The diary was written by 16-year old Adeline Faxon spanning the time between November 1, 1850 and May 16, 1851 as she lived at 53 Linden St. in Brookline Village. You will meet many people who lived in the neighborhood, fellow students at the new high school, members of Adeline’s extended family. A number of the people mentioned are now well-known figures from Brookline history.

This is a cut-out from the 1844 atlas highlighting (red dots) the people and places she regularly visited. Adeline chronicles a pre-telephone era in which social communication was founded on routinely "stopping by" the houses of neighbors and friends. In the diary, Adeline frequently characterizes her movements in the area as either "up", indicating travel towards Walnut Hill or the more infrequently used "down" referring to travel north. The Faxon house can be seen on the atlas at the eastern end of Linden St.