• Menu
    617-335-8552
    katya.a.pitts@gmail.com
  • Blog
  • Communities
    • Arlington
    • Belmont
    • Cambridge
    • Medford
    • Lexington
    • Somerville
    • Winchester
    • Waltham
    • Watertown
    • Woburn
  • Search Properties
    • Basic Search
    • Advanced Search
    • Map Search
    • Address
    • Listing ID
    • Browse by City
    • Email Update Signup
  • Reviews
    • Online Reviews
    • Leave Us Feedback
  • Contact
  • My Account

Katya Pitts Real EstateKatya Pitts Real Estate

Greater Boston Real Estate Services

  • About Us
    • Leave Us Feedback
    • Online Reviews
  • Buyers
    • Featured
    • Mortgage Calculator
  • Sellers
    • Home Valuation
    • Sold/Pending

Watertown

watertown-community

About Watertown


The Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 31,915 at the 2010 census. Watertown is one of fourteen Massachusetts municipalities that have applied for, and been granted, city forms of government but wish to retain “The town of” in their official names.

Watertown is made up of six neighborhoods: Bemis, Brigham (Brigham Historic District), Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Square and the West End.

Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from England. Two tribes of Massachusett, the Pequossette and the Nonantum, had settlements on the banks of the river later called the Charles. The Pequossette built a fishing weir to trap herring at the site of the current Watertown Dam. The annual fish migration, as both alewife and blueback herring swim upstream from their adult home in the sea to spawn in the fresh water where they were hatched, still occurs every spring.

Watertown, first known as Saltonstall Plantation, was one of the earliest of the Massachusetts Bay settlements. It was begun early in 1630 by a group of settlers led by Richard Saltonstall and George Phillips and officially incorporated that same year. The alternate spelling “Waterton” is seen in some early documents.

The first buildings were upon land now included within the limits of Cambridge known as Gerry’s Landing. For its first quarter century Watertown ranked next to Boston in population and area. Since then its limits have been greatly reduced. Thrice portions have been added to Cambridge, and it has contributed territory to form the new towns of Weston (1712), Waltham (1738), Lincoln (1754) and Belmont (1859). In 1632 the residents of Watertown protested against being compelled to pay a tax for the erection of a stockade fort at Cambridge; this was the first protest in America against taxation without representation and led to the establishment of representative democracy in the colony. As early as the close of the 17th century, Watertown was the chief horse and cattle market in New England and was known for its fertile gardens and fine estates. Here about 1632 was erected the first gristmill in the colony, and in 1662 one of the first woolen mills in America was built here.

The Massachusetts Provincial Congress, after adjournment from Concord, met from April to July 1775 in the First Parish Church, the site of which is marked by a monument. The Massachusetts General Court held its sessions here from 1775 to 1778. Committees met in the nearby Edmund Fowle House. Boston town meetings were held here during the siege of Boston, when many Boston families made their homes in the neighborhood. For several months early in the American Revolution the committees of safety and committee of correspondence made Watertown their headquarters and it was from here that General Joseph Warren set out for Bunker Hill.

The Watertown Arsenal operated continuously as a military munitions and research facility from 1816 until 1995, when the Army sold the property, by then known as the Army Materials Technology Laboratory, to the town of Watertown. The Arsenal is notable for being the site of a 1911 strike prompted by the management methods of operations research pioneer Frederick Winslow Taylor (Taylor and 1911 Watertown Arsenal Strike). Taylor’s method, which he dubbed “Scientific Management,” broke tasks down into smaller components. Workers no longer completed whole items; instead, they were timed using stopwatches as they did small tasks repetitively, as Taylor attempted to find the balance of tasks that resulted in the maximum output from workers. The strike and its causes were controversial enough that they resulted in Congressional hearings in 1911; Congress passed a law in 1915 banning the method in government owned arsenals. Taylor’s methods spread widely, influencing such industrialists as Henry Ford, and the idea is one of the underlying inspirations of the factory (assembly) line industrial method. The Watertown Arsenal was the site of a major superfund clean-up in the 1990s, and has now become a center for shopping, dining and the arts, with the opening of several restaurants and a new theatre. The site includes the Arsenal Center for the Arts, a regional arts center that opened in 2005. The Arsenal is now owned by athenahealth. Arsenal Street features two shopping malls across the street from one another, with the Watertown Mall on one side, and The Arsenal Project of Watertown (formerly the Arsenal Mall) on the other.

The Perkins School for the Blind, founded in 1829, has been located in Watertown since 1912.

The Stanley Brothers built the first of their steam-powered cars, which came to be known as Stanley Steamers, in Watertown in 1897.

In 1988, Watertown Square became the new location for the Armenian Library and Museum of America, said to host the largest collection of Armenian artifacts in North America.

Shortly after midnight of April 18–19, 2013, the two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing engaged in a protracted battle with police, in Watertown involving the use of firearms and explosives. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was critically wounded and later pronounced dead and the town was completely locked down for hours as police, FBI, and Army National Guard personnel patrolled it, looking for the remaining suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was captured wounded but alive in a boat shortly after the lockdown ended on the following evening.

From 1832 to 1834 Theodore Parker conducted a private school here and his name is still preserved in the Parker School, though the building no longer operates as a public school.

Major employers based in Watertown include the Tufts Health Plan, the Perkins School for the Blind, Sasaki, Harvard Business Publishing, Bright Horizons Family Solutions and athenahealth.

