1700s Archives -

Milestones and Boundaries: Medfield’s Anniversaries and the First Zoning Debate

1700s, 1800s, 1900s, Mitchell / David Temple

Sep 1, 2025 In Medfield, we are in a period of significant anniversaries. We are coming up on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the 350th anniversary of the action at Medfield during King Philip’s War, and the 375th anniversary of Medfield’s incorporation. Digging further for anniversaries, we find that exactly 500 years […]

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Letter From Boston

1700s, Revolutionary War / Norma Vogel

Patriots’ Day (Patriot’s Day in Maine) is a holiday commemorating the opening battles of the Revolutionary War, the battles of Lexington, Concord and Menotomy (now Arlington). In Massachusetts, the day is marked by battle reenactments, ceremonial events, and the beloved Boston Marathon. In 2025, Patriot’s Day occurs on April 21st for Massachusetts and Maine, which

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The Fullers of Medfield

1700s, 1800s, Fuller / Richard DeSorgher

Sep 1, 2024 Doctor Jabez Fuller was the son of Isaac Fuller of Middleboro, Massachusetts. Born in 1723, he came to Medfield at the age of 24 in 1747. That same year he married Elizabeth Hilliard. In 1756 the couple bought the homestead of Timothy Metcalf, located in Dingle Dell. Dingle Dell, also known in

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Similarities of Medfield Education Over Time

1600s, 1700s, 1800s, 1900s, 2000s, Education, Medfield / Chris McCue Potts

Sep 1, 2024 Another Medfield school year is now underway marking nearly 370 years since the first schoolhouse was built on North Street in 1655 – evidenced by a historical marker where the new 21 North restaurant is now located. And while much has changed with education over time, some aspects of it have stayed

Nanny “Baxter” of Medfield

1600s, 1700s, Medfield, Slavery in Medfield / Susan Elliott

Mar 1, 2024 “Enslaved Girl”“To her private life Only a few were privy.A life lost and found.” The next time you pass by or visit a CVS, think of Nanny. Her feet trod upon the Reverend Joseph Baxter’s land as she went about her work as his enslaved servant. Almost two centuries later the minister’s

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Busy As a “Green” Nailer

1700s, Green, Medfield, Revolutionary War, Slavery in Medfield / Susan Elliott

Feb 1, 2024 When they came back from their service in the Revolutionary War, you might have found Warwick Green and Newport Green in their own nailer shop along the Dedham road in Medfield, Massachusetts just south of the eastern end of today’s Vine Lake Cemetery (Callendar). They had finally been paid for their six

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The Jonathan Boyden Jr. Homestead

1700s, 1800s, 1900s, 2000s, Boyden / Cheryl O'Malley

Dec 1, 2023 The Boyden Homestead at 120 High Street (Rt. 27), near Plain Street, heading towards Walpole, has a long and varied history. It has significant historical ties to both national and local events starting with the great migration to America, the King Philip War, the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War and

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When Spirits Visited Hannah Adams

1700s, 1800s, Hannah Adams / Norma Vogel

Nov 1, 2023 October in Medfield – it’s a magical feeling, somehow comforting and spooky at the same time. This week, my thoughts turn to our own Hannah Adams (1755-1831). I think she would have enjoyed being a contestant in the town’s Scarecrow Spooktacular contest, for it seems that she had a personal connection with

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Medfield 1723 to 2023

1700s, 1800s, 1900s, 2000s, Medfield / Claire Shaw

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

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Charles Onion

1700s, 1800s, Charles Onion / David Temple

April 1, 2023 Portal readers of a certain vintage will recall 20 or 30 years ago a delightful annual fall fundraiser called the “Emperor Onion Fair” at the venerable Unitarian Universalist church. It begs the question, what or who was the Emperor Onion? It was not a vegetable of the genus Allium. Charles “Emperor” Onion

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