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Referred to in its beginning as a "peculiar town," Medford was originally a town but a plantation owned by Governor Matthew Craddock. Known as Meadford at the time of its settlement in 1630, the area was a flourishing village located along the Mystic River that boasted numerous farms, fisheries, and shipbuilding. A small town for the first two centuries after it was settled, Medford was conveniently located only a few miles from Boston. Its prime location soon attracted thousands of residents, and by the turn of the twentieth century, Medford had become a cultural mecca with over 18,000 residents. The town's strong sense of community and respect for diversity has continued through the years, transforming a small fishing and farming village into one of the finest residential communities in metropolitan Boston. In Medford, author Anthony Mitchell Sammarco invites his readers to join him on a journey back in time to an earlier Medford, when local transportation meant a ride on a horse-drawn streetcar or a train ride on the Boston & Lowell line. Within these pages, learn little-known facts about the founding of renowned institutions such as Tufts University, view candid snapshots of early Medford residents at work and at play, and discover rare photographs of the area's more unusual influences, from the exotic foods and customs introduced by European settlers to the impact of the town's gypsy moth dilemma.
