A Short History of the Dedham Incinerator
The Town of Dedham is currently conducting a survey of residents to gather ideas for the future use of the transfer station site off Washington Street. Built as an incinerator in 1961, the facility was closed in 2019 and currently serves as DPW storage. But did you know it was built on land that once served a much different purpose?
As you can see, a bath house once stood on the site and Dedhamites flocked there for over half a century to cool off in the waters of Mother Brook. The 1947 view shows the bath house built in 1925 after the original one from 1898 burned down two years earlier. The popular spot was staffed with lifeguards and swim instructors, and swim meets and games capped the season at summer’s end. The swimming area was occasionally dredged to create a real old- fashioned swimming hole, and the beach area was regularly maintained. The NY, NH & H railroad tracks ran northwesterly from Dedham Square under Washington Street across what is now the Dedham Mall parking lot. Brave (also reckless) swimmers would sometimes dive off the railroad bridge, despite the diving platform supplied by the town (see below).
Rumors began circulating in the late 40s that the water had become polluted, and the beach and bath house closed for good after the summer of 1952. The town sold a portion of the land in 1955, and the incinerator was approved in April 1960, with construction beginning the following year. While the days of swimming in local waterways are well past, it was a cherished summer activity until the mid-twentieth century, best summed up in this transcript column from July, 1925:
“Every normal child just naturally seeks the water, and swimming is the art that should be acquired by all…And just as long as we support our bath house and just as long as we see these young people sporting in the water, we are sure we have done something, locally, that childhood may be made happy.“
If you are a Dedham resident, you have until Friday March 15 to take the survey. Here is the link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DedhamSiteSurvey
Explore posts in the same categories: ...all the old familiar places, Dedham Then and NowTags: Dedham Bath House, Dedham incinerator, Mother Brook
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Dedham Tales 
March 11, 2024 at 5:32 pm
My Dad, Dr. William J Taylor M.D., was the Chairman of the Board of Health at that time when the incinerator was in process of being approved/built. I don’t recall his position pro/con., but I do remembering him practicing his speech’s when presenting at meetings. I did not dare to interrupt his pacing and practicing at our home. Years passed and he did as well in 1973. I took a lot of stuff to the incinerator cleaning out belongings and the DPW employee’s were always willing to help me “unload”.
Well, I gave them a big 30” x 36” B&W poster of Ted Williams. You would have thought I gave them the Crown Jewels! They hung it on the office wall where it hung for years. I have no idea of what may of happened years later down the road. Just a nice memory.
And by the way all the property the Dedham Mall was built on was the old town dump III. Peter Colontoni ran the bulldozer. ( I had many rides on it with him when I was very young) Best regards,
William J Taylor Jr.
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March 11, 2024 at 5:35 pm
Thanks for sharing those memories!
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