2010 Programs

Sunday February 28 Pot Luck Supper 5:00 PM GRANGE ROOM TOWN HALL Bill Klauer: Blanchard Family: the Rest of the Story.We're all familiar with Luther and Calvin's valiant deeds at Concord Bridge and Shirley Warren and George Krusen tracked the Blanchard family from England in the early 1600's up to Luther and Calvin Blanchard for a Society monograph in 1977. Bill Klauer of the Acton Historical Society is an expert on "the rest of the story." He told us about Calvin Blanchard and his nine children who lived in Boxborough, Acton, and Littleton and their descendants including Arthur Blanchard who donated the elementary school to the Town of Boxborough in the 1940's.

Sunday April 25 7:00 PM MORSE & HILBERG ROOMS TOWN HALL Kay Johnson: The History of the Assabet River. Today the Assabet River is known for its scenery but at one time it was a vital part of the industrial and everyday life of this area. Kay Johnson, the historian for the Hudson Historical Society, told us about "The Interesting History of the Assabet River." She is a great resource on this topic and has much to share.

Sunday May 23 1:00 PM VISIT TO THE MIDDLESEX CANAL MUSEUM North Billerica. Before there were the railroads there was the Middlesex Canal running from Lowell to Charlestown, Massachusetts. The Middlesex Canal was one of the earliest in the United States and a major part of the economic history of this area from 1804 to 1851. We gathered at the Boxborough Town Hall at 1:00 pm for carpooling to North Billerica.

Saturday October 30 2:00 to 4:00 PM BOXBOROUGH MUSEUM OPEN HOUSE We gathered for cake, cider and donuts to celebrate the Fifth Anniversary of the Museum. THE BRIEF ANNUAL MEETING AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS OF THE SOCIETY TOOK PLACE AT 2:30.

Sunday November 21, 2010 7:00 PM MORSE & HILBERG ROOMS TOWN HALL Dennis Ahern "The Other April 19th: Baltimore 1861". Every year, on April 19th, we remember the Acton and Boxborough minutemen who went to the bridge in Concord in 1775. Less well known is the story of Acton and Boxborough men who responded to Lincoln's request for volunteer militia. They fought their way through a Rebel mob in Baltimore in an encounter that produced the first Union casualties from hostile fire in the Civil War. Dennis Ahern of Acton is a recognized expert in the local contribution to the Civil War and one of the principal architects of the Civil War Exhibit at the Acton Memorial Library.