MA250

AudaTours Stoneham Audio Tour: Timeless Tales of Historic Pride and Heritage
2026-05-31 12:00 - 14:00, 2026-06-01 12:00 - 14:00, 2026-06-02 12:00 - 14:00, 2026-06-03 12:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Nobility Hill Historic District, Stoneham, Massachusetts, 02180, United States
In Stoneham, the shadows of colonial fires and twentieth-century neon flicker side by side. Few realize how many secrets linger behind these iconic facades.
This self-guided audio tour leads straight through the city’s untold stories. Encounter corners and chapters that even locals walk past, and let carefully crafted tales reveal what hides beneath the ordinary.
Why did a quiet night at the Bernard Cogan House erupt into controversy that changed a neighborhood? Who vanished beneath the glowing beacon of Stoneham’s eerily beautiful gas station? What explains the perfectly preserved pencil marks under the Warren Sweetser House staircase?
Move between centuries as you cross storied main streets and hidden lanes. Each step peels back another layer of rebellion, ambition, and intrigue, letting Stoneham rise up around you as never before.
Tap play and see how deep Stoneham’s shadows can stretch. The secrets are waiting.

Bus Tour to Historic 1788 “Ten-Footer” Boot Shop & Old First Cemetery 1735
2026-05-31 13:00 - 15:00 | Upton Town Hall Parking Lot, Main Street 1, Upton, Massachusetts, 01568, United States
The Upton Historical Society invites the public to step back in time with a special narrated bus tour to one of Upton’s earliest surviving workshop buildings — the 1788 Seth Wood Boot Shop and the Old First Cemetery founded in 1735. Interpreters will be on site to tell these stories.
The tour will take place on Sunday, May 31, with buses departing from the Upton Town Hall parking lot at 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM. Each tour will include a short, narrated ride and a visit to the historic building, where participants will learn about Upton’s important role in New England’s early boot-making industry.
The Seth Wood Boot Shop, built in 1788, is a small independent workshop where artisans crafted boots in a structure known as a “Ten Footer.” Measuring roughly 10 feet by 10 feet, these buildings were a defining feature of early New England’s cottage industries. Craftsmen worked close to home, producing goods for larger merchants long before the rise of industrial factories and providing boots to the deep south during the American Reformation following the American Civil War.
During the 19th century, Upton was a major contributor to the regional boot and shoe trade, producing a significant portion of the footwear used throughout New England.
The building later took on a second life in 1938, when it was converted into a blacksmith shop by Clarence Forsberg. The Forsberg family eventually donated the historic structure to the Upton Historical Society, helping preserve this unique piece of the town’s industrial heritage.
Today, the restored shop offers a rare glimpse into the early working life of Upton’s craftsmen and the small structures that supported a thriving local economy.
Tickets for the bus tour are $5 per person. Because seating is limited, reservations are recommended. To reserve a seat, email uptonmahistoricalsociety@gmail.com or call (508) 529-6600.
The Upton Historical Society encourages residents and visitors alike to join this short journey into the town’s past and discover how a small ten-foot building helped shape a local industry.

Native Communities & The American Revolution
2026-05-31 16:00 - 17:30 | Fairbank Community Center, Fairbank Road 40, Sudbury, MA, 01776, United States
NATIVE COMMUNITIES & THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
With Truman State University Emeritus Professor of History Daniel Mandell
Before the Revolutionary War, New England’s Native communities were active in imperial politics, sending delegates to seek the Crown’s protection against increasingly intrusive and corrupt colonial officials. But when war with England erupted, many of the men went to serve in the local militia and Continental army, or on naval privateers, alongside white and black comrades. As a result, after the war, Native communities embraced democratic rhetoric to defend their lands, autonomy, and religious liberties. Revolution was a process that continued through the early 1800s, and the region’s Indigenous population was a part of that process, even as they remained a people apart.
Join us for a presentation followed by Q&A.

Special Exhibit: Mary Baker Eddy and Her Revolutionary Legacy
2026-06-01, 2026-06-02, 2026-06-03, 2026-06-04 | How Do You See the World? experience, Massachusetts Avenue 210, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States
Learn about the revolutionary ideas and historical legacy of Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910) — one of the only women to found a worldwide religion — in a temporary exhibit this spring and summer at the Christian Science Plaza celebrating MA250: Mary Baker Eddy and Her Revolutionary Legacy.
This free exhibit is part of the interactive How Do You See the World?® experience, exploring the world through a lens of hope, progress, and generosity. Walk through the three-story, stained glass Mapparium® globe (ticketed) that shows the world as it was in 1935 — from the inside of the world, looking out. You can then explore “Our World: Mapping Progress,” an exhibit featuring stories from The Christian Science Monitor, the Pulitzer Prize-winning international news source headquartered in the building. Learn more about Eddy’s remarkable life and the global church she founded in “Christian Science and Mary Baker Eddy.”
This special exhibit will be open through spring and summer 2026 as part of the statewide MA250 celebrations. Tickets for the Mapparium® globe are free for youth under 18, $6 for adults. All other exhibits, including this special exhibit, are free.
Hours of operation:
Monday: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Tuesday: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Wednesday: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Thursday: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Friday: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
The How Do You See the World?® experience is located at 210 Massachusetts Ave. in the heart of Boston’s Back Bay.
For additional information and to buy tickets to the Mapparium® globe, please visit christianscience.com/howdoyouseetheworld

