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.
Feb 1, 2022 Every February 14, across the United States and in many places around the world, loved ones exchange candy, flowers and gifts, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint, and where did our present-day traditions come from?The history of Valentine’s Day—and the
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Jan 6, 2022 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.One of the most memorable fads in Medfield had to be the hula hoop, first sold at Lord’s Department Store in
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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
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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
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Sept 1, 2021 The Medfield Public Library at the corner of Main and Pleasant Streets has been a treasured presence in our town since 1917. How did it come to be? Who designed it? In memory of his wife and daughter, Granville Daley, part owner of Medfield’s hat factory, made a
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Sept 1, 2021 As work continues the Clark Tavern next to the Peak House, there’s a lot of public concern expressed in comments on Facebook. Below is a response I will post on Facebook. Clarification on the Clark TavernI’m David Temple, writing about the c.1740 Clark Tavern, next to the Peak
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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
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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
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