02-05-2025
Mass. 250th events will spotlight WMass contributions
When Massachusetts joins the nation in celebrating this country's 250th anniversary, the state's four western counties won't be left out.
The commemoration will include details on how Western Massachusetts helped drive American history.
The Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism has launched Massachusetts 250, which runs through July 206. The commonwealth and country will mark the nation's semiquincentennial, marking 250 years since the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence.
While the focus has long been on historic events in Philadelphia and Boston, Massachusetts 250 is calling out watershed times in Western Massachusetts that helped shape America.
'The bicentennial [50 years ago] focused on Boston, Lexington and Concord. We're using the semiquincentennial to make sure this is a statewide campaign, that it engages with residents and visitors across Massachusetts,' MOTT executive director Kate Fox said in an interview with The Republican.
'The more people dig, the more everybody finds a historical link to the revolution,' she said.
The Healey-Driscoll administration is granting $2.5 million to communities, museums and nonprofit organizations to tell stories of how their cities and towns contributed to American independence.
Here are examples:
— The Springfield Preservation Trust received $5,000 for a program called 'Voices from the Grave, Heroes of the American Revolution Cemetery Tour' Sunday, May 18, at Springfield Cemetery.
Seven historical residents will be featured on the tour, including John Bryant III (1742-1816), first Armory Superintendent, who lost his arm in battle; Hannah Mason Bryant (1756-1829), who sewed flannel cartridges for the Continental army; Nathaniel Brewer (1711-1809), Deacon of First Church for 53 years, and a joiner by trade; and Susan Freedom (1784-1803), a Black indentured servant whose name poignantly symbolizes the struggle for freedom and identity among African Americans in the post-Revolutionary War era.
Hosted by the Springfield Preservation Trust and developed by historian Derek Strahan and SPT Secretary Michael Stevens, the tour is an hour long and led by docents who take visitors on a tour to graves of interesting cemetery residents, where costumed interpreters speak about each person. Tours will depart every fifteen minutes starting at 1 p.m. at Springfield Cemetery, 171 Maple St. Tickets are $20 for Springfield Preservation Trust members, and $25 for nonmembers.
— 1Berkshire in Pittsfield received $7,500 for the Berkshire 250 website.
— The Porter Phelps Huntington Museum in Hadley received $17,500 for a presentation titled 'Hadley and the American Revolution — Stories of Independence and Servitude."
MOTT is using to promote a wide variety of events to be held across the state.
'The revolution was eight years long. This is really the beginning of the revolution. There's an opportunity for people to continue the commemorations, but for Massachusetts 250, we're [celebrating in] 2025 and the first half of 2026,' said Fox.
The MOTT director said Americans are mostly familiar with names like Adams, Washington, Hancock and Franklin. But those on the second tier of historic stardom helped write history.
For instance, Fox called attention to ordinary people living across Western Massachusetts who aided General Henry Knox and his troops in January 1776 as they delivered armaments to the Continental Army battling to oust British troops from Boston.
'Henry Knox moved the artillery from Fort Ticonderoga over the Hudson River into Massachusetts and had stops in Otis, Westfield, Springfield, Wilbraham and Brookfield before continuing on to Boston. It was the middle of winter and nobody thought he was going to pull this off, but he did,' said Fox.
Knox and his troops used people and resources in Western Massachusetts to fortify troops and relaunch their mission to Dorchester, where the fighting power they delivered proved to be decisive.
'That's what led to Evacuation Day and the departure of the British from the Port of Boston and essentially the end of the revolution in Massachusetts,' Fox said.
While it happened in 1786 and had no impact on the Revolutionary War, Shays' Rebellion was sparked in and spread throughout Western Massachusetts. The armed uprising showed the need for a strong, national government.
'It was the armed uprising of indebted farmers in Western Massachusetts. They were protesting high state taxes and foreclosures, and the rebellion exposed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and fueled the movement for a stronger national government,' said Fox.
The Articles of Confederation document was the first blueprint colonists used to set up their government.
Adopted in 1777 and ratified in 1781, it established a loose confederation of autonomous states, focused largely on maintaining independence from and limiting the power of a central government.
Massachusetts 250 is also showcasing untold stories, according to Fox. Some will seek to set the record straight.
She said that while Paul Revere is credited in the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem with announcing 'the British are coming' during his midnight ride, there were two other riders that night.
'The poem was not actually correct, even though that's what everybody thinks was true. It's shedding a light on the stories and the anniversaries in a way that we can retell them and correct anything that's been inaccurate over time,' she said.
Fox said writing and correcting history is a work in progress, made more accurate over time through deeper research and advancing technology. 'As we learn and have more technology at our fingertips, new light is shined on history every day,' she said.
While President Trump has been freezing federal funds already allocated to nonprofits, Fox said those actions are not affecting MOTT. She did say fallout from Trump's cuts and tariffs are causing people around the world to rethink visits to America.
'We're certainly seeing impacts on travel plans and international flights coming in, especially from Canada,' she said. 'I expect where we see a dip in international travel, we will see an increase in domestic. We're a nimble industry. We're able to react and support our partners and adjust our messaging so we can continue to promote Massachusetts as a great destination.' Fox said one of MOTT's missions is to increase revenue from tourism, bringing people to the commonwealth to spend money on hotels, restaurants, tourist destinations and shopping.
The agency will file a report on the costs and benefits of Massachusetts 250 when the celebration is over.
'There's increased interest in traveling to the original colonies and learning that history,' she said. 'We're hoping to take advantage of that.'
Read the original article on MassLive.
Read the original article on MassLive.
