This Is Winchendon, Not Athol

From That Same Old Guy:

I had driven through the Central Massachusetts town of Winchendon several times before I figured out it wasn't Athol. What an Ath-hole, right? The guy who loves to explore towns and cities around New England doesn't know how to properly read road signs.

Once I set myself straight, I decided I should check out this town on the New Hampshire border. I photographed an abandoned cemetery office building (see November 22, 2019, "Office of the Dead") and a larger-than-life horse statue that celebrates Winchendon's legacy as "Toy Town" (see July 18, 2019, "Trotting Through Toy Town").

Recently, on my way to the Granite State to play music with friends, I made another quick trip into Winchendon. I found some great old buildings, a nice deactivated train bridge along a pleasant walking path and a ghost sign the likes of which I haven't seen before.

The first building I photographed is set off behind a fence, has a big "X" on it and appears slated for demolition.

Currently owned by the Town of Winchendon, according to the town's assessor's department, this garage was built in 1900. Regular readers know how I feel about that date. I always assume it's a default put down instead of saying, "We have no freaking clue."

I thought ever so briefly about trying to find a way over the fence to get better shots, despite the NO TRESPASSING signs. I decided to just shoot the beautifully restored barn next door.

Home to Clifford P. Beauvais Insurance, this place was built in 1830, per the assessors office.

Also down this end of Summer Drive, between Central Street and Tannery Pond, is Playaway Lanes, which unfortunately appears to be out of business.

The assessor says this building rose in 1955. It is owned by Higgins Mechanical, Inc., an HVAC contractor based in neighboring Gardner. I hope somebody finds a way to roll this business back into action. Come on, keglers!

I did some online research ahead of my trip via Google Maps, so I knew there was cool stuff along Summer Drive. But I wasn't prepared for the shock of excitement that jolted through me when I saw the Goodspeed Machine Co. complex.

The sign is metal, as you can see by the rust. Kinda funny, considering Goodspeed evidently made woodworking machinery. The assessor says this building (or perhaps another in the complex) dates to 1820. The company was in business from the mid-1870s to the mid-1980s, I believe.

Below is a view of the back of the plant from the North Central Pathway that runs between Tannery and Whitney ponds.

Below is a shot of an old train trestle that runs parallel to the pathway.

From what I've deduced, at least some of these buildings were once part of Baxter D. Whitney & Son, Inc., a company that made products such as rotary surface planers and fixed knife planers. The company was sold to Newman Machine Co. in 1955, per the above-linked article.

Finally, a very cool building that was built in 1854 as a cotton mill.

"This mill was constructed by Baxter D. Whitney for use by Nelson D. White who rented the building for the manufacture of cotton textiles," per MACRIS. This unusual building was more recently home to Doody Burial Vaults.

What You Find When You Go Down Depot Road

From Dave Brigham:

After checking out the Cataumet Schoolhouse in Bourne, Mass., (see July 19, 2020, "Kickin' It Old School-house"), I drove past Depot Road. I pulled a quick U-turn, as I figured a road must have that name for a reason, a reason that I'm probably interested in.

I was right. Cataumet station opened in 1927, two years after a fire destroyed the much more attractive gingerbread structure that had risen here in 1890. Check out the photo of the original station at the Wikipedia link.

The line that ran through here in the 1920s was the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, per the plaque in the above photo. It was last used as a railroad station in 1988 by the Cape Cod & Hyannis Railroad, per Wikipedia.

The tracks are dormant, but extant, and run over a nice bridge in the quiet village of Cataumet.

For more about the town of Bourne, see July 20, 2017, "Circling Buzzards Bay," October 3, 2016, "Bourne Identity" and August 5, 2010, "Dark Side of the Motel."

Ped Xing

From Dave Brigham:

I've passed this narrow, old bridge in Belmont, Mass., countless times in the 20+ years I've lived in and around Boston. It's one of those places that doesn't look like much, but surely has some stories to tell.

I wish I could relate some of those stories to you, but I don't know what they are. But I can tell you a little bit about this bridge.

I trolled the Internet, as I often do seeking information for these posts, and learned that the Clark Street bridge at one time was wide enough to accommodate auto traffic traveling from Route 60 (Pleasant St.), across the train tracks and into the quiet neighborhood just south of Belmont Center. Or perhaps from that neighborhood out to Pleasant Street, as it seems it was a one-way street.

Eventually, both ends of the street were blocked, leaving room for folks to walk or bike across. At some point, the crossing was modified to just a foot bridge.

So, yeah, that's all I know.