his wife, Elizabeth Dean Hall Lothrop, with their son, Harry Avery Lothrop, and Elizabeth’s mother, Euphemia Eustacia Reed Hall. In 1880, William Henry, and Elizabeth Dean Hall Lothrop owned a house valued at eight hundred dollars, a barn at one hundred dollars, a carriage, a horse, a cow, and sixty-six and three-quarter acres of land. In 1886, the map of South Easton shows the parcel at Purchase Street as noted with the name, – W.H. Lothrop. – In 1889, the Easton Massachusetts City Directory listed William Henry Lothrop as a carpenter residing on Purchase Street in South Easton. On October 24, 1893, William Henry, and Elizabeth Dean Hall Lothrop’s daughter, Ellen Augusta Lothrop passed away in Easton at the age of twelve, with her burial in the Central Cemetery at 371 Center Street in Easton Center. In 1895, the map of South Easton shows the parcel at Purchase Street as noted with the name, – W.H. Lothrop. – In 1900, residing at 306-310 Purchase Street were William Henry, a carpenter, and his wife, Elizabeth Dean Hall Lothrop, with their son, Harry Avery Lothrop, a farm laborer, and three boarders, Rebecca Dodge, a servant, Cora Landry, a servant and Olive Landry. In 1900, residing at 306-310 Purchase Street were William Henry, a carpenter, and his wife, Elizabeth Dean Hall Lothrop, with their son, Harry Avery Lothrop, On September 25, 1907, Harry Avery Lothrop married Jean Margaret Shortney in Rock, Wisconsin. In 1910, residing at 306-310 Purchase Street were William Henry, a carpenter, and his wife, Elizabeth Dean Hall Lothrop, with their son, Harry Avery Lothrop, and his wife, Jean Margaret Shorten Lothrop. On May 31, 1913, William Henry Lothrop passed away in Easton at the age of seventy-one, with his burial in the Central Cemetery at 371 Center Street in Easton Center. In 1917, the Brockton Massachusetts City Directory listed Elizabeth Dean Hall Lothrop as the widow of William Henry Lothrop residing on Purchase Street, near Prospect Street in South Easton. In 1920, residing at 306-310 Purchase Street was widow Elizabeth Dean Hall Lothrop, with her son, Harry Avery Lothrop, a farmer, and his wife, Jean Margaret Shorten Lothrop. In 1930, Harry Avery Lothrop, and Jean Margaret Shorten Lothrop owned the property at 306-310 Purchase Street, the house, poultry house, shop, silo, barn, a horse, three cows, seventy-five fowl, and over one and fifty-seven acres of land. In 1930, owning and residing at 306-310 Purchase Street was widow Elizabeth Dean Hall Lothrop, with her son as head of the household, Harry Avery Lothrop, a farmer, and his wife, Jean Margaret Shorten Lothrop. In 1940, owning and residing at 306-310 Purchase Street were Harry Avery Lothrop, a farmer, and his wife, Jean Margaret Shortney Lothrop. In 1936, Elizabeth Dean Hall Lothrop passed away in Easton at the age of eighty-seven, with her burial in the Central Cemetery at 371 Center Street in Easton Center. In 1940, Harry Avery Lothrop, a farmer, and his wife, Jean Margaret Shortney Lothrop owned real estate valued at three thousand dollars. In 1952, Harry Avery Lothrop passed away and Harry Avery Lothrop’s wife, Jean Margaret Shortney Lothrop passed away in March of 1960. The passing of Jean Margaret Shortney Lothrop ended over one hundred and fifty years of ownership of the property at 306-310 Purchase Street by the Lothrop family.
source: Easton Historical Society
source; Massachusetts Historical Commission
source: Ancestry
source: History of Easton, William L. Chaffin, 1886
source: Easton’s Neighborhoods, Edmund C. Hands, 1995
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Early School Days in Eastondale, Edwin H. White, 1950s
The following is part of a paper that Edwin H. White presented to the Easton Historical Society in the 1950s.
