Is your Medford property showing its age? Academy Masonry breathes new life into brick and stone, boosting both looks and value.
At Academy Masonry, we know that your property is an investment. That’s why we treat every brick like it’s a gold bar. Our team isn’t just skilled with trowels and mortar-we’re problem solvers who understand the nuances of MA construction. Regardless of whether it is a 100-year-old chimney or a newly constructed patio, we will confirm that it is constructed to endure.
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Masonry is your property’s armor against the elements. Cracked mortar? That’s an open invitation for water damage and costly repairs. Academy Masonry provides the shield your Medford home or business needs. We specialize in everything from fixing foundations to restoring historic facades. Don’t wait for disaster to strike-call us at 617-388-5207 and fortify your property today.
Native Americans inhabited the area that would become Medford for thousands of years prior to European colonization of the Americas. At the time of European contact and exploration, Medford was the winter home of the Naumkeag people, who farmed corn and created fishing weirs at multiple sites along the Mystic River. Naumkeag sachem Nanepashemet was killed and buried at his fortification in present-day Medford during a war with the Tarrantines in 1619. The contact period introduced a number of European infectious diseases which would decimate native populations in virgin soil epidemics, including a smallpox epidemic which in 1633 killed Nanepashemet’s sons, sachems Montowompate and Wonohaquaham. Sagamore Park in West Medford is a native burial site from the contact period which includes the remains of a likely sachem, either Nanepashemet or Wonohaquaham. After the 1633 epidemic, Nanepashemet’s widow, known only as the Squaw Sachem of Mistick, led the Naumkeag, and over the next two decades would deed large parts of Naumkeag territory to English settlers. In 1639, the Massachusetts General Court purchased the land that would become present day Medford, then within the boundaries of Charlestown, from the Squaw Sachem.
Medford was settled in 1630 by English colonists as part of Charlestown, of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The settlement was originally called “Mistick” by Thomas Dudley, based on the indigenous name for the area’s river. Thomas Dudley’s party renamed the settlement “Meadford”. The name may have come from a description of the “meadow by the ford” in the Mystic River, or from two locations in England that Cradock may have known: the hamlet of Mayford or Metford in Staffordshire near Caverswall, or from the parish of Maidford or Medford (now Towcester, Northamptonshire). In 1634, the land north of the Mystic River was developed as the private plantation of Matthew Cradock, a former governor. Across the river was Ten Hills Farm, which belonged to John Winthrop, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony.
In 1637, the first bridge (a toll bridge) across the Mystic River was built at the site of the present-day Cradock Bridge, which carries Main Street into Medford Square. It would be the only bridge across the Mystic until 1787, and as such became a major route for traffic coming into Boston from the north (though ferries and fords were also used). The bridge would be rebuilt in 1880, 1909, and 2018.
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Elevate your home with top-quality masonry services from Academy Masonry. From chimney repair to paver installation, our expert team delivers exceptional craftsmanship. Contact us today to bring your vision to life with a trusted local contractor.