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outline and with the aid of this 
plan, we will proceed to discuss 
briefly these several divisions of 
Common Land. 
THe Four Hunprep Acres 
The Four Hundred Acres re- 
ceived the greatest prominence in 
modern times through their rela- 
tion to the settlement of damage 
suits upon Old Neck Beach. The 
decision in thiy suit hinged upon 
the question of whether or not the 
land which the Town took on 
Old Neck Beach was originally a 
part of the Four Hundred 
Acres. If it was a part of the 
Four Hundred Acres it belonged 
to the proprietor and not to the 
Town. On the other hand if it 
was outside the Four Hundred 
Acres and not a part of the “En- 
largement” granted to the proprie- 
tors, it might be shown to have 
been the property of the Town. 
The discussion concerning these 
Four Hundred Acres and the testi- 
mony relating to them form a large 
part of evidence in the so-called 
‘Beach Bank Case or as it is known 
in the Court Files, the Inhabitants 
of the Town of Manchester vs. 
Andrew C. Slater. The case is 
reported by Justice O. W. Holmes 
in 160 Mass. Reports, page 471. 
About 1685 a Committee was 
chosen and given authority to re- 
new and ratify the bounds of the 
Four Hundred Acres granted to 
the Proprietors and it appears 
from the Town Records of Man- 
chester that at that time, the fol- 
lowing persons were owners in the 
Four Hundred Acres: 
40 acres 
Samuell Friend 
William Allen a5 
John Sibly so. 
Joseph pickworth ri? Cae 
Samuell Leach 5... 
Robert Leach 3714 “ 
John Norman 92% “ 
Nicholas Mincson 25 
Samuell Allen Sr. = 25 
Onesephorus Allen 25 
‘cc 
400 
The spelling in the old records is 
entirely phonetic but their mathe- 
matics appear to be correct. 
Following now the description 
of the boundaries of the Four 
Hundred Acres, we find the first 
bound to be a black Oak tree 
marked with four marks adjoin- 
ing to the northeast side of Lee’s 
lot. This black Oak tree was in all 
probability at or near Roberts & 
Hoare’s shop on Elm Street where 
NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
today there is a clump of very old 
Oak trees. From this black Oak, 
the line runs northeast passing sev- 
eral line trees on the way to a 
Hemlock in Millitt’s swamp which 
is the swamp near Pleasant Street 
and the old Essex road. This line 
of the Four Hundred Acres fol- 
lowed substantially the line now 
indicated by the ancient stone walls 
passing over Powder House Hill 
just west of the standpipe, to 
Pleasant Street. From the Hem- 
lock near Millitt’s swamp the line 
still ran northeast to a black Oak 
which was a corner bound. This 
corner bound was probably at the 
northeast corner of Millitt’s smamp 
lot or in the neighborhood of 
Jack’s hill. From this bound the 
line ran easterly to a little White 
Pine by the edge of the Brook 
above Jones’s meadow. This bound 
was in all probability near Saw 
Mill Brook in what is now the 
Baker field just below Mill Street. 
Many deeds of the property in this 
neighborhood refer to this tract of 
land as Jones’s meadow, Jones’s 
Orchard, or Jones. From _ this 
Pine tree the line followed the 
brook and edge of the upland down 
to a Hemlock tree a little above the 
Cold Spring which is now in exis- 
tence but has been bricked up by 
the Water Department and forms 
a part of the present water supply. 
It is near the site of what used to 
be called the little pumping station. 
From this point near ‘the Cold 
Spring, the line turned and crossed 
the meadow just above to the pre- 
sent location of the pumping sta- 
tion of the Water Works to a point 
on the knoll of the land of the Es- 
sex County Club near the angle in 
Lincoln Street. From this point it 
crossed the meadow on the south 
side of what is now Summer Street 
until it reached a point on the pre- 
sent eastern boundary line of the 
McMillan estate whence the line 
followed the line of the McMillan 
property across land formerly 
owned by Richard H. Dana and 
now owned by Harrison Caner to 
the sea just east of the ancient 
stone walls on the ground. Then 
leaving Eagle Head. the line fol- 
lowed the ocean until it reached 1 
great white Oak on the eastern 
bank of ithe little Cove on the pre- 
sent Hemenway estate, known as 
Baby Rack Beach. From this point 
the line crossed the Neck as it was 
then called or Smith’s point as we 
know it now, northwesterly of 
thereabout to a birch stump near a 
steep bank near the river. This 
point I am inclined to think was on 
the steep bank just in ithe rear of 
the Augustus Smith Homestead. 
From this birch stump the line ran 
to a Pine Stump by Lee’s lot near 
the Town which probably was 
close to the present culvert on Cen- 
tral Street. From this point the 
boundary line ran to the point first 
mentioned near the present loca- 
tion of Roberts’ & Hoare’s shop. 
The outline of this tract of land 
has been shown in red on the plan. 
It is interesting to note in this 
connéction that the proprietors dis- 
tinctly drew the line between their 
ownership and ithe Town’s as is 
evidenced by the following from 
the report of the Bounding Com- 
mittee: 
“It is allso agreed by the above 
said commettee that notwithstand- 
ing the Landing Place at the water 
side blow the town bridge be in the 
said four hundred Acurs as allso 
the land and Medow bought of the 
Joanses by the Town for the min- 
istry; allso a way a Chart way 
from the Town Comans thro the 
four hundred Acurs where the 
way now is that gose to ‘the seador 
swap and Likewise the way that 
gose to and through the brushee 
plain the said ways to Remain to 
ithe towns use from the Coman land 
to the water side at the Landing 
Plase below the bridge aforesaid; 
the said town to have and to hold 
the said ways for ever; and allso 
six Acurs of land or there abouts 
in the plain in and near the place 
called melits lot these the above 
mentioned premises is Reserved to 
the use of the town to have and to 
hold for ever and there is full sat- 
isfaction with a lowance out of the 
town Coman land aded to the 
aforesaid four hundred Acurs in 
Lue of ‘the afore said premises and 
comprehended within the aforesaid 
bounds of the said four hundred 
Acurs as is now bounded by the 
said Committee.” 
SAMUELL LEACH ARONN BENNITT 
JOHN SIBLEE Tuoomas WEsT 
SAMUELL ALLEN JOHN ELATHROP 
(Concluded next week.) 
What can we suggest as a 
Christmas on New Year’s gift 
more appropriate than a weekly 
letter from home to some distant 
friend—in the form of a subscrip- 
tion to the Breeze? $2 a year 
postage prepaid. 
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