The boys set out on an August day to swim at Houghton’s Pond. It was a bucolic summer day; a light breeze pushed big puffy clouds through the sky. Tossing their hats, jostling each other and generally roughhousing, they tumbled through the fields like lion cubs out on the savannah. For most youngsters, summertime in […]
You have driven by the small cemetery in Ponkapoag countless times. The weed-choked berm leaves no place to even pull over to take a quick walk through. It sits on a hill sandwiched between two modern subdivisions, and yet it is one of our oldest historic sites and one that tells a story of […]
When a real estate sign goes up in front of an old historic estate house, local historians shudder at the thought of a developer buying the property simply to tear the house down to build new multi-family units or condominiums. It has happened many times in Canton, and each time there is a quiet outcry; […]
There were more than 124 passengers on board the Washington Irving when she set sail from Liverpool, England, in the summer of 1850. The passengers all had mostly one thing in common: They were the Irish that could escape the famine that raged through their native land.
The following is an excerpt from “End of the Line,” the latest installment of True Tales from Canton’s Past by local historian George T. Comeau. Henry Crane Jr. was the first Crane to live in what is now Canton. He received his property on what is now Green Street in the best way possible — […]
The following is an excerpt from “Massacre at Cobleskill,” the latest installment of True Tales from Canton’s Past by local historian George T. Comeau. The story details the military service and sacrifice of former Cantonite William Patrick. … Little is known of Patrick’s early Army career. We do know that he was once captured by […]
The following is an excerpt from “I Am Guilty,” the second in a two-part story about Jack Battus, one of Canton’s most notorious murderers. Battus sensed the worse and picked up a rough stone, weighing about 15 pounds
The following is an excerpt from Worlds Collide, the latest installment of True Tales from Canton’s Past by local historian George T. Comeau. The story is part one in a series about Jack Battus, one of Canton’s most notorious murderers. … As a boy, Battus lived a typical life under the roof of the Blackman […]
Under the light of a dim moon, on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, the brigadier general known as “Old Rough and Ready” hastily wrote a letter to his son-in-law. The days had been filled with battle, and victory was in the hands of Zachary Taylor. He wrote, “So brilliant an achievement could not […]
The following is an excerpt from “Bolsterisms,” the latest installment of True Tales from Canton’s Past by local historian George T. Comeau. There is a certain charm and nostalgia to folklore. Many of the stories that we choose to pass down to successive generations are built from the collective memories of the people who share […]
