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Take a Tour of Worcester’s Lesser Known Historical Places

By Sam Bishop | June 13, 2022
Last Updated: June 14, 2022

WORCESTER – A large group of local residents met a Lincoln Plaza to attend a historic walking tour on Sunday where local guides showcased many of the city’s lesser known historical places on the last day of the Worcester Tercentennial Celebration.

Participants learned about local events in Worcester that changed local and national history.

The Walking Tour of Worcester’s Peace History was organized by the Center for Nonviolent Solutions,  a group that had previously held tours last October around the city. The tours for the Tercentennial are part of a program funded by the Worcester Action Council, a local affiliate of the Mass Cultural Council.

The tour on Sunday was the first of six scheduled tours to celebrate Worcester’s 300th anniversary. Two more tours will be held later this month on Saturday, June 25 at 10 AM. and Sunday, June 26 at 3 PM. After a summer break, the center plans to resume tours in the fall.

Contact the Center for Nonviolent Solutions through their website for information on future tours.

The eight-stop tour started at the marker in Lincoln Square identifying the city’s origins as a settlement and concluded at City Hall Plaza. The eight events presented on the tour were:
June 13, 2022 worcester history

  1. Strategic Peace of Massasoit the Great Sachem. The pact between the Mayflower arrivals and the Great Sachem which lasted 50 years.
  2. The Nonviolent Worcester Revolution of 1774
  3. The Case of Quock Walker which resulted in the eradication of slavery in the state of Massachusetts.
  4. Overview of the life of Elihu Burritt – 19th century peace advocate.
  5. The National Women’s Convention of 1850 at Brinley Hall.
  6. The Butman Riot – tells of how Worcester residents prohibited a federal agent from capturing William Jankins, a barber and fugitive from slavery.
  7. US Senator George Hoar’s opposition to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
  8. Cursory overview of 20th century peace activism. Included in this stop is a lively summary of an end-the-war march and rally on March 26, 1966 as reported in the local press.

Local actors Michael Daniels, Tina E. Gaffney, Charles Grigaitis and Ellen O’Neall-Waite read for the tour and acted out the parts of the historic figures being mentioned.

Kathleen Moylan, retired teacher of U.S. history and Claire Schaeffer-Duffy, program director at the Center for Nonviolent Solutions, served as tour guides.

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