On November 7, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. in the First Parish Church on North Street, the Medfield Historical Society will be celebrating the 125th anniversary of its founding in 1891. All in town are invited to come to hear about those responsible for its beginning, see photos and images of the major events and undertakings by the Society over the past 125 years and take part in its birthday party, complete with a town-size anniversary cake.
The Society was founded in 1891. Excellent record keeping by Society secretaries over the years have unveiled a treasure of materials on past Society programs and policies.
The program will be narrated by former Society president and current Town Historian Richard DeSorgher. Through readings, photos and a PowerPoint presentation, one will be transported back to the Medfield of 1891. That year, Town Meeting, by a vote of 17 to 5, gave the Historical Society a room in town hall, free of charge. The Society now had a home! It would later move to the public library and then to its current location in the former Medfield Co-operative Bank on 6 Pleasant Street. Residents who ancestors went back to the very founding of the town itself begin to donate family heirlooms and town-related artifacts to begin the Society’s collection. Those donations have continued up to the present day. The program will also have on display, for all to see, some of the most valuable and interesting artifacts collected by the Society over the past 125 years.
One of the most important efforts by the Society that will be presented was saving the Peak House from demolition by neglect and taking over the historic home, restoring it to its former Colonial look and preserving for all time, what is today Medfield’s most famous landmark.
All are invited to the party. The Church will be open starting at 7:00 p.m. for viewing of the exhibits.
