Holliston -- Vacationland 2008 (Part 1)
The trains that left Boston carried refugees from the hot city streets and were filled with souls that trekked to resorts and camps along the lake shore. Some of the old cottages, now converted to year-round residences, still exist along Cabot Road, Lakeshore Drive and Birch Road.
Stoddard Park was named after a vacationer, Dr Stoddard, a dentist from Newton who donated the land along the lake. It gained the reputation of Holliston’s premier recreational location when it was significantly updated with WPA funds in the 1930s. No townie in Holliston will forget that drive down the hill, the sun bouncing off the water and through the pine trees.
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The old “facilities,” constructed with matchboard and flimsy beyond today’s requirements, graced the outer reach of the pine trees. Camp Patoma was right next door. The children with all those different colored bathing caps and frequent whistles for head counts filled the scene. They had no problem thinking of Holliston as a vacation destination.
We shouldn’t either. Pleasure Point, today’s benignly neglected town beach, once the hangout of Mudvillians and other stout-hearted – or Irish ale quaffing – revelers, was first opened in 1882 by the Fair brothers of Mudville. They constructed a bandstand, held clambakes and baseball games. Canoes drifted from the shore, and no one entertained a thought about heading off to the resorts on Cape Cod or the islands. Such destinations were for the well-heeled society, not for the workers of the local shoe shops and factories. So how did the locals and tourists from Boston survive on a holiday in Holliston?
Well, it was really quite easy to find a good time in Holliston, and we ought to take a few vacation tips from them, what with the rising cost of gasoline that makes a trip anywhere a second thought. So here’s how:
A “Vacation in Holliston, For Less Than One Gallon of Gas.”
First, rise and shine early; you’ll have a busy day ahead. Stop at the Coffee Haven for the brew of the day and a blueberry muffin. Sit around for a while and hobnob with a few of your neighbors. They’re sure to be dropping by there, too.
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Check out the bookshop next door – a great, new enterprise in Holliston. Once you have that first cup of joe under your belt, take a walk up the old railroad tracks, You can choose to hike either to the north toward the arch bridge at Mill Pond, or to the south toward Milford. Don’t fret...
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...you won’t have to walk all the way to Milford like the old Irish residents of Mudville had to back in the 1850s on Sunday mornings in order to attend Mass in Milford. But if you so desire, go for it. There’s a lot to see along the way. A short distance beyond Mudville and beyond the highway barn you will find the railroad tunnel under Highland Street.
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Stop a while, and enjoy the echo. Kids love it. Jazz musicians love it too. Bring your trumpet. John Dearth used to play there for fun decades ago. He’s now a music professor at University of Virginia and has several CDs out. See what a little improv will do for you.
I lived on Cottage Drive and then Cabot Rd. Fo my 1st 17 years. (1949-67).There are 2 islands in the lake. The larger one had a cottage that was rented out to out of town/state people for many summers.There was NO indoor plumbing, electricity, heat besides a fire place and a row boat was the way to get there. Camp Patoma was originally built as a summer resort hotel, similar to those in Millis. My family populated those summer cottages for many years. At one time one or another of them owned at least 7 of them.It was a real "HUCK FINN" way for a kid to spend the summer in nothing but a bathing suit.
Martin Stein | 2014-08-28 20:09:49
There most definitely was a house on the island -- when we first came to Holliston in the 80s, it was still standing...sort of. My son and I sailed out to the island and poked around one day. It was a very small house :-)
Peter | 2014-07-25 05:54:06
Yes Colleen, there was a house out there many years ago...maybe 40 or 50 years or so... not certain how long it was there, but I think it's demise was fire and vandalism over time...
paul | 2011-08-03 15:29:28
Hi, There is an island straight out from the the car top boat ramp off of Cabot street. It has a fireplace on it, does anyone know if there used to be a house there or was it for BBQing back in the day?
Colleen | 2011-08-02 09:36:33
The bookshop isn't next door to Coffee Haven anymore, is it??
MK | 2011-08-02 07:41:31