Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/tag/watertown-history/)
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map 1884 of Watertown, Courtesy of the Library of Congress. By Linda ScottWatertown Resident
Well, I guess it’s time to do my version of that famous Joni Mitchell song. “Big Yellow Taxi.” You really don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. You can thank a Watertown News reader for this article.
Standpipe, Watertown Water Supply Co., Whitney (Palfrey) Hill. Built 1884, 40′ X 40′. (Photo 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 Sigrid Reddy Watson Terman for the October 2005 Historical Society newsletter, “The Town Crier.”
Sigrid is a former Board member and former President of the Historical Society, as well at a former Director of the Watertown Free Public Library. For several years starting in 1997, she wrote a Watertown history column for the Watertown TAB/Press called “Echoes.” Sigrid published her columns in a book called “Watertown Echoes: A Look Back at Life in a Massachusetts Town.”
In 2002, local artist Henry Zunino sculpted a magnificent terra-cotta bas-relief of the signing of the Treaty of Watertown and presented it to the Historical Society. A copy was also produced and presented to the Town Council. It now resides in the foyer of Town Hall. A Dedication Ceremony was held July 13, 2004 at in the Town Hall Foyer. (Courtesy of Joyce Kelly)
This article is part of a series on local history provided by the Historical Society of Watertown.
Ellen Robbins painting in her studio (from a photograph by J. Appleton Brown)
This article is part of a series on local history provided by the Historical Society of Watertown. It was written by Joyce Kelly, Board member of the Historical Society of Watertown. Joyce writes articles for the newsletter and is the newsletter editor. This was published in our January 2009 newsletter, “The Town Crier.” ELLEN ROBBINS (1828 – 1905) – A WATERTOWN ARTIST
Watertown residents may be surprised to discover the many prominent people who called Watertown their home.
Seth Bemis 1775-1852 (Photo 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 former Historical Society Vice-President, the late Pam Pinsky for the July 2006 Historical Society newsletter, “The Town Crier”. MOUNT AUBURN NOTABLES
In celebration of the 375 th anniversary of the founding of Watertown, the Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery and the Historical Society of Watertown joined together on Oct. 9, 2005 to give a guided tour of the gravesites of several notable people who once resided in Watertown. The lives of our Watertown notables were recalled by members of the Historical Society Council and Historical Society volunteers.
The following story is part of a series on local history provided by the Historical Society of Watertown. It was written by Historical Society President Marilynne Roach for the April 2006 Historical Society newsletter, “The Town Crier.”
MOUNT AUBURN NOTABLES
In celebration of the 375th anniversary of the founding of Watertown, the Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery and the Historical Society of Watertown joined together on October 9, 2005 to give a guided tour of the gravesites of several notable people who once resided in Watertown. The lives of our Watertown notables were recalled by members of the Historical Society Council and Historical Society volunteers. The following information was presented by author and illustrator Marilynne Roach, a member of the Historical Society and a Watertown Historical Commission Board Member. Anne Whitney 1821-1915
Born in Watertown on Galen Street (in the Hunt house of Revolutionary fame) in a family active in abolition, education and women’s rights (Lucy Stone was a cousin), Anne Whitney received an excellent education – especially for a woman of her time.
Chuck DickinsonThe Charles River in Watertown. This article is part of a series on local history provided by the Historical Society of Watertown. It was written by Paul Brennan, former President and former Vice President of the Historical Society. It was published in our October 1998 newsletter, “The Town Crier.” THE CHARLES RIVER, LONG AGO
The Native American name for the Charles River was Quineboquin.
(The author has responded to some of the comments from the original Op-Ed posted on Feb. 8, 2023, see them after the letter:)
First, I want to thank the watertownmanews and the Historical Society of Watertown and Joyce Kelly, in particular, for this Saturday’s trip into Watertown’s past. It seems sometimes that the City of Watertown is engaged in such a head spinning rush to blandness and “anytown-ness” that in the words of Joni Mitchell, “We won’t know what we’ve got till it’s gone.”
In June 2022, Clyde Younger and I presented a proposal that would require a study of old buildings on Main Street, and one in particular (104-106 Main), to see if a local historic district was appropriate. The City Council, without much discussion, unanimously voted down our proposal for a study, one councillor even remarking that there are no old buildings on Main Street. Having been turned down for a historic study of one of the oldest and most historic cities and on one of the oldest and most historic streets in North America, I decided that I would do a study myself.