Framingham History News & Fun
Framingham History In the News
History Book Club 100th Book!
The History Biography Book Club is meeting to review their 100th book next week!
Moving General Gordon
- Metrowest Daily News — 08/05/2011
Historian pens biography of Civil War general from Framingham
FRAMINGHAM —Just like 150 years ago, George H. Gordon has left his beloved mother in Framingham to answer the call of duty and lead Massachusetts volunteers through several of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War.
Marching through the pages of Town Historian Fred A. Wallace's new biography "Framingham's Civil War Hero," Gordon emerges as a complex, sometimes enigmatic figure who triumphed over humble origins to achieve the rank of major general and serve with distinction. Read more... - Metrowest Daily News — 05/19/2011
Framingham Remembers the Civil War with Exhibit
FRAMINGHAM —When Abraham Lincoln pledged after Gettysburg "these dead shall not have died in vain," he might have been thinking of citizen-soldiers like Theodore Russell of Framingham.
The 18-year-old farmer enlisted in the 45th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment in September 1862, died nine months later from wounds received in White Hall, N.C., and was carried home for burial in Edgell Grove Cemetery.
Keeping Lincoln's promise, the Framingham History Center is hosting "Framingham Remembers...The Civil War" to honor the memory of town residents like Russell who served on the battlefield and homefront 150 years ago. Read more
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Framingham Patch — 04/13/2011
Scouts Honor Town's Fallen Civil War Soliders
FRAMINGHAM —Yesterday was the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. It was at 4:30 a.m. on April 12 in 1861 that the Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. To commemorate the event, Boy Scout Pack 12 leader Rick Connaughton organized a small encampment with soliders from both the Union and the Confederacy. In conjunction with the Framingham History Center, he arranged a memorial to honor the 52 Framingham residents who died during the Civil War.
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Metrowest Daily News
- — 04/12/2011
Historian tells story of Framingham soldier
FRAMINGHAM —For historian Fred Wallace, old Civil War soldiers like Maj. Gen. George H. Gordon shouldn't just fade away.First, put them on Facebook. Then write a biography of a native son who rose from humble origins to lead Bay State troops through the bloody cornfields of Antietam to earn a reputation for courage and integrity that followed him home.
- Framingham Patch — 03/28/2011
History Is Often What We Choose To Remember
FRAMINGHAM —While a picture may be worth a thousand words, it can also be used to sway the hearts and minds of a nation.
It is in how we remember and interpret those images that give us a sense of place and self. Yet we must remember how those historical flashbacks can, and often are, manipulated for various political persuasions.
Metrowest Daily News — 03/27/2011
The other side of the water cup
Featured runner: Michelle McElroy, Framingham
Next in a series of profiles on local runners in this year's Marathon
- Metrowest Daily News — 03/14/2011
Civil War monument a stepping stone for Framingham history
FRAMINGHAM —On his first visit to the Framingham History Center, Brian Clew saw 27 names inscribed on a marble marker memorializing soldiers from town who died in the Civil War.
He was among a dozen guests Thursday evening at the history center's Past Forward get-together who surrounded the marker from 1872 bearing the names of Heman F. Cheney, Daniel W. Parmenter, Hector Ingraham and their fallen brethren. - Framingham History Center — 03/10/2011
Framingham’s Civil War General George H. Gordon is posting on facebook now!
Framingham’s Civil War General George H. Gordon is posting on facebook now as we lead up to hostilities on April 12th (150 years ago.) Like him now and join the dialogue.
Framingham History Fun Facts
Framingham in the Civil War
The Edgell Memorial Library is a lasting symbol of extraordinary volunteer spirit that runs through Framingham's rich history. That community spirit was on full display when Framingham was the first town in Massachusetts to establish a volunteer regiment to fight in the "War of the Rebellion." As Tom Ellis, a Civil War historian wrote, "Framingham has a record of contributions toward preserving the Union that is second to no other municipality in the Commonwealth. Framingham acted as a lion during the Civil War, giving much more than was required of her." It sent 12% of its population at the time - 530 men and suffered 52 fatalities.
34 Star Civil War Flag
One of the highlights of a tour through the Edgell Memorial Library is viewing the 34-star Civil War flag carried by the 13th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. This silk flag (c. 1861) was a gift to the Regiment from the firm of Hogg, Brown & Taylor of Boston, through the efforts of George B. Brown of Framingham. It was carried into battle at Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and elsewhere. Twenty-eight men from Framingham were members of the 13th Regiment. Altogether 530 men from Framingham were disbursed throughout the Union Army.
At the end of the war, the 13th Regiment returned the flag to Mr. Brown who then passed it on to the Town of Framingham at the dedication ceremony of the Edgell Memorial Library in 1873. Members of the Framingham Historical Society discovered the tattered flag in a cupboard in the Library in 1999 and raised the funds to restore it for the town's tercentennial in 2000.
Hurricane of 1938 in Framingham
The first casualty of the hurricane of 1938 was the Civil War statue in front of the Edgell Memorial Library. He was knocked off his pedestal not by the wind but by a maple tree that was blown over by the 100 mile an hour gusts. He's looking good as new now after about 20 children at Family Day gave him a bath last Saturday with Rika McNally an outdoor sculpture preservationist.
Framingham's Connection to the Historic Salem Witch Trials
Did you know that Thomas Danforth provided part of his land to a victim of the notorious Salem Witch Trials? In 1692, a council was established to look into the accusations of witchcraft in Salem. As Deputy Governor of Massachusetts Bay, Thomas Danforth presided over these early proceedings. After leaving office in 1693, Danforth worked behind the scenes to bring an end to the witch hysteria. Sarah Clayes, one of the accused, mysteriously escaped from prison and ended up, with her husband and children, living on Thomas Danforth's land in an area that came to be known as "Salem End."
