South Acton Tour with Amy Cole at the Faulkner HomesteadSaturday, September 27 
1 PM - 3 PM 
Iron Work Farm, 128 Main St 

Walking South Acton’s historic Mill Corner with Amy Cole, you will learn about Acton’s earliest colonial settlement and its development into a hub of industry and commerce. Amy will discuss people, places and practices that shaped the town’s history and our nation’s as well. 

In 2023, Professor Bob Allison inaugurated the Acton 250 Lectures Series with an account of the Boston Tea Party of 1773 and the pivotal events that sparked the American Revolution. He returned to explain the critical changes occurring in the year 1774 when the Crown’s response solidified the colonial opposition.  We are thrilled to have Bob for his third visit to discuss the events after the start of the revolution.

Professor Allison is renowned for his expertise in American colonial history, and the political, social, and economic factors that converged in the 18th century, leading to Massachusetts’ significant role in the creation of the American nation. He has taught history at Suffolk University since 1992 upon receiving his doctorate at Harvard University. He chairs Revolution 250, a consortium of organizations planning commemorations of the Revolution's 250th anniversary and is a life-trustee of the USS Constitution Museum.  

Monday, June 23:  Speaker Don N. Hagist, Managing editor of Journal of the American Revolution

Please join the Acton 250 Committee for its next speaking event featuring historian and author Don N. Hagist on Monday, June 23 from 7:00 – 8:30 PM in The Acton Memorial Library’s Meeting Room, 486 Main Street, Acton, MA. Don will share lesser-known narratives from the Revolutionary Era, including the lives of British soldiers who engaged the colonials on April 19, 1775 and maintained the Siege of Boston for the following year. 

Don is managing editor of Journal of the American Revolution (allthingsliberty.com). His historical studies focus on presenting an accurate picture of individual soldiers and their families, especially those of the British army who served in America. This research is done using exclusively primary sources, mostly from archives in North America and Europe. He is a consultant for the PBS documentary The American Revolution produced by Ken Burns, and has written several recent books including Noble Volunteers: the British Soldiers who fought the American Revolution (Westholme, 2020), The Revolution’s Last Men: The Soldiers behind the Photographs (Westholme, 2015) and These Distinguished Corps: British Grenadier and Light Infantry Battalions in the American Revolution (Helion, 2022). Don is an engineering consultant and technical editor, and also writes for several well-known syndicated cartoonists. 

A recording will be available at Acton TV https://actontv.org/ 

Generously supported by the Acton Lions Club.

Sat, May 10 - South Acton Tour with Amy Cole

Join tour guide Amy Cole to visit the Iron Work Farm sites and walk South Acton's historic Mill Corner. You will learn about Acton's earliest colonial settlement.

Tour leader Amy Cole is an accomplished professional tour leader. She grew up near Acton Center and knows the town well. She has a wide- ranging interest in Acton’s unique history. This tour is sponsored by the Acton 250 Committee and the Iron Work Farm.

Sat, April 26 - South Acton Tour with Amy Cole

Saturday, April 19 - Hosmer House Museum

• Hosmer House Museum 2-5 PM:  A new Revolutionary War exhibit will be on display in the original part of the house that was standing on April 19, 1775.   We will revisit Acton's fateful participation in the events of that day and in the years of war that followed as well as exploring the ways later generations kept that history alive.
• Concord Activities:  Click here
• Lexington Activities: Click here
• National Park Activities:  Click here

Friday, April 18 - Acton Minutemen Activities - Davis March

• Minutemen March to Concord: Please join the Acton Minutemen as they step off from Haartz Corporation, 87 Hayward Road at 6:30 AM.  Parking is at the ABRHS.   
• Rededications of the CPA funded work on the Isaac Davis Plow exhibit in Town Hall and Isaac Davis Monument in Acton Center.   exhibit in Town Hall and Isaac Davis Monument in Acton Center at approximately 7 AM.  
• Minutemen Appreciation
• Bus Transportation back to the Acton Town Hall starting at 10:30 AM.
• Patriots Day Celebration at the Faulkner Homestead April 18th 12-4 PM:  Legend comes alive as the Acton ladies send their fathers, brothers and sons off to the North Bridge.  
• Robbins Ride at the Faulkner Homestead 5-6:30 PM: Leaves at 5 PM from the soccer fields at the bottom of Concord Road.  Acton’s Minutemen reenact the third stop of the alarm rider.  Captain Faulkner raises the alert for the West Militia to muster at Faulkner House with three musket volleys.  
• The Acton Minutemen will be in Lexington, Concord and Arlington on the weekend. For further details see: actonminutemen.org/calendar/
• Bus transportation back

Wednesday, April 16: Acton250 Committee's Remembrance of April 19, 1775 - A Celebration of the Acton Minutemen.

