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Dam Breaks, Causing Catastrophic Flood
Dam Breaks, Causing Catastrophic Flood
On this day in 1874, on the Mill River in western Massachusetts, an earthenwork dam gave way. A wall of water between 20- and 40-feet high and 300-feet wide rushed downstream. The flood destroyed almost...
Mayor Curley Jeopardizes Election
Mayor Curley Jeopardizes Election
On this day in 1929, James Michael Curley, heavily favored to win his third term as mayor of Boston, used a radio appearance to defame a school committee member who had spoken out against him....
"Mill Girl" Writer Lucy Larcom Dies
"Mill Girl" Writer Lucy Larcom Dies
On this day in 1893, Lucy Larcom died. A popular poet during her lifetime, she would be forgotten today except for a work of prose that she wrote in 1889. Her autobiography, A New England...
Massachusetts Soldiers Threaten Mutiny
Massachusetts Soldiers Threaten Mutiny
On this day in 1759, a regiment of Massachusetts men serving in the French and Indian War began to talk of mutiny against their British commander. The colonel had decided not to release the volunteers...
Boston's Poor Riot Over Cost of Bread
Boston's Poor Riot Over Cost of Bread
On this day in 1713, more than 200 people rioted on Boston Common over the high price of bread. The lieutenant governor tried to intervene but was shot and wounded for his efforts. This was...
Telephone Operators Strike
Telephone Operators Strike
On this day in 1919, striking telephone operators in Massachusetts won the right to negotiate with the New England Telephone Company. The young, single women who had flooded into the industry in the early 1900s...
Rockport Women Smash Liquor Barrels
Rockport Women Smash Liquor Barrels
On this day in 1856, 200 women, some of them wielding hatchets and ranging in age from 37 to 75, rampaged through the town of Rockport destroying every container of alcohol they could find. One...
Springfield Armory Closes
Springfield Armory Closes
On this day in 1968, there was great sadness in Springfield as the city's historic armory closed its doors after nearly two centuries as the leading producer of small arms for the American military. First...
The "Big E" Incorporated
The "Big E" Incorporated
On this day in 1914, a group of western Massachusetts businessmen created a new organization, the Eastern States Agricultural and Industrial Exposition. Its purpose was to promote New England agriculture, which was in serious decline,...
Central Artery Project Announced
Central Artery Project Announced
On this day in 1954, The Boston Globe announced the opening of the first elevated expressway in the United States. Hailed as an engineering marvel and a model of urban planning, the Central Artery incorporated...