Preserving the Past
This name is the name of an Indian Village that once stood on the south side of the Sudbury river and it has become intimately connected with the town in that it has been applied in these later times to the first hand fire engine, to one of the markets, a club, and the hill on whose slope the village […]
» Read moreAs we have visited Ashland’s past numerous times, I have spent a lot of time on the rivers that pass through us. The Sudbury is one of my favorites because it parallels Cordaville road across from my house all the way downtown and beyond. Despite all the efforts of various companies over the years to tame the Sudbury, and even […]
» Read moreI am constantly amazed at the power of Mother Nature. Every New Englander has felt her wrath in one form or another and I’m sure each of us has a story to tell our grandchildren. The Blizzard of ’78, Hurricane Bob, you name it. But the rain event of the last couple of days serves as a reminder of what […]
» Read moreWhere’s Unionville? Well, if you are a home recipient of the Directions you are probably sitting within its boundaries right now. Unionville became Ashland when the town was incorporated in 1846. More on that in a minute, but let’s look at the composition of Unionville. The village was equal parts of Framingham and Hopkinton, and 20% Holliston, give or take […]
» Read moreEven though Hopkinton claims to be the home of the starting line of the Boston Marathon, we in Ashland know the real story. “It all started here” as the sign proclaims next to the site on Pleasant St. in Ashland, not Hopkinton. With all the rivalries between Ashland and Hopkinton, this may be just another one, but it is an […]
» Read moreI’ve always enjoyed walking by some of the older homes in Ashland, and have had the opportunity to visit a number of them. The Ocean House, which is currently the home of the Ashland Historical Society, is one of my favorites. Walking through the rooms you can almost sense the many lives that made the house a home. There are […]
» Read moreEven though Hopkinton claims to be the home of the starting line of the Boston Marathon, we in Ashland know the real story. “It all started here” as the sign proclaims next to the site on Pleasant St. in Ashland, not Hopkinton. With all the rivalries between Ashland and Hopkinton, this may be just another one, but it is an […]
» Read moreDriving around town it is difficult not to notice there are many streets in Ashland named after former landowners, or prominent figures that apparently left an impression worthy of eternal recognition. A few that come to mind are Tilton Ave, James Jackson Way, Homer Ave., and Metcalf Ave. Today’s story is about a member of one of those families: Frank […]
» Read moreI was sorting through the volumes of Ashland Directions when I ran across an article by Kay Powers from 1998. It was about a former Curator of the Ashland Historical Society that was overlooked in a previous Stories of Ashland that listed all the former Curators. Leon Warren Davis was not born in Ashland, but spent the majority of his […]
» Read more