METHUEN
HISTORICAL
SOCIETY
Preserving Our Past Together
May is Preservation Month!
This Preservation Month, tell the full American story.
Learn more at the National Trust for Historic Preservation website.
ARTICLE AND PHOTO ARE FROM THE NY TIMES
‘This Is Everyone’s Culture’: Ukraine’s Architectural Treasures Face Destruction
The country’s vast array of historic buildings, artworks and public squares are an integral part of Ukraine’s cultural identity. Amid the violence of war, many are being reduced to rubble.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine brought searing images of human tragedy to witnesses around the world: thousands of civilians killed and injured; broken families, as mothers and children leave in search of refuge while fathers and other men stay behind to defend their country; and millions of refugees having already fled to neighboring countries, after just two weeks of war.
In addition to that human suffering, a second tragedy comes into focus: the destruction of a country’s very culture. Across Ukraine, scores of historic buildings, priceless artworks and public squares are being reduced to rubble by Russian rockets, missiles, bombs and gunfire.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
March Is Women's History Month
Celebrating Methuen's
Remarkable Mary Chase Walker
"The work of today is the history of tomorrow, and
we are its makers."
–Juliette Gordon Low
Born in Methuen in 1828, Mary Chase Walker became the first school teacher at San Diego's first public school. Learn more about the Mary Walker Incident and the life of this courageous schoolteacher, pioneer, activist, and suffagette.
THE MARY WALKER INCIDENT:
BLACK PREJUDICE IN SAN DIEGO, 1866
Discover her remarkable story at the
San Deigo History Center website.
Additional resources may be found in the
Further Reading section on this Wikipedia page.
It's time for Methuen to celebrate her legacy!
In 1972, the city of San Diego opened the Mary Chase Walker Elementary School to honor her memory. San Diego has erected a historic marker, and holds events to commemorate her contributions.
Share your ideas below in the contact section or send us an email at info@methuenhistoricalsociety.org on how we should honor Mary Chase Walker in our city—the city
of her birth.
Come Explore
Methuen's Meeting House Hill Cemetery
Saturday, October 9
Open from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Located across the street from Holy Family/Steward Hospital
The Methuen Historical Society will be opening the gates to our historic Meeting House Hill Cemetery, located across the street from Holy Family/Steward Hospital. Come and explore the newly repaired and cleaned stones. The cemetery is normally locked so don’t miss this opportunity! This beautiful burying ground, shaded by mature pine trees, walled by Edward Searles’ stone walls, features a granite mausoleum and is filled with intriguing gravestones of our town’s founders. The headstones, some of the oldest in Methuen, were hand-carved by the likes of Benjamin Day and Robert Mulliken.
The work of cleaning, stabilizing, and restoring the headstones was completed by Epoch Preservation and Methuen Historical Society volunteers. This project was funded by a generous grant from the Methuen Festival of Trees. The Methuen Historical Society’s Education Committee will display posters on Methuen’s American Revolution-era houses and the patriots buried at Meeting House Hill cemetery.
Although this is an outdoor event, please wear a mask and practice social distancing when visiting the cemetery. Bring your questions and enjoy the day!
Detail of stone carving on 18th-century headstone at Meeting House Hill cemetery.
© 2024 Methuen Historical Society