4 November, 2014
The Hopkinton Historical Society is pleased to announce that on Friday, November 7, 2014, the Society will be awarding its third annual HOPKINTON PRESERVATION AWARD. This year the Award will be presented to James F. Ward, author of the recently published book "The Common Uncommon, Stories of the Past, Hopkinton, Massachusetts". With this highly readable book, James has expanded on the Hopkinton ties in his own family and searched out additional information on the families, homes, and businesses that surrounded our village green through the 18th and 19th centuries. As James states in the Introduction to his book, "This work attempts to connect what you see today, as you stand on the Common and walk the nearby streets, with visual images from the past and the stories behind them".
The HOPKINTON PRESERVATION AWARD was established by the Society's Board of Directors to recognize, on an annual basis, a local individual, institution, or project team making a major contribution to the Town by preserving, documenting, or celebrating the Town's history. The award ceremony will take place at the Historical Society's annual Harvest Supper fundraising event, which is a public event to be held at St. John's Parish Hall, 20 Church Street, on Friday, November 7th, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm (admission, payable at the door, adults $15, children $7).
James has resided in Hopkinton, off and on, since 1966, and he graduated from Hopkinton High School in 1976. Always interested in history in general, he was particularly struck by the historical qualities of the downtown area of Hopkinton. After some early searching of records, he realized there were several connections from his family tree to some of the more well-known families of early Hopkinton. This led him to investigate many of the antique houses and former businesses that made up the downtown area and surrounded the Common. After years of collecting information, he realized that the next step was to organize that information, and thus the seed of a book began to sprout.
It took at least two years to put the information together into a format approximating a book. And, of course, during this time, he did additional research as necessary to flesh out the stories of Hopkinton's past. He visited many local libraries and historical societies, as well as the Middlesex Registry of Deeds to gather facts. Not only deed and genealogical information was gathered, but also maps, illustrations and photographs. James credits the late Jeanette Ellsworth and Rose Leveille, both former Directors of the Hopkinton Public Library, for being so willing to share with him everything they knew about the history of Hopkinton. He also credits Russ Greve, curator of the Hopkinton Historical Society, who was the one who encouraged him to write.
Some authors who have spent years developing their works cannot bear to look at their books after final publication. Not so James Ward! He leafs avidly through the pages of his book, highlighting a photohere or an anecdote or interesting tidbit there. His research and the resulting book are an extension of
his personal history, and this has led him toward other areas of interest that he could not include in the present book. "I had to draw the line somewhere", he says, "which is why I focused on the Common and nearby streets." His current area of interest is the Mansfield Mansion which originally occupied the
land that is now 56 - 62 Hayden Rowe Street. At one time, this mansion was known as the Green Anchor Hotel. "Something happened to this house around 1930", he says, "and it finally burned down in 1940." James is on the chase, so to speak, and although he balks at a second edition of his book, we may see additional publications of his fascinating findings!
Copies of the book can be purchased from the Hopkinton Historical Society (www.hopkhistsoc.org) or from the Hopkinton Public Library (www.hopkintonlibrary.org). James has graciously donated a portion of the book purchase price to benefit these two local organizations. For those who wish to know more about the history of Hopkinton people and landmarks, this book is a tremendous guide, and its publication is well timed with the celebration of Hopkinton’s 300th anniversary celebration in 2015.
Thank you, James, for your hard work and research to document the Town’s history!