America 250! Patriot Pride Forbes Library Display
2026-06-01 - 2026-06-13 | Forbes Library, West Street 20, Northampton, MA, 01060, United States
Betty Allen Chapter DAR and Forbes Library Celebrate America 250! with Special Historical Display
The Betty Allen Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is proud collaborates with Forbes Library to present a special America 250! display highlighting Northampton’s rich Revolutionary-era history and the local patriots who helped shape the nation.
From June 1 through June 13, 2026, visitors are invited to stop by Forbes Library to explore historical documents and informational displays showcasing Northampton’s contributions to what George Washington famously called “the cause of liberty.” The exhibit also features information about Revolutionary War Patriots buried in Northampton’s historic Bridge Street Cemetery.
In addition to the historical displays, visitors can:
• Browse and borrow books specially selected by Forbes Library librarians.
• Participate in a library-wide history scavenger hunt.
• Share reflections and appreciation in a community gratitude box.
• View two award-winning essays written by students from John F. Kennedy Middle School.
• Learn more about Northampton’s role in America’s founding and its enduring legacy.
The celebration will culminate on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.-noon, when community members gather at Bridge Street Cemetery to honor approximately 175 Revolutionary War Patriots buried there. The ceremony will commemorate their service and sacrifice and recognize Northampton’s important place in the story of American independence.
The public is warmly invited to attend both the exhibit and the commemorative ceremony as part of the nationwide America 250! observance.

1776: Declaring Independence
2026-06-01 09:30 - 16:00, 2026-06-02 09:30 - 16:00, 2026-06-03 09:30 - 16:00, 2026-06-04 09:30 - 16:00 | Massachusetts Historical Society, Boylston Street 1154, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States
Featuring manuscripts, artifacts, and rarely seen treasures, this exhibition captures a monumental moment in American history.
In 1776, people grappled with ideas of liberty, loyalty, and the role of government in society. Private letters, intimate diaries, and newspaper accounts reveal how the Declaration of Independence grew from draft to founding document. 1776: Declaring Independence spotlights handwritten copies of the Declaration by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson as well as multiple early printings, including a rare Dunlap broadside. On and off the page, we explore how it echoed across the commonwealth and around the world, reshaping the colonists’ chances of launching a new nation. How did the Declaration change Americans’ quest for liberty, then and now? We invite visitors to trace the Declaration’s complex legacy as a national beacon for celebration and protest.
Check here for closures and more admission information: https://www.masshist.org/visit/hours-and-admission

The Road to Revolution: Massachusetts and the Independence Movement
2026-06-01 10:00 - 17:00, 2026-06-02 10:00 - 17:00, 2026-06-03 10:00 - 17:00, 2026-06-04 10:00 - 17:00 | Old State House, 206 Washington St, Boston, MA, 02109, United States
Explore major Massachusetts events in the first year of the American Revolution at the Old State House, where protest turned into action and the momentum for independence accelerated. Created through a partnership between Revolutionary Spaces and the Massachusetts Historical Society, The Road to Revolution: Massachusetts and the Independence Movement invites visitors to step into 1775 and 1776—a moment defined by uncertainty, debate, and decisions that would reshape the world.

Drafting Independence: Declaration to Constitution
2026-06-01 18:00 - 19:00 | Massachusetts Historical Society, Boylston Street 1154, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States
This is a hybrid event. FREE for MHS Members. $10 per person fee (in person). No charge for virtual attendees or Card to Culture participants (EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare). The in-person reception starts at 5:00 and the program will begin 6:00 PM.
Please visit here to register: https://www.masshist.org/events/drafting-independence
America’s founding documents have echoed throughout global history and culture for more than two centuries. Why did revolutionaries like John Adams and his peers draw on the past as they drafted the Declaration and crafted the Constitution? What ideas shaped the United States’ working definition of liberty, and how did that translate to audiences abroad? Join us to explore how “we the people” imagined a new political vocabulary to interpret the American experiment, which we continue today.

The Aspirations of Ordinary People - Stories of the American Revolution from a local perspective
2026-06-02 08:00 - 14:00, 2026-06-03 08:00 - 14:00, 2026-06-04 08:00 - 14:00 | North Andover Historical Society, 800 Massachusetts Ave., North Andover, 01845, United States
The Andover revolutionaries understood that creating a truly free society would take many generations. Their records and artifacts, preserved at the North Andover Historical Society, are here to remind us that history matters. They depict stories of battles won, hardships endured, hometown and battleground heroes, and the start of a long fight for liberty, equality and justice. Their ideals and aspirations are the standards by which we measure our progress today.
Come discover the amazing stories brought to life at the North Andover Historical Society (NAHS) through REV250, a series of programs and exhibits dedicated to the American Revolution.
The exhibit will be open every week, Tuesday through Saturday, from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm Please check the website for more information.

