Holy Cow! Saint Margaret’s?
What? Fred F. Walker dairy and vegetable farm.
Where? The current Saint Margaret’s property and adjacent Memorial School property, on Winn Street.
When? Turn of the century. Here’s some news from 1918.
How much? 44 acres of mowing and tillage, 14 acres of pasture, 25 acres of wood and unimproved land.
What products? Forty cows on the Saint Margaret’s end (some Jersey cows and some Holstein cows), and vegetables on the Memorial School end. The facial expressions of Walker’s crew suggest varying levels of enthusiasm for the job. (Kevin Murphy photo)
Distinctive feature: Walker erected a windmill on the Memorial side to power a water pump for his cattle and fields. If you zoom way in to the silos, you can see the “F.F. Walker Dairy” sign.
Leftovers: Some Walker buildings are still with us, between Saint Margaret’s and Memorial.
What happened? The Walkers sold about 15 acres to the Dobbins family, who then sold to the town in 1953 for Memorial Elementary School. The town immediately sold the site’s fertile loam to offset the cost of the gravel needed to fill in the new school playgrounds. Across the street was Kerrigan Farm, which became the town’s second high school (now Marshall Simonds Middle School).
The Archdiocese of Boston bought the remaining Walker property. In 1955, Cardinal Richard Cushing blessed the construction of the current Saint Margaret’s Church. Full church history here.
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Interesting !
Ah, the look on the Walker crew is actually the same look you see in most photos from that era. It wasn’t until the 1950’s that most people saw a dentist regularly. Nobody told you to smile for the camera. A mouthful of bad teeth wasn’t a pretty sight.
Great piece as usual Rob
Great piece!
Always look forward to your historical narratives…always so interesting!!!
Spent first and second grade at Memorial, then third grade in the trailers behind the school as the town was growing too fast for the schools to keep up. Great memories of playing up on the hill behind the school. Good piece!!!
Got Married in St Margarert’s chruch in 1964 also went sledding there and went to the Memorial school and the high school across the street back in the 1950 and 60’s.Great place to grow up in . It was still country. All gone now.
Nice history
Great story, I love the old Burlington history!
Remember 1st Communion at St. Margaret’s in 1958. Walked across the street from our house at 112 Winn St. to Burlington Memorial School for 1st-2nd grade in 1957-58 school years.
Bill Kerrigan
great job of historical research,bob…………once when they were digging a waterpipe system on winn st by the sledding hill.they unearthed a part of the old railroad tracks that went from woburn to pinehurst……..electric powered…………………………bill kerrigan,im glad to see you checked in…………your folks were great people and we were invited to your first birthday party there in that little white house on the corner………………..carl johnson,,piney36@comcast.net
Is there enough information for an article for the road which extends Peach Orchard at Winn St.?
I emailed you.
bob,,, didnt you write recently that the lane between st margarets and the walker farm fields was once called “the salem pike”………………carl johnson,bhs 54
That’s what Herb Crawford told me (fire chief 1955-1985).