Representatives of the Great Cause

“I am still one of the representatives of the great cause.”  So wrote Middleborough soldier William F. Harris to local newspaper owner Lorenzo Wood in 1919.  Succinctly defining the role of a single community’s World War I servicemen and women, Harris’s letter to Wood was one among hundreds written by Middleborough soldiers that were published in the Middleboro Gazette between 1917 and 1919.  Today these poignant and frequently moving letters comprise the community’s largest and most important collection of documents detailing the experience of Middleborough veterans of any generation in their own words.  In presenting a selection of these letters, Representatives of the Great Cause permits the voices of these men to be heard once more.  While the authors of these letters may no longer present, their subject is universal and their words remain relevant today, providing a deeply moving reflection upon the course and meaning of war by those who experienced it first-hand.

For a preview of three portions of the book, click on the links below:
Representatives preview 1
Representatives preview 2
Representatives preview 3

$24.95
412 pages,  39 black and white illustrations,index
6 x 9
Paperback
ISBN 978-0-9896857-0-2
Michael J. Maddigan/Recollecting Nemasket
Published August 2013

Star Mills: Architecture & History

For a preview of the book, click on the image above.

The history of the Star Mill and Middleborough’s woolen industry is a history of ironies. Though during the decades following the Civil War the Star Mill was Middleborough’s largest employer and its heaviest taxpayer, the town was better known industrially for its manufacture of boots and shoes. The Star Mill was a relatively paternalistic employer providing for the safety and accommodation of its workers, but its wages were among the lowest in the state and its successor, the Nemasket Worsted Company, collapsed partially as a result of a protracted labor strike. And while retrospectively the local manufacture of woolen cloth was considered to have been a successful enterprise during the period in which it was carried out in Middleborough (1864-1924), the industry was plagued by periods of inactivity when the sagging fortunes of the woolen market forced periods of idleness upon the local mill. Today, though textiles are no longer produced in Middleborough, the Star Mill remains. As the oldest surviving woolen mill complex in southeastern Massachusetts and with important associations with regional and national architects of note, the Star Mill reflects an era when Middleborough was evolving rapidly from Plymouth County’s leading agricultural town into an important center of manufacturing. Star Mill: History & Architecture documents the previously untold story of Middleborough’s woolen industry, the building that housed it and the people who lived it.

$19.99
138 pages,  25 black and white illustrations, plan
6 x 9
Paperback
ISBN 978-0-615-66874-1
Michael J. Maddigan/Recollecting Nemasket
Published August 2012

South Middleborough: A History

In the late 1700s, settlers flocked to South Middleborough, Massachusetts, for the tall white pines that fed a booming lumber industry. Despite this early promise, residents struggled with frequent fires, financial losses and bitter debates within their young community. Local historian Michael J. Maddigan charts the history of South Middleborough from its early years, with stories of the contentious ministry of Reverend Ebenezer Jones and the original Hell’s Blazes Tavern, into the twentieth century, with memories of Wareham Street’s “milkshake king” and feisty candy maker Lucy Braley. Join Michael Maddigan as he reveals the fascinating history of South Middleborough and pays tribute to the indomitable spirit of a New England village.

$19.99
192 pages, over 80 black and white illustrations
6 x 9
Paperback
ISBN 9781609493622
History Press
Published November 2011

Images of America: Middleborough

The history of Middleborough is a history of its numerous villages. Like other geographically large towns, Middleborough developed a number of small communities that provided their earliest residents with needed services, such as mills, schools, churches, and cemeteries. These villages ranged in size from Middleborough Four Corners, which by the 1850s had emerged as the municipal, commercial, industrial, and social center of the town, to smaller village centers like Titicut, Eddyville, Rock, and South Middleborough. Using historical images from the extensive collec tions of the Middleborough Historical Association, as well as from town residents, Middleborough explores the town's evolution from its earliest foundation through its mid-19th-century transition from one of southeastern Massachusetts's largest agricultural communities to one of its most industrially productive.

$21.99
128 pages, 218 black and white illustrations
6 1/2 x 9 1/4
Paperback
ISBN 978-0-7385-6559-0
Arcadia Publishing
Published October 2009

Lakeville's King Philip Tavern: An Illustrated History

For a preview of the booklet, click on the image above.

In 1910, the year following its establishment, the King Philip Tavern of Lakeville was heralded as a "new breathing spot of the most attractive sort," and despite the fact that it was levelled by fire nearly a century ago, the King Philip Tavern has become an integral part of Lakeville's social history.  The story of the Tavern (which was originally a private residence owned first by the Washburn family of lakeville and later by Fred C. Hinds of Newton who transformed it into a summer estate known as "Hindsmere") embodies the deep history of the vicinity.  It may in fact be argued that to a certain degree, the story of the King Philip Tavern is the story of Lakeville.

$10.00
44 pages, full color illustrations
5 1/2 x 8 1/2
Paperback
Preserve Our Lakeville Landmarks/Lakeville Historical Commission
Published June 2010

Your purchase supports the projects of the Lakeville Historical Commission