Mar 1, 2022 Rail trails were the subject at the Feb. 7 historical society Zoom presentation by noted expert Craig Della Penna, with about 30 people participating. Christian Donner, who has been active in Medfield’s rail trail development from the beginning, summed up Medfield’s rail trail project in this article. In the late nineteenth century, […]
Progress on Medfield’s Rail Trail Read More »
Mar 1, 2022 Lowell Mason was Medfield’s most famous and accomplished native son, and it’s somehow fitting that his piano is the biggest artifact in the historical society’s collection. Lowell Mason (1792-1872) was born in Medfield. He is known as the father of public school music education in the United States, and he wrote upwards
The Largest Artifact in Our Collection — Lowell Mason’s Piano Read More »
Feb 1, 2022 Continuing from last month, here’s some nostalgia for some of the great fads from the 1950s and 60s. Clothes, hairstyles, toys, and television shows all have their fifteen minutes of fame. The faddish 1960s turned out to be very productive years for the clothing and fashion industry. At Medfield High School
Celebrating and Remembering Some of the Fads from 1950s and 60s — Part II Read More »
Feb 1, 2022 Medfield was a center for hat making for over a century, until June 8, 1956. It reached a peak under the ownership of “Col.” Edwin V. Mitchell, who came on the scene about 1877 and retired in 1910. At one point Mitchell’s was the second-largest straw hat factory in the United
Medfield’s Hat Factory in the 20th Century Read More »
January 6, 2022 In 1999 a newly prepared, 130-page Medfield Historic Preservation Plan cited Vine Lake Cemetery as a major but somewhat neglected historic asset in town. In 2002, David Temple, chair of the Medfield Historical Commission, successfully applied to the Massachusetts Historical Commission for a survey and planning grant to hire a consultant
Thanks and Rest in Peace Vine Lake Preservation Trust Read More »
Oct 1, 2021 The only times most of us think about water in Medfield is either (a) when its use is restricted or, occasionally, (b) when it looks or tastes funny coming out of the tap. The rest of the time, it’s just there – thank goodness. Medfield is part of both the Charles River
Our Drinking Water Here in Medfield 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 »
July 24, 2021 As the Laurentide Ice Sheet gradually receded 15-30,000 years ago, in the American Midwest, the retreating glaciers easily ground up the soft limestone underneath, leaving the farmer-friendly soil of the Great Plains. But in New England, granite, rather than limestone, was underneath the ice sheets. So, when the ice melted, our forebear
Medfield Stone Walls — With a Surprise at the End 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 »
May 1, 2021 Farmers from Dedham first settled Medfield in 1949, only 29 years after the Mayflower landed. The colony had grown rapidly through immigration and reproduction after 1630, and in William S. Tilden’s History of Medfield, the population was reported as 18,000 in 1643. The influx forced settlers to look west for grazing land
Coyotes in Medfield: If You Can’t Beat Them… Then Feed Them? Read More »