Mon, March 31 - "Spies and Military Intelligence" with John Bell 

Acton Town Hall, Room 204 from 7-8:30 PM

View the video:  https://link.edgepilot.com/s/3eb9122f/9gvx_52vQEiXxWul-FEEkw?u=https://youtu.be/6vj6LkMpv1E

Tues, March 25 - Acton 250th Anniversary Themed Dinner:  Colonial Dinner with Doug

Acton Senior Center, 30R Sudbury Road, Acton at 5:00 PM

Sat, March 22 - South Acton Walking Tour with Tour Guide Amy Cole

Faulkner House, 5 High Street, Acton starting at 1 PM (Arrival time is 12:55 PM)

Thurs, March 13 - Acton 250 Committee's Isaac Davis Brown Ale 2nd Big Release Party! 

Have you tried the Acton 250 Committee’s Isaac Davis Brown Ale? If not, or if you have and just want more, join us March 13th at Dirigible Brewing Company as they reintroduce our commemorative ale in time for the 250th celebration of the American Revolution. This ale is representative of one beer style available to the colonial patriots. Dirigible Brewing will have this on draft, in cans, and on cask.

Twizted Pickle Food Truck will be on-site serving meals and sandwiches with the best local ingredients and a lot of attention to every detail. Come try our fine smoked and cured meat and veggie entrees and, of course, our unique spin on all things pickled.

The Acton Minutemen will be on hand to demonstrate and are looking to fire off a cannon for this special occasion!

Over a 30- year career, Professor Daniel Mandell has produced a body of work that tells the story of New England Native Americans from the time of first European contact through the formation of the United States and its expansion. He will discuss their experiences during the upheavals of the American Revolutionary period.  Co-sponsored by the Friends of Pine Hawk https://www.pinehawk.org 

“One for the Revolutionary Road: Taverns and the American Revolution” with Malcolm Purinton

View the video: https://youtu.be/DKpbYeZaC-M 

https://actontv.org/on-demand/post-video/acton-250-lecture-series-actons-concords-roads-to-revolution

 Acton Town Hall, 472 Main St.  

The Hosmer’s were an early Acton family, serving the town from its beginning. Come explore this historic home and its past occupants!

View Video

The Acton 250 Committee and the Acton Memorial Library for this 21+ after hours library event featuring the Acton 250's Isaac Davis Brown Ale from Dirigible Brewing, the Acton Minutemen, colonial music, the unveiling of the new Isaac Davis Plow mural, food and more!  Free entry.  Merch available for purchase.

Acton 250 lecture series for: Crown Resistance Day in Acton, 1774 with Historian Mary Fuhrer

View the Video

Historian Mary Fuhrer returns to explore this critical point in Acton history in the next edition of the Acton 250 lecture series. 

What happened in Acton on that fateful day, and why was it considered so momentous? The talk delves into the character of the town and its leading citizens at this time, how and why they responded to the growing crisis with the Crown, and what brought them to the point of revolution. By zooming in to focus on the distinct character of Acton and the personalities of its leading citizens, we will see how important personal convictions and individual actions were in shaping history. Every town’s story was different, and Acton’s story was unique – and inspiring.

Mary Fuhrer is an Acton resident and Ph.D. social historian. For the past 30 years, she has interpreted village life in colonial and early Republic Massachusetts. She has authored two books and numerous articles on daily life and change in small town Massachusetts, presented at history conferences and institutes, and served as a consulting historian to Freedom’s Way, Massachusetts Humanities, and the Massachusetts Historical Society, as well as serving as the co-author of MassMoments.org. She was awarded the Massachusetts History Commendation for her work in public history.    Generously supported by the Acton Lions Club.

September 22, 2024

“4th Sunday” open houses at the Faulkner Homestead and Jones Tavern

The Iron Work Farm’s two Acton house museums will be open to the public Sunday afternoons, September 22 and October 27.  Both buildings played important roles at the start of the Revolutionary War. https://www.ironworkfarm.org

Jones Tavern, 128 Main Street, first built in 1732 and operated by Samuel Jones as a tavern by 1750, will be open from 1 to 3:00 PMjones2. The 1707 Jones-Faulkner Homestead, 5 High Street, will be open from 3 to 5:00 PM. Visitors can explore the restored rooms of this 1707 architectural gem, the oldest house in Acton. It was from this house that Acton’s West Militia marched to Concord on April 19, 1775 under Capt. Simon Hunt, while Capt. Francis Faulkner assumed the leadership (as Colonel) of the 3rd Middlesex Massachusetts Regiment.

Come join us in celebrating the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution! We can’t wait to share our new Colonial Style Brown Ale brewed with molasses in collaboration with Dirigible Brewing Company. Twizted Pickle featuring hand crafted sandwiches and pickle specialty food truck

September 11th, 3 - 11 PM at  Dirigible Brewing Company, 24 Porter Road, Littleton, MA

A portion of ale receipts fund Acton 250's programming.  

The Hosmer House, a saltbox style building, is something of a unique structure. The original portion built in 1760 has gunstock corner posts. By 1796, when the addition was constructed, they were no longer popular. The original 1760 fireplace has an interior beehive oven located on the left whereas the 1796 fireplace has an oven to the right, more appropriate for the times. There is another oven on the left also with a separate flue likely constructed at a later date. The whole fireplace rests on a massive foundation which extends to the front of the house.

