Special Event:  Exhibit Opening

Opening Reception for Watertown Dairies HSW exhibit at Watertown Police Department

Monday, November 10, 2025
6:00 - 7:00 PM
Watertown Police Department
552 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472

The Watertown Police Department recently reached out to the HSW to inquire about partnering on the creation of a new exhibit to be displayed in a case located in the police station lobby.  After mulling over several ideas, a decision was made to base the exhibit on photos and advertisements related to several dairies that operated in Watertown over the years, including Andrews Milk Co., Green Meadows, Shick/Watertown Dairy, Speedwell Farms and Woodland Dairy.  The exhibit, slated to be on display for several months, will also include many milk bottles used by these dairies that are part of the HSW's collection at the Edmund Fowle House.

Light refreshments will be served.

This event and exhibit are free and open to the public.  Free parking is available in the Police Department's front lot located on the left as you pull into the driveway.  For more information, please contact Joyce at 781-899-7239 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

November Public Program

Dr. Benjamin Church
A slideshow lecture by J. L. Bell

Sunday, November 9, 2025
2:00 PM
Watertown Savings Bank Meeting Room
Watertown Free Public Library
123 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472

Dr. Benjamin Church was a patriot activist who was exposed as a spy for British Major General Thomas Gage.  The Massachusetts General Court held an inquiry into his activities from October to November 1775.  November 2025 will mark the 250th anniversary of the legislature's decisions.  New details regarding Church's spying activities will be revealed.  Attendees will also learn where the Massachusetts General Court held the Church inquiry.

J. L Bell is a writer who specializes in the start of the American Revolution in New England and is the proprietor of the popular Boston 1775 website.  A Fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society and elected member of the American Antiquarian Society and Colonial Society of Massachusetts, he authored the book The Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War as well as a National Park Service study of George Washington’s work in Cambridge.  He has written many articles, delivered papers to the Massachusetts Historical Society and appeared on a panel of the Organization of American Historians.  Some of his lectures have been broadcast on the C-Span Networks and he has spoken at many historic sites around greater Boston and beyond.

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..

This program is funded by a 2025 grant from the Watertown Community Foundation.

Special Public Program

Memories Flow Beneath It - From Valley to Quabbin
Screening of a new documentary film by Roger Hagopian

Sunday, October 5, 2025
2:00 PM
Watertown Savings Bank Meeting Room
Watertown Free Public Library
123 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472

Roger Hagopian, in collaboration with historian and author J. R. Greene, has edited and produced a documentary film on the displacement of people and subsequent flooding of four towns in the Swift River Valley of Western Massachusetts for the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir.  The Quabbin supplies water to over 50 metropolitan Boston communities.  The film includes interviews of former valley residents, historians and experts.

Mr. Hagopian is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Boston, where he received a degree in music.  A history lover since his youth, Roger lives in Lexington, where he learned filmmaking at the local cable television studio.  He has screened films on Armenian-Americans, World War II veterans and local American history at universities, high schools, public libraries, churches, temples, community centers and other public and private venues.  He has also appeared on local cable television shows and radio programs.

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

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

Sunday, October 5, 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 fight 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.

Special Public Program

The Greatest Sitcoms of All Time
A slideshow lecture by Marty Gitlin

Tuesday, September 23, 2025
1:00 PM
Watertown Senior Center
31 Marshall Street
Watertown, MA 02472

This entertaining, interactive program, presented in collaboration with the Watertown Senior Center, is based on Marty Gitlin's book, The Greatest Sitcoms of All Time.  Gitlin is the only author to rank the best of the best, including I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, The Andy Griffith Show, Fraiser and The Big Bang Theory.  Marty will show entertaining clips from these shows and others, and challenge attendees to answer trivia questions and name theme songs.  He will discuss the criteria he used to rank 70 years of sitcoms, as well as the evolution over the decades of sitcom humor presentation and content. 

Mr. Gitlin has authored more than 200 books on many topics.  He has gained success as a trade historical pop culture and sports book author.  Marty has conducted hundreds of fun and enlightening programs at libraries, senior centers and assisted living facilities.

This program is free and open to the public.  Please reserve your spot by calling the Watertown Senior Center at 617-972-6490.  For more information on Senior Center events, visit the Watertown Senior Services newsletters page.

This program is funded by a 2025 grant from the Marshall Home Fund.

September Public Program

American Calliope: Mercy Otis Warren and the Writings of a Revolutionary

A live performance by Michele Gabrielson

Sunday, September 7, 2025
2:00 PM
Watertown Savings Bank Meeting Room
Watertown Free Public Library
123 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472

Step back in time and converse with founding mother Mercy Otis Warren.  Often described as the "muse of the revolution," Mercy brilliantly used her passion for poetry and prose to persuade others to join in the revolutionary cause.  This program will introduce Mercy Otis Warren in a setting where attendees can converse with her as she tells the story of how she rejected the conventional expectations of women in the 18th century and became the first historian of the American Revolution.

Michele Gabrielson is a public school history teacher and historic interpreter of the 18th century.  She leads historic tours in Boston and gives lectures on 18th century printing.  She serves on the Historic Clothing Standards Committee for Minute Man National Historic Park and is Secretary of the Mercy Otis Warren Society.  Ms. Gabrielson has been named the Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution History Teacher of the Year for 2025 and is the 2025 recipient of the Fred Graham Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati.

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..

This program is funded by a 2025 grant from the Watertown Community Foundation.

Special Public Program

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

CANCELED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER
Sunday, September 7, 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 fight 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 October 5, 2025.

Special Public Program

Historic Events in Watertown, July 1776

Tuesday, July 15, 2025
5:00 - 6:30 PM
Watertown Senior Center
31 Marshall Street
Watertown, MA 02472

This event commemorates the first reading of the Declaration of Independence to the citizens of Watertown on July 18, 1776, and the signing of the Treaty of Watertown between the newly-formed United States and the Mi'kmaq and St. John's (aka Maliseet) Indigenous nations of Nova Scotia and Northern Maine on July 19, 1776.  The agreement was the first international treaty signed by the United States.

The important role that the Edmund Fowle House played in both of these events will be conveyed via a slideshow lecture by Historical Society of Watertown President Marilynne K. Roach.  Special guests will be welcomed following the presentation.

Donations of non-perishable food items for the Watertown Food Pantry will be appreciated.

A special thanks to the Watertown Senior Center for hosting this event.

This program is free and open to the public.  Please reserve your spot by calling the Watertown Senior Center at 617-972-6490.  For more information, contact Joyce at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..