By Riley Fontana
Hometown Weekly Reporter
The Westwood Public Library is packed with resources and materials available to all patrons but few know about the historical records stored within the stacks. The “Westwood Hidden Gems” program dug deep into the history of Westwood and all that can be discovered about the town utilizing the library's resources.
Vicki Andrilenas hosted the talk and shared her passion for local history with the audience. The conversation began with a brief history of the town, and how it broke away from Dedham in 1897. Westwood was the last town to separate out from the large community that created Norwood, Dedham and Walpole. While the exact reason Westwood left is unknown there are rumors about the ownership of Buckmaster Pond going to Norwood or Dedham’s refusal to educate local children.
Andrilenas dove into the different resources the library has to offer. Access to LibGuide is available to all library card holders which contains countless records and scanned documents. LibGuide is accessible at home through computers, while resources at the library are much more thorough. Through the library and its Microfilm machine patrons can access local publications, newspapers, yearbooks and town reports. These resources can kick start research projects about the town and families who live there.
The last section of the presentation was a collection of fun facts about the town. “Local history is also lore,” Andrilenas said about these stories, as proof can be hard to track down word of mouth stories can be a vital source of history. Westwood lacked a postal delivery service until 1905 and houses did not have street numbers until the 1940s. The town was part of a trolly system that high school students would take to Dedham High School before Westwood founded their own. Westwood Park was an amusement park of sorts that showed silent movies and was located on the trolly path. Fellowship Farm was a communal living utopian community that disbanded in 1918 and Westwood even had their own airport in the 1920s and 30s.
There is so much more rich Westwood history to be discovered and the library is the perfect place to start. The local history section and Microfilm can be found on the second floor ready for the next research project.
