Articles from the Portal
The Medfield Historical Society publishes a monthly newsletter, The Portal, containing articles about our events, our collections, and people and places of the distant and not-so-distant past. Below are selected articles from past newsletters. Looking for a specific topic? Use the search function below to search by subject, author or date. Click to sign up for our free monthly newsletter, The Portal.
Mar 1, 2026 In the fall of 1960, just a year after moving to town and seeing that there were no girls’ sports offered, Anna Iverson took on the challenge of forming the Medfield Drill Team, not knowing that it would ultimately provide opportunities for thousands of girls in grades 3
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Feb 1, 2026 For many long-time residents of Medfield, Byron Reed was a familiar roadside sight around town, seated at his easel, painting a local house or landscape while smoking his trademark pipe.And for newer residents, today they can gain an appreciation for Byron’s work through his rendition of the town
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Feb 1, 2026 These days, “the cloud” holds our photographs, possibly forever. And for those of us still blessed or burdened with physical photos cluttering our physical spaces, there are apps that can scan and send them there. I sometimes imagine the amazement of our Medfield forbears if they could see
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Dec 20, 2025 Article written in 2013, excerpted from “This Old Town, Fleetwood 9” by Richard DeSorgherMedfield has a long history of giving thanks and a long list of generous town citizens who want to give back to the community that has given them much. When the first thirteen settlers arrived
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Nov 1, 2025 In anticipation of Medfield’s 375th anniversary celebration in 2026, we have been looking through our archives at past anniversary commemorations. On February 21, 1976, Medfield citizens enjoyed a bicentennial anniversary celebration complete with parade featuring fire trucks from all the neighboring towns, floats representing local groups including our
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Nov 1, 2025 A recent Facebook message from a former Medfield resident wanting to donate a 325th anniversary medal to the Society led to a fulfilling cup of coffee and conversation with Michael “Peter” Higgins and his wife, Anna. The friendly visit, spurred by the keepsake, led to the discovery of
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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
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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
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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
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Sep 1, 2025 Recently we came across a flyer advertising a “Mock Court Trial Under the Auspices of Col. E. V. Mitchell Camp Sons of Veterans.” The top of the flyer asks, “Are the Hen Roosts of Medfield To Be Protected?” and promises that “all the facts of this remarkable case
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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
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July 15, 2024 A few months ago, Norma Vogel wrote an article entitled “Letter from Boston,” about Medfield’s Committee of Correspondence and its interactions with the Boston Committee. She noted that Moses Bullen (1731–1802) of Medfield was chosen to represent the town in the General Court in Salem (Tilden, p. 162).As
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