Topic: History

Tom Christiano 24 April at 07:04 Reply
Please Join us on Saturday, May 1st, 6PM -8:30PM at the Barrett Byam House for our annual Guardian Award Dinner.

This year's Guardian Award goes to the Chelmsford Open Space Stewards as an exemplar of the town motto of "Let the children guard what the sires have won." The members of the stewardship have worked tirelessly to maintain and improve the trail systems within the open space land in Chelmsford for the enjoyment of all its citizens.

Tickets to the event/dinner may be reserved for $22.00/each.

Please make your check payable to Chelmsford Historical Society. Mail to: Louise Alden at 6 Dornoch Circle, Chelmsford, Mass 01824.

Or by calling Carol Merriam (978)251-8396 or Donna Parlee (978)256-2859.

A roasted turkey dinner will be served. Please feel free to bring you favorite bottle of wine. Please RESERVE SOON, as the space is limited.

Last week we had a chance to help the Chelmsford Garden Club mulch the gardens at the Garrison House. Without the support of CGC we would not be able to to do any of our programs.

Click here for photos

"Chelmsford -The Country Lane Garden Club of Chelmsford will be hosting the dedication of the garden at the Adams Library on Saturday, May 31, at 1 p.m.
The club began the creation of the garden in 2005 as a gift for the residents of Chelmsford. The intent of the project was to create a space, which would showcase historical plants, provide education, and demonstrate drought tolerant organic methods of gardening.
This historic theme garden was designed to reflect the original building, which was erected in 1894. Each of the four sections of the garden represents plants that were used for culinary, medicinal, household and ornamental purposes.
The garden has received several accolades including a 2006 award from the National Garden Clubs, Inc and a design award from the Landscape Design Council of Massachusetts.
The public is invited to join the club and their guests for the ceremony. In the event of rain, the ceremony will take place in the Library meeting room."

I was at this and it was very interesting. They do have a "map" showing the plants and what they where used for in 1894 but it was inside during the reception. They are going to send me the map and I will post it on http://WWW.TheChelmsfordian.com (if they ever get servers restored). I am not a gardener so it was cool to look at the plants and find out what they where used for. We are doing a walk in July from the library and this will now be our first stop. Great idea and I guess you could say this is real "Living History". The Club will maintain the garden from their own pockets. Love those people who stop talking about problems , roll up their selves and actually make a difference.

If from no one else you get a big THANK YOU from me for making the center nicer looking and more interesting.

Click here for Photos

I have just found "History of Chelmsford, Massachusetts By Wilson Waters, Henry Spaulding Perham" is on line and can be searched. We will be looking through this to find interesting facts about the people that the open spaces are named for.


Click here to read the book

6:30 PM SPOTLIGHT ON CHELMSFORD - Walk (and talk) Turkey - Thanksgiving Walk through Thanksgiving Forest
SPOTLIGHT ON CHELMSFORD: Tues 6:30 PM; Thurs 10:00 PM Channel 8

Shouldering history
Burdens and satisfaction found in renovating a run-down 1730 Chelmsford homestead

By Joyce Pellino Crane, Globe Correspondent | August 26, 2007

Source Boston Globe:
http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2007/08/26/shouldering_history/?page=1



Robert Morse caught the bride's bouquet and doesn't know if he got luckyThe Chelmsford electrical engineer was the top bidder in November 2005 for the historic Hildreth-Robbins house on Maple Road, and ever since has been sinking money into the real-life money pit.

He is one of those few homeowners who salivate over restoring historic antiques to modern standards -- using up his leisure time to work on a never-ending list of troubles and fixes.

"This has become a big part of my life," Morse said. "When you own a house like this you're always working on it. My conclusion, after talking to other people, is you're either working on it and restoring it or it's falling apart."

ON THIS DAY...

...in 1893, Governor William Eustis Russell signed a bill creating the Metropolitan Parks Commission, the nation's first regional park system. It was the result of planning and politicking by a group of far-sighted Bostonians concerned about rapidly disappearing open space. With its first funding, the new commission acquired over 7,000 acres in the space of 18 months. By 1900, it had protected 9,000 acres and built nine scenic parkways within 12 miles of Boston. Now managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, this system encompasses almost 20,000 acres and includes woodlands, beaches, swimming pools, skating rinks, bicycle paths, and -- perhaps its best-known site -- the Charles River Esplanade.

Listen to this moment:
http://www.massmoments.org/audio/JUNE31%2Em3u

Read more about this moment:
http://www.massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=164

Visit Mass Moments to search past moments:
http://www.massmoments.org

Now that the water level on Mill Pond at Thanksgiving Forest is low for the winter, we received a tip that bundles, of what looked like undelivered newspapers, were dumped a short distance from the canoe launch at Thanksgiving Forest.

Phil, Jim & I sprang into action - we went there this morning with the intent of cleaning up the mess, finding out what publication it was, who was supposed to deliver them and a phone number to call to give someone an earful.

Well, we did sledge hammer in the frozen mud, dug most of the bundles out and only sunk three of our six boots into the muddy pond bank. As we carried them to the bank, letting some of the bundles thaw in the morning sunlight, a clue came into focus......

You know those flyers that get hung from your mailbox in the little plastic bags? Yep, advertisements. But wait, do we see a date? Yep, February 23, 1986! Grossman's was having a great sale on lumber, insulation and doorknobs. 21 year old bundles of advertisments. So much for the phone call to chew someone out. We figure now archaeology could be added to the list of wonderful things that Stewards do.

Crooked Spring work is moving ahead at break neck speed and looks like it might all be done by Friday! Why so quick? Two words say it all “Eagle Scout”! The problem was the drain from the street was flowing down the hill and washing out the trail. Jim and I looked at putting in a water break to move it across the trail when we both noticed a large number of stones have half buried along the side of the hill. Ancient Viking stone house? We started digging in hopes of find a stash of gold but we found something better. Yes when the Scouts built the bridges in the planned around the drainage and built drainage channel down the hill. Over the years the channel filled and the water overflowed and formed a new channel that has been washing out the trails. We have dug this out and will line it will ground cloth so it will not fill in again. The washout will be filled and the trail will be restored to the way it was when completed. If anyone know who built the bridges please drop me a line and look for photos here by weeks end.