Editor’s note: The following is the second in a two-part series on WWI hero Helen Homans. Click here to read part one. On her coffin is engraved “MORTE POUR LA FRANCE.” Her medical colleagues had fought to keep her alive, and she herself had struggled valiantly. In the end, it was said, “She had given [...]
In a town where modern history extends back over 300 years, there are plenty examples of colonial architecture. But perhaps the most famous colonial revival building in Canton is largely hidden and destroyed by progress. To see this building as it exists today, travel down Turnpike Street almost to the foot of the Great Blue [...]
Editor’s note: The following is the first in a two-part series on WWI hero Helen Homans. Click here to read part two. On July 4, 1926, a small parade formed at the corner of Neponset and Washington streets. The men of the Edward J. Beatty Post gathered to march to Canton High School in order to [...]
They came in droves to hear their neighbor speak. Packed into the parish hall that February night, young and old sat shoulder to shoulder as Henry Helm Clayton walked to the front of the room. Wearing simple gold-rimmed glasses and a winning smile, Clayton began describing “How It Feels to Fly.” Clayton spoke softly: “We [...]
On March 3, 1913, the annual town meeting voted down an article that would have authorized the Board of Health to appoint an inspector of milk. Fifty-five days later, the Canton milk epidemic struck. One hundred years ago the town of Canton looked very different than it does today. There was certainly a sense of [...]
Over 900 men and women came to Canton two weeks ago to see a rare display of one of our country’s greatest handmade treasures. This particular piece of handcraft has been a part of Canton’s history for over 225 years. Martha Crafts was very particular, and most especially in her needlework. The second child of [...]
As Captain Harold Winslow sat at his kitchen table, his boyhood home of Canton seemed so far away. It had been more than 25 years since he had been in his parent’s home on High Street.
Harold Winslow cut the very figure of the dashing sea captain that he was. At 45 his shock of black hair swept up from his prominent forehead, and his eyes still had the twinkle of wistfulness for the Atlantic Ocean. Winslow thought back on his career and smiled softly to himself, yet his body winced [...]
When it was built, it was the largest public structure in Canton. A grand memorial to the men of the Civil War, we named it Memorial Hall. All across America the soldiers who fought in the War Between the States were beginning to pass away, and for the great masses of men who fought, there [...]
Anyone who lives in an old house can tell you that there are stories in every corner of that home. We are simply caretakers of old homes — owning them within a long line of homeowners both in the past and the future. For a family that really never had their own home, the Harrisons [...]
