Another lane, early distinguished as Hog Lane, and earlier than that as "the way to the Merrimack," came to be called Brook Street. This was the main road for eastern travel, and continued to be used for many years. Mr. John W. Nourse has very ingeniously traced this ancient way over the hills, and by bridge across Egypt River to its juncture with the present highway. Green Lane is recognized as Green Street. Thus in name at least the sturdy pioneers preserved the remembrance of the delightful, shadowy, quiet lanes of Old England, with their hedgerows and primroses, but in this land of forest, thicket and swamp the lanes were probably only narrower than streets and equally rough and uninviting.

Close by the river bank, on either side, a public way was sedulously preserved from any encroachment. On the north side of the river it still remains in Water Street, and originally it seems to have continued near the river, through the present County lands. On the south side it skirted the river, where the remains of the old Heard's Wharf are seen today, followed Turkey Shore, and continued round the cove to the saw-mill. There were ways to the Labour-in-vain fields, and to the Heartbreak Hill lands, "Old England," as we call it now, and to Chebacco. One of these is known now, as from the earliest days, as Argilla Road.

South Main Street, in part, at least, was not opened until 1646, when the bridge was built. The present County Road on the south side was an ancient way, extending to the river. Foot-travellers crossed the river on a foot-bridge in 1634. This bridge was near the saw-mill now owned by the Damon heirs.1

On all these streets and lanes, plots of various sizes, but rarely exceeding three acres, were assigned for house lots. Tillage lands were apportioned in six and twelve acre lots, and even larger, near the town, and great farms were granted on the outskirts.

It is a matter of more than passing interest to see how these earliest settlers chose their lands. Robert Coles received a house lot on East Street, not far from Brook Street, and the farm that is believed to be the Greenwood farm. Winthrop's

1 See a careful consideration of this in the chapters on Houses and Lands.

lot adjoined, lower down the street. Here we may suppose Winthrop built his house. He also received a grant of a sixacre field that seems to have included a part at least of the fine lot on the south side of South Main St. opposite the Heard mansion, and a 300 acre farm, called the Argilla farm, afterwards owned by Samuel Symonds, and now, in part, the property of the heirs of the late Thomas Brown.

Howlett and Hardy located on the land bounded by the way now called Agawam Avenue, leading from East Street to the shipyard. Hardy built his house there "on the highway leading to the river." Howlett's lot adjoined Hardy's, fronting "on the cross-way leading towards the Mill," and although no mention of his house occurs, I have seen an allusion to the well known as "Howlett's well," on this tract of land. Back of the shipyard shed, an old well may be found by the curious searcher, and the bricks of ancient pattern strewn around attest an early residence, and suggest that here may have been Howlett's lot. The remains of old wharves near by indicate that this was a much-used way in those times.

Wm. Perkins owned land on the north side of the road to Jeffrey's Neck, and perhaps lived there, and Mr. William Clerk, or Clark, had an acre and a half house lot near the corner occupied by Mr. Glover. But he did not build, for Thomas Clark recorded a purchase of the lot in 1639, and the deed stated that he had "sett a dwelling there." William Clark also owned 60 acres in the Labour-in-vain fields, as they styled the lands near the great creek, called "Labour-in-vain." John Gage had a sixacre lot, as did Howlett and later settlers, on "this neck of land the Town standeth," as the Town Record quaintly reads, commonly known as Manning's Neck.

Thus we know that seven of the original thirteen chose lands in neighborly proximity, and the whole baker's dozen may have pitched their camp in this section. Convenience and safety and love of society naturally constrained these lonely adventurers to keep within easy touch of each other during those spring and summer months, while they lived in expectation of French incursions and Indian assaults.

As for the homes of the settlers, we know some things and can imagine others. The house lots were fenced in, in 1635,

or paled, as the phrase was, with sharpened stakes driven in to the earth, perhaps in the criss-cross style, a rough inclosure, for we must beware of imagining any resemblance to the trim fence of our day at the first.

Within the fences, I imagine, were generally gardens or a grass plot separating the houses from the highway, for many of our oldest houses were built well back from the street, and old deeds contain many references to land in front. Edward Johnson, in 1646, remarked on "the pleasant gardens and orchards” about the houses. Here the housewives doubtless had their beloved English flowers, heart's-ease, mignonette and wall-flowers, and their lavender and thyme, rue and rosemary, marjoram, saffron and anise, for scenting chests and closets and flavoring their cookery.

Trees of many kinds were soon grown. The Assistants of the Company sent over in their first ships seeds or cuttings of the peach, plum, filbert, cherry, pear, apple, quince and pomegranate, as well as potatoes and hop roots. In 1646-47, an ancient interleaved almanac of Rev. Mr. Danforth mentions "great pears," "long apples," Blackstone apples, Tankerd apples, Kreton pippins, "long red apples" all ripe and gathered by the middle of August, "Russetines and Pearmaines" gathered in the middle of September.