The Hosmer's were an early Acton family, serving the town from its beginning. Jonathan Hosmer (1712-1775) was a selectman and town clerk for many years as well as one of the first Deacons of Acton's church.  Jonathan Hosmer (1734-1822), like his father, was a brick mason and farmer.  Jonathan married Submit Hunt (1737-1812) in 1760 and built the Hosmer House. Seven children were born to the family of Jonathan and Submit Hosmer.  Their eldest, Jonathan, died in service in Bennington in 1777.  (His younger brother, Abner, was killed at the North Bridge in Concord, April 19, 1775.) In addition to the large family, from at least the time of the 1790 census, Quartus, a "Black man" according to his death record and a non-white free person according to census records, lived in the house until he died in 1827. 

Last September Professor Bob Allison inaugurated the Acton 250 Lectures Series with an account of the Boston Tea Party of 1773 and the pivotal events that sparked the American Revolution. He returns to explain the critical changes occurring in the year 1774 when the Crown’s response solidified the colonial opposition. This was the fifth lecture in the Acton 250 Series. 

Prof. Allison is renowned for his expertise in American colonial history, and the political, social, and economic factors that converged in the 18th century, leading to Massachusetts’ significant role in the creation of the American nation. He has taught history at Suffolk University since 1992 upon receiving his doctorate at Harvard University. He chairs Revolution 250, a consortium of organizations planning commemorations of the Revolution's 250th anniversary and is a life-trustee of the USS Constitution Museum. 

The first in the three-part Acton 250th series about the surviving homes of Acton’s participants in the events of 1775 includes open-houses on May 26 at Jones Tavern, 128 Main Street (from 1 to 3 p.m.) and the Faulkner Homestead, 5 High Street from 3:00 to 5:00 PM.  

Both played important roles at the start of the Revolutionary War.  Jones Tavern exemplifies the architecture of several eras, including the original 1732 center-chimney farmhouse and the 1750 lean-to taproom, an important Revolutionary meeting place.  The 1707 Jones-Faulkner Homestead is the oldest building in Acton, and the only local example of a First Period “long” house of a distinct English plan.   In 1775 it was the home of Francis Faulkner, who on April 19th was called to become Colonel of the 3rd Middlesex Regiment and where the militiamen’s families prepared food to take to the men after the battle at the Concord Bridge.

On April 2, 2024 at 7 PM noted historian and author J. L. Bell presented the 1774 Boston Tea Party fallout and subsequent colonial militia activities.  As 1774 begins, Massachusetts politicians worry about the royal government response to the Boston Tea Party. The force of that reaction became clear in the return of troops to Boston, the Coercive Acts, and the Massachusetts Government Act. In late summer the province’s people rebelled by shutting down government functions in rural counties, seizing weapons in ports, and electing their own legislature. The engine of that resistance was a little-understood institution: the colonial militia. By fall, it was clear that the new royal governor had no leverage outside Boston. This talk traces the end of British power in most of Massachusetts even before the war began.  J. L. Bell has explored the end of British royal government in Massachusetts by following the contest for artillery pieces in his acclaimed book, The Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War. He also maintains the Boston 1775, which offers daily helpings of history, analysis, and unabashed gossip about Revolutionary New England.

A recording of the event can be viewed here and the presentation viewed here.

Professor Adelman told the story of the Revolutionary War’s forgotten instigators: newspaper printers and editors. Shrewdly gauging the political climate and interests of their communities and balancing them with their own commercial interests, eighteenth-century printers were instrumental in creating propaganda and rallying the public to the revolutionary cause.

A noted speaker and author, he has published work in the Washington Post, Slate, and The Atlantic, is a regular contributor to the award-winning podcast, Ben Franklin’s World, and serves as an Associate Editor for The New England Quarterly

November 21, 2023

Acton Memorial Library Book Group Discussion

The Acton Memorial Library Book Group discussed The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Shiff on November 21, 2023 at 6:30pm

On November 13, 2023, the Acton 250 Committee focuses on the everyday people and daily life in Acton with Mary Fuhrer. This illustrated talk will explore family, households, farms, neighbors, and the fabric of village life to recover the world of the Minutemen. It was a world far different from our own; it is the world that laid the groundwork for revolution.

October 12, 2023

Tour of Acton Center Historic District

Noted Historian Prof. Robert Allison- From Crown Tensions to Tea Parties:  The Role of Massachusetts in Shaping the Revolution

Professor Robert Allison, who discussed the pivotal events that set the stage for the Boston Tea Party and sparked the American Revolution.  Prof. Allison is renowned for his expertise in American colonial history, and the political, social, and economic factors that converged in the 18th century, leading to the climactic moment in Boston's history. He has taught history at Suffolk University since 1992, when he received his doctorate at Harvard. He is currently the Chair of Revolution 250, a consortium of organizations planning commemorations of the Revolution's 250th anniversary and a life-trustee of the USS Constitution Museum.