The 1634 selectmen of Ipswich Massachusetts deemed "the great hill" known as Castle Hill public property for the "common use of the Towne [sic] forever".1 Oddly a foreshadowing declaration, this intention was short-lived. John Winthrop Jr., the founder of Ipswich Massachusetts and son of the newly elected Governor, was deeded the property in exchange for continued service to the community-indefinitely removing it from public enjoyment and control. For over two centuries, the land of Castle Hill remained exclusive to commercial farming and fishing usages through private ownerships until purchased by Richard T. Crane Jr. in 1909. Crane was the active President and Chairman of Crane and Company during this period. A role bestowed upon him after his late father's passing in January of 1912. Crane Senior amassed a fortune "[being] resolved to conduct [his] business [with] the strictest honesty and fairness to avoid all deception and trickery."2 Founded as Crane Brass & Bell Foundry in 1855, Crane's early adoption of advancing technologies in casting and fabrication enabled him to operate nearly unchallenged during the rise of the railroads and western expansion. Securing and delivering on many government and private railroad contracts for brass fittings, steam valves, and bell castings, Richard Crane had secured a position among the Nation's wealthiest industrialists.3 Crane found it prudent to expand his business, conscious of a public disposition and economic climates. The Great Fire of Chicago in 1871 stifled the City's water supply and decimated thousands of homes and jobs. Crane felt obliged to step in and assist his ruined city. He offered to donate labor and steam pumps to rebuild the City's water supply and infrastructure. Crane's effort to "repay" the "great debt" to a city that had "given him [an] extraordinary opportunity as a young man" was prevailing.
