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By Camille Kerwin
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
On Saturday, townspeople of all ages gathered at Dale Street School to celebrate Medfield History Day with six on-the-hour tours visiting 50 of Medfield’s historic homes. The lot in front of the school brimmed with excitement for the 24th Annual History Day Trolley Tour, a tradition that was established by former town historian Walter Reynolds.
Sponsored by MEMO, the tours are conducted by the current town historian, Richard DeSorgher. In past years, the tour has explored topics including historic homes lost to demolition, the State Hospital, and Medfield veterans. This year’s focus was historic homes that still stand, an asset of the town that DeSorgher says “increases property values in Medfield and sets the tone of the town.”
Medfield boasts a surplus of antique houses, some of which even predate our country’s inception. The tour first ventured to North Street, where a string of old homes faces the police station. Many of the unassuming houses upon this stretch bear pieces of the original Lowell Mason house. Other homes housed famous Medfield citizens like Granville Mitchell, who was born to the hat-factory owner and became a town selectman at age 21.
The trolley then weaved through Green, Brook, Main, Pound, South, and Pleasant Streets, unveiling gems of hidden history along the way. DeSorgher shared stories of oxen moving houses across frozen ponds and homeowners discovering animal bones in their backyard where a butcher shop once stood. He pointed out a partially obscured statue, a haunted well, a famous painter’s former art studio, and the Metacomet bleachers that once occupied Harvard Stadium.
Each tour offered a plethora of facts to a jam-packed trolley-full of curious minds, giving them fresh insight into the town they thought they knew. DeSorgher believes that Medfield history defines the town’s character, and hopes that the tour inspired attendees to better appreciate the value of historic homes and the importance of their preservation. The enthusiasm of tour-goers and the passion of event administrators proved this year’s Medfield History Day and its trolley tours a grand success.
