Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, Mass.

Title

Cyrus Wakefield estate, 1886

Description

"This view from the mansion of Cyrus Wakefield, looks south toward Crystal Lake. The grounds were said to have been as magnificent as the house. Cyrus Wakefield purchased an estate in South Reading in 1851, where he later built his 'splendid residence with its handsome surroundings' in the early 1860s. The house was made of stone, and was complemented by a barn and gazebo. The greenhouses can be seen in the photograph, as can the canals and the orchards. Following Cyrus Wakefield's untimely death in 1873, the house was occupied by his widow, Eliza Bancroft Wakefield, who died soon after in 1877. Since Cyrus and Eliza Wakefield had no children, the home was then occupied by nephew Cyrus Wakefield, II, who left it to his three children upon his death in 1888. The Town of Wakefield voted to buy the property from George L. Wakefield in 1913 at a cost of $25,000. Four years later, in 1917, Town Meeting voted to appropriate $280,000 to cover the cost of erecting and equipping a new high school building. This appropriation was increased to $450,000 in 1919. The building was occupied for insurance purposes only, although it was used as the town's headquarters of the Red Cross, Food Conservation, Civilian Relief, and other war-time departments during World War I. The City Building Wrecking Company of Charlestown tore down the mansion which had fallen into disrepair on October 17, 1921. The new high school, now the site of the Galvin Middle School parking lot, was dedicated in 1923." -- Text from calendar by Jayne M. D'Onofrio.

Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 1999

Photo courtesy of the Wakefield Item Company.

Contributor

Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (Wakefield, Mass.)

D'Onofrio, Jayne M.

Coverage

Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield

Date

1886

Format

image/jpeg

Publisher

Wakefield, Mass. : Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department

Subject

Wakefield, Cyrus, 1811-1873

Wakefield Mansion (Wakefield, Mass.)

Wakefield Estate (Wakefield, Mass.)

Architecture, Domestic

Type

still image

Photographs

Original Format

1 picture : b&w

Extent

17 x 30 cm.