Foxborough Historical Society

09/22/2026

Join us tonight as we being our 2026 - 2027 season and welcome our presenter Rita Parisi who will perform Women of '76, a costumed re-enactment of five women who changed the course of the American Revolution!

Rita Parisi is an actor, singer, dancer, producer and playwright with over 30 years of performance experience. In 2005, she founded Waterfall Productions to showcase original solo dramatic shows which feature women from history and literature. As a recipient of over 100 grants, she's has been able to tour her shows extensively in New England, New Jersey, New York and Florida.

05/05/2026

Join us tonight for our last meeting of the 2025 - 2026 season when we welcome Professor Rob Lawson and Gregg Seibert who will present: "The Boatbuilders” A brief glimpse of Boatbuilding in the Northeast.

Seibert and Lawson have a mutual and shared interest in boatbuilding and sailing. The colleagues will present a shortened version of their video “The Boatbuilders” a five part documentary series about boatbuilders in the Northeast. It uncovers the historical legacy and present-day impact of the boatbuilding community.

Join us tonight at 7pm in the McGinty Room in the Public Safety Building. All are welcome!

05/04/2026

Join us tomorrow night for our last meeting of the 2025 - 2026 season when we welcome Professor Rob Lawson and Gregg Seibert who will present: "The Boatbuilders” A brief glimpse of Boatbuilding in the Northeast.

Seibert and Lawson have a mutual and shared interest in boatbuilding and sailing. The colleagues will present a shortened version of their video “The Boatbuilders” This five part documentary series is about boatbuilders in the Northeast. It uncovers the historical legacy and present-day impact of the boatbuilding community.

Join us tomorrow night, May 5th at 7pm in the McGinty Room in the Public Safety Building. All are welcome!

04/28/2026

CANCELLED - Unfortunately, due to illness, our guest speaker is unable to give his presentation tonight. We hope to reschedule him in the near future. We wish him a very speedy recovery!

Join us Tuesday, April 28th for our next meeting when we welcome Richard Franklin Donohue who will present: What a Glorious Crash They Made: Music of the American Revolution in New England!

A collection of “New Songs” and Hymns published in New England during the American Revolution. From the time of the Stamp Act through the British surrender at Yorktown, seditious colonists used these works to foment rebellion, commemorate victory and give thanks for preservation. Richard Donohue, a Tenor and Harpsichordist will explore this fiery repertoire that in the words of John Adams “cultivated the sensations of Freedom” The program spans the Revolutionary War years with selections like John Dickenson’s Liberty Tree, and several popular British tunes with “new” texts reflecting the cause of freedom.

Richard Franklin Donohue is a singer, private music instructor, and historian. Vocally, he is a tenor who specializes in historic music ranging from Middle English Carols to 19th century romantic music. He has been teaching Piano, Voice, and Music Theory since 1992.

Tuesday April 28th at 7pm in the McGinty Room at the Public Safety Building. All are welcome!

04/26/2026

CANCELLED - Unfortunately, due to illness, our guest speaker is unable to give his presentation tomorrow night. We hope to reschedule him in the near future. We wish him a very speedy recovery!

Join us Tuesday, April 28th for our next meeting when we welcome Richard Franklin Donohue who will present: What a Glorious Crash They Made: Music of the American Revolution in New England!

A collection of “New Songs” and Hymns published in New England during the American Revolution. From the time of the Stamp Act through the British surrender at Yorktown, seditious colonists used these works to foment rebellion, commemorate victory and give thanks for preservation. Richard Donohue, a Tenor and Harpsichordist will explore this fiery repertoire that in the words of John Adams “cultivated the sensations of Freedom” The program spans the Revolutionary War years with selections like John Dickenson’s Liberty Tree, and several popular British tunes with “new” texts reflecting the cause of freedom.

