Massachusetts Trivia & Tidbits - Page 11

Looking for Massachusetts trivia? Try our list Massachusetts little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold is credited with naming Martha’s Vineyard after both his daughter and mother-in-law. It was a prudent choice, as his mother-in-law helped finance his voyage.

first appeared: 6/1/2003

Japanese fisherman John Manjiro, rescued in 1841 by whaling captain William Whitefield, was invited to join Whitefield’s home in Fairhaven (pop. 16,159). He later served as an interpreter between the United States and Japan.

first appeared: 5/25/2003

The Sippican Historical Society in Marion (pop. 5,123) is housed in the 1834 home of Dr. Walton Nathan Ellis. At that time, Ellis charged the going rate for a housecall: 50 cents.

first appeared: 5/18/2003

The Elizabeth was the unluckiest whaling ship to sail from Freetown (pop. 9,433). On its 1841 maiden voyage, the captain and five crewmen were killed when a whale struck their small boat. On its second voyage, the ship burned off the coast of Fiji.

first appeared: 5/11/2003

An experiment in communal living in 1843 that lasted only seven months, “Fruitlands” in Harvard (pop. 5,500) was so named because inhabitants hoped to live off the “fruits” of the land.

first appeared: 5/4/2003

When the Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse was destroyed by the Hurricane of 1938, residents of this Martha’s Vineyard town (pop. 3,885) rejected a modern steel replacement. Instead they brought in an 1875 tower by barge from Ipswich (pop. 12,987).

first appeared: 4/27/2003

Boston Latin School, the oldest continuously existing public school in America, was founded April 23, 1635—pre-dating Harvard, the oldest American college, by one year.

first appeared: 4/20/2003

When Lynn resident Jan Matzeliger was granted patent number 274,207 in 1883 for a machine that sewed the upper part of the shoe to the sole, he revolutionized the industry and made Lynn “the shoe capital of the world.”

first appeared: 4/13/2003

The first game of intercollegiate baseball was played between Williams and Amherst colleges in Pittsfield (pop. 45,793) in 1859. Actually it was a doubleheader—a baseball game and chess match.

first appeared: 4/6/2003

The state’s record lake trout, weighing 22 pounds, 10 ounces, was caught by Anthony Wieczorek in the Quabbin Reservoir in 1988.

first appeared: 3/30/2003

The Glacial Potholes on the Deerfield River in Shelburne Falls (pop. 1,951) were formed when rushing water from ancient glaciers created whirlpools containing stones that eroded the rock into pothole shapes.

first appeared: 3/23/2003

Six lighthouses have been built along Cape Ann’s coastline to protect seafarers from rocky shores. In 1880, artist Winslow Homer spent a year living at one of them, Ten Pound Island Light, which he painted several times.

first appeared: 3/16/2003

Mayflower passengers Edward Winslow and Susanna White, both widowed during the first winter in the New World, were the first pilgrims to be married in New England—on May 12, 1621.

first appeared: 3/9/2003

When an unusual stranding of sea turtles occurred on the shores of Cape Cod Bay during a 1999-2000 cold snap, rescue workers transported many of them to the New England Aquarium in Boston where most survived, later to be released.

first appeared: 3/2/2003

While touring New England, President Theodore Roosevelt was injured slightly when his carriage collided with an electric trolley on Sept. 3, 1902, in Pittsfield (pop. 45,793).

first appeared: 2/23/2003

Boston resident Emma Nutt became the first female telephone operator in 1878, working for $3 a day. Her career at the switchboard lasted 33 years.

first appeared: 2/16/2003

Babe Ruth hit his first major-league home run on May 6, 1915, while playing for the Boston Red Sox.

first appeared: 2/9/2003

Though born in Vermont, Calvin Coolidge served as governor of Massachusetts from 1919-1921 before being elected president of the United States in 1923.

first appeared: 2/2/2003

The Bull and Finch, a pub on Boston’s Beacon Street, was the filming location for the television show Cheers.

first appeared: 1/26/2003

A number of islands in Boston Harbor, several with campgrounds and historic sites, have been incorporated into a national park area. The islands include Peddocks, Little Brewster, Grape, Bumpkin, and World’s End.

first appeared: 1/19/2003

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