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A Bit of Needham History (8/20/25)

On this rainy Wednesday, Bob and I had a look around the nearby Needham Center and Museum and learned a bit more about the local history.

The exterior of the museum.
It is only about .5 miles from the house
and shares a property with an elementary school.

As we have found in other local history museums, it had an eclectic mix of artifacts from Needham’s older and more recent history. The following are some of the things that caught our attention.

Some information on the Needham vote in 1792,
when John Hancock was on the ballot for Governor
and Samuel Adams for Lieutenant Governor.
About 6% of those eligible to vote voted.
A banner supporting women’s right to vote
A meeting called to address the start of the Civil War.
Needham voted to pay $15/month
to each male who enlisted for the Union.
This Lexington Banner was made by the town
for the 1875 Centennial of the battles
that began the American Revolution on April 19, 1775
A Needham flag ended up at the South Pole!
It was carried by Commander Walter Kerr Queen of Needham
on Byrd’s 2nd expedition to Antarctica.
Flora collected by Josiah Noyes,
the first trained medical doctor in Needham.
Sunita Williams was born in Ohio but grew up in Needham.
She has completed 2 missions on the International Space Station, logging 322 days, including 7 spacewalks (a record for a woman).
Aly Raisman, a two-time captain
of the gold-medal winning US Olympic gymnastic teams,
was born in Needham
Apparently, there was an arson problem in Needham in 1887.
A quaint promotional banner from the 1920s
to try to encourage people to settle in Needham
Some dishwater and utensils from the McIntosh Tavern
that was once located down the street from the house.
A very impressively bunted Needham Town Hall.

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