Sep 1, 2023 Christina “Tinah” Levant, the daughter of Frank LeVant and his wife who were brought over on a slave ship from the east coast of Africa1, was born into slavery in 18422 on a plantation in Marion, South Carolina. Tinah’s first work as a slave began at the age of 13, when she […]
Christina “Tinah” LeVant Platt Read More »
Jul 30, 2023 It’s 5:00 pm on a Friday in June and you are in Medfield Center, standing at the corner of North and Main Streets. It’s eerily quiet. There are no cars, no trucks, no cement mixers clogging the intersection. One or two people saunter across the street without looking! You hear the wind
Medfield 1723 to 2023 Read More »
Jul 30, 2023 Medfield’s outgoing keeper of the clock, David Maxson, has given many Medfield Day steeple tours at the NRHP-listed First Parish Unitarian Universalist church. Before moving to Connecticut, he gave what may be a farewell tour for Mike Taylor, Don Rolph, and other members of the church’s buildings and grounds committee. Until the
A Peek Inside the Meetinghouse Clock and Bell Tower Read More »
Jun 2, 2023 The Memorial Day parade in Medfield has always been a festive occasion. Historically speaking, the holiday celebration would start with Clifford Gerald Doucette. Gerry was Medfield’s veterans’ agent, past American Legion commander, key member of the Medfield Memorial Day Committee and Committee to Study Memorials, and a prime mover in getting the
Five Medfield Heroes Read More »
Jun 2, 2023 In the MHS weapons collection there exists a musket cataloged as the “Mayflower Musket.” There is little to no documentation to substantiate this title, so the Society has enlisted several knowledgeable people over the years to supply their opinions. None has been able to definitively identify the piece, its age or its
The “Mayflower Musket”… or is it? Read More »
May 2, 2023 Sane, insane, or idiotic? Temperate or intemperate? Epileptic or paralytic? Able to labor? Startling, but these were four of the boxes town hall workers were asked to fill out in the early 20th century as they made entries in the Medfield Pauper Register. The volume at hand covered the years from 1917
When Medfield Registered Paupers Read More »
May 2, 2023 The c. 1780 Peregrine White clock – also known as the Morse clock – is running again, keeping good time, chiming on the hour, and even telling the date! It stands right beside the society’s front entrance. Peregrine White (1747-1834) of Woodstock Connecticut was a prominent silversmith and clockmaker. He was a
240-Year-Old Clock Keeps On Ticking Read More »
April 1, 2023 What was it like to be living in Medfield 70 years ago? Thanks to a donation by Jane and Warry Lomax of almost all the issues of the Medfield Enthusiast, edited by Joe Coan, we have been granted access to first-hand, and in some cases, quite personal, information on what was happening
The Medfield Enthusiast Read More »
April 1, 2023 The last weekend in April will be Medfield History Weekend, thanks to the efforts of Chris McCue Potts. During that time, many of Medfield’s historic sites will be open. We hope people will come to visit the historical society building at 6 Pleasant Street, right behind the library. Medfield split off from
What’s In Our Historical Society Building? Script for Visitors Read More »
Jan 1, 2023 After the news of the Battles of Lexington and Concord reached Connecticut, and after the British had retreated back into Boston, a patriotic wave of enthusiasm swept over thousands of Connecticut minutemen, inspiring them to go and support their fellow patriots in Massachusetts. With the British penned inside Boston, a siege of
A Piece of Revolutionary War History Returns to Medfield Read More »