Around Town

Our History: The Origins of the Name Watertown’s Elementary Schools

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Dr. Alfred Hosmer (1832-1891) and Dr. Hiram Hosmer (1798-1862) Photographs courtesy of the Watertown Free Public Library

The following story is part of a series on local history provided by the Historical Society of Watertown. It was written by Historical Society of Watertown board member Bob Bloomberg. Bob is also on the board of the Watertown Historic District Commission. He is a genealogist (his contact information is on our website) and has written several book reviews and newspaper articles. He wrote this article for our July 2020 newsletter “The Town Crier.”

Pop quiz: What do Hiram and Alfred Hosmer, P. Sarsfield Cunniff, and James Russell Lowell have in common? The answer is they are the people that the three Watertown elementary schools are named for. But who were these men, and why were they honored by the town? And, intriguingly, a strong case could be made that, in a more recent era, two of the schools might have been named for a woman.

Around Town

Watertown Fire Awards Presented for Response to Heart Attack, a Woman Giving Birth & a Girl Stuck in a Duct

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Watertown Firefighters, Police Officers and a Public Safety Dispatcher received awards for saving a man in cardiac arrest. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Watertown Firefighters, Watertown Police officers, and public safety dispatchers who went above and beyond in three incidents received service awards from the Watertown Fire Department this week.

Government

Residents, Developers Raise Concerns Over New Demolition Ordinance, OK’d by Split Council Vote

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Photo by Steve OwensThe Shick House on Grove Street was an example of a home on which the Historical Commission placed a demolition delay in efforts to save it. It was torn down after BB&N could not find someone to move it to another site. The property is now an athletic complex.

Under Watertown’s new demolition delay ordinance, a large number of homes will no longer have to go through the Historical Commission process to do additions or even to tear them down, but those that do go before the Commission could be subject to a much longer demolition delay.

Sports

Donohue’s Kaos Club Dominates Game 1 of Summer Basketball Finals, Game 2 Thursday

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Donohue’s Kaos Club and New Day played game one of the 2023 Papas Elite Watertown Men’s Basketball League Championship Finals Wednesday night. They face off again Thursday night. (Photo by Lindsay Graham)

By Lindsay Graham

The top-seeded Donohue’s Kaos Club proved why they were the number one seed, opening the 2023 Watertown Papas Elite Men’s Basketball League Championship Finals with a 67-49 win over New Day. Donohue’s carries the 1-0 series advantage into game two of the best of three Championship Finals.