Events

Special Event:  Newspaper Auction

Sunday, October 16, 2011
12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
The Talk Restaurant
116 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472

The Historical Society of Watertown will host a brunch and auction of selected bound volumes of The Watertown Enterprise and The Watertown Sun newspapers dating from 1879-1941.  The theme of the event will be "Bring History Home."

Space is limited and admittance is by RSVP only.
For more information or to RSVP, contact Joyce Kelly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 781-899-7239.

Special Public Program

A talk by John Smolens, author of "The Schoolmaster's Daughter," a novel of the American Revolution

Sponsored by:
The Historical Society of Watertown
The Watertown Free Public Library

Thursday, September 22, 2011
7:00 PM
Watertown Savings Bank Meeting Room
Watertown Free Public Library
123 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472

With the outbreak of the American Revolution, Abigail Lovell's family is torn apart.  While her schoolmaster father is an outspoken loyalist and prominent figurehead in the community, she and her two brothers engage in acts of espionage to undermine the British forces in Boston.  Her sickly older brother, James, operates the patriots' spy ring, while Abigail acts as a courier, eluding increasingly aggressive British patrols.  Meanwhile, her younger brother, Benjamin, slips out of Boston to fight alongside Abigail's love, Ezra, at Concord and Bunker Hill.  With the help of her friend, Rachel Revere, Abigail smuggles money and supplies to the gathering patriot forces

The Schoolmaster's Daughter is the story of a family torn assunder--and of a determined young woman who must make courageous decisions if she is to aid in liberating her country.

John Smolens is the author of seven works of fiction, including Cold; The Invisible World; Fire Point; and The Anarchist.  He earned a BA from Boston College, an MA from the University of New Hampshire and an MFA from the University of Iowa.  A professor of English at Northern Michigan University, he was named Michigan Author of the Year 2010 by the Michican Library Association.

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

 

Special Series:  Watertown and Mount Auburn

Mount Auburn to Arlington Street Cemetery

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

Sunday, September 18, 2011
10:00 AM
Asa Gray Garden
Mount Auburn Cemetery
580 Mount Auburn Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Join Clare Murphy for an exploration of the Arlington Street Cemetery - Watertown's oldest burial ground.  Departing from Mount Auburn's Asa Gray Garden, the group will walk to the Arlington Street Cemetery, learning more about Watertown's earliest settlers along the way.

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

Special Series:  Watertown and Mount Auburn

Destination Watertown:  The Armenians of Hood Rubber

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

Thursday, August 25, 2011
6:00 PM
Story Chapel
Mount Auburn Cemetery
580 Mount Auburn Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Join us in Story Chapel for a screening of the documentary on the Hood Rubber Company of Watertown.  Through interviews with former employees, historic photographs and artifacts, writer, videographer and editor Roger Hagopian captured the history of both the company and the community that grew up in the shadows of its giant smokestack.

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

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.