September‎ 24‎, ‎2023 – Melrose, Massachusetts

Difficulty: Easy

Length: Approximately 1 mile

Max elevation: 260 ft.– total elevation gain approximately 153 ft.

Route type: Out and back

Map: Mount Hood Memorial Park & Golf Course

Trailhead parking: 100 Slayton Rd, Melrose, MA 02176

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Overview:

Slayton Memorial Tower also known simply as Slayton Tower, is a four-story stone tower at the summit of Mount Hood in Melrose, Massachusetts. The tower stands near the southeasterly part of Melrose, near the Saugus line, at an elevation of approximately 262 feet above sea level. It offers 360° views that include the Boston skyline and Massachusetts Bay.

It is located on the grounds of the largest City-owned park, the 251-acre, Mount Hood Memorial Park & Golf Course. A public trail system surrounds the course and connects to adjacent public lands. The course’s symbolic landmark, Slayton Tower, overlooks the golf course and also offers a wonderful view of the Boston skyline.

 

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History:

Mount Hood was known as “Bear Hill” by the Wampanoag Indians, who used its elevation to signal native tribes as far west as Mount Wachusett. In 1907, John C. Slayton purchased 25 acres of land from Wendell P. Hood and constructed a tower at the summit and an access road.

The original tower was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1934 as the Slayton Memorial Tower.

 

From the top of the tower, Melrose is concealed beneath the tree-line in summer, while Boston and the Atlantic Ocean expand before the eye, and mountainous regions of the west excite the imagination. Appreciating the value of such an experience, Slayton willed his land parcel to the city. Melrose then purchased an additional 210 acres of land and began development of the park and golf course in 1931. The park and golf course were completed by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) in 1937.

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The Tower:

Please note: This is an active golf course. Be aware of people playing golf and the golf carts traveling about, out of courtesy, and for your safety.

With the Mount Hood Clubhouse on your left and First Pond directly across the road, continue southeast on the road, past Second Pond (on the left) and park at the southwest end of Third Pond. There is parking just before a closed gate that spans the road. Park your vehicle and proceed on foot past the gate on the paved road, passing Third Pond on the left. The paved road proceeds gradually uphill.

 

 

After passing through an open area, you’ll come to a small parking area with concrete steps at the far end. Proceed up the steps and the Slayton Memorial Tower is at the top of the rise. 

 

 

Climb the tower which offers panoramic views of Melrose, surrounding communities, the Boston skyline and the Atlantic Ocean.

 

As far as I know, the tower is always open to visitors while the golf course is open.

 

 

The 40-foot stone tower was constructed with an overall height of 322 feet above mean sea level.

The four-story stone tower at the summit of Mount Hood offers far reaching views to the east, including the Boston skyline, and Massachusetts Bay.

 

 

The area around Slayton Tower is also home to a memorial of one man’s heroic act. Army Air Force Major Doak Weston sacrificed his own life in order to save the lives of his crew members and the lives of residents of the Melrose and Saugus area.

A memorial was placed at the site where the B-25 Mitchel Bomber he was piloting crashed. He was piloting the bomber aircraft from New Hampshire to Boston following WWII when he lost all engines, telling his crew members to bail out before crash landing on Mt. Hood.

 

The memorial includes a black, granite marker bearing the name of each crewmember, a rendering of the B-25 aircraft they were flying, the Air Corps seal, and a copy of the U.S. Military’s Distinguished Flying Cross. Weston was posthumously awarded the flying cross for, “heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight.”

The memorial also includes a granite bench, which is inscribed with the biblical passage, “Greater love than this hath no man: than a man lay down his life for his friends.” The memorial to honor Weston’s sacrifice at Mount Hood was unveiled on Friday, Sept. 24, 2010. The 65th anniversary of Weston’s death.

Since this is a short walk, it can be combined with a short hike to Wright’s Tower at Middlesex Fells Reservation, which is only six miles away in Medford. High Rock Tower is about 7 miles away in Lynn.

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Sources:

• Melrose honors unsung hero at Mount Hood ceremony
• HISTORY OF MT. HOOD PARK
• Major Doak A. Weston
• Mount Hood Memorial Park & Golf Course – Melrose’s Green Jewel
• Mount Hood Golf Course

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