There is a district, about where Dorchester and Hyde Park join, where there is a remarkable number of streets having names beginning with R. A few of the names are: Radcliffe, Raleigh, Ruskin, Ruskindale, River, Royal, Regis, Rock, Rockdale, Rosemont, Roseberry, Ridlon, Richard, Ruxton, Ransom. And, to top it all, the name of the region is Rugby.

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        The first canal to be dug in this country is to be seen in Dedham and Hyde Park. It dates back to 1634, and it connects the Charles River with the Neponset. It is at present called Mother Brook, and looks more like a natural brook than a canal. The current―running out of the Charles because the Charles, being extremely winding, has a longer way to go to the sea and is therefore higher than the Neponset―is very strong. As early as 1640, a mill using the power of that current was built at East Dedham―a tablet now marks the site. East Dedham and Hyde Park undoubtedly owe their locations to the canal, which is in all only about three miles long.

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        The first theater lighted by electricity was the Bijou in Boston. The power was supplied by an Edison isolated plant on [Tuesday] December 12, 1882, 60 years before B. O. (blackouts).

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