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..

Special Public Program

Tour the Two Oldest Houses in Watertown on the Same Day!

Sunday, June 15, 2025
10:00 AM, 11:00 AM and 12:00 PM
Browne House
562 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472

1:00 PM, 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM
Edmund Fowle House
28 Marshall Street
Watertown, MA 02472

The Historical Society of Watertown joins forces with Historic New England to offer three tours each of the two oldest houses in Watertown, the Browne House (c. 1698) and the Edmund Fowle House (1772).

Tours are open to the public and will be free on this day for Watertown residents.  For more information, please contact Joyce at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Special Event

American Legion Post 99 Artifacts

Saturday, June 7, 2025
1:00 - 3:30 PM
Edmund Fowle House
28 Marshall Street
Watertown, MA 02472

When American Legion Post 99 closed three decades ago, the Historical Society of Watertown acquired a quantify of the post's documents and artifacts.  It is a sad fact that small museums have limited space for proper storage.  Now that the HSW is slowly cataloging its accumulated collection, it has become clear that, while it is appropriate for the HSW to retain representative American Legion items, it lacks the room to store them all.

The collection includes:

• trophies, plaques and certificates
• portrait photos of post commanders, group photos from various events, candid photos and negatives
• scrapbooks, pamphlets, etc.

The HSW is holding this public event to display the Post 99 collection and offer items to the public.  Other local veteran's organizations, their members, and the families of the veterans pictured in the photos and scrapbooks are welcome to take some of these items home.

A list of people pictured in the portraits and scrapbooks can be viewed by surname.

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..

Special Public Program

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

Sunday, June 1, 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

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 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 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.