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The village at Cookingham Greene is sited on land that was once occupied by the Magunco Indians, hence the name for the area — Magunco Hill.
The tribe lived predominately on the Eastern slopes of the Hill, but they hunted and farmed the Western side where Cookingham Greene is located today. When the Indians left, the Hill was further cleared and farmed for over three hundred years. Farmers collected cigar boxes full of arrowheads, spear points, axes, and stone tools and implements. Some are still there and remain to be found by the attentive gardener.
Frankland Road, which traverses the Hill immediately to the south of Cookingham Greene, is part of the Bay Path, an ancient Indian way leading to central Connecticut. Some scholars believe that Viking Traders used it on treks to the interior in their search for furs, carrying trade goods with them.
Notwithstanding the accuracy of the claims about ancient Viking traders, early English settlers certainly did follow the Bay Path as they made their way into the heart of New England and the Connecticut River Valley.
As the English settlers moved in and formed their communities, villages, which later became the towns of Hopkinton, Holliston and Framingham, were formed. Ashland was incorporated out of those three towns in 1846, and its village name was changed from Unionville. The section of Ashland where Cookingham Greene is located, Magunko Hill, was once part of Hopkinton. The neighborhood of Magunko Hill elected to join the new town of Ashland.
Although not widely known, the Hopkinton State Park and Reservoir, which is a short walk from Cookingham Greene, is located largely in Ashland. Because the front gate to this beautiful assembly of beaches, walking and biking trails, and forest is in Hopkinton, the park was given that name.
Ashland’s State Park and Reservoir, with its own beaches and trails, is a slightly longer walk away on the Eastern side of the Hill and is close to downtown. The Parks have been built around what were once water reservoirs for Boston.
A major force in the formation of the town of Ashland was the railroad, which arrived in 1831 when the town was still called Unionville. The first train actually arrived in 1834 and the railhead (for a short period of time the railroad actually ended in Unionville) became a proper commercial center growing out of what had been mostly a farming community. Churches were built (one of which still stands across from the Town Hall), three, four and five story buildings (huge for the times and the area) went up and rail sidings were built from which the farm produce and factory goods of the town were shipped across the country.
Driven by abundant water power, more factories were built. For a long time, shoes were the primary Ashland product. The Sudbury River was once lined with mill buildings. The magnificent granite buildings at the end of Main Street are a testament to the wealth generated during those rock solid times. Most of the factories were built of wood and have long since burned or been torn down. In the Hopkinton State Park, there is a remnant of a large water power dam that was breached by the State in the early 1900's.
Ashland is also known as the birthplace of the modern electric clock. Henry E. Warren, a graduate of Northeastern University and holder of dozens of patents, invented the machine that regulated the number of cycles per second of modern electric power generation plants. That invention was born from the need for regular power cycles in order to achieve accurate time keeping. The Telechron Company, born and headquartered in Ashland, was a power house in the time keeping business from early in this century until the advent of the digital timekeeping in the late 1980’s.
Mr. Warren’s house and the lands associated with it were deeded to Northeastern University upon his death and are now preserved in Northeastern's Warren Inn and Conference Center on Chestnut Street.
In addition to the Warren Center, Mr. Warren also gave the Town the lands that are now called the Town Forest. It is roughly one square mile of woods full of New England flora and fauna, and walking trails. The caves to which the “Salem Witches” of both history and legend fled, while escaping their persecution, are located there.
Ashland is very fortunate in that about one third of its roughly 12 square miles are open space, owned either by Northeastern, the Town or the State’s Department of Environmental Management.
For more information about this wonderful, small town, visit Ashland’s Carnegie donated library or the Historical Society at 2 Main Street, next to the waterfalls.
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