September 1, 1851, an Act was approved by the Massachusetts
General Court granting authority to John H. Wilkins, James Sturgis,
John Gardner and their associates, to form a corporation by the name
of the Cary Improvement Company. “The corporation may purchase
and hold the whole or any part of certain real estate in Chelsea,
described in the deed of Charles S. Cary.” On March 27, 1852,
the Cary Improvement Company purchased the Cary farm from Charles
Cary, former treasurer for the Town of Chelsea, for the sum of
$150,000. The purchase included all except one acre of land and the
Cary House which remained with the Cary family.
The Cary farm was the largest and most productively
situated of all the Bellingham farms. The farm had been retained in
one family for over one hundred years. The interest from the farm had
become so subdivided that the deeds to the Cary Company had thirty
signatures, some heirs having an undivided 240th part. The farm
contained 414 acres or more than one-third of the Town of Chelsea.
According to the surveys the farm contained 202 acres of prime
upland, 159 acres of marsh and 53 acres of flats; two-thirds of
Powderhorn Hill was contained in this survey. The northern boundary
of the Cary Estate began near the village of Prattville and followed
the Mill stream to just East of the Spice Mill, the stream being the
boundary between the estate and North Chelsea. The east boundary
commenced at the point east of the Spice Mill and followed the
Chelsea River to Bass Creek (end of Marlboro Street and Eastern
Avenue) and the Winnisimmet Company’s land. The southerly boundaries
were Bass Creek and the line of the Winnisimmet Company. The west
boundary ran westerly of Broadway, along Washington Avenue to the
Carter estate, through a portion of Powderhorn Hill to Prattville.
The Cary Company now had a water front of approximately a mile along
the Chelsea River. Large tonnage vessels, drawing from 18 to 20 feet
of water could maneuver three-fifths of this river. Ships drawing
less water would be able to go up the whole distance. This would
prove to be a most valuable portion of the Company’s property for
ship building, wharf and manufacturing purposes. The great increase
of business and population in Chelsea and the urgent need for lots
for buildings and business purposes made it a necessity that the Cary
Estate be put on the market.
The streets with a few exceptions, were to be laid out
fifty feet wide. Squares and parks and numerous shade trees were
added. As the streets and avenues were laid out, fine lots of 6,000
to 10,000 square feet were opened on each side. The estate contained
everything necessary for development. The upland would not require
any change but to bring the marsh and flats to proper grade, the
estate contained sufficient earth and gravel.
The Chelsea Improvement Company capitalized on the previous
twenty year experiences of the Winnisimmet Company and successfully
set the stage for urban planning and development