Elizabeth Abbot Smith, however, was not finished. She wanted a museum to complement the April 19 historic site, and she wished it be built in honor of her father, George Abbot Smith, her grandfather, Reverend Samuel Abbot Smith( 1829-1865) and his grandfather, Reverend Abiel Abbot ( 1765-1859) of Peterborough, New Hampshire.
The Smith Museum is named in honor of three generations of Smiths: George A. Smith, Reverend Samuel Abbot Smith, and Reverend Abiel Abbot. The funds for the museum building itself were donated by Elizabeth Abbot Smith, George A. Smith’s daughter, who inherited her father’s fortune and realized his vision for his beloved Jason Russell House.
William H. Pattee, son of Jesse P. Pattee, followed his father’s flour-dusted footsteps into the bakery business as well as embracing his passion for fraternal organizations, serving as Master of … Continue reading The Big Town of West Cambridge
Jesse Peaslee Pattee (1804-1863) was both a Master of the Hiram Lodge and it’s landlord, for Hiram Lodge met in Menotomy Hall, the second story of Mr. Pattee’s own bake … Continue reading Worshipful Master and Grand Baker, Jesse P. Pattee
Purchased in 1851, for about $300, it was the first engine built by Howard & Davis, later a Boston clock firm, and remains the pride and joy of the Arlington … Continue reading The Eureka Triumphs!
In 1906, Menotomy Hall was demolished to make room for Arlington’s grand new Town Hall, realized in 1913. The humble Menotomy Hall housed much Arlington history with its ground floor … Continue reading Menotomy Hall and The Eureka
In 1868 in newly minted Arlington, Massachusetts—the vote to change the name of the town from “West Cambridge” to “Arlington” had just occurred—the high school graduated 13 students, 7 people … Continue reading Admit the Bearer
Benjamin Locke, 1738-1791, served as Menotomy’s Minute Men Captain during the Lexington Alarm. After both Paul Revere and William Dawes rode past his house at the Foot of the Rocks, … Continue reading Benjamin Locke: Menotomy Minute Man
In the fall of 1774, Sam Adams and his boys courted Massachusetts ministers casting them as colonial spinmeisters of the Patriot Message. Black-frocked and white-wigged Massachusetts clergy roared their response … Continue reading “Characters of Blood”: Reverend Samuel Cooke
The Cookes fought well and married better. Samuel Cooke, minister of the Menotomy Church in 1775, grew up in Hadley, which had been the blood-soaked frontier during King Philip’s War. … Continue reading The Minister and the Revolution: April 19 and Reverend Samuel Cooke of Menotomy, Massachusetts