Oct 1, 2025 In 1920, during a period of post–World War I anti-immigrant and anti-radical sentiment, two Italian immigrants were charged with the robbery and murders of a guard and paymaster at a Braintree shoe factory. The trial opened at Norfolk County Courthouse in Dedham on May 31, 1921, ultimately becoming known worldwide as the […]
MSH Superintendent Involved in World-Famous Trial Read More »
Sep 1, 2025 Jazz music, flapper dresses and speakeasies marked “The Roaring Twenties,” and Medfield was no different than other small towns across the nation experiencing a variety of changes and challenges. While economic prosperity was enjoyed by many, social tensions around racial, religious and cultural differences became more prevalent. Prohibition and immigration also created
A Look Back – 100 Years Ago in Medfield Read More »
July 15, 2025 Imagine a local park with all these amenities: a pavilion, fountain and pool, separate lawns for picnicking and flowers, pergola, bowling green, multiple track facilities, plus tennis courts, and football and baseball fields. That is what “The New Athletic Field and Grange Park” on Pleasant Street would have looked like if the
Grange Gatherings: Medfield’s Summer Social Scene Read More »
Nov 1, 2024 On a Saturday evening in December of 1912, Dr. Karl Muck, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, awaited the arrival of a most important patron. He had learned during his tenure that he could not commence the evening’s program until Mrs. Isabella Stewart Gardner occupied her customary seat. Even Dr. Muck,
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 »
Sept, 2022 This trophy awarded 100 years ago begs the question – what else happened in Medfield 100 years ago? 200 years ago? 300 years ago? 1722 Three hundred years ago, Medfield was a very different place than we see around us today, with acres of undeveloped land, free-flowing streams and rivers, paths that led
Medfield Happenings in ’22 Read More »
July 11, 2022 Welcome to Frairy Street, running from North Street, past Baker’s (Meetinghouse) Pond, underneath a small railroad bridge, through the first Italian-American neighborhood in the town of Medfield, and ending at Dale Street. Walking there a century ago you might well have seen men from the old country gathered on their front doorsteps
The Palumbo Family of Medfield Read More »
January 6, 2022 Thanks to Claire Shaw for her recent snippet about our family’s long-standing livery service. The snippet prompted the Historical Society’s David Temple to contact me about writing a deeper dive into the story of Newell’s Livery. How many small-town taxi companies, do you suppose, have ever been featured on national television?
From Hooves to Wheels: The Odyssey of a Family Business Read More »
Oct 1, 2021 Depending on whether you are looking back or looking ahead, 50 years can seem like yesterday or an eternity. Monday evening, members of the Medfield Historical Society looked back to yesterday through the eyes of Daniels Hamant, a Medfield resident now a resident of Dover, and learned what life was
Growing Up in Medfield in the 1920s and 1930s Read More »