WALK IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF WORCESTER'S REVOLUTIONARIES
A project by Worcester Historical Museum and Digital WorcesterFrom Worcester’s Meetinghouse, near the site of today’s City Hall to what we now know as Lincoln Square, Worcester patriots led Massachusetts and later the country toward Revolution. Auspiciously in September 1774, patriots from across the region assembled along Main Street to reject rule under Parliament’s Massachusetts Government Act, close the county courts, and shame their loyalist elite neighbors. Now you can join Worcester Historical Museum and walk in their footsteps, as they forced wellborn local defenders of royal government to walk a gauntlet of common men intent on defending their liberty or as they spread their revolutionary ideas between the town’s taverns and meetinghouse. Read more About Us
Featured Stories
SALISBURY MANSION
In 1767, when Stephen Salisbury turned 21, his brother Samuel sent him from Boston to open and operate a branch of the family store in Worcester. For five years Salisbury operated in rented quarters in what is now Lincoln Square. During that time he…
WORCESTER HISTORICAL MUSEUM
Founded in 1875, Worcester Historical Museum has the unique responsibility of collecting and sharing the stories, artifacts and documents of Worcester’s history. At its headquarters at 30 Elm Street, the Museum offers an annual calendar of exhibits,…
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Random Stories
SALISBURY MANSION
In 1767, when Stephen Salisbury turned 21, his brother Samuel sent him from Boston to open and operate a branch of the family store in Worcester. For five years Salisbury operated in rented quarters in what is now Lincoln Square. During that time he…
ELIJAH DIX
In the 1770s Elijah Dix was an apothecary (meaning doctor) in Worcester, where he not only tended to patients but was part of the Patriot group. His medical and social connections extended to Boston as well as Worcester and included the Patriot…
KING'S ARMS TAVERN
The King’s Arms Tavern, on the corner of Main and Elm streets, was established by Thomas Stearns in 1732. Stearns operated the tavern for 40 years. When he died in 1772 his widow, Mary, became proprietress and continued the business until 1784. Her…
JOHN ADAMS TAUGHT HERE
In 1755 the town of Worcester sent its minister, Thaddeus Maccarty, to Cambridge. His mission was to observe the new graduates of Harvard College and to offer to one of them the position of teacher. Maccarty, himself a Harvard alumnus, listened to a…
HANCOCK HOUSE
Boston-born Thomas Hancock was one of the wealthiest merchants in Massachusetts. In 1744 he adopted his 8-year old nephew, John. Twenty years later, when Thomas died, young John inherited the estate which included Thomas’s property in Worcester.…
ISAIAH THOMAS HOUSE
In 1775 Isaiah Thomas was 25 years old. Already he had established a reputation as a troublemaker, an expert publisher, and an ardent Patriot. His newspaper, The Massachusetts Spy, published in Boston, with a large paid subscribership, gave voice to…