The city of Boston, with its rich history, is home to a plethora of
organizations with a historical purpose. Yet the majority of citizens are
unaware of most of them and what they do. In this article I will profile three
unique groups linked by an educational mission that are worth knowing about. One
of these organizations focuses on students and tourism, another works to educate
individuals working with museums, historical societies, and historic houses,
while the third intends to awaken tourists to Boston's exciting history.
Historic Bostons' Partnership
The Historic
Bostons' Partnership was established in 1999 to "recognize and celebrate the
unique and important historical connections that exist between Boston in
Lincolnshire, England and Boston in Massachusetts." One of the founders of the
group, Professor Will Holton of Northeastern University, presented a "plan for
the foundation of a vital, people-to-people relationship celebrating and
expanding the rich historical links" between the two Bostons at the
organization's first meeting. The Partnership seeks to make the public aware of
that centuries-old history, including the link between the Boston Latin School
in Boston, Massachusetts (1635) and the Grammar School in Boston, Lincolnshire
(1567).
Indeed, many of the original settlers of Boston, Massachusetts
came from the Lincolnshire area during the Great Migration, including Simon
Bradstreet, John Cotton, and John Winthrop. But did you know that the Boston Latin School is the oldest school
in the country, founded on April 23, 1635? The first headmaster of the Boston
Latin School once taught at the Grammar School in Boston, Lincolnshire,
cementing the bond between the two schools.
The Partnership maintains
this connection through educational programs via the Internet and curriculum
materials. A student exchange program between the two schools is also planned.
Since the two towns have a historical link, it is hoped that a tourism package
will encourage travelers in both directions. Both Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston,
MA and the Boston (U.K.) Borough Council support the project.
Many outstanding Bostonians attended the Latin School including Leonard
Bernstein, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Benjamin Franklin. Franklin left an
endowment to present the top seven graduating seniors with a medal, named after
him. Today, almost 100 percent of the graduating class goes on to college. One
of the stops on President George Bush's education reform tour on January 8, 2002
was the Boston Latin School.
For more information contact:
Will Holton
Massachusetts Chairman
41 Oriole St.
Boston, MA
02132
email
Judy Cammack
Lincolnshire Chairman
127 Spilsby Road
Boston,
Lincolnshire PE 21 9QN
Boston History Collaborative
Boston's role in the American
Revolution is an important part of the curriculum of any American history
teacher, but how many history textbooks include Boston's literary heritage or
technological innovations? Executive Director Dr. Robert Krim founded the Boston
History Collaborative in 1997. Krim formed a non-profit alliance of historians
from area universities; representatives from area museums, historic sites, and
libraries; members of the Greater Boston tourism industry; city, state, and
federal officials; and the business community to explore Boston's "hidden"
history. The goal of Collaborative is to position Greater Boston as one of the
world's primary destinations for historical tourism by offering visitors and
residents educational and entertaining programs over a ten-year period. To that
end, they have ambitiously launched a series of projects to meet the goal of
presenting Boston as a different type of tourist destination.
Recently, the Collaborative held a History Makers Award Dinner to honor those
Boston corporations who have made history through their innovations. This year's
recipients were the Gillette Company for the disposable razor; Genuity, Inc. for
Bolt, Beranek, and Newman's development of the Internet; Genzyme, a
biotechnology firm; and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for
laboratory-based education. The Boston Red Sox baseball organization won a
Centenary Award.
Boston History Collaborative Projects
Literary Trail of Greater
Boston is a self-guided twenty-mile tour that showcases some of the
country's literary greats such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Alcotts. Start at
the Omni Parker House Hotel and visit Beacon Hill, Boston Athenaeum, Boston
Public Library's Bates Hall, Longfellow House, Concord Museum, Orchard House,
and Walden Pond. If you want to learn more about Boston's place in literary
history consult Susan Wilson's guidebook The Literary Trail of Greater
Boston, in collaboration with the Boston History Collaborative (Houghton
Mifflin, 2000).