In 1818, Asa Howard sold land for a school house at the intersection of Turnpike and Washington Streets, upon which a school house was built. In 1869, the building was moved near what is now Joseph Dardeno’s House at 390 Turnpike Street. (1950s) This was where my father attended school. Also in 1869, a second building was erected on this site. It has recently been torn down, but it was a sore spot to our neighborhood for several years. It was set afire several times, but true to their duty, our firefighters saved a part of the building each time. I understand that during the last fire, the State Inspector appeared while it was still burning and ordered the firemen to extinguish the fire. This was the building in which I first attended school at the age of six. The following are the names of the teachers in their order while I attended school in this building: Miss Henrietta Gilmore, William Springer. Miss Cathell, Miss Jessie Bird and Miss Mary Young. The janitor was one of the older boys, and it became my job for two years, from 1882 to 1884. I had to be there early in the morning to sweep the floor three times a week, start the fire, and heat the school room where the pupils were taught, some of them walking a mile from either direction. There were no buses to carry us and our ears and toes many days seemed frozen even though we were dressed warmly with heavy woolen or red flannel underclothing, woolen stockings, and scarves or tippets as they were called, all of which our mothers had knitted in the long hours of the evening. I also had to fill the wooden pails with fresh water every morning, one for the girls ante room and one for the boys. These pails of water were kept on a shelf over an old iron sink, and a single long handled dipper hung on a nail nearby. I often wonder where the germs were in those days that two dippers were sufficient for all the children. There was no well on the school grounds, and I had to go a distance to a neighbor’s old well sweep to fill the pails and return them to their proper place. Sometimes I had to fill the pails more than once if the children were unusually thirsty. However, the last year I was there, the Town dug a well on the school, and installed a cucumber pump, which made the job easier. For fear some of you may not know about a cucumber pump, it was a six inch square box. extending down into the well and about five feet above the well. A long handle attached allowed long strokes for pumping the water. The schoolhouse was heated by a big oblong wood burning stove in the cellar. This stove, for safety from fire, was built upon a stone foundation and the upper part was enclosed with brick up to the floor and to the register which was in the front of the school room. The smoke pipe came up through the register to the the of room and extended the length of the room to a chimney in the north end of the building suspended by wires attached to the ceiling. Many a one and one-half foot log have I put into that stove. I received twenty-six dollars and fifty cents a for the school year. That was enough for a suit of clothes, a hat, and a ticket for Dickerman’s Sunday School Excursion during summer vacation, a big annual event in those days. The building was about thirty by forty feet. Doors on each side, one for the girls and one for the boys, opened into entries where our outer wraps were left. These entries opened into a vestibule and here the register was located. This vestibule could be separated from the classroom by two sliding gates which could be locked when occasion required. The classroom itself was occupied by four rows of double desks, not open tops. Two pupils sat at each desk. Boys were on one side of the room and the girls on the other, but notes could get across the line sometimes. Long seats were built on both sides of the room, and these seats were used for recitation purposes. As classes were called by the teacher, the pupils left their seats and went in order to these long seats. Then, as called upon, each pupil would rise and recite. The hours were from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and I p.m. to 4 p.m., with fifteen minutes recess both morning and afternoon. On pleasant days, we were allowed to play in the rear. All grades were taught in this school, from the ABC’s to the fourth and fifth readers. Some of these books I have in my home. One is marked, Entered according to Act of Congress 1871. For the writing period, we were supplied with a lined blank book. Each page had a sample of writing at the top, and our lesson was to copy it. One day, hands were raised frantically. Teacher, there is something the matter with the ink. It was the janitor’s responsibility to keep the ink wells filled, and the teacher looked to him for an explanation, but he was as puzzled as the other children. The teacher boarded on Purchase Street at the home of Mr. Rankin who was on the school committee. He supplied