Just west of Worcester, Leicester is a town at the northern end of the Blackstone Valley, with a compelling industrial history. From the early days of the American Industrial Revolution, Leicester was a center for the production of cards, which were tools for disentangling cotton fibers before being spun into thread. At the turn of the …
Revolutionary and literary history converge at this captivating town where the “shot heard ‘round the world” was fired on April 19, 1775, when the first British troops died at the hands of the American colonial militia. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), the famed Transcendentalist who coined that phrase, spent most of his adult life in Concord, …
On the east bank of the Connecticut River, the town of South Hadley is best known as the home of the historic Mount Holyoke College. This prestigious women’s liberal arts college, dating back to 1837, has what may be the most beautiful campus in New England. It’s worth coming to savor the august brick architecture, …
Incorporated as an independent town in the 1850s, North Reading has a history of European settlement going back two centuries before. The venerable, 200-year-old meeting house in the historic center is the third on this site, and stands at the highest point of a dignified common edged by historic buildings. North Reading’s premier park is …
First settled by Europeans in the 17th century, the town of Northborough in Central Massachusetts is crossed by the old Boston Post Road (Route 20), which forms Main Street. There are several interesting markers along this historic artery, one pointing out the place where a young woman, Mary Goodnow was killed by Native Americans in …
In the shadow of the 1,202-foot Mount Tom, Easthampton is a progressive and creative community surrounded by famous college towns like Northampton, Amherst, and Hadley. From the 19th century until not long after World War II Easthampton was a center for the textiles industry, leaving the town with a unique townscape embroidered with historic mill …
On the western flank of the Blue Hills, Westwood is a leafy suburban town that broke away from its neighbor, Dedham, in the late 19th century. For a community of 16,000, Westwood is spread across a big area, with a lot of land set aside for conservation. One large reservation is managed by the private …
This Southcoast town is on a long and narrow plot by the Taunton River, at the head of Mount Hope Bay. In 2022 Joe Biden visited Somerset to deliver a speech about climate change. The location was no coincidence, as until recently Somerset’s southern tip was commanded by the immense coal-fired Brayton Point Power Station, …
Southeast of Worcester, Grafton is a town in the Blackstone Valley, made up of a loose assortment of historic mill villages. During the Industrial Revolution from the late 18th century onwards, Grafton was known for a number of trades like shoemaking and furniture, and was a cradle for clockmaking in America. Grafton Common, the historic …
On the east bank of the Connecticut River, this wealthy suburb of Springfield was first settled in the mid-17th century. Until 1894 Longmeadow was one with East Longmeadow, and the town was famous for its sandstone quarries, producing the material for major projects like the Smithsonian Institution Building (1855). The Town Green, preserved as a …