Damon’s Point — Marshfield, Mass., 1909 to 1966
From time to time people have asked about the History of Damon’s Point at
Marshfield, Mass., so
I would like to tell you about it as I have known it for the past fifty-seven (57) years,
dating back to 1909.
In 1909, the year I was married, my Husband, Otis L. Crossley and I spent our
weekends and
Holidays at the Island helping my Father-in-law Edmund E. Crossley to build his camp and will
tell of the ownership, later.
The Island at that time was just an open field with a shed or two and a few small camps.
In 1930, it was laid out into house lots and numbered 1 thru 19. I will try to tell of most of the
owners and where built.
Lot No. 1 — It was a one room Camp with a Horse shed nearby.
Owners have been Otis Damon, Willis Damon,
Willis Bates and later Walter Crossley, who remodeled and added a new house.
The Horse shed became the Kitchen and a large garage built just beyond.
Other owners have been Walter Munford, Arthur Rosenquist and Thomas Bunting.
Lot No. 2 — This was a Hay shed where salt hay was dried out and kept.
Owners have been Charles Fred Damon, Charles Swett,
Mrs. Seth Strong and Mrs. Elizabeth Bunting.
Both of these owners have added to it to make a house out of it.
Lot No. 3 — On this lot was a Carriage shed — a large building that was moved
from Marshfield Hills.
Charles Damon remodeled and made a nice house out of it.
Later owned by Mr. and Mrs. Clemons, Eva Cook, and Minnie Dennison,
Edgar Deason and Walter Crossley.
Lot No. 4 — On this lot was a Hen house that was moved down from the Hills
with the lice still in it
which I can prove as we hired
it for a weekend. Later owners were Charles F. Damon and Jessie Hanscom
who remodeled it and
made a house out of it. Later owned
by Theo Fogg then Mr. and Mrs. Mathews who added to it and sold it to T
orrey Little.
Lot No. 5 — This Camp was built of all new lumber by my Father-in-law
Edmund E. Crossley.
It had one room on first floor and one room above.
Later Walter Crossley with his Father, added to it. Later Stanley Moulton
remodeled and
added to it and then Torrey Little has added several more improvements to it.
Lot No. 6 — This was a Camp made out of hen wire and covered with green
tar paper, a one room affair.
It was built by Charles Damon’s relatives.
When owned by Joseph Josselyn, he remodeled and added to it.
Later owners — Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell and Mr. and Mrs. Olson.
Lot No. 7 — This was a camp, just studded up as one room and covered with
black Tar paper and called “The Black Maria.”
It was used by Railroad men for their vacations.
Owned by Charles F. Damon and later by Willis Damon who added to it and
improved it and sold it to William Ladd.
Later owners were Mr. and Mrs. David McMasters and Mr. and Mrs. Clifton Lund.
Lot No. 8 — This house was built by Harris Damon, a nice camp of three rooms.
Later sold to Mr. and Mrs. William Smith and was left to their daughter Olive Smith
who added a room or two.
(Handwritten note — “Demolished 1975”)
Lot No. 9 — This was vacant lot that Willis Damon added to lot No. 7 to
make a larger lot.
Lot No. 10 — This is another vacant lot that belonged to Charles F. Damon
later sold to William Ladd then to John Deacon
and then to the present owner, Walter Crossley.
Lot No. 11 — This was another vacant lot that in the first place belonged to
Charles F. Damon and
when we came here, he had a beautiful bed of Strawberries.
Other owners were William Ladd, then Willis Damon
and the present owners Mr. and Mrs. Homer Bachelor.
Lot No. 12 — This was a nice camp of three rooms made of all new lumber.
It was built by Mr. Ball and Willis Damon.
Later owned by Eva Cook and Aunt Emma.
Lot No. 13 — This has a small history. It was a five-room house built by a
man from South Weymouth.
Ethel Fitzgerald bought the house but leased the land from Charles F. Damon.
After William Ladd bought the
remaining lots, she tore down her house. Later on William Ladd took a
small carpenter shop that was
on Lot No. 9 but had been previously moved down from the Hills and
made a house of it on this lot No. 13.
It was sold to William Daunt who added a bathroom and kitchen and a
large front piazza then sold to present owners
Mr. and Mrs. Homer Bachelor.
Lot No. 14 — This belonged to William Ladd, and in 1943,
the Town of Marshfield took twenty (20)
feet of it to go out on to the old Railroad tracks and paid two hundred dollars ($200) for it.
Lot No. 15 — This was a vacant lot and later added to William Ladd’s land for a lawn.
Lot No. 16 — This belonged to Charles F. Damon and later sold to a Mr. T. Tilden,
I did not know his given name.
Other owners were William Ladd, Walter Fandell and present owners Mr. and
Mrs. Edmund Dupuis.
Lot No. 17 — This belonged to Charles F. Damon and later his Nephew —
Mr. Bailey built a house on it. Later this house was sold to Charles Gardella.
Lot No. 18 — This land belonged to Charles F. Damon, but a house was built
on the land by Charles Cram.
Later it was turned around and set back on the lot. Later owners have been
Mr. Hooper, William Ladd, William K. Daunt
and present owners Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Dupuis.
Lot No. 19 — Now we come to my house, the last one before the right of way.
It was a one-room camp and the only one to have a Suicide in it.
The owner had an argument with his wife after he had put a lot of time and
money into improving it and his wife would not
come here to live so he shot himself in my kitchen.
When the wind used to moan, my husband would say,
“That is Flanders Ghost.”
It first belonged to Charles F. Damon then sold to Mr. Flanders then to Otis Crossley and
Helen Marshall. We added quite a bit to make it a winter home.
Well, in all the years that I have been here on the Island, there has been many changes.
We used to come in a winding lane from Summer Street and across the railroad
track which at that time,
there were eighteen (18) trains a day, to and from Boston. One had to watch out
for them but as far as I know,
there were no accidents. We had to take down six (6) pairs of fence bars as cows
were then pastured on that land
on the Island. When we came thru the right of way, one turned sharp to the left and
went by my house as the road
went between my house and the stone wall and went as far as the Bailey Camp on
Lot No. 16. When the Island was
laid out into Lots, the road went the other side of my house. We have seen a lot
of improvements here.
Thanks to Mrs. Seth Strong, she had the firs telephone and now, all but one or
two have them.
Thanks to Mr. Edgar Deacon and my husband, we were able to get electric
lights.
Then the Town of Marshfield added water for our benefits. That was a
blessing as for 1 1/2 years several of us had
to carry water from Willis Bates’ pump.
Well, the trains are gone, even the rails, also the Bridge over the North River
, and as the years go by,
there will be more changes. However naming the only ones left of the
old timers who lived on the
Island when I came here are my Brother-in-law Walter E. Crossley and
myself Helen A. (Nellie) Crossley.
Written by Helen A.Crossley — March 26, 1966
