The elephants from the circus once bathed in Frog Pond.
Postcard of Frog Pond (elephant photoshopped by Mary Baker Eaton)
Frog Pond, Bartlet Mall, courtesy of the Museum of Old Newbury, the Snow Collection (elephant photoshopped by Mary Baker Eaton)
Frog Pond at the Bartlet Mall has a long and illustrious history, in 1645 the first settlers from England named named it Frog Pond, and it has been known as Frog Pond ever since. What I did not know was that the elephants from the circus once bathed in Frog Pond.
When I stumbled on Daltonville (please see Daltonville on the map) I stumbled on the fact that elephants in the past had bathed in Frog Pond. Where Daltonville sprung up was called “Circus Field,” and there is an 1875 survey in the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center of Circus Field being divided up into house lots that became Daltonville (Dalton Street goes between Hill and Greenleaf Streets and from Pond Street to the back yards on the south side of what is now Dalton Street) south of Frog Pond.
Frog Pond, Getty Museum, 1863
Buffalo Bill Circus, State Street, 1890s, donated by Bob Richard, courtesy of the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center
“Speaking of circuses there are some people who can remember the old circus field, which was what now comprises Daltonville. It was customary to give the elephants a bath in Frog Pond, and you can imagine that the small boys of the city took advantage of this wonderful opportunity to get a free exhibition of a portion of the circus.” ~Newburyport Daily News and Newburyport Herald, July 1, 1926
The Newburyport Daily Herald, July 20, 1882
“The great herd of elephants, the largest ever seen in this city, were taken from their cars and driven to Frog Pond, where they enjoyed the luxury of a bath, greatly to the edification of the spectators. The smaller elephants especially seemed bent on having a good time, rolling and playing about and wetting themselves to their hearts content.” ~Newburyport Daily Herald, July 20, 1882
The diary of Georgiana Bassett, called “A Child’s Recollections of Newburyport 1850-1865,” written in 1930, courtesy of the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center.
Ghlee Woodworth found a diary of Georgiana Bassett (1850-1939), called “A Child’s Recollections of Newburyport 1850-1865,” it was written in 1930, and has reminiscences about the circus at the back of Frog Pond:
“Another important event was the yearly coming to town of the circus. My sister, with other children, liked to go very early up to the pond to see the elephants come there to bathe. She usually faithfully attended the afternoon performances. I remember my father grasping me tightly by the hand and taking me up to the circus grounds which were then on Pond Street, back of the Mall. The animals were housed in tents outside the large tent, the large tent being devoted wholly to feats of skill, horseback riding, and trapeze flying and performances of the clown.”
The diary is not formally published, but it has photocopies of Georgian Bassett’s handwritten diary. A copy of this treasure is at the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center.
The circus took place at Circus Field until 1877 in the area above High Street near downtown, then Sargent’s Field at Parker Street where the traffic circle is located, and then Haskell Field in 1896^ at the southeast corner of Parker and State Streets.* It also took place at other parts of the city, but to my knowledge the elephants may not have made it to Frog Pond from those places for a bath.
1875 Survey of “Circus Field,” courtesy of the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center
1875 Survey of “Circus Field,” courtesy of the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center
The 1872 Map, courtesy of the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center, showing the difference circus fields.
Original survey by John Vinal of “A Plan of Burying Hill, Frog Pond and the Common Land,” surveyed Feb 28, 1766, dated 1771, Newburyport Town Records 1764 – 1789, courtesy of the City of Newburyport, the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center (elephant photoshopped by Mary Baker Eaton)
The Bartlet Mall
“It was first shaped thousands of years ago by a huge chunk of ice which broke off a retreating glacier. When the ice finally melted, it left a steep-sided pit that geologists call a kettle hole.
In 1645 the first settlers from England named the water at the bottom of the kettle hole Frog Pond. Here they watered thousands of their sheep, which grazed on the ridge above.
The common land around Frog Pond was dug out for its sand and gravel. It also became the site of a windmill (the millstone lies near the path along the south rim) and the long wooden shed of a ropewalk bordering High Street.
In 1774 the southerly side was leveled to form a Training Field for the militia companies which soon would fight in the Revolutionary War.
After the ropewalk was torn down, Nathaniel Tracy, merchant and privateer owner, was authorized in 1779 to plant shade trees on the vacant site.
The shift from gravel pit to park continued in 1800. Captain Edmund Bartlet and friends undertook to fill an unsightly gully. They also converted the ropewalk site into a promenade, patterned after London’s famous Pall Mall. It was named the Bartlet Mall.
In 1834 volunteer workers extended the walkway around the western rim above the pond. They also implanted turf in the embankments above and below the path.
Professional landscaping (plans by Charles Eliot) was sponsored in 1889 by the Mall Improvement Society, which left the paths and lawns much as you see them now.
Today, the City Improvement Society and other citizens continue to keep an eye on the area and to offer a helping hand. For two centuries the Mall has been a place for special activities – skating, sliding on snowy slopes, picnicking, community celebrations, festivity, quiet contemplation. All of these doings have made the Mall a special place for all of us.” ~The Plaque at Bartlet Mall
~ History compiled by © Mary Baker Eaton 2023 for the Newburyport Interactive History Map – Keeping the Story Alive.
Footnotes and References:
* Tom Horth, “Fairs and Circuses,” Dec 7, 2006, research at the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center
^ Newburyport Daily News, May 14, 1942, “Once Upon a Time,” by Bred W. Parson, “The Circus of Other Days.”
The Diary of Georgiana Bassett (1850-1939), “A Child’s Recollections of Newburyport 1850-1865,” written in 1930, courtesy of the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center
The Newburyport Daily Herald, July 20, 1882
The Newburyport Daily News and Newburyport Herald, July 1, 1926
The plaque at Bartlet Mall
The 1872 Map, courtesy of the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center
Clipper Heritage Trail, Ghlee Woodworth, Voices of Yesteryear, Georgiana Bassett
The Newburyport Archival Center
The Museum of Old Newbury
1875 Survey of “Circus Field,” courtesy of the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center
1924 Sanborn Fire Map, with modifications up to @1961, courtesy of the Newburyport Public Library
Images:
Frog Pond, the Getty Museum, 1863
Postcard of Frog Pond (elephant photoshopped by Mary Baker Eaton)
Frog Pond, Bartlet Mall, courtesy of the Museum of Old Newbury, the Snow Collection (elephant photoshopped by Mary Baker Eaton)
Original survey by John Vinal of “A Plan of Burying Hill, Frog Pond and the Common Land,” surveyed Feb 28, 1766, dated 1771, Newburyport Town Records 1764 – 1789, courtesy of the City of Newburyport, the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center (elephant photoshopped by Mary Baker Eaton)
Buffalo Bill Circus, State Street, 1890s, donated by Bob Richard, courtesy of the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center
Frog Pond, Getty Museum, 1863
1875 Survey of “Circus Field,” courtesy of the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center
The diary of Georgiana Bassett, called “A Child’s Recollections of Newburyport 1850-1865,” written in 1930, courtesy of the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center
The 1872 Map, courtesy of the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center, showing the difference circus fields.
Explore the Newburyport Interactive History Map – Keeping the Story Alive
You may also enjoy reading about Daltonville.
