Articles from the Portal -

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.

The Doctors Stagg

Nov 1, 2023 For two thirds of the 20th century, the name Arthur Ritchey Stagg would have been on everyone’s short list of the most respected people in Medfield. Actually, the name would appear twice, because there were two Dr. Arthur Ritchey Staggs, senior and junior.Stagg Senior (1907-2006), the grandson of

When Spirits Visited Hannah Adams

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

Hitchhiking to Medfield and Beyond

Oct 1, 2023 While most Americans today can’t fathom the thought of hitchhiking, many people at an earlier time would routinely stick out their thumbs on the side of the road. There were many different reasons that led people to hitchhike and why hitchhiking became acceptable. Hitchhiking was once a common form

The Medfield Inventor of the Roller Skate

Oct 1, 2023 October is National Roller Skating Month, according to the Roller Skating Association International of Indianapolis, Indiana. – news itemRoller 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

Recollections of Living in the Clark Tavern

Sep 1, 2023 Early in August, President David Temple received an email from Beverly Dixon recounting some of her experiences living in the historic Clark Tavern. In response, David sent a photo of the Clark Tavern as it looks today. Below is her reply, as well as some of her recollections

There Was Once a Place Called Lord’s

Jul 31, 2023 Once cosmopolitans who thought themselves sophisticated, might have asked, “Medfield? Where’s that? What’s that?” And many of the young people living in Medfield were chagrined by the frequent snide remarks about Medfield being Deadfield or Mudfield.Times change. Gradually the transplanted city people came to recognize a bustling community

Christina “Tinah” LeVant Platt

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

Medfield 1723 to 2023

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!

A Peek Inside the Meetinghouse Clock and Bell Tower

Jul 30, 2023 Medfield’s outgoing keeper of the clock, David Maxson, has given many Medfield Day steeple tours at the NRHP-listed First Parish Unitarian Universalist church. Before moving to Connecticut, he gave what may be a farewell tour for Mike Taylor, Don Rolph, and other members of the church’s buildings and

Five Medfield Heroes

Jun 2, 2023 The Memorial Day parade in Medfield has always been a festive occasion. Historically speaking, the holiday celebration would start with Clifford Gerald Doucette. Gerry was Medfield’s veterans’ agent, past American Legion commander, key member of the Medfield Memorial Day Committee and Committee to Study Memorials, and a prime

The “Mayflower Musket”… or is it?

Jun 2, 2023 In the MHS weapons collection there exists a musket cataloged as the “Mayflower Musket.” There is little to no documentation to substantiate this title, so the Society has enlisted several knowledgeable people over the years to supply their opinions. None has been able to definitively identify the piece,

Midcentury Medfield Memories: Remembering the Horgan Twins

May 2, 2023 Who could ever forget the Horgan twins, Jimmy and Joey, who grew up in an antique Greek Revival house at the corner of North and Cottage Streets, now the site of Rockland Trust bank?Jimmy passed away from a long illness on August 22, 2015. Joey passed away December

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