Special Public Program

Watertown During the Revolution
A Walking Tour led by Lynne O'Connell and Beth Houston

Sunday, May 11, 2025
10:00 AM
tour departs from Zussman Memorial Park adjacent to the 66 Galen Street building
66 Galen Street
Watertown, MA 02472

Join HSW tour leaders Lynne O'Connell and Beth Houston for a 90-minute walking tour to learn about the important role that Watertown played during the American Revolution.  After the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, the Provincial Congress assembled in the town's Meeting House, making Watertown the seat of the Massachusetts government for 18 months.  As a result, many prominent Revolutionary War figures boarded in town, including Paul Revere and Joseph Warren.

Sites visited will include important dwellings (many of which are no longer standing), public spaces, monuments and plaques as the tour moves toward a final destination of the 1772 Edmund Fowle House, where the Executive Council of the Provincial Congress met.  Participants will be invited to enter the Fowle House and view the current exhibit that celebrates the 250th anniversary of both the Fowle House and the flight for American independence.

There will be a $10 fee (cash or check only) for the tour.  This program is open to the public, but registration is requested.  For more information or to register, please contact Joyce at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  Note that this tour will be canceled in case of inclement weather, but is also being offered on June 1, 2025.

Annual Members Meeting and May Public Program

The Legacy of Cornelius Lenox

A slideshow lecture by Marilynne K. Roach

Sunday, May 4, 2025
2:00 PM
Watertown Savings Bank Meeting Room
Watertown Free Public Library
123 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472

This presentation will unveil the tales of three generations of the Lenox family, beginning with Cornelius, a valiant Revolutionary War veteran, and traversiing through the entrepreneurial and abolitionist spirits of his children and grandchildren, including the esteemed Sgt. Charles Lenox of Watertown, who bravely fought with the Glory regiment at Fort Wagner.

Marilynne K. Roach, in addition to being the President of the Historical Society of Watertown, has written several books, is an expert on the Salem Witch Trials and works as a free-lance writer, illustrator, researcher and presenter of talks on historical subjects.

This event is free and open to the public.  Parking is free in the library lot on Sundays.  For more information, please contact Joyce at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Special Public Program

Community on the Lawn at the Browne House, Watertown

Saturday, May 3, 2025
1:00 - 4:00 PM
Browne House
562 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472

Join Historic New England and local cultural organizations for an afternoon of history, culture and connection.  Explore the Browne House, enjoy family-friendly activities and lawn games, browse books at the mobile library and meet your neighbors as we celebrate Watertown's rich heritage.

Participating organizations will include:

Watertown Free Public Library
Historical Society of Watertown
Watertown Public Arts & Culture
The Pigsgusset Initiative
Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation
Gore Place

This event is free and open to the public.

Special Public Program

Watertown During the Revolution
A Walking Tour led by Lynne O'Connell and Beth Houston

Sunday, April 27, 2025
10:00 AM
tour departs from Zussman Memorial Park adjacent to the 66 Galen Street building
66 Galen Street
Watertown, MA 02472

Join HSW tour leaders Lynne O'Connell and Beth Houston for a 90-minute walking tour to learn about the important role that Watertown played during the American Revolution.  After the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, the Provincial Congress assembled in the town's Meeting House, making Watertown the seat of the Massachusetts government for 18 months.  As a result, many prominent Revolutionary War figures boarded in town, including Paul Revere and Joseph Warren.

Sites visited will include important dwellings (many of which are no longer standing), public spaces, monuments and plaques as the tour moves toward a final destination of the 1772 Edmund Fowle House, where the Executive Council of the Provincial Congress met.  Participants will be invited to enter the Fowle House and view the current exhibit that celebrates the 250th anniversary of both the Fowle House and the flight for American independence.

There will be a $10 fee (cash or check only) for the tour.  This program is open to the public, but registration is requested.  For more information or to register, please contact Joyce at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  Note that this tour will be canceled in case of inclement weather, but is also being offered on May 11 and June 1, 2025.

March Public Program

The Press and the American Revolution and Watertown's most famous printer, Benjamin Edes
A slideshow lecture by Gary Gregory

Sunday, March 23, 2025
2:00 PM
Watertown Savings Bank Meeting Room
Watertown Free Public Library
123 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472

Without the printing presses of Boston, we wouldn't have had a revolution!  Why was Boston such a hot bed of sedition and an incubator of the American Revolution?  How did the printing press impact Boston's rise to rebellion?  How were newspapers produced and by whom?  Mr. Gregory will answer these questions and more as he discusses the work of Benjamin Edes, Boston's most notable patriot printer.

Gary Gregory founded Lessons on Liberty, Inc., in 2003 to provide historically accurate educational tours of Boston's Freedom Trail.  He quickly realized that Boston needed more hands-on history experiences and in 2005 founded The Printing Office of Edes & Gill, a reproduction 18th century colonial print shop located at 21 Unity St. in Boston's North End.

This event is free and open to the public.  For more information, please contact Joyce at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This program is funded by a 2024 grant from the Watertown Community Foundation.

November Public Program

Our Boys, Armenian-American Veterans of World War II and the Women of the Home Front
Screening and discussion of a documentary film by Roger Hagopian and Tom Spera

Sunday, November 10, 2024
2:00 PM
Watertown Savings Bank Meeting Room
Watertown Free Public Library
123 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472

In 2005, the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, Tom Spera, the son of a veteran of the war, was determined to find a way to honor Armenian-American soldiers who had served their country.  He collaborated with filmmaker Roger Hagopian to produce Our Boys, which features oral histories interspersed with personal and historical photographs from the wartime period.

The interviewees that appear in the film attend the Armenian Memorial Church in Watertown and the First Armenian Church of Belmont.  These men, some barely out of high school at the time of the war, reflect on the bombing of Pearl Harbor, their induction into military service and their harrowing journeys through rough seas aboard troop transport ships.  They recount correspondence with their families back home, poignant and humorous moments and near-death experiences during combat.

Mr. Hagopian and Mr. Spera will answer questions at the conclusion of the 68-minute film.

This event is free and open to the public.  For more information, please contact Joyce at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This program is funded by a 2024 grant from the Watertown Community Foundation.