New Book Releases

The Worcester State Hospital offered a novel and compelling promise: that insanity could be cured by humane treatment in a therapeutic setting. Patients would enjoy its idyllic landscape, genteel interiors, wholesome food supplied from its farm, and the individualized attention of medical professionals. The hospital's reputation as a "model institution" helped to position the city of Worcester as an economic center and pioneer in social reform. Yet overcrowding, insufficient funds, and the limitations of medical knowledge undermined the institution's mission, leading to the abandonment of its original features. Despite downsizing and decay, the Worcester State Hospital continues to exert a tangible presence on the landscape. Its iconic clock tower, salvaged from demolition, stands as a reminder of its historical legacy and of the continuing role of the site--now the Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital--in the treatment of mental illness.

On the banks of Lake Chauncy sit the remains of the Westborough Insane Hospital, later known as Westborough State Hospital.

Westborough is perhaps best known as the second homeopathic hospital for the insane in the United States and the first example of institutional reuse in the nation.The hospital's unique treatment methods put it squarely at the forefront of mental health treatment, and it was one of the last state hospitals in Massachusetts to close its doors.The pioneering African American pathologist Solomon Carter Fuller spent much of his career at Westborough studying the physical changes made to the brain by Alzheimer's.When it closed in 2010, it was the only state hospital in New England with a dedicated unit for deaf and hard of hearing patients.Though somewhat less infamous than some of its neighbors, Westborough holds a very distinctive place in the history of mental health treatment.

Katherine Anderson is a veteran special education teacher and has been researching and writing about asylums and mental health care for more than a decade. With the help of researcher and historian Jon Maynard, this book continues the legacy of Westborough State Hospital and the many men and women who lived and worked there.

During World War II, with Allied merchant and navy ships under the threat of German U-boats, the eastern seaboard was on high alert. The Cape Cod Canal, a vital waterway for commercial and military traffic, underwent a period of strict control, occupation, and defense. This pictorial history documents the activity during that time and the extensive array of weaponry and manpower brought to bear in coastal defense.

In The Military History of the Cape Cod Canal, the abandoned foundations at Sagamore Hill and throughout most of Buzzards Bay are explored, as well as the weapons, devices, and personnel assigned to ensure the canal's integrity throughout the war. Although the responsibilities of the U.S. Army's Coast Artillery are a focal point, the actions of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the air arms of all the military services during World War II are also included. The Military History of the Cape Cod Canal documents the mishaps, collisions, and war-damaged ships in and near the canal, as well as the joint military protection forces and plans in effect during World War II.

As early as the Civil War, a dozen Filipino men living in Massachusetts enlisted in the Union army. In the 1900s, Filipino pensionados studied at Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and other colleges. After the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, Filipino medical, military, and other professionals settled in and around Greater Boston in Cambridge, Lexington, Malden, and Quincy. To support their communities, Filipino immigrants founded civic organizations such as the Philippine Medical Association of New England, Philipino-American Association of New England, and Philippine Nurses Association of New England. Since 1976, parents have been volunteering at Iskwelahang Pilipino (Filipino school) to encourage their American-born children's pride for Filipino traditions. Included are never before seen photographs of the Aquino family during their time in exile. This book highlights the rich histories of Filipinos in Greater Boston and aims to inspire more works that document our immigrant community that has grown in the early 21st century to over 25,000 people.

Settled not long after the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Plymouth, Europeans were living in Northampton, Massachusetts, by 1653. Throughout the early years, fire was a constant threat. And not long after the first fires destroyed buildings constructed of thatched roofs and wooden chimneys, townspeople organized a fire department. Although not officially established until 1857 after a spate of arson fires throughout the 1840s, the earliest fire protection equipment was purchased in 1792, comprised of buckets and hooks and ladders that were grabbed by anyone in town available to assist within earshot of the dreaded cry of “fire.” By 1870, the Northampton Fire Department was comprised of four companies located in downtown, Florence, Bay State, and Leeds, each with hose wagons and hand tubs pulled by men before they were replaced by horse-drawn steam-powered engines and then motorized apparatus. Today, Northampton Fire Rescue responds to more than 3,000 calls each year, providing a variety of emergency services to the people of Northampton.

Half a century after declaring its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821, Greece was an impoverished nation-state ruled by a Danish prince. By the end of the 19th century, the people of Greece were emigrating to escape war, political strife, and poverty. Greeks started arriving in Worcester in the 1890s, mainly from the Peloponnesus, with subsequent arrivals coming from Northern Greece in the early 20th century. With the official establishment of a Greek Orthodox community (later named after St. Spyridon) in Worcester in 1914, Greeks built robust religious, civic, fraternal, and philanthropic organizations in the city. They went on to establish themselves as leaders in business, education, law, and politics. Greeks of Worcester celebrates the rich history of this community through images, tracing its history from the patrida to the United States through war, persecution, and economic hardship.

Downtown Boston once thrived as a dazzling bohemia of burlesque halls, movie palaces, dime museums, and regal stages. By 1915, more than 20 theaters crowded along a quarter-mile stretch of lower Washington Street. The theater district gave birth to vaudeville and incubated some of America's most darling musicals and daring new dramas en route to Broadway. Theatergoers flocked to Tremont and Boylston Streets to watch the latest tryouts. Some productions flopped; others, like Oklahoma! and Paul Robeson's Othello, were runaway hits. Still others earned the coveted seal of disapproval, "Banned in Boston," from zealous city censors. Overrun by seedy venues in the 1970s, the Combat Zone, as it came to be known, seemed to justify old Puritan fears that the stage would corrupt public morals. Only in recent years has the district rebounded through careful restoration of storied playhouses like the Boston Opera House, the Majestic, and the Colonial--grand vestiges of a booming cultural corridor still vibrant today.

Through captivating images and narrative, read why the historic St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church has endured for 150 years as a source of service and faith-based community in the small town of Marion, Massachusetts.

St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church was founded in 1871, when Adm. Andrew Harwood decided to retire in Marion, Massachusetts, and fulfill a promise that he had made to the archangel Gabriel after surviving a fierce storm at sea. Initially a church for Marion’s summer residents, it became a year-round church in 1896. In 1899, the national press corps lined up outside the church to glimpse the wedding of the country’s most famous journalist, Richard Harding Davis, to artist Cecil Clark. Beginning in 1913, the chapel was enhanced with 11 stained-glass windows designed for the church by Charles J. Connick, the most famous American stained-glass artist of the 20th century. The church was later expanded after the acquisition of adjacent land and the construction of a parish hall, church school buildings, and a new sanctuary. In the 1950s, the church began having full-time rectors. Today, the church has 300 family members on its rolls and will celebrate 150 years in 2021. Judith Westlund Rosbe, a local author, historian, and past president and treasurer of the Sippican Historical Society, has been a resident of Marion since 1977. She is the parish historian of St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church and has been a member of the board of directors of the Sippican Historical Society since 1978. This is her sixth local history book about Marion.