Eighteenth-Century Events This Weekend

Two Boston 1775 readers have alerted me to two events rooted in the eighteenth century taking place in greater Boston this weekend.

On Saturday, 17 May, the Historical Society of Watertown will celebrate the opening of the Edmund Fowle House (shown here) on 28 Marshall Street. The ceremony will begin at 11:45 A.M., and there will be an open house from noon to 2:00 P.M.

Starting in July 1775, this house (then on Mount Auburn Street) was the headquarters of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress’s Council, taking over the executive function from the royal governor, who was tied up in Boston.

The next day—Sunday, 18 May—the Garrison House in Chelmsford will host its annual spinning bee. Spinners in either period or modern dress are welcome to bring their wheels, chairs, fiber, any materials they wish to trade or sell, and food for a potluck lunch starting about 11:30 A.M. The event opens to the public at 1:00 P.M. and lasts until 4:00 or as long as people want to stay. For more information, see organizer Judy Cataldo’s website.