Carlisle Massachusetts, Wilkins Notebooks and old photos

I did a bit of digging for my prior post and when I Google searched for William Koford, I stumbled on the DigitalCommonwealth website. It is wonderful and pretty well organized considering it appears to be structured via an automated process.

Here is a search of photographs of Carlisle MA on the site. Below, are a number of photos I found that I had not seen before AND were Koford House at the corner of South Street and West Street Carlisle related.

the origin of these photos is the Wilkins Notebooks.

The Wilkins Notebooks – from DigitalCommonwealth (also to be found from the Gleason Library site)

The items in this collection are drawn from “Old Houses and Families of Carlisle, Mass.,” a nuanced and detailed history of the town. This 25-volume set of notebooks was written and compiled by Martha Fifield Wilkins, who donated the series to the Gleason Public Library in 1941.Locally known as the Wilkins’ Notebooks, the twenty-five volumes provide extensive and unique documentation of Carlisle’s history. Throughout the 1930s, Carlisle resident Martha Fifield Wilkins researched houses in town built before 1830. She compiled the histories of these houses from deeds and other documents, family lore, and local history resources. Extensive genealogy is integrated with the house histories, including in-depth histories of selected families. Enhancing the histories of houses and people are colorful descriptions of community institutions, events, and traditions. Local folktales and unique anecdotes enliven the narrative.

Approximately 500 photographs are placed throughout the notebooks to compliment the text. Mrs. Wilkins included several photographs of each house, most of which were taken between 1900 and 1940, but also older images when available. The photographs provide researchers with a rich visual history of Carlisle’s past.

The Old Farrar Place, now residence of William C. Koford

Backside of the house - the photographer is standing in the middle of south street, approximately where the brook goes under the road. Note, according to Alice Koford, the town of Carlisle was generally electrified in 1918 and the streets at this end of town were paved in 1938 — Backside of the house – the photographer is standing in the middle of south street, approximately where the brook goes under the road. Note, according to Alice Koford, the town of Carlisle was generally electrified in 1918 and the streets at this end of town were paved in 1938. The small outbuilding in the left hand side of the photograph I believe is the roof for what the Koford’s used/called their ice house. There is some evidence however that this was a re-purposing of an existing underground structure created by the local native americans in pre-colonial times as a healing chamber. This is based on its design and construction (triangular, steps built into the side) and location. More to come on this

EDIT – adding in some interesting additional photos about Carlisle water mills – all appear to be related to the Page Mill on the Greenough property (now a conservation town property). My mill on Page’s Brook appears to have been in operation from 1660 to 1903 when it burned down and was originally associated with the Blood family. It is mentioned in the Wilkins notebooks and other places, including maps, but I have yet to find anything very descriptive or photographic evidence from before it burned down.