Paige tells us that ‘at an early period the Dickson family occupied an estate on the easterly side of Menotomy river, extending from North avenue (now Massachusetts avenue) to the Winter Hill road’ (Broadway, Somerville.)
On July 24, 1687, pursuant to a vote of the town, the selectmen laid out to John Dickson about one-fourth acre of land ‘in our ware field next Charlestown line’; the northwest boundary was next the weir field, on which boundary he was to maintain a fence.
At a meeting of the Proprietors, May 15, 1724, it was voted that Mr. John Dickson have the improvement of the half acre of land at the Weirs and the highway leading to it through Weir field this present year for six shillings.
Apparently the half acre at the weir and the highway leading thereto were never definitely laid out by vote of the Proprietors, but were reserved; as when, in 1707, three lots were assigned, ‘In the Ware field,’ the lot numbered thirty-six falling to Amos Merritt, was divided by the highway to the weir. That part of Merritt's lot on the easterly side of the highway was bounded northerly by the half-acre, while the portion on the westerly side bounded northerly on Menotomy river.
Massachusetts avenue in Cambridge, above the common, was in use as a path or road as early as 1635 and perhaps earlier, and was called the ‘highway to Menotomy.’
From the foregoing records we learn that in 1635 a fish weir was established on Menotomy river, and that in the following year a cartway was made to the weir which led from Menotomy road and was possibly present Tannery street; also that the bridge over the river was called Menotomy bridge, and that there was a gate at that point; that the weir and the right to take fish thereat, also a half acre of land and the cartway leading thereto were leased to various residents of the town from time to time and that one of the designations for the lands between Massachusetts avenue and the Somerville line east of Menotomy river was ‘Wear Field.’
