Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, Mass.

Title

Wright's Boathouse, Lake Quannapowitt, circa 1893

Description

"The lakeshore on Main Street was not part of the town's common land before 1885; rather, the southeast corner of Lake Quannapowitt and Main Street was dotted with buildings, such as John Aborn's Shoe Shop, which was said to be between the lakeshore and Main Street, Mrs. Courtney's hand-laundry, several houses, and Wright's Boathouse. The structures were eventually moved as a result of the bequest of Cornelius Sweetser to create public parklands, and the 1882 act of the legislature to allow cities and towns to lay out public parks within their limits. The boathouse, built by Albert J. Wright around 1886, remained on the lakeshore until 1893 when it was moved to a location behind his 228 (now 202) Main Street home. Its removal may have also been prompted by the extension of the street railway line along lakeside, which opened on May 26, 1894. Born in 1838 and educated in Boston, Albert J. Wright 'shipped before the mast' aboard the clipper ship Radiant in the mid-1850s where he sailed to San Francisco, making the passage in 135 days. In his travels he learned the tinsmith's trade in Michigan, and returned to Boston in 1858. He read law in the office of the City Solicitor, attended Harvard Law School, and was admitted to the Bat in 1861 to practice in all the courts of the Commonwealth by Chief Justice Shaw of the Supreme Court. He received a commission in 1863 as paymaster in the United States Navy, and after the Civil War he entered the printing business where he and his partner, under the name of the W@right & Potter Printing Company, became the authorized state printers. He was active in many organization, including the Loyal Legion of the United States of America, the Grand Army of the Republic, the Kearsarge Association if Naval Veterans, the Bostonian Society and the Harvard Law School Association, the Boston Yacht Club, of which he was a charter member, and the Eastern Yacht Club of Marblehead, among others. He also served as a member of the General Committee of the 250th anniversary celebration of the Town in 1894, serving as a member of two subcommittees: Procession and Out-Door Music, and Reception and Entertainment of Guests."

Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2016

Photo courtesy of the Wakefield Historical Society.

Contributor

Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

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

D'Onofrio, Jayne M.

Coverage

Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield

Quannapowitt, Lake (Mass.)

Date

1893

Format

image/jpeg

Publisher

Wakefield, Mass. : Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department

Subject

Boathouses

Lakes

Wright's Boathouse (Wakefield, Mass.)

Type

still image

Photographs

Original Format

1 picture: b & w

Extent

24 x 21 cm.