Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, Mass.

Title

Members of Post 12, Grand Army of the Republic, 250th Anniversary Parade, Settlers' Day, Monday, May 28, 1894

Description

"Wakefield residents were awakened on Settlers' Day by dynamite salutes and the ringing of bells. Soon after, the streets of Wakefield were filled with carriages, bicycles, horsemen and a moving 'throng' of men, women and children in gala costumes, all of whom waited for the parade, the first event of the day. The line of march for the grand procession was taken up near the Wakefield residence on Main Street (site of the Atwell School and Junior High School complex). The Governor of Massachusetts, Frederic T. Greenhalge, attended the celebration and participated in the procession as it traveled along the parade route: Main Street to Sweetser, Pleasant, Park, Main, Yale Avenue, Railroad, West Chestnut, Park Avenue, Dell Avenue, Converse, Gould, Albion, Railroad, Chestnut to Main Street. The parade participants, many of whom either rode in a carriage or on a float, passed in review before the Governor and other invited guests opposite the Town Hall on Main Street. Parade participants included civic and fraternal organizations, school groups (including 25 barges containing 1200 school children), volunteer hose companies and fire departments, and merchants. Municipal and state officials, invited guests and military groups preceded the five divisions. Forty members of the H.M. Warren Post 12, under the direction of Commander Stephen W. Lufkin, rode on horseback with bugler Walter Hunt. The remaining participants rode on the float with Quartermaster A.D. Merritt. The float contained a cannon at each corner and was appropriately decorated with flags and bunting." -- Text from calendar by Jayne M. D'Onofrio.

Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 1994

Photo courtesy of the Wakefield Historical Society.

Contributor

Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (Wakefield, Mass.)

D'Onofrio, Jayne M.

Coverage

Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield

Date

05-28-1894

Format

image/jpeg

Publisher

[Wakefield, Mass.] : Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department

Subject

Anniversaries

Parade floats

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865

Veterans

Type

still image

Photographs

Original Format

1 picture : b&w

Extent

18 x 31 cm.