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.

Nathaniel T. Allen, Trailblazing Educator from Medfield

Mar 1, 2024 Medfield native Nathaniel T. Allen established a cutting-edge progressive school in Newton in 1854, and in the next half century he educated some 5,000 boys and girls, rich and poor, from every state in the U.S. and dozens of foreign countries, white and black, including former slaves.Allen’s remarkable

Medfield “Suffragists’ Picnic” Bolstered Women’s Movement

Mar 1, 2024 On a 70-degree, late-summer day, under fair skies in 1875, Medfield hosted a “Woman Suffragists’ Picnic” in Curtis Grove, which was once a popular day resort located at the north end of Adams Street and current West Mill Street. The picnic served as a convening of suffragettes from

Award-winning Author Discusses Writing of Jane Bosfield Globe Piece

Feb 1, 2024 A little over a year ago, Globe Magazine featured an in-depth article by award-winning author Dick Lehr about Jane Bosfield, a Black woman sporadically employed between 1915 to 1917 at the former Medfield State Hospital, and the media storm that resulted from her discrimination case. Lehr took some

Busy As a “Green” Nailer

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

The Life and Times of Honey Bear Babcock

Dec 1, 2023 There used to be a sign at the shack at the old Medfield town dump listing a few rules and regulations. At the bottom it said, “Per Order of Honey Bear Babcock, Dump Commissioner.”Fifty years ago, Medfield’s town dump was located off Grove Street. The site of that

The Jonathan Boyden Jr. Homestead

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,

Benjamin Rockwood, Veteran

Nov 1, 2023 Today we know the area around Scarborough, Maine, as a vacation retreat. In 1677 the area was the part of Massachusetts Bay Colony known as Black Point. In those years of the King Philip War, this was the easternmost settlement in the providence of Maine. The local natives,

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

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