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.

Special Public Program

Architect Charles Brigham and his Buildings
A Walking Tour led by David Russo

Sunday, October 6, 2024
1:00 PM
[Rain Date: Sunday, October 27, 2024]
tour departs from the Marshall Street parking lot
31 Marshall Street
Watertown, MA 02472

Join Historical Society of Watertown Corresponding Secretary and former Watertown Historical Commission Chair David Russo for a 90-minute walking tour in Watertown focusing on local renowned architect Charles Brigham and the buildings he designed.  Mr. Brigham was born in Watertown and was active in civic matters, serving as a Selectman, a member of the School Committee and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Free Public Library.  He earned an international reputation as an architect.

Brigham resided at 84 Garfield Street in a home he designed.  Many of the grand houses located on Garfield, Russell and Brigham Streets in Watertown were also his handiwork.  He contributed his design services to Watertown's First Parish Church for the former Parish house, now the  church, and donated plans for a high school to the town.  His buildings still stand in Boston and numerous other cities.

Charles Brigham was instrumental in the preservation of the Edmund Fowle House and was a founding member of the Historical Society of Watertown.  He was a thoroughly native son of Watertown who gave back tremendously to his community.  He is buried in a modest family plot in the Common Street Cemetery.

There will be a $10 fee (cash or check only) for the tour, which is open to the public.  For more information, contact Joyce at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  Visit Mr. Russo's web site to view the architecture of Charles Brigham.

Special Public Program

Eleanor Roosevelt: The First Lady of the World
A live performance by Sheryl Faye

Tuesday, October 1, 2024
4:00 PM
Watertown Senior Center
31 Marshall Street
Watertown, MA 02472

The Historical Society of Watertown in partnership with the Watertown Senior Center presents Sheryl Faye in this one-woman performance.  After suffering through an unhappy childhood and losing her parents and one of her brothers, Eleanor figured out where she fit in and could make a difference.  She grew up and became an American politician.  The longest serving First Lady of the United States, she was the first presidential spouse to hold press conferences, write a syndicated newspaper column and speak at a national convention.  She advocated for expanded roles for women in the workplace, the civil rights of African Americans and Asian Americans, as well as the rights of World War II refugees.  She became one of the first delegates to The United Nations and is considered one of the top ten most admired people of the 20th century.

Ms. Faye attended Emerson College, where she received a BFA in acting.  She is currently touring eleven one-woman shows throughout the country, performing for a variety of audiences.  She has received numerous awards for her work on stage and in film.

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

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

September Public Program

Huzzah! Drinking with John Hancock during the American Revolution
A slideshow lecture by Brooke Barbier

Sunday, September 22, 2024
2:00 PM
Watertown Savings Bank Meeting Room
Watertown Free Public Library
123 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472

Brooke Barbier, the author of King Hancock: The Radical Influence of a Moderate Founding Father (2023), will lecture on the important role of alcohol in the culture and politics of Colonial America.  When John Hancock needed to win over people, he didn't talk about resisting taxes or policy improvements; instead, he served alcohol.  He offered rum punch and wine at his home and paid for lavish meals in taverns to bring people together.  Guests included lower-class men, French officers and Black women and men.  Throwing parties gained Hancock social and political power among myriad groups, repeatedly paying him dividends.  He was consistently elected to political office, and when he smuggled Madeira into Boston, one of the most memorable and violent mobs that arose during the colonial resistance defended him.

Dr. Barbier is a public historian who received a Ph.D. in American history from Boston College based on her research of Boston's social and cultural life during and after the American Revolution.  She owns a popular tour company in Boston, Ye Olde Tavern Tours, which takes guests to revolutionary sites and inside historic taverns to drink beer.

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.