Maple Avenue was once known as the “Highway to Judge Pettibone,” whose house is pictured on the right in this view looking north from Greenwoods Road. Judge Augustus Pettibone (1766-1847) was the son of one of the first settlers of Norfolk and represented Norfolk in the state legislature. The house eventually passed to his grandson Augustus P. Lawrence, who began to develop the property soon after this 1878 photo was taken, selling lots and laying out side streets. Between 1885 and 1895, the residential neighborhood of Maple Avenue grew quickly with the opening of Emerson Street, Terrace View and Hillside. By then, Norfolk had acquired a reputation as a popular summer resort, and many of the houses were rented to so-called summer cottagers.

Text By Ann Havemeyer
Photo Courtesy of the Norfolk Historical Society