The City Record and Boston News-Letter

Mount Auburn Cemetery Lecture

Mount Auburn Cemetery presents final lecture in the "Facets of Mount Auburn: Celebrating 175 Year of a Boston Jewel" series will be held on 15 May 2007 at 6 P.M. in the Rabb Lecture Hall at the main branch of the Boston Public Library in Copley Square.  Dr. Charles Beveridge and Arleyn Levee will present "The Cemetery and the Park: Nature, The Designed Landscape, and Urban Planning".

Space is limited and registration is requested.  Please call 617-607-1995 or visit www.mountauburn.org to register.

Captain Peter Strockland: Dorchester's West Africa Connection

I like to feature talks and exhibitions related to the history of Boston, so if you have news of historical interest please email me.

Received recently in the mail:

Date  30 April 2007   
Time:  Noon to 2 P.M.
Location: Room 204A, Third Floor, McCormack Hall
University of Massachusetts Boston

Dr. Stephen Grant will present highlights of his biography of a nineteenth-century Dorchester resident, sea captain Peter Strickland, a merchant and the first American consul in French West Africa.  Peter Strickland: New London Shipmaster, Boston Merchant, First Consul to Senegal tells the story of a farmer's son born in 1837 in New London, Connecticut who left home at age 15 for a seafaring life.  By age 24 he had become a merchant marine captain.  He bought a house in Dorchester, where he settled with his family in 1871.  Strickland commanded dozens of sailing vessels out of Boston that traded with West Africa from 1864 to 1904.

The book is al
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Patriots' Day Events Begin 7 April 2007

Patriots' Day related events begin on 7 April, and J. L. Bell at Boston 1775 has them covered.  Get out and see some history!

Dorchester Day Parade 2007

Dorchester Day, 1930, the 300th Anniversary of the Landing of the Puritans in Dorchester, click to enlarge. (Photo copyright The City Record and Boston News-Letter, all rights reserved)

The 2007 Dorchester Day Parade will be held 3 June 2007. 

The Dorchester Reporter has more parade information.

377 Years of First Parish in Dorchester

First Parish Church in Dorchester will hold its 377th anniversary service tomorrow, 25 March, at 11 A.M. and the public is invited to attend.  First Parish in Dorchester was founded in Plymouth, England, on 20 March 1630 and the congregation landed in America in early June, 1630, an occasion marked by the Dorchester Day Parade.  More information about the history of First Parish can be found here and here.

Junior League of Boston Centennial Events

I've noticed several searches in recent days for information about the Junior League of Boston's annual Show House fundraiser.  Instead of a 2007 Show House, the Junior League has focused its fund-raising energies this year on their Boston Uncommon cookbook  while preparing an exhibition “Women Volunteers in Action, A Century of Commitment”, which can be viewed at the Boston Public Library (Copley Square branch) from April 6 - April 27, 2007 to celebrate 100 years of the Junior League's volunteer community work in Boston.  So, no show house this year, but be sure to visit the Boston Public Library in Copley Square this April to see the exhibition.  You might want a cookbook as well after you see the good work the Junior League does--the Junior League of Boston runs 18 community service projects in Boston and its suburbs helping women and children, including foster kids, adolescent girls, and victims of domestic violence.

Full details on the exhibition and lecture series can be found here.  If you're interested in Junior League membership click here.

Gaining Ground in Dorchester

Nancy Seasholes, author of Gaining Ground: A History of Landmaking in Boston, will be presenting a lecture "Gaining Ground in Dorchester" at the Dorchester Historical Society, 18 March 2007, 2 P.M. at the William Clapp House, 195 Boston Street, Dorchester.  The lecture is free and open to the public.  This should be a fascinating lecture by the author of one of the best books of Boston history in recent memory.  Stop by and say hello!

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Acquired Tastes: 200 Years of Collecting for the Boston Athenaeum Opens

Acquired Tastes: 200 Years of Collecting for the Boston Athenaeum has opened for public viewing.  On display will be numerous books, sculptures, paintings, and other items acquired by the Athenaeum over the years, many of which are rarely seen by the public.  I haven't seen the show yet but will give an in depth report after I do.  The Boston Athenaeum is located at 10 1/2 Beacon Street in downtown Boston, near Boston Common and the Statehouse.  Admission is free and the exhibition is open Monday through Friday, 9-5:30, and on Saturday from 9-4.  The exhibition will run through 13 July 2007.

The History of Dorchester to 1870

Dorchester Historical Society President Earl Taylor and preservation architect John Goff will be presenting an illustrated program "Dorchester from the Period of Settlement (1630) to Annexation (1870) on Sunday, 18 February 2007 at 2 P.M.  The talk will be held at the DHS headquarters in the William Clapp House, 195 Boston Street, Dorchester.

A map showing the location of the William Clapp House can be found here.

17th Century Bones--Viewing the James Blake House

The James Blake House, courtesy of the Dorchester Atheneum.

Well, not literally bones, but the frame of the James Blake House in Dorchester will be open for viewing on Wednesday, 14 February, beginning at 11 A.M.. 

From Dorchester Historical Society President Earl Taylor:

"The window of opportunity to see some spectacular 17^th  century framing and wattle and daub is here.  Jerry Eide, preservation contractor for the restoration of the Blake House, has removed all exterior shingles and sheathing, and unveiled architectural details and signatures (literally in the form of historic graffiti) on this 17^th century “mansion.”  Presently, the framing is being consolidated, and before it is covered up for yet another century, we invite you to take a look-see from the outside in."

Map showing the location of the James Blake House, which is located in Dorchester at Edward Everett Square.