How Sandwich Throws a History Party
- Robert Thomson
- 9 hours ago
- 6 min read
Sandwich has celebrated historic birthdays so often you’d think we’d be short on candles. For at least a century and a half, big civic parties have marked the births of the town, the county and the nation.
But like an Olympic torch passed from runner to runner till it reaches the cauldron, each generation picks up the flame where the last one left off. We’re about to take on that collective challenge again as the town participates in the 250th birthday party of the United States in 2026.
You don’t Google “party planner” for these things. Historically, the townwide task involves a large leadership circle—the people who map out the appropriate events—and many, many doers — the people who find the venues, the money, the music, the speakers, the reenactors, the guests and the clams for the clambake.
Where to turn for advice? Modern planners can find plenty in the pages of our history collected at the Town Archives under the care of Archivist Jen Ratliff. Those records highlight some of the efforts that brought out the best in our town’s civic life.
A benchmark is the 1876 centennial of American independence. Among the lessons for party planners: For a big event, think big.
Sandwich residents of 1876 instead took stock of their place in the nation’s first century, its expansion, political turmoil, wars, industries, cultural achievements and the shared experiences of local life.
The town’s 1876 celebration wasn’t a one-off Fourth of July parade with some speeches, although records suggest those events in the village came off really well. Cultural activities pegged to the centennial occurred at various times and places during the centennial year.
A display of Sandwich glass was featured at the national centennial exhibition in Philadelphia. A novelty of the town’s celebration, the assembling of local and national history into one of America’s first time capsules, was spread out over more than a year until the Centennial Box was finally sealed in late summer 1877.
One limit on the celebration would be spotlighted a century later by Sandwich town historian Russell A. Lovell Jr.: The 1876 planning was highly centralized in the town’s business and governmental elite. So old men called the shots. No women, no young people, no evidence of any organizational involvement outside the tight circle of town leadership.
Example: Nineteenth-century Sandwich was “The town that glass made.” So a top executive of the Boston & Sandwich Glass Co. wrote up a history of the glass factory for inclusion in the time capsule. Fine, but how many employees of any era would vote to have the boss write the history of their workplace?
Lost in 1876 was an opportunity to memorialize the broader fabric of community life. To get a feel for what was missing, read the November 17 “From the Town Archives” story by June Anderson Murphy exploring her family’s connections to glass-making in Sandwich.
As the town evolved, so did the pool of people planning the history parties. Later coalitions added people from Sandwich’s growing number of history associations, museums, men’s and women’s civic groups, educators and just plain good-deed doers.
As the decades rolled on, the planners received more and more guidance—and sometimes grant money—from historical institutions and from the state and federal governments. History was becoming big business.
Local newspaper accounts and planning documents for the birthday celebrations during the 20th century suggest an increased appreciation of the tourism benefits for town businesses and cultural institutions.
August 1939’s celebration of the town’s 300th birthday stands out as a highlight for planners, townspeople and tourists.
The souvenir program addressed target audiences: “Whether you are a newcomer or a prodigal son returning to the land of your fathers...there is a great deal within the town that will prove of interest to you.”
This three-day extravaganza marking Sandwich’s incorporation in 1639 opened much more of the town for public appreciation. The party led with a Grand Ball, including a floor show and moved on with a parade, a clambake, speakers, a band concert, open houses at historic buildings, a canal ride, a boating festival, a baseball game and—for anyone left standing—fireworks.
I count 11 citizen committees involved in planning and executing those activities.
In the 1970s, Lovell, the town historian, was in the forefront of a wide network of local leaders, history buffs and patriotic citizens who organized American Bicentennial events stretching from 1974 to 1976.
His planning memos and post-event reviews are a resource for any generation looking forward to a history party.
In one early memo, he described the Bicentennial work this way: “The idea is to honor our history broadly, not only in the Revolution, but earlier as with our Quaker story and later as with Sandwich glass. The Massachusetts Bicentennial Commission classifies town events as festivals (a costume ball, pageant or parade), heritage events (historical displays, books, maps, etc.) and horizon events (new work of future value, such as bike paths, cemetery cleanup or a restored house).
“First, we need vigorous officers of status and charm to coordinate events as the town’s Bicentennial Committee. Each town committee or board and each social club should be responsible for carrying out one or more projects.”
The kick-off event for Sandwich’s bicentennial celebration was the dedication of a recreated Liberty Pole on July 4, 1974, by the Deacon Eldred House. At the ceremony, Carl Hiler, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, announced the town had formed a Bicentennial Committee. Carl Leino, the committee president, highlighted other activities already in the planning stages, including the creation of a new time capsule to be opened July 4, 2076, the restoration of the town’s historic cemeteries and historical displays throughout Sandwich.
Communication and cooperation among civic, business and cultural groups was extensive. In November 1974, Leino sent a letter to local organizations on behalf of the nine-member committee asking for their support “in formulating plans for bicentennial activities in the next two years.”
By then, the plans included displays at the library, historical society and the renovated Eldred House (serving as the Bicentennial Visitors Center); a guide map of 1776 houses and roads; biographical pamphlets by Lovell, a Bicentennial parade; and the opening of the Centennial Box. Bicentennial activities also were in the works at the schools and at Heritage Plantation (now Heritage Museums & Gardens).
Are we ready for 2026? This year, the town government took several steps that Lovell would have approved: Moving the boulder bearing the Bicentennial plaque from what is now private property at the Deacon Eldred House to a prominent, accessible spot in the park across from Historic Town Hall; creating a displayable letter reminding future generations about the existence of the Bicentennial Box; and forming a nine-member America250 planning committee under the leadership of Leanne Drake, director of community development.
The group is planning a weeklong round of activities for July that include a Town Band concert, parade and fireworks. Meanwhile, the Glasstown Cultural District Steering Committee has requested proposals for a public art project, reflecting “the town’s rich history and creative spirit,” to be placed on the library grounds.
There’s still time and space for more of that creative spirit to come forward.
Robert Thomson is a member of the Friends of the Sandwich Town Archives, a dedicated, all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to supporting and promoting the archives’ collections and the rich, diverse history of the town of Sandwich.