Medford Unveils Statue Of the 'Mother Of The Boston Tea Party'

MEDFORD, MA — The city’s Patriot Day celebrations featured the unveiling of a monument meant to immortalize the legacy of a local Revolutionary War figure.

A statue of Sarah Bradee Fulton now stands outside of Medford City Hall at 85 George P. Hassett Drive. Fulton, a longtime Medford resident born in 1740, was a Daughter of Liberty and involved in several significant American Revolution events. Fulton is credited with disguising the Sons of Liberty and other participants in the Boston Tea Party as Native Americans to protect their identity from British forces. During the Battle of Bunker Hill two years later, Fulton organized a makeshift on-site hospital to care for wounded soldiers. She also reportedly risked her life to deliver correspondence to George Washington during the country’s first year of independence in 1776. According to Duggan, Washington later visited Fulton at her farmhouse at 260 Fulton Street in 1789, to personally thank her for the contributions she made during the war.

“Sarah Bradlee Fulton’s legacy is one of patriotism, heroism and integrity,” Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn said.

Lungo-Koehn expressed gratitude to Looking Back at Medford History President Laura Duggan as being the diving force behind getting the statue erected. The organization has been raising money to build the statue since last August. The six foot all bronze creation now stands on a two-foot base with a biography of the 18th century heroine.

State Rep. Christine Barber and City Council President Zac Bears were among those in attendance for the unveiling event on Monday, April 20.

Fulton’s statue is the first to depict a woman in Medford. She married Medford distillery worker John Fulton in 1762 and lived to be 94 years old. She is buried at the Salem Street Buial Ground.

Duggan is a California native who shares the city’s history through advocacy projects and historical reenactments. Through Remarkable Women Reenacted, Duggan writes, and performs one-woman plays about female historical figures. After researching Sarah Bradlee Fulton’s life, she was convinced the woman deserved more modern recognition to her contributions in shaping the nation.

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