the ink for this school, and after hearing the teacher’s story, he went to his cellar where the ink was stored, and found he had made a mistake and sent a bottle of boiled cider in place of the bottle of ink. The poor janitor had poured the cider in the ink wells, and as you can readily guess, the cider and the ink already in the ink wells did not mix well. And now about discipline. I do not remember that there were any very bad boys. Of course we had our fights and disagreements. A skunk sometimes found his way into the cellar and the school had to be closed. I would not care to tell you if the skunk got in there alone or if was aided by cellar windows being left open. I should like to speak again about the stove. As I think of it now, it was an interesting arrangement. The doors in front of the stove were lifted by chains. A tiny hole no larger than a screw hole was discovered, or made, in the floor near the desk of one of the boys, who attached a cord from this spot through the floor to the cellar, and far enough across to be attached to the outer housing doors, which were made of steel and had two handles. This boy could be studying apparently, and one of the most studious, when by pulling the rope under his desk, the doors which were hung on chains would drop down with a bang, and this noise would startle the teacher and children. She said, Janitor, I fear you did not close the stove doors properly. Please attend to it. But just as the janitor returned, the same thing happened again. But now the teacher caught glances from various parts of the room. This led her to the culprit and the rope. This school building was used until the new brick building of two rooms was erected on Pine Street and dedicated June, 1930. A third room-was later added. In our Eastondale building, we especially liked to watch the cattle being driven through the street, and the shepherd dog that accompanied the driver and helped to keep the drove in order. If they were going by at recess time, we forgot school and went along to help, only to return and find ourselves late. It was a common sight in those days to see cattle driven through the streets. They were being driven from the Brighton cattle mart and delivered to the respective buyers. In closing, I have a tale of how I was teased by some of the boys in the school. I took a pair of shoes one morning to the cobbler just below the school. They were to be retapped. Today we say resoled. That afternoon, the cobbler was seen trudging by with a side of sole leather on his back. A side was probably enough to sole twenty-five or thirty pairs of shoes. The boys said he had to get all that leather for my shoes. They really did razz me considerably as to the amount of leather required for my shoes.
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Edwin C. White, following in the tradition of his grandfather and father, was President of Simpson Spring Company in 1967 until his retirement in 1988. For decades, Ed and his wife Evelyn (Lyn) lived in the second oldest house in Easton, the Benjamin Williams home at 539 Bay Road, which they totally restored. Ed and Lyn have been extremely active in the Easton community. Ed was the first president of the restored Easton Historical Society (1967-69), and facilitated many Antique Auto Meets at the Station. He was also the first Ames Free Library president to come from outside the Ames family, and was a trustee of the North Easton Savings Bank for 46 years, retiring as Chairman of the Board in 20I0. Lyn was one of the major spokespeople for saving Wheaton Farm, and provided the leadership for the creation of the Natural Resources Trust of Easton. (See History of Easton, Massachusetts: Volume Two, page 271.) She was also Executive Director of the Neponset River Watershed Association. Both Ed and Lyn have been active in Unity Church for many years. In 2001, the Lions Club presented the Whites the Outstanding Service Award, the highest award given. In addition, several years ago the Natural Resources Trust of Easton dedicated a bench on the foundation of the mansion of – Sheep Pasture – to Lyn and Ed White –Stewards of the Land.
source: Reminiscences, Early School Days in Eastondale, Edwin H. White, 1950s, Easton Historical Society
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South Easton and Eastondale Fire and Water District
At the turn of the century, this section of Easton consisted of the Town Hall, the Evangelical Congregational Church, the Almshouse, and the Center School, with the one-story Easton Center Depot a little to the east. There were a number of farms along accessory roads like Purchase Street. The village area along Washington Street, from Morse’s square stucco house near the southeastern corner of the intersection of Washington and Grove (now Belmont) Streets to the South Easton Depot south of the Green. Sequasset area, now called Eastondale, included the Eastondale Depot.
