Events

The Reading of the Declaration of Independence and Celebration of the Treaty of Watertown

Monday, July 18, 2011
6:30 PM
Edmund Fowle House
28 Marshall Street
Watertown, MA 02472

This annual event marks the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence to the citizens of Watertown on July 18, 1776.  The signing of the first treaty negotiated by the new nation with a foreign power, namely the St. John's (aka Maliseet) and Mi'kmaq Tribes of Nova Scotia, at the Fowle House on July 19, 1776, will also be celebrated.  Colonial and native reenactors will be on hand and the sacred drum will be playing to mark the occasion.

This program is free and open to the public.
For more information, call Robert Childs at 617-331-2072.

 

Special Series:  Watertown and Mount Auburn

Homesteads and Topography

Sponsored by:
The Friends of Mount Auburn
The Historical Society of Watertown
The Watertown Historical Commission

Sunday, July 10, 2011
3:00 PM
Mount Auburn Cemetery
580 Mount Auburn Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

The homesteads that once populated east Watertown and now comprise the vast majority (93%) of Mount Auburn's land have a rich and varied story.  Join David Russo and Bree Harvey for an exploration of the grounds to learn more about the history of the land that we now call Mount Auburn and find some of the physical manifestations that remind us of the past.

This program is free and open to the public.
For more information, call Joyce at 781-899-7239.

Special Public Program

A Viewing of a DVD featuring Oral Histories by

Helen Bean
Charles Calusdian
Concenzio DelRose
Paul Menton
Joyce Munger

Project funded by the Watertown/Harvard and the Watertown/O'Neill Properties Community Enrichment Fund
Produced by Mary Spiers and the Watertown Cable Access Center

Wednesday, June 29, 2011
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Watertown Savings Bank Meeting Room
Watertown Free Public Library
123 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472

The viewing will be followed by a social period with refreshments.

This program is free and open to the public.

Special Series:  Watertown and Mount Auburn

Harriet Hosmer:  Socialite & Sculptor

Sponsored by:
The Friends of Mount Auburn
The Historical Society of Watertown
The Watertown Historical Commission

Sunday, May 15, 2011
3:00 PM
Story Chapel
Mount Auburn Cemetery
580 Mount Auburn Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Join us in Story Chapel to learn about one of Watertown's most famous citizens.  Rev. Joseph L. Curran will trace Harriet Hosmer's rise from obscurity to the courts of Europe and the best circles in her native America.

This program is free and open to the public.
For more information, call Joyce at 781-899-7239.

 

Annual Members Meeting with Election of Officers and May Public Program

A Living History Portrait entitled “Longfellow: The Poet and his Songs”

Thursday, May 11, 2011
7:00 PM Annual Members Meeting
7:30 PM May Public Program
Watertown Savings Bank Meeting Room
Watertown Free Public Library
123 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472

This solo performance by Rob Velella features Henry Wadsworth Longfellow as a young man, explaining his woes as a harried professor and up-and-coming poet.  He presents the story of his life up to the year 1854, when his prospects in literature suddenly mature.

Rob Velella is an independent literary historian and playwright specializing in American literature of the 19th century.  Through tours, lectures, dramatic readings and museum exhibits, he has helped remind today's readers about writers of the past.  He has dramatically brought to life several literary figures, including the young Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe.  He also maintains the American Literary Blog, described as "an almost-daily celebration of important (and not-so-important) dates in american literary history."

This meeting and program are free and open to the public.
For more information, call Joyce at 781-899-7239.

 

2011 Yard Sale

Saturday, May 7, 2011
10:00 AM - 2:30 PM
Edmund Fowle House
28 Marshall Street
Watertown, MA 02472

Items for sale will include cameras, rugs, dishes, fabric, greeting cards, household odds & ends, etc.  If you would like to donate items for the Historical Society to sell, please drop them off at the Fowle House after 8:30 AM on Saturday, May 7, 2011.  No clothes or large furniture, please.  All items must be clean and ready to sell.

Special Series:  Watertown and Mount Auburn

Everlasting Ties

Sponsored by:
The Friends of Mount Auburn
The Historical Society of Watertown
The Watertown Historical Commission

Tuesday, April 26, 2011
6:00 PM
Story Chapel
Mount Auburn Cemetery
580 Mount Auburn Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Much can be learned about Watertown's past through the stories of its most significant residents.  Naturally, many prominent Watertown families since the 1830s have selected Mount Auburn Cemetery, 93% of which is located in Watertown, as their final resting place, making for themselves an eternal home in the same town where they lived.  Join us in Story Chapel as Dee Morris shares the story about these neighbors in both life and death.

This program is free and open to the public.
For more information, call Joyce at 781-899-7239.

 

Special Public Program

A Lecture entitled "What is it Like to Self Publish?" and book signing of the newly-released children's book "Poppy's New Home" by Audrey Jones Childs

Sunday, April 10, 2011
2:00-3:00 PM
Watertown Savings Bank Meeting Room
Watertown Free Public Library
123 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472

Poppy's New Home is a story about a real puppy that started out living with a sailor at the Boston Navy Yard at the end of World War II.  Puppy wonders what will happen to him when he fears that he no longer can live with his sailor.  Puppy's life changes completely when he was given to a civilian who worked at the Navy Yard and brought Puppy to a loving family who live in the East End of Watertown, Massachusetts.  Puppy's name changed to Poppy.

He was thought to be smarter than any other dog in the neighborhood.  His intelligence and bravery often surprised his family members and got him into trouble a couple of times.  He preferred to wander outside on his own and hated his leash.  He liked to be an adventurer and sometimes acted like a private investigator.  Poppy's New Home is a compilation of vignettes about Poppy's experiences.

This program is free and open to the public.

Volunteer Recognition Ceremony and March Public Program

A Slideshow Lecture entitled “Noncombatants - Mount Auburn Residents Who Went to Aid, Comfort & Witness”

Thursday, March 24, 2011
7:00 PM
Watertown Savings Bank Meeting Room
Watertown Free Public Library
123 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472

The Historical Society is pleased to acknowledge the important work of its volunteers in a public ceremony.

The volunteer recognition will be followed by a slideshow lecture at 7:30 PM by William A. McEvoy, Jr., a volunteer at Mount Auburn Cemetery. Bill recently conducted a study to commemorate the Sesquicentennial, in April 2011, of the start of the Civil War. The analysis resulted in the identification of 877 people buried and 55 people memorialized at Mount Auburn Cemetery who served in the Civil War.  This presentation will recognize some of the noncombatant residents, such as nurses, Sanitary Commission workers, chaplains and war correspondents, who went to war to render medical aid, spiritual ministry and report on the war.  A brief overview of the entire project will also be presented.

Mr. McEvoy, a veteran and a resident of Newton, is a graduate of Bentley College, has an MBA from Suffolk College and an MA in Political Science from Boston College.

This program is free and open to the public.
For more information, call Joyce at 781-899-7239.

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