From Enlightenment Ideas to the Age of Revolutions
2026-06-02 08:00 - 18:00 | French Library, Marlborough Street 53, Boston, Massachusetts, 02116, United States
Join us for a thought-provoking conversation marking the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, as renowned historian of the French Enlightenment and Harvard Emeritus Professor Robert Darnton explores how ideas circulating in eighteenth-century France helped shape political imagination on both sides of the Atlantic.
In dialogue with scholar Flora Amann, Darnton will draw on his groundbreaking work—including The Writer’s Lot and The Revolutionary Temper—to examine how writers, readers, and the circulation of ideas helped transform public opinion and lay the foundations for political change.
From underground literature in eighteenth-century Paris to transatlantic networks of exchange, this conversation offers a fresh perspective on the origins of modern democracy.
Our author’s talk will be followed by a Q&A session, with book signing and a reception.
About Robert Darnton
Robert Darnton is Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor and University Librarian, Emeritus, at Harvard University. A leading historian of eighteenth-century France, he is the author of many acclaimed and widely translated works, including The Writer’s Lot, The Revolutionary Temper, and The Great Cat Massacre, which have received honors such as the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.
A scholar of global stature, he is a Chevalier in the Légion d’honneur and winner of the National Humanities Medal. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
About the moderator
Flora Amann holds a PhD in French from La Sorbonne and the Université de Montréal. A specialist in Enlightenment literature and media history, she has taught at La Sorbonne, the Université de Montréal, and the University of British Columbia. She has also worked at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, where she curated cultural programs and exhibitions.

Handwriting the Constitution and Declaration of Independence
2026-06-02 10:00 - 11:30 | Boston Public Library: Copley Square Branch, Boylston Street 700, Boston, Massachusetts, 02116, United States
In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, visitors are invited to handwrite the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution in the Courtyard of the Central Library, in Copley Square. This program aims to create time and a quiet space to reflect and deepen one’s understanding of these historic documents. All supplies will be provided. Participants will first stop by the supply table to pick up writing supplies and copies of the Constitution and/or Declaration of Independence. Reproductions of John Adams’s personal copy of the Constitution held by Special Collections will also be available to transcribe. This program is self-paced. Patrons are invited to stay for the whole session or simply stay as long as they would like.

Patriots of Color Exhibition
2026-06-02 10:00 - 18:00, 2026-06-03 10:00 - 18:00, 2026-06-04 10:00 - 18:00 | Family Heritage Experience, Newbury Street 97, Boston, Massachusetts, 02116, United States
Patriots of Color, a new exhibit in the Family Heritage Experience at American Ancestors, sheds light on the overlooked histories of Black, Native, and multiracial men and women who fought, labored, and led in the struggle for American independence across all thirteen colonies. Through documents, personal narratives, and digital interactives, the exhibition uncovers the courage and resilience of those whose contributions helped shape a new nation, even as they continued to confront inequality and enslavement.
Bridging past and present, Patriots of Color highlights the voices of descendants who are reclaiming these stories today—connecting revolutionary ideals of freedom and justice to the ongoing pursuit of equality in America.
Entrance to the exhibit is included in admission to the Family Heritage Experience and can be purchased either in person or online.

From Enlightenment to Independence: How French Ideas Shaped the American Revolution
2026-06-02 18:00 - 19:30 | French Library Alliance Francaise, Marlborough Street 53, Boston, Massachusetts, 02116, United States
Join us for a thought-provoking conversation marking the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, as leading scholar of the Enlightenment and Harvard Emeritus Professor of History Robert Darnton explores the intellectual and cultural forces that shaped the path from Enlightenment thought to American independence.
In dialogue with scholar Flora Amann, Darnton will draw on his groundbreaking work—including The Writer’s Lot and The Revolutionary Temper—to examine how writers, readers, and the circulation of ideas helped transform public opinion and lay the foundations for political change on both sides of the Atlantic.
From underground literature in eighteenth-century Paris to transatlantic networks of exchange, this conversation offers a fresh perspective on the origins of modern democracy.
Our author’s talk will be followed by a Q&A session, with book signing and a reception.
About Robert Darnton
Robert Darnton is Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor and University Librarian, Emeritus, at Harvard University. A leading historian of eighteenth-century France, he is the author of many acclaimed and widely translated works, including The Writer’s Lot, The Revolutionary Temper, and The Great Cat Massacre, which have received honors such as the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.
A scholar of global stature, he is a Chevalier in the Légion d’honneur and winner of the National Humanities Medal. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
About the moderator
Flora Amann holds a PhD in French from La Sorbonne and the Université de Montréal. A specialist in Enlightenment literature and media history, she has taught at La Sorbonne, the Université de Montréal, and the University of British Columbia. She has also worked at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, where she curated cultural programs and exhibitions.

Lost Liberties - Broken Promises
2026-06-04 10:00 - 2026-11-19 16:00 | Golden Ball Tavern Museum, Boston Post Road 662, Weston, Massachusetts, 02493, United States
” Lost Liberties – Broken Promises” a yearlong exhibit focusing on the enslaved, indigenous, displaced Loyalists, and veterans of Weston who were on the wrong side of history.