Those who were not self-employed or employed in the South Easton/Eastondale area were apt to be workers in one of the many Brockton shoe factories. Transportation to their place of employment was by train via West Bridgewater and Matfield to Campello and locations north. Lighting was by oil, or a reasonable facsimile, since electricity was not available until the first decades of the twentieth century. Police protection was on an informal level and there were no physicians in the South Easton-Eastondale area. At this time each home had its own well and pump. The South Easton-Eastondale Fire and Water District was not organized until 1916. Fire protection was either by neighborhood assistance or had to come from North Easton or Brockton. Such was the case when the Rankin house at the duck farm burned. The duck farm, located on Purchase Street, was owned by James Rankin and employed a number of people. A large wagon load of crated duck, would be shipped each morning from the Easton Center railroad station to destinations throughout the United States. The farmers sold their products by horse and wagon with daily milk routes being serviced. The milk was sold by the quart measure from eight-quart cans kept cool by ice. Seasonal products, such as apples and vegetables, were also sold. Another provision ordered and delivered to the home was meat. South Easton was serviced by Henry Heath and his son, Alfred Heath, who slaughtered their own beef. They delivered on a weekly basis and in the early 1900s two pounds of beef cost approximately twenty-four cents. A large part of their meat business was in smoked meats. Mr. Heath had a large smoke house, and people came from all over the area to have hams and bacon smoked. Many farmers did their own butchering, but had no smoke house, so they brought their meats to the Heath Smoke House. The same kind of services were provided by Cyrus Alger, who had meats and vegetables at his place on Turnpike Street.
The Washington Street area contained the thread mills of the E. J. Morse Company, the post office, the general store operated for many years by the Horace Mitchell family, and the Grammar School (both the old and the new, built in 1903). Further south, at the Easton Green, was the very busy J. 0. Dean grist mill. In back of the mill was the Ross Heel Company which was owned by Mr. Dean’s son-in-law, Edwin Kennedy. This was also where the Puritan rollaway screens were made in the early 1900s. Further south, along Washington Street, were the blacksmith shop, the depot on the left, and a new and thriving company on the right, the Simpson Spring Company. There were several paint and varnish shops in the area, and thermometers were made by the Poole’s on Foundry Street. In the Eastondale area, grain, lumber, and daily provisions were available at James E. Howard and Sons Store. Originally his father, James M. Howard, had operated a store as part of his home on Pine Street before buying the two-and-a-half story structure on Turnpike Street. It was burnt on the evening of October 5, 1930, and it was replaced by a smaller one-story store built on the site and ready for operation by March, 1931, by members of a third generation of the Howard family. Just as the South Easton Post Office was housed in or adjacent to the general store on Washington Street, so also was the Eastondale post office, operated by the Howard family for approximately fifty-five years. Other businesses on Turnpike Street were poultry farms and livery stables.
Many of the residents attended the Evangelical Congregational Church at the CenteL Those in the southern part of Easton who were Catholic would travel by horse and wagon or train to North Easton and the Immaculate Conception Church. In Eastondale. those who did not attend the Congregational Church organized a Unitarian Society.. Many South Easton residents were also active members of the Harmony Grange on Bay Road in Furnace Village.
source, History of Easton, Massachusetts, Vol. II, M. McEntee, Easton Historical Society, ET AL, 1886-1974
source: Easton Historical Society
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In the year 1915, a second district was established within the town of Easton known as the South Easton and Eastondale Fire and Water District. This district comprises a section of the town about 5 miles long and averaging a little over 1 mile in width lying along the easterly border of the town adjacent to Brockton and West Bridgewater. Its northerly limit is about 2 miles south of the boundary between Easton and Stoughton, and this limit extends from the boundary of the North Easton Village District to the boundary line of the city of Brockton. The North Easton Village District is supplied with water from wells situated in the valley of a tributary of the Coweeset River within the limits of the district. The South Easton and Eastondale Fire and Water District is supplied from separate works through an extension of the pipes of the city of Brockton. The arrangement of the two districts herein described leaves in the extreme northeasterly corner of the town of Easton an area about 2 miles long in a northerly and southerly direction and from miles in width which does not form a part of either district and is practically wholly cut off from the remaining portions of the town. This district, known as Unionville, is inhabited by about ninety families, and, in response to a petition of certain inhabitants thereof, the State Department of Health during the past year investigated the condition of the water supply in Unionville, as a result of which it was found that many of the wells in use were badly polluted, and the Department is informed also that many of them have failed during the dry seasons that have occurred in recent years.
