Around Town
Five Properties Were Sold in Watertown This Week
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Two townhouses and three condos sold this week around town.
Police Log: Threatening Flyer Left at Home, Suspected Organized Crime Scam Used at Nike, Shoplifters Busted
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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department.
Watertown Author’s Book Honored in Mass. Book Awards
Watertown author Robin Bernstein’s book was honored in the 25th Annual Massachusetts Book Awards. (Contributed Photo)
Watertown author and cultural historian Robin Bernstein’s book “Freeman’s Challenge: The Murder That Shook America’s Original Prison for Profit,” was honored during the Massachusetts Book Awards.
City Manager’s Reflection One-Week After the End of the Trash Strike
Full trash bins during the recently-ended trash strike. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Watertown City Manager George Proakis sent out the following piece on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025.
As we end the first week of fall and reflect upon the summer that saw our regular trash and recycling services disrupted by the labor strike between Republic Services and their unionized workforce, I want to extend my sincere appreciation to the community for their continued understanding and the members of City staff for their hard work.
Watertown Hires New Veterans Services Officer, Who Will Also Serve as the ADA Coordinator
Watertown hired a new Veterans Services Officer, who is a Navy and Army National Guard veteran with experience in frontline medical care, and most recently worked in the Massachusetts Executive Office of Veterans Services. See the announcement from the City of Watertown, below.
More Headlines
Voting Locations Changing for Many Watertown Residents in 2025
Council Gives City Manager High Marks in Review, Also Some Suggestions
Trash Strike Has Ended, City Closing Temporary Drop Off Site
Around Town
MWRA to Install Water Mains in Several Watertown Streets
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The following information was provided by the MWRS:
A Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) project will be commencing in your neighborhood starting on Monday, September 11, 2023, or shortly thereafter. This project will provide critical water system redundancy and operational flexibility in the event of water main pipe failures in your area. The project will clean and rehabilitate or replace 120+ year old water main pipes and replace two water meters.
Around Town
Our History: The War Horses of Watertown
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Union Market Stockyards on Arsenal Street with the Perkins tower in background (Courtesy of the Watertown Free Public Library)
The following story is part of a series on local history provided by the Historical Society of Watertown. It was written by Historical Society of Watertown board member Mary Spiers. Mary served as our Recording and Corresponding Secretary for several years. (Mary retired from the Board in January 2923 but is still a volunteer. She wrote this article for our January 2013 newsletter, “The Town Crier.”) Information concerning what appears to have been a significant political clash over using the stockyards for the export of war horses was gathered from the archives of the 1915-1916 Boston Globe and the Watertown Tribune-Enterprise.
Did you see the movie “War Horse”? Did it ever occur to you that there might be a connection between Watertown and those brave cavalry horses of World War I? Maud Hodges wrote in her manuscript “The Story of our Watertown” (1956), “After the start of WWI in 1914, thousands of little shaggy Canadian horses and mules filled the Union Market Stockyards, and snow whitened their backs in the open pens.” The horses were there at the arrangement of the Canadian and French governments. They would rest briefly at the yards between railroad car and steamship to St. Nazaire, France.
Entertainment
See This Week’s Small Saves Cartoon
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James DeMarco grew up in Watertown and became a goaltender at age 5. It’s his life’s passion to stand between the pipes and keep the puck out of the net.
Police/Fire
Car Crashes Through Storefront, Closes Arsenal Street to Deal with Gas Line
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An elderly driver drove through the window of a vacant office at 440 Arsenal St. on Thursday. (Courtesy of Watertown Fire Department)
An elderly man driving on Arsenal Street on Thursday left the roadway and crashed through a vacant storefront, breaking a gas line.
Schools
Local Students Earn Honors at Simmons, Southern New Hampshire
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The following students were recognized for their academic performance at Simmons University and Southern New Hampshire University during the spring and summer semesters, respectively.
Around Town
WestMetro HOME Holding Public Hearing on Annual Performance & Evaluation Report
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The following information was provided by WestMetro HOME Consortium:
Since 1992, the City of Newton has received over $35 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME Program through the WestMetro HOME Consortium for the development of affordable housing in Newton. Because Newton is not individually eligible to participate in the HOME Program, in 1991, the City spearheaded an effort to form a consortium under the newly enacted Program. Brookline, Waltham and Watertown joined Newton in this effort. Since that time, the Consortium, through Newton as the lead member, has received and distributed over $35 million in HOME funds to its members.
Around Town
Tons of Open Houses Around Watertown This Week
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Check out all the open houses in town this weekend.