Apr 1, 2024 Editor’s note: This story is excerpted from Richard DeSorgher’s “This Old Town: On the Banks of the Charles” (to order book see bottom of page) From 1868 when Oliver and Elizabeth Clifford moved their family to Medfield until the death of their daughter Ellen in 1919, the Clifford name was a well-known […]
The Cliffords of Medfield Read More »
Nov 1, 2023 Today we know the area around Scarborough, Maine, as a vacation retreat. In 1677 the area was the part of Massachusetts Bay Colony known as Black Point. In those years of the King Philip War, this was the easternmost settlement in the providence of Maine. The local natives, after years of peaceful
Benjamin Rockwood, Veteran Read More »
Oct 1, 2023 October is National Roller Skating Month, according to the Roller Skating Association International of Indianapolis, Indiana. – news item Roller blades, skateboards and roller skates are popular forms of entertainment that are seen on the streets, sidewalks, skate parks, and rinks all over the world. All trace their roots to Medfield and
The Medfield Inventor of the Roller Skate Read More »
Feb 1, 2023 On the issue of slavery in America, one usually thinks right away about the Southern States, but as William Tilden reminds us in his “History of Medfield 1650-1886,” that in Medfield’s early history, “slavery was common with most wealthy citizens.” The earliest slaves in the then Massachusetts Bay Colony were Native Americans,
When Slavery Existed in Medfield 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 »
Nov 1, 2022 Editor’s note; At this writing, this house is actively on the market, but some prospective buyers are in serious negotiation, according to realtor Dennis J. Folan. As the house that is bursting with history, it literally can’t stop talking. Today it sits majestically on the knoll at 74 Harding Street, nestled behind
74 Harding Street: Underground Railroad Stop For Sale Read More »
June 1, 2021 As the first town to break away from the Dedham grant, Medfield was founded in 1649 and incorporated in 1651 as the 43rd town in the then Massachusetts Bay Colony. Who were those first pioneers who moved westward into the wilderness to begin our town? A history of our town, state, and
The Plimptons of Medfield Read More »
Oct 1, 2020 It is perhaps the strangest and most horrifying story in all of Medfield history. The fact that events unfolded on Halloween just adds to the intrigue. This very spooky tale takes place here in Medfield back in the year 1802 and involves both the Mason and Allen families. Asa Mason, at the
Medfield Murder, Body Snatchers, and Halloween Read More »
Sep 1, 2019 Barbara Leighton of Robert Sproul Road died on July 11, 2019 in Medfield, where she had spent almost her entire 100-year life. She was the daughter of Newell and Myra (Spofford) Leighton and the sister of the late Harry Leighton. Barbara attended Medfield Public Schools; she graduated with the Medfield High School
An Appreciation of Barbara Leighton, Medfield’s Unofficial Historian Read More »
Jul 20, 2017 Today his name is best known as the official name of Medfield High School. Amos Clark Kingsbury was born in Medfield on October 13, 1897. He grew up on the family’s 75-acre farm on 145 Spring Street, across the street from the pond that gave him much boyhood recreation. He attended
Amos Clark Kingsbury Read More »