Meetings 2009/2010

Thursday May 20, 2010   7:30PM
Congregational Church

         Carolyn Mueller
         Business & Industry in Littleton

         We may think of historical Littleton as an agricultural community but it was also a place where businesses of all kinds sprang up and thrived.  In this illustrated presentation, we will look at a variety of business that have existed over the years-some you may know well and others that aren't quite so familiar.  From saw mills to pickles to bowling pin setters, we'll take a tour through industrial Littleton.

Thursday March 18,  2010
Littleton Congregational Church

         Matt McGrath
         Leathernecks: U.S.S. Constitution's Marines

         Do you know why the U.S. Marines are called Leathernecks?  What exactly is grog?  Historian and re-enactor Matt McGrath answered these questions and discussed the United States Marines aboard USS Constitution and their lessor known, but far flung service during the "forgotten" War of 1812.

Thursday November 19, 2009
Littleton Congregational Church

Daniel Boudillion of Littleton:
1720 Littleton: The Dudley Witchcraft Affair
 
The Town of Littleton was barely 6 years old when it was rocked in 1720 by accusations of Witchcraft. The young daughter of Joseph Blanchard, followed by her two younger sisters, exhibited outrageous afflictions and behaviors that they attributed to the machinations of a witch. Ultimately they accused Mrs. Abigail Dudley, the wife of Littleton's first Town Clerk and Selectman, Samuel Dudley, as their diabolical tormentor.
 
In the almost 300 years that have since passed, fact has faded into fiction, and many peculiar tales have been woven around the so-called "White Witch of Littleton"-- many as outrageous as the contortions of her accusers. And yet, in the words of the youthful Puritan minister, Rev. Ebenezer Turell in 1728 regarding the affair, "Many things that have been dubbed witchcraft, and called the works of the devil, [are] nothing more than the contrivance of the children of men."
 
Told correctly for the first time since it happened, this is the story of the last recorded accusation of Witchcraft in Massachusetts.