HYDE PARK

hyde park, a small township of norfolk county, massachusetts, u.s.a., about 8 m. s.w. of the business centre of boston. pop. (1890) 10,193; (1900) 13,244, of whom 3805 were foreign-born; (1910 census) 15,507. its area is about 41⁄2 sq. m. it is traversed by the new york, new haven & hartford railway, which has large repair shops here, and by the neponset river and smaller streams. the township contains the villages of hyde park, readville (in which there is the famous "weil" trotting-track), fairmount, hazelwood and clarendon hills. until about 1856 hyde park was a farmstead. the value of the total factory product increased from $4,383,959 in 1900 to $6,739,307 in 1905, or 53.7%. in 1868 hyde park was incorporated as a township, being formed of territory taken from dorchester, dedham and milton.