NC Wyeth, Needham’s most famous son, founded an American artistic dynasty. He painted over 3000 pictures and illustrated 112 books, and launched the artistic careers of three of his children,...
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Good Times (and Bad) at the Baker Estate
William Emerson Baker’s Ridge Hill Farms is widely described as the first amusement park. It was much more than that – a working farm, a science museum, a botanical...
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VIKINGS on the CHARLES, or, The Strange Saga of Norumbega, Dighton Rock, and Rumford Double-Acting Baking Powder
At the far western end of Boston’s Commonwealth Avenue promenade, Leif Eriksson stands, shading his eyes with his hand, surveying the Charlesgate flyover. He used to have a better view....
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The Thumbnail History of Needham
Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, the area of Needham lay within the territory of the Massachusett, an Algonkian-speaking tribe related to the Wampanoag and Nipmuc. Artifacts excavated near...
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The Secret History of the Needham-Wellesley Game
Needham High School football team for 1904 poses on the steps of the High School (now the Emery Grover Building). Manager Nat Wyeth (NC’s younger brother) is in the top...
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Without which we canNot be hapy: the Dedham Farmers’ Petition
The opening of the Dedham Farmers Petition, seeking the separation of the Dedham North Parish from Dedham, to be an independent town. In Council In the Affaire of the Inhabitants...
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The Needham Trust Company Robbery
Policing was one of the earliest functions of the town’s government. Along with the Moderator, Selectmen, Town Clerk, and Treasurer, the annual election of the Constable was a feature of...
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Why Pansies?
For a flower, I like the name pansy, or pensée, best of any. (Henry David Thoreau, Journal, 27 January 1841) How did Pansies get to be the symbol of Needham? Although...
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