The tornado in Joplin, Missouri has drawn comparisons to the one that ripped through our area in 1953 killing 90 people, including three right here in Southborough. I know many of you are familiar with this chapter in Southborough’s history, but I suspect some of you are not. Read the full article → from Do you remember the Worcester Tornado of 1953?
The Southborough Historical Society will hold its Annual Member Meeting on Sunday and they are encouraging those interested in joining to attend. Read the full article → from Southborough Historical Society invites new members to its annual meeting
On this day in 1776, a weary Colonel Henry Knox and his band of men arrived in Cambridge after hauling 60 tons of artillery 300 miles all the way from Fort Ticonderoga in New York. With few roads along the way, it was a daring and brutal journey over snow and ice, and across lakes, rivers, and mountains. Read the full article → from On this day in history: The journey of General Henry Knox
The Massachusetts Historical Commission recently approved a handful of buildings to be nominated for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, and Southborough’s South Union School made the list. Read the full article → from State nominates Southborough’s South Union School as historic place
The blog Historic Buildings of Massachusetts recently highlighted a few of Southborough’s most well-known historic buildings, including Pilgrim Church, the Community House, and the Joseph Burnett mansion that will be going up for auction in August. Read the full article → from Historic buildings of Southborough
Osgood T. Hadley was born in 1838 in Nashua, New Hampshire. He would eventually make his way to Southborough, but not before he became a war hero. Read the full article → from The story of a Southborough vet: Osgood T. Hadley
Talk about longevity. The building that is home to Fitzgerald’s General Store was built in the mid-1800’s as a general store for the villages of Cordaville and Southville. More than 150 years later, ownership and names have changed, but the building still serves the same basic purpose. Read the full article → from Southborough’s historic places: Fitzgerald’s General Store
The battle between the town and the MWRA over the historic Nichols House rages on. Read the full article → from MWRA not budging on Nichols House use
Picture this. The year is 1852 and the residents of Southborough are gathered at the old Town House for the annual town meeting. On the warrant is the question of whether to establish a public lending library. Read the full article → from Southborough’s historic places: The Southborough Public Library
We tend to think of the Town House now as being all business. You go there to pay your water bill, or to register to vote, or (if you’re like me) to attend any number of town committee and board meetings. But it didn’t always used to be that way. Read the full article → from Southborough’s historic places: The Town House
Did you know the Community House once boasted a bowling alley? Learn more in the first of a series of posts on Southborough’s historic places. Read the full article → from Southborough’s historic places: The Community House
I recently came across this map from the Boston Public Library’s Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, that shows what Cordaville and Southville looked like in the late 1800’s. You can see buildings that are still standing today like St. Matthew and First Community churches. Also prominent is the Cordaville Cotton and Woolen Mill at the Read the full article → from A map of Cordaville and Southville past
The future of the historic Kidder House at 66 Main Street (map) has been hanging in the balance for several years now. The estate was purchased by Fay School earlier this decade and was slated to be demolished as part of their expansion plans. But Fay recently told members of the Southborough Historical Commission that Read the full article → from Kidder House spared the wrecking ball?
One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about this blog is the occasional story about what Southborough was like years ago. One keeper of such stories is Judith Bailey Keneman who grew up in Southborough in the 1950’s and 1960’s. She now lives in New Jersey. Judith and her family lived in the Kidder Estate, Read the full article → from Growing up in Southborough: Memories and photos