Historical Society to Present "Hatmaking and 19th Century Medfield”

Historical Society to Present "Hatmaking and 19th Century Medfield”

On Monday, April 1 at 7:30 PM at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church at 26 North Street, the Medfield Historical Society will offer a talk by society president PeggySue Werthessen about the fascinating history of the hat industry in Medfield that played a pivotal role in driving the development of the local economy starting in the mid 1800’s and continuing for a hundred years.

The talk will consider the industry’s beginnings with the story of Betsy Metcalf and explore how it shaped Medfield throughout the 19th century, completely transforming Medfield from a small agrarian community of 745 people in 1800 to nearly 3,000 a hundred years later.

This history is foundational to Medfield from its modest start in a house on South Street, in which Ms. Werthessen currently resides, to its maturation under the management of Daniel Curtis and Edwin Mitchell in a sprawling complex on North Street, part of which now houses the Montrose School.

In addition to exploring the evolution of the hat industry, other industrious endeavors that helped fuel the Medfield economy during this time will be considered.

This presentation is free and open to the public.