Richard Franklin Donohue is a singer, private music instructor, and historian. Vocally, he is a tenor who specializes in historic music ranging from Middle English Carols to 19th century romantic music. He has been teaching Piano, Voice, and Music Theory since 1992.

Tuesday April 28th at 7pm in the McGinty Room at the Public Safety Building. All are welcome!

04/18/2026

Join us Tuesday, April 28th for our next meeting when we welcome Richard Franklin Donohue who will present: What a Glorious Crash They Made: Music of the American Revolution in New England!

A collection of “New Songs” and Hymns published in New England during the American Revolution. From the time of the Stamp Act through the British surrender at Yorktown, seditious colonists used these works to foment rebellion, commemorate victory and give thanks for preservation. Richard Donohue, a Tenor and Harpsichordist will explore this fiery repertoire that in the words of John Adams “cultivated the sensations of Freedom” The program spans the Revolutionary War years with selections like John Dickenson’s Liberty Tree, and several popular British tunes with “new” texts reflecting the cause of freedom.

Richard Franklin Donohue is a singer, private music instructor, and historian. Vocally, he is a tenor who specializes in historic music ranging from Middle English Carols to 19th century romantic music. He has been teaching Piano, Voice, and Music Theory since 1992.

Tuesday April 28th at 7pm in the McGinty Room at the Public Safety Building. All are welcome!

11/24/2025

Join us tomorrow night as we wrap up the first half of our 2025 - 2026 season with author John Roman!

John Roman, author of The Art of Illustrated Maps will discuss the popular historic town/city views of panoramic maps of the 1800s...with particular attention on O.H. Bailey & J. C. Hazen 1879 perspective view of Foxborough, Mass. The evolution and process of the 19th-century’s bird’s-eye-view industry will be explored, as will Bailey and Hazen’s partnership as view makers, cartographers, landscape artists and lithographers.

John Roman is an illustrator specializing in the visual translation of complex information with illustrated maps, architectural and technical drawings. John is a graduate of The New England School of Art and Design at Suffolk University.

7pm in the McGinty Room at the Public Safety building, 8 Chestnut Street.

All are welcome!

11/18/2025

Join us next Tuesday night, November 25th, as we wrap up the first half of our 2025 - 2026 season with author John Roman!

John Roman, author of The Art of Illustrated Maps will discuss the popular historic town/city views of panoramic maps of the 1800s...with particular attention on O.H. Bailey & J. C. Hazen 1879 perspective view of Foxborough, Mass. The evolution and process of the 19th-century’s bird’s-eye-view industry will be explored, as will Bailey and Hazen’s partnership as view makers, cartographers, landscape artists and lithographers.

John Roman is an illustrator specializing in the visual translation of complex information with illustrated maps, architectural and technical drawings. John is a graduate of The New England School of Art and Design at Suffolk University.

7pm in the McGinty Room at the Public Safety building, 8 Chestnut Street.

All are welcome!

10/28/2025

We are a couple of hours away from our October meeting when Paolo DiGregorio joins us to present: New England Food and Drink: Eating & Drinking in Colonial New England.

In the early colonial period there was a limited amount of food choices for New Englanders. However the native Americans who had lived in New England for millennia before the English arrival, had developed their own dietary customs by cultivating and harvesting local crops along with hunting game and fishing. The Native Americans had preferred ways to prepare, cook and serve these dietary staples. After the first winter in Plymouth, about half the Pilgrims who crossed over on the Mayflower, perished from starvation. Thanks to a couple Wampanoag natives who spoke English, the Pilgrims were befriended and taught how to grow local crops and feed themselves. Corn, beans, and squash now became the diet staples of the New England colonists. As time went along, the influx of trade with Europe and the Caribbean added to the diet choices of New Englanders.

Paolo the “Artifactual Scholar” is an associate professor of history at Bridgewater State University, and has been spinning out little known gems of American and world history since 2014.

Join us tonight at 7pm in the McGinty Room at the Public Safety Building, 8 Chestnut Street. All are welcome!