Medford Historical Society & Museum

The mission of MHSM is to collect, preserve, and promote an inclusive understanding of Medford’s history, offering educational lectures and programs to the general public. Join us in building a shared sense of Medford’s history and rich diversity.

September 26, 2026

We are open 1-4 PM on Sundays or by appointment. Contact us here.
Our current exhibit “1776 and Beyond” can be viewed during open hours on Sundays 1-4 PM. See more below.
Check out the interview with MHSM President, John Anderson, and Exhibit curator, Liz Ammons on John Petrella’s Medford Happenings.
MHSM has become a member of NARM (North American Reciprocal Museum Association). Become an MHSM Member here!
Check out Somerville Museum’s Interactive Map for the 250th celebration of the American Revolution. MHSM helped with the Medford sites.
Have you seen our ongoing searchable Medford Street Names Project. If you have information or documents pertaining to Medford Street names, let us know via our contact page.
Our Medford Municipal Records Collection was digitized by our awesome volunteer Will Tenney. We are sad to announce his passing on 9/7/26.
Learn about our Historical Marker Program here.
Use our Books and Resources page for your reference questions. You can also see all back issues of our newsletters can be found here.
Learn more about volunteer opportunities here.

UPCOMING:

Click here for full information and registration info our Fall Programs.

Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood

Speaker: William J. Mann, Author and Adjunct Professor of History, Central Connecticut State University.
Wednesday, September 30, 7:00 PM
Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public Library

William J. Mann’s Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood has been praised by reviewers for offering the first account of the notorious crime that’s more focused on the victim than her killer. Critics lauded Mann’s ability to reconstruct the life of Elizabeth Short without exploiting her tragic death. The Wall Street Journal highlighted his skill in capturing the “historical environment that surrounded the crime… Mr. Mann conveys the era’s disillusionment and its rising tide of violence and misogyny.” Such context, the Journal noted, “is crucial to an understanding of Short’s life—which [Mann] reconstructs with compassionate acuity.”

Mann will discuss his process in researching and writing his book and provide a portrait of the young Medford woman at the heart of one of America’s most notorious unsolved crimes. Register here.

OCTOBER

MHSM Historical Book Group
Bound for Gold by William Martin

Book Club Leader: Jay Stott, MHSM Board Member
Thursday, October 15, 7:00 PM
10 Governors Avenue

Would you have joined the greatest migration in US history, leaving family and friends to travel thousands of miles to Gold Mountain (Gum Saan), where gold was said to be free for the taking? The next MHSM Book Club will focus on the history that underlies William Martin’s spell-binding novel of the 1848 California Gold Rush: Bound for Gold. Whether you have read the book, are thinking of doing so, or are just interested in learning about an event that transformed our country (and Medford’s ship-building industry), please join us by registering here.

John Hancock’s Middlesex Canal and Medford

Speaker: J. Jeremiah Breen, President, Middlesex Canal Association

Saturday, October 31, 1:00 PM
Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public Library

Breen will speak on the significance of the canal as part of an interstate water highway essential to the Industrial Revolution in Massachusetts.

The Corporation was chartered in 1793 to build a 27-mile canal between the Charles River at Boston and the Merrimack River at what became Lowell. It was built 30′ wide, 3½’ deep minimum, had 8 aqueducts, 20 locks, and 50 bridges. The Secretary of the Treasury described it as the greatest work of its kind in the United States in an 1808 report to the Senate. The Corporation was liquidated in 1853 after the one-horse canal boat lost the competition with the railroad. The first locomotive of the Boston & Lowell was rated 30 horsepower. Register here.

Exhibit Open:

Thanks to the Medford Arts Council for its continued support

These programs are supported in part by a grant from the Medford Arts Council, a local commission that is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the City of Medford.

The Power of Truth: Early Diversity in a Medford Neighborhood, February 2024
Murder at the Harvard Medical School, April 2023
Black Heritage Trail Virtual Tour, February 2022

our_medford

Our Medford,” written by Medford teacher Michael Coates is for kids and anyone interested in an illustrated introduction to Medford History.

The book began to be used in the Medford grade 3 classrooms in fall 2016.

Click here to view the book online. Printed copies are available for $20 at MHSM. All proceeds benefit MHSM’s educational programs.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Medford Arts Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.