Boston by Sea consists
of several projects focusing on Boston's maritime heritage. These include three
types of Boston Harbor tours--a guided walking tour, a self-guided tour, and a
boat tour that was launched in May 2000. The boat tour includes live theater,
music, video, and slides in a performance that stages re-creations of events of
courage, adventure, and discovery. Visitors can view the USS Constitution,
Boston Light, Fort Warren, the site of the Tea Party, and the Golden Stairs of
Immigration while hearing the stories of historical Boston events. The guided
walking tour is free and goes along the Long Wharf led by actors dressed in the
style of nineteenth-century Boston. The guides show where the British landed in
Boston in their attempt to put down the Revolution, explain the important role
the Wharf played in the cod trade, and tell the story behind Boston's opposition
to slavery and slave catchers. All of these stories are told right where the
events occurred. The self-guided walking tour allows visitors to explore
Boston's maritime history at their own pace with a map and informational
brochure.
Boston Family
History is a website helping Bostonians and those who migrated through
Boston find their family roots. Boston Family History also features a series of
virtual trails linked to local ethnic associations and neighborhood historical
societies, that touch on Boston's historic places and monuments.. While Boston
is popularly associated with the Irish, this site illustrates the diverse
populations that have settled in the city. Follow a timeline, contact
genealogical societies in the Boston area, or leave a message on the site's
forum. It's up to you.
The Innovation
Odyssey spotlights the people and places behind Boston's great inventions.
This tour of Boston and Cambridge highlights Boston's unique contributions to
the worlds of technology, finance, and medicine. Did you know that the invention
of the telephone and Internet, the birth of modern surgery and DNA decoding, the
creation of the mutual fund, and the formation of the nation's first commercial
bank all occurred in Boston? Special group tours can be arranged through the
Collaborative. Contact the Boston History Collaborative, 179 South St., Boston,
MA 02111, 617-350-0358 for information on rates and group tours.
The Bay State Historical League
The oldest of the three organizations profiled is the Bay State Historical League,
founded in 1903. According to their website, it is a "non-profit association of
individuals and organizations such as history museums, historical societies and
commissions, historic houses and sites" that promotes "the enjoyment of history
through its preservation, interpretation and presentation." So how do they do
that? Well, the 1949 Massachusetts law that requires state and local history be
taught in the schools is just one of the League's successes. They also work
closely with the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the Massachusetts Board of
Library Commissioners, and the Massachusetts Historical Resources Advisory
Board. This means that the League is part of the community of professionals
working with Massachusetts history both as an institution and on the behalf of
its members.
Membership is open to both individuals and organizations,
with rates for the latter pro-rated depending on operating budget. Benefits
include Common Wealth, a quarterly newsletter with articles on public
history. Membership also includes borrowing privileges to their circulating
library. A list of materials for loan appears on their website. Members also
qualify for discounts on fees for League workshops and seminars.
A
League membership is a must for staff members of historical organizations. They
offer a wide variety of workshops and programs on the types of problems
encountered by these organizations, from caring for historical photographs to
grant writing. Their membership list is a network of individuals facing similar
issues in non-profit management. An unusual benefit of membership is the lending
of measuring devices that indicate relative temperature and humidity levels in
order to determine whether an institution's facilities meet preservation
standards. Workshops are regularly held for members on a variety of subjects;
recent ones have ranged from preservation standards to tips on being an
effective tour guide.
The League recently published two books: Painting Historic Exteriors:
Colors, Application, and Regulation (with the Massachusetts Historical
Commission) and Cynthia Robinson and Gretchen S. Sorin's Going Public;
Community Program and Project Ideas for Historical Organizations. This is in
addition to working on editions of the Directory of Historical Agencies in
Massachusetts, a Speakers Bureau (with the Center for New England Studies)
and Massachusetts by Judith Freeman Clark.
Who wouldn't want to be part of this vital organization? It's easy to join,
so why not consider it today. Contact the Bay State Historical League, 185 Lyman
St., Waltham, MA 02452, 781-899-3920 for more information.