Category: History Mysteries

1907 High School – History Mystery, March 2017

March 15, 2017 – Question

Wellesley has utilized many buildings at various locations to house its high school students over the years.  The building shown above was the High School from 1907-1938.  Do you know where it was located? Hint: it was located on the site of one of Wellesley’s current schools. Return on March 30th for the answer!

March 30, 2017 – Answer

Shortly after building a high school at 324 Washington Street in 1893, Wellesley realized that it would need a bigger building to accommodate increasing enrollment.  A new Wellesley Senior High School building, shown above, was built in 1907 on Kingsbury Street. The next High School was built on Rice Street and opened in 1938. Time was not kind to the Kingsbury Street facility; it stood abandoned for years and was taken down after World War II to make way for the Junior High School, now called the Wellesley Middle School.

For more information about the Wellesley High School at 324 Washington, now known as the Phillips Park apartments, click here to see our History Mystery Blog from June 2015.

Kathleen Fahey, Curator and Alden Ludlow, Contract Archivist

Maugus Club – History Mystery, January 2017

January 17, 2017 – Question

If you lived in Wellesley in the first half of the twentieth century, this building was an important part of the Abbott Road streetscape. Originally the old Bemis Estate, this building was purchased and used by a Wellesley club for over 50 years before it burned down in 1953.  Does anybody know what club was housed in this elegant building? Hint: that club is still active today! Return on January 31st to learn more.

January 31, 2017 – Answer

Established in 1892, the Maugus Club (pictured above) was a social, reading, and exercise club. Charter members purchased the old Bemis Estate at 40 Abbott Road in 1895, and completed renovations of the clubhouse in 1896. The original building was completely destroyed by a fire on the evening of April 12, 1953, with firefighters from five surrounding towns fighting the blaze for almost eight hours. Preparations for a new building for the Maugus Club started immediately, and the present building was completed on the same site in 1956. The Maugus Club is still active today and features badminton and squash courts.

Alden Ludlow, Contract Archivist