Watertown borders Soldiers Field Road and the Massachusetts Turnpike, major arteries into downtown Boston. Watertown is served by several MBTA bus and trackless trolley routes. Most of them pass through or terminate in Watertown Square or Watertown Yard. The former A-Watertown branch of the MBTA’s Green Line ran to Watertown until 1969.

Content courtesy of Wikipedia.org

Watertown Homes for Sale

Introducing 85 Summer Street, perfectly situated in the desirable Mt. Auburn neighborhood of Watertown. This beautifully reconstructed townhome exemplifies craftsmanship & attention to detail at every turn. Hickory hardwood floors sprawl through its sophisticated living space, providing a contemporary yet luxurious feel. Reclaimed wood beams envelope the kitchen, & compliments its top tier Thermador stainless steel appliances & crisp quartz waterfall island. Custom built-ins throughout the main floor living space enhance the open floor plan. Downstairs, the finished basement offers 2 rooms, suitable for a home gym, office, 2nd living Rm, & the list goes on. The upper floors house 3 spacious bedrooms with full en suite bathrooms.  Exterior access to the private deck via the top floor features a wet bar, ideal for entertaining. A commuter's dream location, convenient to Arsenal Yards, Harvard Sq., & Downtown Boston. Project completed by local developer Excelsior Development Partners. $1,449,000 Contingent

85 Summer Street 85A Watertown, Massachusetts

3 Beds 4 Baths 3,012 Sq Ft

Newly built in 2006, this beautiful, modern and spacious house sits on a quite cul-de-sac across from the new Brown School Playground. Close to shops, Charles River, bike paths, I-90 and public transportation. This home offers an open floor design and includes a modern kitchen with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors throughout, and marble floors in several areas. First floor features a large master bedroom with large bathroom and walk-in closet, dining room, kitchen nook, family room with gas fireplace and a living room with wood burning fireplace. Second floor has 4 large size bedrooms and laundry hook-up.  There are two sets of washers and dryers, one on the first floor and the other is located in the 1300 sf in-law suite in the basement . In law suite includes a kitchen w/ ss appliances,   granite countertops, one bedroom, a huge living room, a bonus room, one full bathroom, one half bathroom and a separate entry from the 5 car paved drive $1,099,000 Active

8 Brandley Rd Watertown, Massachusetts

6 Beds 5 Baths 4,000 Sq Ft

Newly Renovated Townhouse w/ 2,420 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths spread across 3 levels plus 2 private exterior patios and lawn space. The Main Level Presents a Fully Updated & Modern Open Floor Plan Highlighted by a Large Dining Area, Living Room w/ built-in Fireplace & Bay Windows, 10-Foot-High Ceilings & Crown Molding Throughout. An Oversized Peninsula w/ Quartz Countertops is the Focal Point of the Kitchen. The 2nd Level Boasts a Spacious Main Bedroom Suite with multiple Closets & a Grand Main Bath. Master & Common Baths on the 2nd Level include Radiant Heated Floors & Detailed Finishes. 2 additional bedrooms complete this level. The Lower Level contains an oversized family room w/ 8-foot ceilings, a wet bar, wine fridge w/ dishwasher, a 3rd Full Bath & Bonus Home Office that could be used as a 4th bedroom. Other amenities this home offers: Oversized windows, Forced hot air w/ Central A/C. 2 deeded off-street parking. Beautifully landscaped yard. Pets allowed with restrictions. $979,000 Extended

152 Cypress St 1 Watertown, Massachusetts

3 Beds 4 Baths 2,420 Sq Ft

Newly 2020 Renovated Townhouse with 2,420 square feet of living area with 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths spread across 3 levels. The Main Level Presents a Fully Updated & Modern Open Floor Plan Highlighted by a Large Dining Area, Living Room w/ built-in Fireplace & Bay Windows, 10-Foot-High Ceilings & Crown Molding Throughout. An Oversized Peninsula w/ Quartz Countertops is the Focal Point of the Kitchen. The 2nd Level Boasts a Spacious Main Bedroom Suite with multiple Closets & a Grand Main Bath. Main & Common Baths on the 2nd Level include Radiant Heated Floors & Detailed Finishes. 2 additional bedrooms complete this level. The Lower Level contains an oversized family room w/ 8-foot ceilings, a wet bar, wine fridge w/ dishwasher, a 3rd Full Bath & Bonus Home Office that could be used as a 4th bedroom. Other amenities this home offers: Oversized windows, Forced hot air w/ Central A/C. 2 deeded off-street parking. Beautifully landscaped yard. Pets allowed with restrictions $949,000 Extended

152 Cypress St 2 Watertown, Massachusetts

3 Beds 4 Baths 2,420 Sq Ft

View More Properties
katya1

FROM OUR BLOG

Boston Home Improvement

Boston Home Improvement Tips

January 25, 2021 By admin

Katya Pitts Leading Edge Real Estate 319 Massachussetts Ave Arlington, MA 02474 617-335-8552 katya.a.pitts@gmail.com

SEARCH LISTINGS

  • Address
  • Advanced Search
  • Basic Search
  • Browse by City
  • Email Update Signup
  • Listing ID
  • Map Search

Katya Pitts, MBA, Realtor®

617-335-8552
katya.a.pitts@gmail.com
© 2021 · Katya Pitts Real Estate
Privacy Policy | Sitemap | DMCA

Agent Reputation - Real Estate Website Design

Log in