Around Town

A History of the Shick House and the Family That Called it Home

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The Shick House is on property owned by the Mount Auburn Cemetery and likely to be sold to Buckingham Browne & Nichols School. The following article was written by Bob Bloomberg, a member of the Board of the Historical Society of Watertown. It originally appeared in the Historical Society’s newsletter, “The Town Crier” in January 2020. The house is owned by the Mount Auburn Cemetery, and the land it sits on. A sale has to Buckingham Browne & Nichols School has been proposed with the plan to build two athletic fields on the land on the site.

Around Town

Life of Charles Lenox, Black Man from Watertown Who Served in Civil War, Detailed by Historical Society

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Charles Lenox, a Watertown barber, joined the all-Black 54th Massachusetts Infantry in the Civil War. The name of Charles Lenox, an African-American man from Watertown who fought in the Civil War, has become more well known this fall after his life was the focus of New Rep Theatre’s first Moving Play. Lenox served in the famous 54th Massachusetts Infantry. In the play, the same streets on which Lenox lived his life were used as the stage. (Read more about the play here).

Entertainment

Moving Plays to be Presented by New Rep, Library & Historical Society

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The following information came from New Rep Theatre:

Watertown Historical Moving Plays: The Charles W. Lenox Experience — an immersive and educational theatrical experience. Script by Ken Green, directed by Michael Ofori. Sept. 26 to Nov. 8, 2020

Outdoors in Watertown, 60 minutes

New Rep Theatre has partnered with the Watertown Free Public Library and the Historical Society of Watertown to bring to you Watertown Historical Moving Plays, an immersive and educational theatrical experience that leads participants on a stroll through historical sites in Watertown.

Around Town

Tour Watertown’s Historic Edmund Fowle House in March

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Edmund Fowle House, home of the Historical Society of Watertown. The Historical Society of Watertown announced that the historic Edmund Fowle House will be open for tours on Sunday, March 15, 2020. Visitors can also view the special exhibit. Tours of the 1772 Edmund Fowle House, 1 to 4 p.m., March 15, 2020 at 28 Marshall St., Watertown. Hosted by the Historical Society of Watertown , with the last tour at 3:15 p.m.

Visitors can also view the exhibit: “Franklin Jones, Watertown Artist.”

Adults: $5; Students/Seniors: $3.

Entertainment

Historical Society Leading Tours of 1772 Edmund Fowle House

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Edmund Fowle House, home of the Historical Society of Watertown. Tour one of the oldest and most historically significant houses in Watertown. The Historical Society of Watertown will lead tours of the house where the United State’s first treaty with a foreign power was signed and where the Declaration of Independence was first read in Massachusetts. The group sent out the following information:

On Sunday, January 19, 2020 the Historical Society of Watertown will host Historic House Tour and Exhibits. Tours of the 1772 Edmund Fowle House, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., January 19, 2020, 28 Marshall Street, Watertown.

Around Town

Treaty of Watertown, Signed in 1776, Still Has Power Today

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As part of the Treaty Day Celebration on July 20, Governor’s Councilor Marilyn Petitto Devaney from Watertown received a medal from Henry Bear, a representative of the Maliseet tribe. The Treaty of Watertown, the oldest treaty made by the United States with a foreign power, was signed in 1776, but the agreement with Indian tribes in the U.S. and Canada still holds sway in 2019. On Saturday, the Historical Society of Watertown celebrated the annual Treaty Day, marking the anniversary of the signing of the first Treaty between Massachusetts and the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet (also called the St. John’s) tribes on July 19, 1776. The primary focus of the Treaty for the young U.S. was to have a military ally against the British, but it also provided rights for the tribes over land and fisheries in what is now Maine and Canada.

Around Town

Historical Society Marking the Signing of the First U.S. Treaty, Hosting Art Exhibit

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Members of the United Native American Cultural Center in Devens play a traditional Native American song as part of the celebration of the signing of the Treaty of Watertown and the first reading of the Declaration of Independence at Watertown’s Edmund Fowle House. Two historic events from the early days of this nation will be celebrated by the Historical Society of Watertown. The group is also hosting an art exhibit featuring the work of a local artist. On Saturday, July 20, the Historical Society will recreate the signing of the first treaty signed by a fledgling United States, along with the first reading of the Declaration of Independence. Both events took place in Watertown.

Around Town

Works of Watertown Artist Coming to Historical Society

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The Historical Society of Watertown will host the grand opening of the exhibit called “The Art of Franklin Jones” at the Edmund Fowle House. The following information was provided by the Historical Society:

Grand Opening for “The Art of Franklin Jones” is on Sunday, June 30,2019 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Edmund Fowle House, 28 Marshall Street, Watertown, MA 02472-3408. Franklin Reed Jones (1921-2007) was a graduate of Watertown High School who was inspired by his Watertown High School art teacher, Harold Moody, to become an artist. In the years that followed he became an artist, illustrator, photographer, teacher and author. Once out of high school, he began his professional career while working in the Van Keuren factory by drawing a series of political cartoons, “As Jones Sees It,” for the Watertown Sun newspaper.