HomeMy Public PortalAboutHotz Historic Map Statement by David RussoStatement read by David Russo, Historical Society: Relating to the Hotz Map.
I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce Dorothy Hotz-Colley and her son Grant Colley.
Dorothy is the sister of the late Mary Hotz Milligan, the artist of this beautiful map before us.
Also, here tonight are Elise Loukas, of the Historical Commission. Imagine our surprise. We
often have folks come through our door with a personal or family story of their life in
Watertown; rarer still is the occasional artifact or photograph of a long -lost Watertown. And,
of course, the odd requests to buy something such as Watertown's Boston Post Cane. We
indeed get a lot of visits and the Historical Commission has to be one of the more interesting
and exciting places to work in Town Hall. When Dorothy Hotz-Colley and her son Grant came
through our door with the original 1930 history map, our collective jaw dropped.
We, as many of you, had always seen copies of this map around town in the schools, in the
library, here in Town Hall and even in many private homes. Owning these maps was then, as it
is today, a mark of people's interest in and commitment to the shared heritage of our Town.
We just never knew that there was an original map.
In 1930, for the Watertown tercentenary, ten members of a Watertown High School art class
competed in a contest to produce the best map showing historical Watertown. The maps could
include places that no longer exist; places that still exist; and historical people and events.
Senior Mary Hotz of Arsenal Street won the contest and you can probably see why by looking at
her map.
Miss Hotz had no formal training in art, just the basics of what the school system provided and
her own innate skill. The high degree of painstaking detail on each and every element of this
map is tremendous. Lots of great information and history are tastefully, artistically and
concisely illustrated. I invite the community to take the time to experience the artistry of
Mary's work.
At the time, colored copies of the maps were sold for $3 apiece, and uncolored ones for $2
apiece and the money raised went toward the tercentenary committee and to establish a
scholarship at the school. Apparently Mary visited the Lions Club and Rotary Club to exhibit the
replica maps.
Mary also had the foresight and intelligence to mail a copy of the map to President Calvin
Coolidge, whose family had a farmstead in early Watertown between Arlington and Grove
Streets. He sent a thank you note that we also had framed, along with other materials that
help us understand today how valuable this map is.
Not surprisingly, Mary went on to attend art school in Boston, although she did not pursue art
professionally. She eventually married and left town. Unfortunately in 2006, she passed away
with her beloved map on her wall. We are pleased that her family chose to remember
Watertown: both Mary's and Dorothy's home town.
The Historical Commission on our part, was pleased to remount and reframe the map so that it
can be enjoyed by residents in perpetuity. Commission members individually donated funds for
the map to be mounted on acid -free paper and placed in a more secure frame. On behalf of
Mary Hotz-Milligan's family and the Historical Commission, I am pleased to present the 1930
Mary Hotz Historic Map of Watertown and the Calvin Coolidge letter to the Honorable Town
Council and the residents of the Town of Watertown