Readers of the “Nina Winn Diaries” might enjoy this collection of photographs, which will help illustrate Arlington 100 years ago, and the people and places mentioned in the diaries. New photos will be added as they are digitized. Please contact us if you recognize anything specific from the diaries in these photos, or if there’s anything you’d like to see.
A recent donation, a cut silhouette with “Aunt Nina” pencilled on the back.
Nina Louise Winn (1877-1958) was the daughter of George Prentiss Winn (1846-1907) and his wife Melissa Sarah Bacon Winn (1853-1886). In 1901, Nina was living with her widowed father and her brother George Albert Winn (1873-1942) at 146 Mystic Street, Arlington, MA. This 1908 photo is of Nina dressed in Colonial dress, participating in an Arlington Historical Society event.
Massachusetts Avenue c. 1906
The Winn House at 57 Summer Street, side view with arbor
Interior of the Winn House at 57 Summer Street
Interior of the Winn House at 57 Summer Street
Interior of the Winn House at 57 Summer Street
Interior of the Winn House at 57 Summer Street
Interior of the Winn House at 57 Summer Street
The Winn House at 57 Summer Street The woman standing at the center wearing a black dress & hoop skirt is Mabel Hartwell Winn. The one on the left, behind urn, is miss Florence Harris, and the one on the right in a two-toned dress in bustle is Miss Alice Kelsey (she later lived with Mabel Hartwell Winn for a while). The occasion is a party inviting all the people who went on a European tour with Mabel Hartwell Winn in 1930. They often dressed in these costumes & showed a lot of antiques. The dresses are now in the Smithsonian.
Silhouette of George P. Winn (Nina’s Father)
George Prentiss Winn (Nina’s father) as a young man.
Melissa Sarah Bacon Winn 1853-1886 Photo taken between 1875 and 1881.
“Eureka” on July 4 Horace Osborne, John Winn, Albert Winn, Frank Robbins, Henry Ramsdell, George W Storer, George Winn (Nina’s Father), Calvin Warren, Wm Winn
Carrie and Leander Peirce. Carrie was a friend of Nina and Susanna.
Unidentified person in front of house at 146 Mystic Street.
Sarah Georgiana Winn Nina’s Aunt – c. 1865-1875
Susanna Adams Winn (1852-1935) was the daughter of Albert Winn (1810-1888) and his wife Sarah Prentiss Winn (1811-1897). Miss Winn attended primary schools in West Cambridge as well as the Tilden Ladies’ Seminary in West Lebanon, NH and lived at her parent’s home, which is still standing at 57 Summer Street, Arlington, MA. Susanna Adams Winn was an artist and never married; she died in Winchendon, MA at her cousin’s home in 1935.
Susanna Adams Winn c. 1889 Nina’s Aunt
Woman in middle is Susann Adams Winn (Nina’s Aunt). Other two not identified.
“Art of Antique” Exhibit from Susanna A. Winn’s Old Maid’s party on September 28, 1902.
“Art of Antique” Exhibit from Susanna A. Winn’s Old Maid’s party on September 28, 1902. The two paintings (“Prize Piggies” and “Prize Pussies” at the top of grouping of images were done by Susanna Adams Winn and were the basis for chromolithographs published by Boston lithographer Louis Prang and Co. about 1890. To view the chromolithographs created from these paintings, view the online collections of Boston Public Library Print Collection, the Boston Athenaeum and the New York Public Library.
Susanna Adams Winn c. 1889 Nina’s Aunt
George & Mable Winn and their three children
Winn children and friend playing at the house at 146 Mystic Street. Barbara & Arthur identified as two and possibly a “Johnny” or “Tobin” as the third. Nina lived in this house until 1911.
Writing on the back identifies the woman on the left to be Mabel Hartwell (Winn) and the baby in her arms to be Arthur H. Winn. The other woman on the right is Nina L. Winn. The young girl in the middle of them is Katie Haverty McCall and the young boy in the front is George A. winn Jr.
The woman on the left is Mabel Hartwell (Winn) and the child right in front of her is George A. Winn Jr. The young girl in the background is Katir Haverty McCall and the adult woman on the right is Nina L. Winn. She is hold a baby named Arthur H. Winn.
Unidentified Winn family members
Unidentified individuals, perhaps Nina on the far right?
Mabel Hartwell Winn
Mabel Hartwell Winn
Sarah (Daniels) Winn, another aunt, widow of her father’s brother. Sarah lived in a two-family house at 35-37 Summer Street.
Warren Appleton Peirce Nina’s uncle and the owner of Peirce & Winn, the largest coal dealer in Arlington
William Newcomb Winn is in partnership with Warren Peirce. He lived at 77 Summer Street.
Two men hunting, one possibly George Albert Winn
George Albert Winn giving his dog a bath at the Arlington Boat Club, 1909.
Miss Vida Damon Historical Society Director at Large 1916 Member of the “Relic Committee” 1920-1921. And a friend of Nina Winn’s.
“Art of Antique” Exhibit from Susanna A. Winn’s Old Maid’s party on September 28, 1902.
“Art of Antique” Exhibit from Susanna A. Winn’s Old Maid’s party on September 28, 1902.
View of 57 Summer Street in winter
Pet dog waits at door of 57 Summer Street in snow.
Side view of vegetable garden at 57 Summer Street
Nina Winn holding a baby, photo dated 1944
Woman seated, likely at house at 57 Summer Street. Identified as “Sarah D. Winn” likely Sarah Daniels Winn.
Front and side of house at 57 Summer Street
Photograph taken before 1897. Nina Winn is sitting in front in plaid dress. Also shown are Sarah Prentice Winn (back left), Susanna Adams Winn (seated just behind Nina), Lucy Frances Winn (next to Susanna), and Sarah Georgiana Winn (seated in lower left, profile). All others not identified.
Group of people — dressed up in historical costume, perhaps an Arlington Historical Society event?
Interior scene, likely house at 57 Summer Street.
Interior scene, likely house at 57 Summer Street.
Described in a letter from Barbara Winn “? The house with the body of water in front of . . . . a canal is Aunt Nina’s and great aunt Sarah’s house (37 Summer St.) next . . . at 57. I think it was . . . taken. . the railroad tracks. The brook was called Susen(?) Brooks and ran into the Mill Pond. The building to the left is a farm building at 57 Summer & part of the barn . . . . The land going down to the . . . was called the Orchard. My father gave it (in the 1930s) to the town of Arlington for a Park. They turned it into a dump. The layers had drawn the papers so badly that I was told there was nothing to be done. The brooks was well-named . . and it wasn’t the only su . . ch around. (I know you never liked that word but there is absolutely no substitutive point(?).)”
Mrs. Sarah Daniels Winn, c. 1870s She was born in 1844 in the house which had formerly served as the town’s first public library. She married Albert Winn Jr. in 1867 and he died in 1878. She was a charter member of the Arlington Historical Society and at the time of her death in 1943 was the oldest inhabitant of Arlington.