Ironworkers and Their Monuments (Not) in New England

My latest local history post went live yesterday on Old Colony History Museum's blog, here. 

It's all about the 90-foot, $100K+ monument to the Leonard family and their ironworks that never got built. 

It was a detective story for me, and I'm not sure I got it right. But I'm close, I hope.

James Leonard lived and worked in Taunton and Raynham, but his brother and other family members launched an ironworks, the Rowley Village Forge Site, in modern-day Boxford, near my home on the North Shore. 

I did a walking tour here.

New Local History Posts for Old Colony Historical Museum

For local history fans, I have six articles posted on Old Colony's "Medium" site, which (I think and hope) can be easily accessed. 

The first, posted in July 2022, is The Golden Age of Radio in the Old Colony (Three Acts). Not only is it a fun re-telling of the roots of commercial radio in the United States, but it's also a shout-out to my Uncle Eddie Litchfield, who was the voice of WPEP for 40 years. 

The second article, posted in August 2022, is The Authors of the Old Colony: A Summer Reading List (If You Dare). I don't usually traffic in listicles so thought I'd try my hand. The line-up includes a little history, a little poetry, some biography, and even true crime. (What says summer reading like Lizzie Borden and forty whacks?)

The third post, from October 2022, is Loves Me Like a Rock: Eight Old Colony Hunks You Should Know. Counting backward, #3 is Anawan Rock and #2 Dighton Rock. I'll let you guess #1.

Uncle Charlie's First Parish Church (1926)
in Framingham, MA

In December 2022, Old Colony posted Charles Monroe Baker: Taunton's Architect of Large Buildings. My great Uncle Charlie died before I was born, but he left a legacy of beautiful buildings all over eastern Massachusetts. My grandmother told me once that "Uncle Charlie was not a true Baker, as he always tried to preserve the amenities." I'll leave the implications of that comment to your imagination.

My two most recent posts are the first two parts of a three-part series called Fire and Ice: Some Calamities of the Old Colony. Part one is all about famous fires, including Brockton's Strand Theatre Fire and the Myles Standish State Forest Fire in 1964. Part two focuses on famous snowstorms, including the Blizzard of '78.

As you browse other Old Colony posts on Medium, you'll find all kinds of interesting history articles from Katie MacDonald (on how museums can be redefined in the 21st century) and Dr. William Hanna, including one on local Nike Missle sites, the death of Elizabeth McKinstry (at the future St. Thomas rectory), and the Reverend Samuel Hopkins Emery, who was born in Boxford but made his name in Taunton.