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Tag Archives: History

Medfield Day captures patrons – and history

A crew of smiling redcoats rounds up some Colonial patriots along North Street.

By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter

From a bust of Boston Symphony Orchestra composer Charles Martin Loeffler to stand-up cutouts for people to take their picture with outside of the Dwight Derby...

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Medfield discusses Pfaff Center replacement

By Amelia Tarallo Hometown Weekly Staff For the better part of a century, the Pfaff Center in Medfield has been a key locale for the town. Originally serving as Medfield’s high school after its 1927 construction, it also served as an elementary and middle school before becoming the Pfaff Community Center, where it currently houses Medfield...
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‘We Did It for You!’ coming soon

The musical "We Did It for You!" is more than just something to entertain people. “It offers a multi-century parade of feminine genius and courage, and does it with humor and fun,” says Paul Williams, the Oscar-winning songwriter. Written by Thea Iberall, "We Did It for You!" is a charming musical that tells of the...
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Peak House welcomes visitors anew

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By Amelia Tarallo Hometown Weekly Staff Anyone who has ever driven on 109 through Medfield has driven past the Peak House. For years, this house has welcomed third grade classes and history-lovers alike to explore the 308-year-old dwelling. During the summer, visitors are invited to see the house on Sundays. But on July 7,...
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Dolly Madison visits Needham

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By Amelia Tarallo Hometown Weekly Staff On June 12, an audience at the Center at the Heights in Needham was treated to a meeting with one of America’s most beloved first ladies. At one o’clock, the room was filled as people waited to hear from Dolly Madison, fourth First Lady of the United States...
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Dolin speaks of piracy’s ‘golden age’

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By James Kinneen Hometown Weekly Reporter Thursday night at the Wellesley Library, Marblehead author Eric Jay Dolin spoke to a crowded room about his new book, “Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates.” Dolin has authored over a dozen books about such historical topics as whaling in America, lighthouses,...
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This Old Town: The Hero of Medfield

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This Memorial Day, Medfield will again assemble to honor those from this little town who went off to war and gave the ultimate sacrifice to their country. The parade will start behind Town Hall and march to Baxter Park with honor ceremonies, including an address by Navy veteran and Medfield High School class...
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George Ransom presents on Plimptonville

By Amelia Tarallo Hometown Weekly Staff Every town comes with its own hidden treasure trove of gems. For some, it is the architecture. For others, it is the people who once called the town home. In Walpole’s case, it’s both. On Monday, April 22, Walpole Historian George Ransom gave a presentation on Plimptonville, a historic neighborhood in...
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Rachel Revere recalls riveting story

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By Amelia Tarallo Hometown Weekly Staff Every Bostonian knows the story of Paul Revere and his midnight ride, thanks to the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. To alert the city of the where British troops were traveling from, Revere rode his horse to the Old North Church, knowing the devised signal: “One if by...
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Needham celebrates Pansy Day

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By Amelia Tarallo Hometown Weekly Staff Anyone who wanted to enter the History Center & Museum in Needham on Saturday, April 13, would have had to walk between an aisle of multicolored pansies - a vibrant variety of flowers in blue, purple, red, and yellow. Some sat in hanging buckets, waiting to be bought...
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This Old Town: A Crisis of Homelessness

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A recent article in The Boston Globe told of Arlington town officials who were unhappy to discover that the state transportation department had installed two rows of metal spikes underneath a Route 2 bridge to keep homeless people from sleeping under the structure and asked they be removed. The bridge crosses the...
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History presented through postcards

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By James Kinneen Hometown Weekly Reporter There are lots of ways to learn about a culture by examining the remnants of its past. But while most people understand historians’ interest in things like clay pots and arrowheads, on Tuesday afternoon, Wellesley Historical Archivist Allen Ludlow taught a crowded room inside of the Needham History...
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Photojournalist discusses time in India

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By Robby McKittrick Hometown Weekly Reporter On Tuesday, October 23, the Westwood Library and the Council of Aging hosted a lecture by photojournalist Barry Pell about his experience traveling in India. Pell visited India for 5 months on two different occasions, capturing many different pictures of the people, landscape, and culture. During the talk,...
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This Old Town: Medfield’s Tree Culture

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Today there is little doubt that the number one reason people move to Medfield is due to the excellent school system that has been established. But close behind, the historic and leafy look to the town, with its open space and tree lined streets, is another major reason. The number of trees in Medfield...
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This Old Town: Medfield’s Moving Post Offices

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Medfield was first granted a post office in 1807. It was located in the old Wheelock store on the corner of North and Main Streets, where Starbucks is situated today (the old store has since been divided into two sections and moved to #13/#17 South Street, where they are residences). Samuel Seaver, who...
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The grave in Holy Cross Cemetery

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By Bill Lombardi Hometown Weekly Correspondent In October of 1929, the stock market crashed. Millionaires became penniless overnight as the Great Depression began. In the absence of welfare programs, poverty ran rampant. It was in this context that local eyes began turning to a cemetery in Malden. In late October, 1929 it was rumored that miracle...
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This Old Town A Visit to Early Medfield

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The first settlers of Medfield came to the New World starting in 1630, in what became known as the Great Migration. During a twelve-year period, some 21,000 emigrants made their way from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. These first settlers were Puritans who left England primarily due to religious persecution, but also...
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