Dorchester Historical Society

Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 2114

The Dorchester Historical Society barn is on Boston.com.  Check out:

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/dorchester/2013/09/hold_dorchester_historical_society_progresses_with_clapp_fam.html

Get ready for winter with a wooden snow shovel – see attached photo of snow shovels in Dorchester Historical Society barn.

And remember to contribute to the barn shingling, either through the Dorchester Historical Society website www.dorchesterhistoricalsocietyblog.org  or by sending a check to 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA  02125

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The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com

If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org

Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 2113

Baker Chocolate trade card from the early 20th century.

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The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com

If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org

Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 2112

Greetings from Dorchester. Mass.   Post card with raised floral bouquet.  The flowers are actually raised, creating hollow indentions on the back side of the card.  Postmarked May 11, 1908.

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The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com

If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org

Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 2111

St. Mary’s Church on Jones Hill, designed by Henry Vaughan in Jacobethan Revival style and built in 1888, is a prototype of modern gothic. Saint Mary’s was one of his earliest American commissions and his only known example of a building in the City of Boston. The first service in the new church was held on December 25, 1888. The church was enlarged in 1892-93 (transepts by Hartwell and Richardson), and a parish house was dedicated in September, 1907. The church contains an important collection of stained glass windows by Tiffany Studios, Wilbur H. Burnham, Harry E. Goodhue, and Charles J. Connick, all completed between 1902 and 1911. The building displays extraordinary exposed timbers on the ceiling.

Note the Dorchester Old North Burying Ground on Stoughton Street is visible behind the Church.

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The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com

If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org

Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 2110

The Milton Station car barn was located at approximately 2262 Dorchester, where a Boston Housing Authority high-rise now stands near Lower Mills.

Postcard. Caption on front: Milton Station Car Barn, Dorchester, Mass.  Postmarked Nov 3, 1908. Dorchester Center Station, Boston. With one cent stamp. No. H 12791 The Robbins Bros Co., Boston, Mass. & Germany.

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The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com

If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org

Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 2108

The public art pieces at Edward Everett Square were dedicated in 2007 and 2010.  Check out the new website at

www.edwardeverettsquare.org

Our illustration today is one of the bollards in the square showing a three-decker.

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The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com

If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org

Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 2108

Researching the History of Your House

2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15 with Marian Pierre-Louis, Fieldstone Historic Research

You can research the history of your house whether it is 20 years old or 150 years old. Marian Pierre-Louis will show you where to find the deeds to your house and how to locate other sources of information, such as U.S. Federal Census records. Whether you’re a beginner or have some research experience, this program has something to offer to anyone interested in the origins of their home. The program takes place at the William Clapp House, 195 Boston St., Dorchester. $10 donation suggested.

Here is a snippet of house history for 6 Wilbur Street on Jones Hill:

In 1898 Sylvester Parshley built6 Wilbur Streetfor his son Dr. Wilbur Parshley and his fiancée Pauline Frederick,Dorchesternative and one of the loveliest and most popular actresses of the American Theatre. She did not marry Wilbur – probably just as well since she went through 5 husbands (plus she would have been only 16 years old in 1898).  Douglas Shand-Tucci says the house has good stained glass –imported bubble-glass fields inset with bulls-eye glass.  The house was rented to James Edgar Southworth, General Manager of the Wheat Export Company and of the United States Grain Exchange.  Horizontal double.

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The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com

If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org

Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 2107

As Dorchester’s population increased in the southern portion of the town, the Selectmen recognized that it would be convenient for more people if the center of government were more centrally located. The town erected a new meeting place in 1816 at Bakers Corner, now Codman Square, also referred to as Dorchester Center. The new Town Hall was a brick one-story structure with a Greek Revival portico. The hall had six long rows of wooden benches, three on each side with a moderator’s desk at one end and a clock donated by Colonel Ebenezer Clapp.

The building was replaced in 1904 by the municipal building that housed the library and is now called the Great Hall.

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The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com

If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org

Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 2106

September 2013

Dear DHS Members and Supporters:

Restoration of the Clapp Family Barn is almost complete!

But we have one s[h]ingle thing left to do:  reshingle the exterior before the snow flies.

WILL YOU HELP?

Thanks to the generosity of Dorchester residents and other stakeholders, the Dorchester Historical Society has raised $200,000 to ensure that the mid-19th century Clapp Family Barn will stand for generations to come.   

Rotted sills and deteriorated posts and beams have been replaced, so the building is now level, square and solid.  New doors, hung with the original hinges, have greatly enhanced the appearance of the Barn and improved access and security.  And a badly needed new roof was put on earlier this year.  No we need to make the Barn weather-tight, to protect not just the restored structure but also the extensive collection of 19th-century agricultural tools that it houses.

A private donor has pledged $5,000 towards the shingling…provided that we raise the same amount from our members and supporters.  Won’t you pitch in so we can meet this challenge?

From 1630 well into the 20th century, the agricultural economy of Dorchester was critical to the growth and vitality of the town and beyond.  On its completion, the Barn will provide the ideal venue for the Society to explore and interpret this agricultural heritage for students, residents and visitors alike.

Join us in this vital step towards bringing to life an important but little-known aspect of Dorchester’s history for everyone.

Please send your contribution to Dorchester Historical Society, 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125 or make a secure online payment at www.dorchesterhistoricalsocietyblog.org  (You will also find a side show documenting the restoration of the Barn on the website or at http://bit.ly/15vd2ox.)

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Earl Taylor

President

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The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com

If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org

Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 2105

Postcard. Caption on front: Walter Baker Chocolate Mills, from the Big Chimney. copyright 1905 Frederick A. Frizell. Postally unused.

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The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com

If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org