source: Annual Report of the State Board of Health of Massachusetts, 1915
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August 23, 1915. To the Board of Water Commissioners, South Easton and Eastondale Fire and Water District, Mr. William N. Howard, Chairman. Gentlemen: — The State Department of Health received from you on Aug. 14, 1915, the following application for the approval by this Department, under the provisions of chapter 232 of the Special Acts of the year 1915, of the taking and use of water from Silver Lake for the water supply of the South Easton and Eastondale Fire and Water District through a contract with the water commissioners of the city of Brockton made under the provisions of said act. In order to comply with the conditions of the special act of 1915, chapter 232 in relation to the South Easton and Eastondale Fire and Water District, it becomes necessary to secure a certificate of approval by the State Department of Health of the source of supply and location of dams, reservoir, wells, etc., in compliance with the section two of said act. The South Easton and Eastondale Fire and Water District is under contract with the city of Brockton, which city is furnishing the district with water from its regular supply which is Silver Lake, which source of supply has already been approved and is under constant inspection by the State Department of Health. The attorneys who are passing upon bonds require, however, that a certificate of approval from the State Department be furnished as the law states. The Department has considered the results of examinations of Silver Lake, the proposed source of supply, by the engineer of the Department and finds that the water is of good quality for domestic use and the supply adequate for the requirements of the South Easton and Eastondale Fire and Water District in addition to those of the city of Brockton and the towns now supplied by that city from Silver Lake. The State Department of Health hereby approves the use of water taken from Silver Lake and supplied through the works of the city of Brockton for the water supply of the South Easton and Eastondale Fire and Water District under the provisions of chapter 232 of the Special Acts of the year 1915.
source: Annual Report of the State Board of Health of Massachusetts, 1915
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(1915) A new water district was established during the year in the town of Easton to supply the villages of South Easton and Eastondale. The supply is obtained from the works of the city of Brockton.
source: Annual Report of the State Board of Health of Massachusetts, 1915
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In 1915, South Easton and Eastondale Fire and Water District connected to the Brockton water system, which pulled water from Silver Lake in Pembroke. A series of pipes were laid and connections made to houses on Washington, Depot, Turnpike, and Pine Streets. Maps of the district were drawn locating the water connections, identification of the resident’s properties. Illustrated plans of the homes and businesses that connected to the districts water supply. The fire equipment for the South Easton and Eastondale Fire and Water District was housed in a barn on the southeast corner of Depot and Washington Streets. In 1932, the Town of Easton appointed a fire chief to supervise all the town’s fire departments.
source: Massachusetts Historical Commission
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In 1915, South Easton and Eastondale Fire and Water District connected to the Brockton water system, which pulled water from Silver Lake in Pembroke. A series of pipes were laid and connections made to houses on Washington, Depot, Turnpike, and Pine Streets. Maps of the district were drawn locating the water connections, identification of the resident’s properties. Illustrated plans of the homes and businesses that connected to the districts water supply. The fire equipment for the South Easton and Eastondale Fire and Water District was housed in a barn on the southeast corner of Depot and Washington Streets. In 1932, the Town of Easton appointed a fire chief to supervise all the town’s fire departments.
source: Massachusetts Historical Commission
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Purchase Street
Purchase Street, Prospect Street, and Bay Road were laid out between 1697 and 1699, before the Incorporation of the Town of Easton in 1725. The first settlers arrived in 1694. Purchase Street begins on the West Bridgewater line near Edwin T. Coward’s, passes James Rankin’s and Lucius Howard’s, and ends on Depot Street, east of the Orthodox church. The easterly portion of it before its alteration was very old. It crossed the swamp west of Washington Street, on a ridge north of the present road, and so extended easterly towards W. C. Howard’s. It also went on the south of the Littlefield house towards Cranberry Meadow, this part being laid out as the old Leonard papers at Taunton show in 1699. The part east of there was laid out in 1703. In March, 1763, that section of the road which runs past Lucius Howard’s was voted on but it extended farther north than now, in order to reach the old road to the meeting-house at the Centre. This old road was discontinued in 1801. The new one, from just north of Lucius Howard’s to the church and past Clapp’s crossing was accepted, this being now an extension of Purchase Street. In 1810, quite an alteration was made in this road east of Mr, Rankin’s place.
source: Easton Historical Society
