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A Family of Grave Importance
A Family of Grave Importance
The Killam-Curtis Cemetery is located behind the varsity baseball field near the Ipswich River. This plot is a portion of the old Killam family plot. The Killams have lived in the Tri-Town since the seventeen hundreds and are still scattered throughout the three towns of Boxford, Middleton, and Topsfield (Frost). The plot is located on the southeastern portion of the Masconomet campus, and a portion of it was taken from the Killam family by eminent domain during the construction of I-95, with the remaining portions of land being purchased from the Killam family in 1961 and 1962 to aid in the construction of Masconomet facilities and sport fields (Report of the Receipts).
The Original property
The Original property
The original Killam property, whose original grant was for 150 acres of land, was halved by Endicott Road which now goes in front of Masconomet (Massachusetts Department of Public Works). The land, owned at the time by Zerubbabel Endicott, was granted by his father Governor John Endicott to Thomas Killam in 1701. A farmhouse was located in the middle of this property. This farmhouse, home to generations of Killams, was on a large flat open field which was a perfect location for the school, especially for sports fields, parking lots, and roadways. This farmhouse was the home to generations of Killams (Frost).
(John Endecott)
a talk with margaret killam frost
a talk with margaret killam frost
(Killam Farm House)
Margaret Killam Frost, a member of the Killam family that lived on the original Killam property. She graduated from the Proctor School, formerly a high school, in 1941 before Masconomet was built. Frost was born and raised on the farm, doing farming and gardening work before later marrying and moving off of the property in 1966. She mentioned the field the farm house was on was a Native American camp and the Native American artifacts that have now seemingly disappeared from Masconomet's campus (Frost). Frost recalls fondly the swimming hole formed by the Ipswich River that was located near the property. The Killam family in the spring and summer months opened this swimming hole to all of the residents of Boxford, allowing for jubilant celebration and much community-building that was fostered by the family. It can now be found by Thunder Bridge, though the waters are no longer as clean as they were before (Frost).
The Killam-Curtis Cemetery is still in use by the family. Margaret Killam Frost will be buried there along with her siblings and future Killams. Some living members already have headstones placed for themselves within it. (Frost) The Killams, some veterans of wars, contributed not only to the country as a whole but to the community through their fostering of community with their swimming hole, selling of land for the school, among many other contributions that create the Tri-Town that is known today. The cemetery in the forest close to the Ipswich River and behind the Masconomet baseball field is a standing reminder of an integral family of the community of Boxford, Massachusetts.
Works CitedFrost, Margaret Killam. Personal Interview. 23 May 2019. John Endecott. 1665. Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Endecott. Accessed 31 May 2019. Killam Farm House. 1886. Massachusetts Department of Public Works. I-95 Reconstruction, Middleton to Newburyport: Environmental Impact Statement. Boston, U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, 27 December 1972.Report of the Receipts And Expenditures of the Town of Middleton for the Year Ending December 31, 1962. Danvers, The Mirror Press, 1963.
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