We sat around the table in early afternoon on the second floor of a 
building made of Framingham stone. The Old Academy on Framingham Centre 
Common, built in 1837 and the home of the Framingham Historical Society 
since 1916, sheltered us as we talked about the mission of our new 
column for the Framingham TAB and discussed choices for it’s name. 
A long list lay on the table before us to get us started, names like
Vintage Framingham, Framingham Legends, and From the Archives among 
others. Sittingthe table and representing years of volunteer effort 
for the Society were Bruce R. Brown, author of several Historical 
Society publications and a past columnist for the News; Roger 
Heinan, postcard collector and society computer consultant; 
Mary Murphy, 300th Anniversary Committee member and Oral History 
Project leader; Mary Burns, editor and writer; 
Ed Convery, Vice-President of the Society; 
Bill Dyan, Framingham Trivia cable TV host, and 
Ellen Kwan, our new Director. Having written two books of non-fiction 
for Penguin Plume several years ago, I looked forward to launching 
our new TAB column. We read and discussed the list of proposed names, 
but no one name emerged as a favorite. Mary Burns then offered
“A Common View.” All were quiet for a minute. This name had gotten 
our attention.

For many reasons, “A Common View” says it all. One hundred ten years ago this year, in 1888, our Framingham Historical Society was founded by the “citizens of Framingham” at a meeting held at the home of Willard Howe in South Framingham. One of their first actions was to “receive the case in the Selectman’s room at Framingham Centre.” That one case which started out on Framingham Centre Common birthed a collection that today fills the Old Academy on Framingham Centre Common and has spilled over into the Old Edgell Library as well! Mary’s title suggestion, A Common View made a connection spanning our entire110 years.

For another reason, A Common View sounds just right. Although, like any good historical society, we have put effort into preserving our town’s treasures and stories, we are very much involved in the present. A Common View adequately represents today’s view from the Old Academy on Framingham Centre Common. For its entire one hundred ten years, the Society has collected treasures - Native American artifacts, Colonial farm tools and furniture, folk art portraits, wooden block head molds used to make straw hats, an 1881 Columbia bicycle, colonial muskets, and Christa McAuliffe’s space suit, among others. The Society has also collected one hundred ten years of Framingham’s stories - a rich legacy to future generations - stories about the Saxonville Mills, Wallace Nutting, Harmony Grove, Julia Ward Howe’s “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” Chautauqua, and Chrispus Attucks, born in Framingham, who was the first to die in the Revolutionary War. Our contemporary historical society, however, although always interested in the past, is very much involved in the present. One of our most ambitious undertakings is our “We Are History Project.” Volunteer interviewers are interviewing residents who remember Framingham in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Later the project will involve those who remember the 1940’s and 1950’s. These stories, all on audio tape, are a wondeful gift to Framingham’s future generations. These stories will live forever and present A Common View of our local history.

Another Society program, started many years ago by Steve Herring and teacher Irene Carboneau, makes it possible for about seven hundred and fifty Framingham third graders to tour the Old Academy Museum in the spring. Carol Getchell co-ordinates the tours with Karen Waldstein from the school department, assisted by many historical society tour guides. Before each class tours the museum, the third graders are visited by a volunteer who brings a ‘travelling trunk’ to each classroom. Once the trunk opens, children view a sample of Framingham treasures from the past, ask questions, and get a glimpse of life lived here in Framingham many years ago.

On the first Tuesday of the month from 7-8 pm, Framingham’s cable channel airs a live, call-in television show called “Framingham Trivia,” hosted by Framingham Historical Society member Bill Dyan. Panel members Elbert Tuttle, Steve Herring, Ralph Maish, and Roger Heinen all represent years, and in most cases, generations of Framingham residents. Bill Dyan emphasizes that the major goal of the program is to gather information first hand from viewers and from eachother, to educate those who watch, and to have fun remembering Framingham’s past.

The Framingham Historical Society which began with a case of artifacts “:from the Selectman’s room on Centre Common” continues today in the Old Academy and Old Edgell Library on Framingham’s Centre Common. In our new column, A Common View, we hope to share our collection, our stories, and our projects of today. Future column’s will feature guest columnists Steve Herring, member of Framingham’s Historical Commission, Ed Convery, Society Vice President, Jane Bryant Whiting, and Bruce R. Brown. Future columns, with input from our readers, will tackle any topic of interest. To reach me, call 620-6440 or by E-Mail at elsadave@ultranet.com.

A training session for oral history interviewers will be held on January 9, 1999 from 10am to 12 noon. People who would like to be interviewed about their memories of Framingham in the 20’s and 30’s should call the Framingham Historical Society at 872-3780. Through theWe Are History Project , we hope to fill the society archives with stories from Framingham’s neighborhoods - A Common View of the past.


Framingham Historical Society Museum is in the Old Academy at the corner of Vernon and Grove Streets. Hours are Wednesday, Thursday 10am to 4pm, and Saturday 10am to 1pm. Admission $5, under 12 FREE. (508-872-3780)