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Brownies Take a Winter Swim

January 1, 1904
January 1, 1904

Brownies Take a Winter Swim

On this day in 1904, the L Street Brownies held their first New Year's Day swim in Boston Harbor. Every year since then, a crowd of swimmers and an even larger crowd of onlookers has...

Nation's First Country Club Established

January 14, 1882
January 14, 1882

Nation's First Country Club Established

On this day in 1882, a group of men from the social elite of Boston formally established The Country Club of Brookline, the first such club in the United States. Only four miles from the...

nMt. Holyoke Cable Car Burned

February 17, 1965
February 17, 1965

nMt. Holyoke Cable Car Burned

On this day in 1965, Massachusetts officials burned what was left of the wooden tramway that had carried thousands of people to the summit of Mt. Holyoke. Abandoned for decades, the deteriorating tramway was a...

First CCC Enrollees Arrive at Ft. Devens

April 13, 1933
April 13, 1933

First CCC Enrollees Arrive at Ft. Devens

On this day in 1933, the first enrollees of the Massachusetts Civilian Conservation Corps arrived at Fort Devens in Ayer. They were soldiers in a peacetime army that, in the words of the men who...

Massachusetts Creates Nation's First Regional Park System

June 3, 1893
June 3, 1893

Massachusetts Creates Nation's First Regional Park System

On this day in 1893, Governor William Eustis Russell signed a bill creating the Metropolitan Parks Commission, the nation's first regional park system. It was the result of planning and politicking by a group of...

Writer Edith Wharton Builds in Lenox

June 7, 1902
June 7, 1902

Writer Edith Wharton Builds in Lenox

On this day in 1902, the writer Edith Wharton wrote to a friend about a visit to the site of her new home, The Mount, under construction in Lenox: "Lenox has had its usual tonic...

State Acts to Protect Mt. Greylock

June 20, 1898
June 20, 1898

State Acts to Protect Mt. Greylock

On this day in 1898, the legislature established the first state park in Massachusetts on Mount Greylock. The tallest peak in the state, at almost 3500 feet, Greylock is like an island, different in geology,...

Quabbin Reservoir Filled to the Brim

June 22, 1946
June 22, 1946

Quabbin Reservoir Filled to the Brim

On this day in 1946, water flowed over the spillway and officials declared Quabbin Reservoir full. Construction took more than 20 years and required the obliteration of four towns in the Swift River Valley. More...

Trainer Discovers Seabiscuit at Suffolk Downs

June 29, 1936
June 29, 1936

Trainer Discovers Seabiscuit at Suffolk Downs

On this day in 1936, Tom Smith, an experienced horse trainer, spied an unlikely looking three-year-old Thoroughbred on the track at East Boston's Suffolk Downs. The two exchanged knowing nods. One year later, Smith returned...

Revere Beach Opens

July 12, 1896
July 12, 1896

Revere Beach Opens

On this day in 1896, 45,000 people gathered in Revere to celebrate the opening of the first public beach in the nation. In 1895 the newly-created Metropolitan Parks Commission had taken ownership of the longest...

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