Monday, May 20, 2013
With Memorial Day right around the corner, we find a 151-year-old document for a Lynnfield soldier who apparently came home from the Civil War in 1862.
I'm glad I came across this item with Memorial Day just around the corner. Over time, this weekly column is beginning to resemble an online museum of Lynnfield History. For our latest exhibit we have discharge papers from Private S.R. Moorland of the 22nd Mass. Volunteers from the Civil War on March 3, 1862. He was apparently a Lynnfield resident. From what I can make out on this document, Private Moorland was actually a Lynnfield resident, not somebody who trained at the former camp - and that the Army paid him $38.52 to cover the cost of a 22-day, 440-mile journey home from what is very likely Hall's Hill near Alexandria, Virginia. In an article back in the late summer of 2011, I talked a little bit about the history of Lynnfield in the …
Monday, May 6, 2013
From time to time, Lynnfield Patch finds an item for sale on eBay and talks about its connection to the town's past.
For the second consecutive week, we can find an interesting detail about the town's past with help from a random item from Lynnfield being sold on eBay. This is a 1961 press photo showing the former location of Our Lady of the Assumption Church on Route 1 North in Lynnfied - and even back then it was a former church. As most readers know, the current location of OLA Parish is less than a mile away on Grove Street. The old OLA building is now the Century 21 North Shore office. Not much seems to have changed with the building since this picture was taken. But here's an interesting detail - the reason this particular press photo exists is that back then, a Salem couple intended to renovate the place as a restaurant and were seeking a liquor …
Monday, March 25, 2013
Each week, Lynnfield Patch takes a photo from the town's past and talks about its history and what's there today.
I keep on thinking I've come across the last of these long-ago press photos from Lynnfield, but they keep on coming. And this is another one of those images from the town's past that people should know about - especially with preparations underway for Lynnfield's 200th anniversary celebration next year. Back in 1964, Lynnfield was celebrating its 150th anniversary - and one way it marked the occasion was apparently to have a couple of town residents run a copy of the Governor's proclamation marking the occasion from the State House in Boston down Route 1 to the Lynnfield Town Common. The whole thing reportedly took about 90 minutes and apparently took place on June 13th, 1964. This is also the first time I've come across any reference to …
Monday, March 18, 2013
This week, we look at Centre Congregational Church during the Eisenhower years.
A handful of these recent "Then and Now" photos for Lynnfield have been coming from eBay, where somebody has been selling long-ago press photos that are of local historical interest. Another such example comes to us this week, where we find an image for sale taken in the early spring of 1959 showing the Centre Congregational Church apparently getting a new steeple. A note on the back of the photo says that a 120-foot boom lifted the 5,000 pound spire to the top of the church. About three or four workers were waiting up top to help get the spire into place. Finally - here's a related press photo up for sale right now on eBay, also showing the Centre Congregational Church. But this one is from 1957 and shows the structure without a steeple …
Monday, March 11, 2013
Each week, Lynnfield Patch takes a look at vintage photos from town and talks about what's there today.
Over the past several months, a number of interesting vintage press photos from Lynnfield have been featured on this website. This week, I spotted an image for sale on eBay from 1963 showing Lynnfield Common as it looked one winter day in 1963 - March 2 to be exact, according to the seller. These images offer a look at something timeless and classic about New England. Numerous towns, including Lynnfield, still have sites like this that would still be relatively familiar to somebody who lived here three centuries ago when the Old Meeting House was just a gleam in some builder's eye. To add some perspective, I added a photo taken from almost the same spot, 48 years later, by North Shore photographer Jeannine Pelkey at the town's 2011 …
Monday, February 25, 2013
Each week, Lynnfield Patch takes a look at long-ago photos from town and talks about what's there today.
I've been hanging on to this picture for a while. It's the Pocahontas Tavern, which was opened in 1928 by Joseph Franklin Smith, who also established the Pocahontas Spring Water business. An article from last April talks more about the history of the Pocahontas Spring with a passing mention of the tavern and some more about John C. Smith - the son of Joseph Franklin Smith who has lived in town all his life. As noted in the previously mentioned article, the Pocahontas Tavern also had a miniature golf course. The Lynnfield Historical Society is apparently in possession of a teacup from the former establishment, according to one article found online. This image also appears in the Warren Fells local history book on Lynnfield, which states …
Monday, February 4, 2013
This week - we travel back more than five decades in time to the spring afternoon when a prominent local historical marker was dedicated.
I’m going in a slightly different direction this week with the “Then And Now” column this week because I came across something out of Lynnfield’s past that may not be around long enough to highlight in some future “eBay Report” column. Basically, in recent weeks somebody has been selling a number of old press photos from Lynnfield on eBay, and some of them are quite fascinating or of local historical significance in their own right. In this case, a group of young men joined John P. Duggan of the American Legion one spring just over 50 years ago to help dedicate the marker to commemorate the site where the home of Minuteman Daniel Townsend once stood. The asking price for the old press photo is $23.88. As noted in this article from last …
Monday, January 28, 2013
Each week, Lynnfield Patch runs a photo from the town's past and looks at what's there today.
This week's image from the files of the Lynnfield Historical Society first made its appearance some 32 years ago in one of the weekly papers in town - either the Weekly News or the Villager. This image shows a worker removing items from the former Village Room Restaurant, in what was then called the Colonial Shopping Center. Next door to the closed restaurant at the time was a dentist's office whose name just manages to elude me. Today, the Centre Court Grille occupies roughly the same spot - and less than two weeks ago, this website wrote about the newest business in Lynnfield, Centre Yoga - which occupies the spot where Karen's Bakery was once located. Another recent entry to the Lynnfield business scene located just steps away from here…
Monday, January 21, 2013
Each week, Lynnfield Patch runs a photo from the files of the Lynnfield Historical Society and talks about what's there today.
This week, we've got an image from the days before Lynnfield Middle School occupied its present spot on Main Street - it was the former home of the School Administration Office. Each week, these photos are provided by the Lynnfield Historical Society. Are you interested in joining them? Just send a $15 check to Bob Gillon, Lynnfield Historical Society Treasurer, 300 Main Street, Lynnfield, MA 01940. Include your mailing address, email address and phone number.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Each week, Lynnfield Patch runs a photo from the town's past and talks about what's there today.
Here's an image dating back to the construction of Route 128 in the early 1950s. This was a major project for both the North Shore and South Shore at the time and Wikipedia has a very informative page with more about that time. For those who enjoy those "Images of America" books filled with vintage local photos, there's also an entire edition devoted to the construction of 128, with photos from Lynnfield and many of the other nearby towns the highway connects with. This photo also sort of symbolizes the changes that came to Lynnfield after World War II as it began to transform from a rural/farm community to more of a suburban/bedroom community. Each week, these photos are provided by the Lynnfield Historical Society. Are you interested in …
Nikki
7:19 am on Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Interesting article. It WOULD be a good spot for a restaurant...but I don't know about those lasagna burritos, lol! For some reason, I thought this church was at a different location, then moved to Rt. 1, but the old mind is hazy. On another note, any word from Suzy if the eagles are still at Suntaug? Are eagles year-round residents, or do they return each spring? more ›