The home surroundings then were inviting. What of the homes themselves? Certain ancient mansions of venerable age remain. Their exact age is a matter of conjecture, but popular tradition as to their antiquity is generally in error. Be that as it may, these fine old houses, large and imposing still, are not to be considered as the type of the first dwellings. It must be borne in mind that there was no saw-mill, of which we have certain record until 1649. Previous to that date, the sawing of trees into planks and boards was done by hand with a long saw, working in a saw-pit, one man standing below and one above the saw-log; and clapboards and shingles were made. by hand for a century and more. Every nail, hinge and bolt was forged out laboriously by the village blacksmiths. Cut nails were not made till 1790, and laths were not sawed till 1830. There was no time for elaborate carpentry. Work

must be spent on clearing the forest, and breaking up the soil to provide food for themselves and their cattle.

So they built for themselves small, rough houses. Some of them were doubtless the simple log-house of the modern backwoods man, with a roof covered with tiles or with the long thatch, as many a laborer's cottage in Old England is still roofed. Sometimes, as in the case of Mr. Oldham at Watertown, they were built all of clapboards.1

The chimneys were chiefly of wood, daubed with clay. Mr. Sharpe's house in Boston took fire ("the splinters being not clayed at the top") and "taking the thatch burned it down."2 This happened on March 16, 1630, and Governor Dudley's account of the fire speaks of this and Colborn's house, " as good and well-furnished as most in the plantation." Repeated accidents of this kind show how common these wood chimneys were, and a vote of the Town was passed, in 1647,"requiring chimnies to be kept clean," and "also to look to any defect in daubing." Governor Winthrop's Journal mentions, under date of March 16, 1638, a violent south southeast storm that overturned some new strong houses, but the Lord miraculously preserved old weak cottages. He also records a dreadful tempest at northeast with wind and rain, in 1646, in which the Lady Moody's house at Salem, being but one story in height, and a flat roof, with a brick chimney in the midst, had the roof taken off in two parts (with the top of the chimney) and carried six or seven rods off. This house, a letter of Winthrop mentions, as nine feet high.3

One item of quaint interest adds vividness to our conception of this simple type of dwellings. In 1668, the house of Jacob Perkins was burned. The maid servant was arrested on suspicion of incendiarism. She testified that she stood upon the oven on the back side of the house, and supported herself by holding to the thatch of the roof, while she looked to see if there were any hogs in the corn. Standing there, she knocked the ashes out of her pipe upon the thatch . . . When she looked

1 Winthrop's History of New England, ed. 1853, 1: 104.

2 Winthrop's History of New England, 1853, 1: 58.

3 See Publications of Ipswich Historical Society, No. v, The Early Homes of the Puritans.

back from the cornfield, she saw smoke, and gave the alarm to Neighbour Abraham Perkins's wife. She came in haste, and looked into "both the rooms of the house, and up into both the chimneys." She also "looked up into the chamber thro the boards that lay very open towards that side where the smoke was on the outside."

A photograph could hardly be more realistic. The house had two rooms on the ground floor, and a chimney at each end. In the kitchen, an oven was built outside, opening from the fireplace, without doubt. The house had but a single story, we judge from the low roof, and the floor of the loft was so loosely boarded that the roof could be seen through the cracks.

Up and down our streets, these small, roughly-built pioneer homes were built. They were devoid of paint. Many windows were destitute of glass, and were provided with oiled paper. Heavy thatch roofs and clumsy wooden chimneys blended well with the savagery of the wild forest. Winthrop's anticipation of "poor cottages in the wilderness" was realized by many a Puritan in all these early settlements. Here and there, however, more pretentious houses arose at a surprisingly early date. Deputy Governor Symonds's house at the Argilla farm was of superior quality, if the plan of the owner was carried out. He bought the farm of Mr. Winthrop in February, 1637-8. Shortly after he wrote to Mr. Winthrop, desiring him to superintend the building. "I am indifferent whether it be 30 foote or 35 foote long; 16 or 18 foote broade. I would have wood chimneys at each end, the frames of the chimneyes to be stronger then ordinary, to beare good heavy load of clay for security against fire. You may let the chimneyes be all the breadth of the howse, if you thinke good; the 2 lower dores to be in the middle of the house, one opposite to the other. Be sure that all the dorewaies in evry place be soe high that any man may goe upright under. The staiers I thinke had best be placed close by the dore. It makes noe great matter though there be noe particion vpon the first floore; if there be, make one biger then the other. For windowes let them not be over large in any roome, and as few as conveniently may be: let all have current shutting draw-windowes, haveing respect both to present and future vse."

1 Mass. Hist. Soc. Collections, series 4, vol. VII, p. 118.