Saugus Looks Back: Stone Boundary etc.

Our first photograph this week is of the large stone which marks the spot where the boundary lines of Saugus, Lynnfield and Lynn all meet. The stone is usually almost completely submerged below the water level of Walden Pond but the photo was taken a few years ago during a drought.

The letters “L” and “D” stand for “Lynnfield” and on the other sides of the rock are the letters “S” for “Saugus” and “L” for “Lynn”. In the year 1814 Lynnfield which had been called Lynn End was set off as a separate town by an act of the Massachusetts General Court and the Third Parish of Lynn was given the same legislation the following year. It took the Native American name for early Lynn and became the Town of Saugus. Certainly the stone shown here must have become a border stone at this time.

Our next pictures are photographs of some squares from the Heritage Quilt made by the Hammersmith Quilter’s Guild in 1987. The guild dates back to 1982 when Jackie Copeland, then a Saugus resident, put an ad in the Saugus Advertiser asking readers to call her if they were interested in forming a quilt guild. The first meeting on May 17, 1982 found fifteen people attending and over the years it has grown much larger. For a while they met in the East Saugus United Methodist Church and the purpose of the organization was to save, encourage and develop the art of quilting. It was decided at that time to join the New England Quilter’s Guild which has about 15,000 members throughout the northeastern part of the United States.

The Heritage Quilt is still on display in the Saugus Town Hall for all to see. All the blocks in it are of interest but a few of them stand out in their historical importance. The Saugus town seal, for example, is based on the official seal designed by Alonzo Lewis for the town many years ago. The Indian in the design is Montowampate, the Sagamore of Saugus who gave settlers from Salem permission in 11629 to settle this area.

I’m happy to see that Rev. Joseph Roby is honored on one of the quilt blocks. He became minister
here in 1748 and remained as spiritual leader until he was stricken while preaching in 1802. It has been written that once, during the Revolution when it was reported that the British might be coming this way “he walked into his pulpit with a loaded rifle under one arm and a Bible under the other, while his long frock coat dangled at his legs”

The Heritage Quilt was funded by a grant from the Saugus Arts Lottery.

Our last illustration is a view of Cliftondale Square as it appears on the newest postcard published by the Saugus Historical Society. Once called “Sweetser’s Corner” the area was an early site of tobacco processing and allied trades. According to some local accounts, Cliftondale got its name from Joshua Webster, first president of the Saugus Branch Railroad.

This new postcard can be purchased at the Saugus Historical Society and also at the Peter A. Rossetti Insurance Agency in Cliftondale Square.