Massachusetts
Massachusetts was one of the original thirteen colonies and became the sixth state to ratify the United States Constitution on February 6, 1788. Known as the Bay State, it has Boston as both its capital and largest city. Its geography extends from the Atlantic coastline, Cape Cod, and the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket to the river valleys and rolling hills of central Massachusetts and the Berkshire Mountains in the west.
The founding of Plymouth Colony in 1620 and the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 established the region as an important center of colonial life. More than a century later, events in Boston, Lexington, and Concord helped ignite the American Revolution. During the nineteenth century, the state became a leader in manufacturing, education, literature, and social reform, giving Massachusetts an enduring influence on the political and cultural development of the nation.
Recent Articles
Caleb Harrington’s Tobacco Box
Among the artifacts preserved in Lexington is this small tobacco box, an ordinary object made extraordinary by the events of April 19, 1775. This box belonged to Caleb Harrington, one of the eight militiamen killed by British troops on Lexington Common during the opening moments of the American Revolution. The box was found in his pocket […]
Fire Buckets
Among the interesting artifacts preserved in the Lancaster Library is a collection of leather fire buckets, reminders of a time when communities relied on cooperation rather than machinery to combat one of their greatest threats. Before organized fire departments and modern fire engines towns maintained leather buckets that were kept in homes, businesses, churches, and […]
Perfection Ballot Box
One of the more intriguing artifacts we encountered in the Historical Museum at the Thayer Memorial Library was a beautifully crafted wooden voting machine known as the “Perfection” Ballot Box. Marked “Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Ballot Box No. 1483, Boston 1905,” the device offered a fascinating glimpse into the mechanics of democracy in the early twentieth […]
The Granite Railway
Hidden at the end of Mullin Avenue in West Quincy are the remains of the historic Granite Railway Incline, part of the pioneering Granite Railway system that began operating in 1826. The railway was created to transport enormous blocks of granite from the Quincy quarries to a wharf on the Neponset River in Milton. From […]
Clay Pipe Warmer
Resting on the hearth of a colonial tavern was this simple iron frame and without a pipe set across it, I would never have recognized it as a clay pipe warmer. As with every object, there is a history, and it is that curiosity that draws me in to learn more. Before matches were common and […]
Make Way for the Ducklings
Walking through the Boston Public Gardens, there is a familiar and beloved sight: a line of small bronze ducks following closely behind their mother. Most locals recognize them as characters from the classic children’s book “Make Way for Ducklings” by Robert McCloskey. These statues were created by sculptor Nancy Schon and installed in 1987 as a […]
William Billings Plaque
Walking along the Boston Common, there are a number of plaques that quietly mark the lives of people who helped shape the early character of the city. One of them is for Willian Billings, listed as one of America’s earliest native-borncomposers. Billings was born and lived in Boston at a time when the country was just beginning to define its […]
Death Mask
In the Dedham History Museum, is this death mask. An intimate impression of a person’s face taken shortly after death. The practice of creating death masks has a long history. In ancient Egypt, masks were place with the dead, though they were often idealized. In ancient Rome, families preserved wax masks of ancestors as a way to honor lineage […]
Mayor Kevin White
Walking near Faneuil Hall, it is easy to focus on the history you expect to find: Revolutionary sites, early American stories, the familiar markers of the city’s beginnings. Just beyond that, is a figure that is hard to ignore: the life size bronze statue of Kevin H. White. Located at street level and captured mid-stride, the sculpture immediately […]
Norman Lear Statue
Heading back to our car, I stopped to grab this photo in the alley near Emerson College. It is one of those narrow Boston passageways that I might have easily walked past without a thought but tucked into this space is something special: a life-size bronze statue of Norman Lear. Lear attended Emerson in the early 1940s, enrolling […]
George Washington Marker
Driving through the town of Wayland, there is the round stone monument that sits along the roadside. Unlike grand statues that make historic events, this one is modest, a cylindrical stone pillar with a bronze marker identifying it as part of the George Washington Memorial Highway. The roadside marker reflects an interesting moment in American history when […]
The Embrace
On Boston Common stands a powerful and modern tribute to Dr Martin Luther King, Jr and Coretta Scott King. The memorial is called: The Embrace. Unveiled in 2023, the sculpture does not depict faces in full figures. Instead, it focuses on a moment, an embrace. Two sets of arms, joined together, rising in bronze. The design […]
