The Hyde Park Historical Society was founded in 1887 by Theodore Dwight Weld, an architect of the American abolitionist movement . The society maintains a unique collection of historic publications, images and artifacts dating from before the founding of Hyde Park in 1868. The historical collection is housed in Weld Hall - named after our founder - in the Hyde Park Branch of Boston Public Library.
From the founding of Hyde Park by the twenty associates of Fairmount Hill to the Civil war and the military encampment at Readville, with its story of the 54th and 55th African-American regiments, Hyde Park's early history includes events of national importance and stories of leading abolitionists, temperance activists, and women's rights activists. A cradle of early manufacturing and the industrialization of America, Hyde Park has a rich history and many stories still to tell.
Upcoming Events
Saturday, October 19, 2019 at 1:30pm. Mimi Turchinetz, will present, Theodore Dwight Weld. Theodore Weld was an architect of the American abolitionist movement and co-authored the influential compendium, American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses, published in 1839. He married Angelina Grimke in 1838 and moved to Hyde Park after the Civil War and became an active citizen and co-founder of the Hyde Park Historical Society. Location: Weld Hall, Hyde Park Public Library, 35 Harvard Ave, Hyde Park, MA 02136
Meetings are open to the public. To join the society please go here.
Hyde Park Notable
- The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment were trained at Camp Meigs in Readville. The 54th was one of the first official African American units in the US armed forces, which saw extensive service in the Union Army during the Civil War. Read Camp Meigs and the 54th
- Hyde Park played an early role in the advancement of women’s voting rights, when in 1870, 47 Hyde Park women, led by the Grimke sisters, flouted the law of the land and voted in an election—50 years before the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote in 1919. Read 1870 Women's March and Vote
