Stories from Acton

Minuteman Thomas Darby survived the battle of Concord but died at White Plains.

Charles Heywood, railroad executive, inventor and owner of 2 Acton mills, and wife Ann were philanthropists.

Profiles of the six South Acton women who were the first female voters registered in Acton.

West Acton's roller skating rink and roller polo team added excitement to village life.

Acton's Old Chestnut Tree was apparently a favorite of Henry David Thoreau.

Aaron Woods, hermit and supposed miser, was the subject of national news interest twice in the 1870s.

West Acton's barrel shop before and after the destructive fire of 1913.

The West Acton Yacht Club provided entertainment at Lake Nagog at the turn of the twentieth century.

A postcard with a "bird's eye view" of Acton center shows how undeveloped it was outside of the village.

John Fletcher influenced Acton through his boot and shoe business, advocacy for temperance and against slavery, and service to the town.

Henry Barker's cider mill was a fixture in South Acton for many years but not much was written about his life.

Pictures found in a Kinsley Road, Acton attic show employees of Hall Brothers and members of the large Beach & Wamboldt family.

Francis Skinner grew up in Acton but created a very different life in Boston for his descendants.

A letter led to information about Sarah (Faulkner) Skinner who went blind in her later years.

The Society's dance card collection sheds light on entertainment in earlier days.

The New England Sawmill Unit went to northern Scotland in World War 1 to provide lumber for the war effort.

A photograph of an early baseball team needs identification.

School upkeep needs, safety concerns, and budgetary pressures are nothing new, as research into Acton school conditions shows.