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Originally a part of Quaboag Plantation, the town of West Brookfield became independent by incorporating in 1848. Early industries included brickyards and factories for bookbinding and the manufacture of boots, hats, corsets, and condensed milk. The community's earliest days were also committed to education as rural school districts were established, boasting original school buildings that were able to be used through the 1950s. Over the years, many notable residents emerged, including Judge Jedediah Foster, who assisted in drafting the Massachusetts Constitution, and famous suffragist Lucy Stone. Brothers Daniel and Ebenezer Merriam established a printing house and bookstore in West Parish Brookfield. Today, residents and visitors enjoy West Brookfield's most popular attractions: the Rock House Reservation features 196 acres of boulders and stone outcrops and the 315-acre Lake Wickaboag is the scene of winter and summer activities, from icehouses to a nationally recognized water-ski club. The Quaboag Historical Society was founded in 1895 and 120 years later is still a vital part of the community.
Incorporated in 1673, the town of Brookfield was part of the original Quaboag Plantation land grant of 1660 and is situated at a crossroads of the Boston Post Road that connected New York and Boston. Brookfield grew from a farming community to an industrial town, with early factories producing shoes, boots, bricks, and paper. When the factories were in full swing in 1880, Brookfield was one of the wealthiest and most populated towns in the area. The town has since returned to a quiet state, and today residents and visitors enjoy the pastoral atmosphere while remembering some of Brookfield's more noteworthy characters: Bathsheba Spooner, who was found guilty after a sensationalized 18th-century trial of conspiring to murder her husband; author Mary Jane Holmes, whose books about daily life sold more than two million copies; and Borden Company's bovine mascot, Elsie the Cow, who was raised on Elm Hill Farm and made her way to Hollywood.
Between the late colonial period and the Civil War, the countryside of the American northeast was largely transformed. Rural New England changed from a society of independent farmers relatively isolated from international markets into a capitalist economy closely linked to the national market, an economy in which much farming and manufacturing output was produced by wage labor. Using the Connecticut Valley as an example, The Roots of Rural Capitalism demonstrates how this important change came about. Christopher Clark joins the active debate on the "transition to capitalism" with a fresh interpretation that integrates the insights of previous studies with the results of his detailed research...
In this remarkable new photographic history, local historian and photographer Dennis LeBeau presents a heartwarming tale of life in the Brookfields at the turn of the century. The photographs in this collection are those of William Bullard, an itinerant photographer in the 1890s and early 1900s from North Brookfield, whose work has never before been published in book form. The story of Bill Bullard's life and photographic legacy are dramatically revealed in this fascinating glimpse into the past. After the photographer's untimely and tragic demise, the rich photographic archives of Bill Bullard were carefully preserved by his brother, Charlie Bullard, and three generations of the neighboring Gaudette family. Dennis LeBeau has individually reprinted each image in this collection from its original glass plate negative. Mr. LeBeau's researched and well-informed captions accompany the photographs in Bullard's collection, creating a comprehensive historic portrait of both the Brookfields and the Bullard family.
Chronicles the forest in New England from the Ice Age to current challenges
The Gateway District in Massachusetts is composed of seven towns served by the Gateway School System: Huntington, Russell, Montgomery, Worthington, Middlefield, Chester, and Blandford. Nestled comfortably together along the banks of the Westfield River and its tributaries, these seven small towns have worked together for over one hundred and fifty years to build a community. This photographic essay chronicles the development of these towns and villages from their earliest days. In the beginning, many were farming communities, sustaining themselves with the earth's bounty. With industrialization in the nineteenth century came numerous mills along the river, and the seven rural towns were forever changed. A look at the people, places, and events of this period will prove surprising for many, and will certainly preserve valuable information about the region's history for generations to come.
Fifty years ago, the Central Artery snaked its way through Boston, destroying century-old neighborhoods and bustling commercial districts in the very heart of the city. Designed to open Boston's downtown to convenient car and truck access, the highway cut a two-mile-long gash through the nation's oldest and most historic city, destroying or casting a shadow over some of its most architecturally significant buildings. By the time the Central Artery was completed in 1959, many former supporters had already realized that it was a colossal mistake. Drawing on recently uncovered Massachusetts Department of Public Works archives and numerous other sources, Boston's Central Artery tells the story of the highway's construction and of the neighborhoods that it destroyed. The book is a vivid document of an era when roadways tore through the nation's downtown centers and displaced thousands of residents and businesses along the way. Written by an enginer-historian, Boston's Central Artery will appeal to not only those fascinated by the history of Boston but also those interested in urban history, architecture, and construction.
Route 128 traces its origins to the late 1920s, when the Massachusetts Department of Public Works cobbled together a makeshift network of existing roads through Boston's suburbs. Between 1947 and 1956, during a statewide push to build new highways, Route 128 was reconstructed as a major regional expressway. The new highway immediately fueled explosive growth in many of the region's once bucolic suburbs. What was once "the road to nowhere" quickly became a major commercial nexus for eastern Massachusetts and a critical link in the region's highway network. The visionary highway project vigorously promoted by William F. Callahan permanently altered the character of the two dozen towns through which it passed. Building Route 128 vividly documents the highway's construction and its impact on towns such as Waltham, Dedham, Lynnfield, and Gloucester. Drawing on previously unpublished images from the Massachusetts Department of Public Works and archives from many of the cities and towns affected, Building Route 128 tells the story of a region forever changed by the highway's construction.
Trolleys Under the Hub, a fantastic collection of photographs and captions documenting the history of Bostons Green Line, commemorates the 100th anniversary of Americas first subway system