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Washington Ends Visit to Massachusetts
Washington Ends Visit to Massachusetts
On this day in 1789, George Washington concluded a ten-day presidential visit to Massachusetts. Adoring crowds of grateful citizens greeted him everywhere. People preserved the dishes he used, the chairs he sat on, and the...
Town Meeting Auctions Poor Woman to Lowest Bidder
Town Meeting Auctions Poor Woman to Lowest Bidder
On this day in 1786, Malden's selectmen put up for "vendue" Mary Degresha, who was unable to support herself. They auctioned her off to the lowest bidder, who agreed to accept payment of six dollars...
Shoppers' World Launches Mall Era
Shoppers' World Launches Mall Era
On this day in 1951, Shoppers' World in Framingham opened for business. The first suburban shopping mall in the Northeast, and only the second in the country, the complex was a revolutionary design. Anchored by...
Charles Dickens Begins Second American Tour
Charles Dickens Begins Second American Tour
On this day in 1867, Charles Dickens began his second American reading tour at Boston's Tremont Temple. An enthusiastic audience, which included literary stars Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Ralph Waldo Emerson, seemed to have forgotten...
Concord Women Cast First Votes
Concord Women Cast First Votes
On this day in 1880, Louisa May Alcott and 19 other women attended the Concord Town Meeting. The year before, the Massachusetts legislature had made it legal for women to vote in school committee elections....
Bostonians Lay Cornerstone for Bunker Hill Monument
Bostonians Lay Cornerstone for Bunker Hill Monument
On this day in 1825, at the laying of the cornerstone of the Bunker Hill Monument, Daniel Webster addressed a crowd of 100,000, including 190 veterans who had survived the first major battle of the...
Borden Announces Plan to Sell Prince Pasta Plant
Borden Announces Plan to Sell Prince Pasta Plant
On this day in 1997, the Borden company announced a tentative deal to save the Prince pasta factory in Lowell. When Borden closed the failing plant, Senator Ted Kennedy remarked that it was "a sad...
Mayor Curley Jeopardizes Election
Mayor Curley Jeopardizes Election
On this day in 1929, James Michael Curley, heavily favored to win his third term as mayor of Boston, used a radio appearance to defame a school committee member who had spoken out against him....
Massachusetts Executes Sacco and Vanzetti
Massachusetts Executes Sacco and Vanzetti
On this day in 1927, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were put to death in the state prison in Charlestown. A jury convicted them of murder and robbery in 1921, but a long struggle was...
Quincy's Market Opens
Quincy's Market Opens
On this day in 1826, Boston celebrated the grand opening of the Faneuil Hall, commonly known as Quincy Marketplace. Located on the site that had long served as Boston's public market, the three massive buildings...