On May 20, 1660, several Ipswich citizens petitioned the Massachusetts General Court for a tract of land west of Boston.  The Court authorized the land grant, and in the summer of 1660, John Warner, John Ayers, William Pritchard, and a fourth unknown man visited the land known as Quaboag Plantation to plan their new settlement.  The land was eventually deeded to the men by an Indian, for about $100 in today’s currency.  The new settlement was named Brookfield but its survival was not assured.  In fact, although the town was incorporated in 1673, the first Town Meeting in Brookfield was not held until 1718.

Originally named Western, the second town to be incorporated was Warren in 1741; the third was New Braintree, first settled in 1709 and incorporated in 1751.  My town, North Brookfield, was first settled in 1664 and incorporated in 1812.  West Brookfield was incorporated in 1848 and East Brookfield not until 1920.

Events celebrating the founding of Quaboag Plantation have taken place all this year.  This weekend, the official Homecoming Weekend, has been particularly noteworthy.  Yesterday, the West Brookfield Common served as a gathering place:  colonial re-enactors were on site all day, and Native Americans in full regalia were encamped on nearby Foster Hill.  I decided to visit the Merriam-Gilbert Library in West Brookfield, as the current historical exhibit, closing in a few days, features old photos of East Brookfield and North Brookfield:

Today, the Quaboag 350th Anniversary Parade began at noon in front of the West Brookfield Elementary School on Route 67.  Everyone loves a parade!  The day was mostly sunny, with occasional clouds scudding over the sun to dissipate the heat. I arrived a bit early, so I claimed an excellent vantage point right at the beginning of the action.  I stood entranced throughout the two and a half hours, occasionally sitting on the ground when the Shriners got to be too much, then I biked home.

I think I took over two hundred photos (but deleted over half of them).  I won’t bore you with descriptions of the marching bands, the militias, and the Scout troups.  Instead, I’m going to direct you to my Picasa Web album. Click on the link below to browse the photos (you can also view them as a slide show).  I don’t think you can exit gracefully from the album and return to this post, so please read the caveats below the link before exiting the blog:

Quaboag 350th Anniversary Parade

Please keep the following in mind:

• This blog is not monetized, but in the interests of accuracy, I’ve included photos of the banners which announce commercial sponsors
• Many of the photos with banners include headless or legless people; this wasn’t exactly deliberate, but all I cared about was documenting the float that follows, so please don’t make snide comments about my photography skills
• I didn’t photograph all parade participants, but I tried hard to subvert my tendency toward randomness and apologize in advance to those I left out
• If I’ve misidentified anyone, please let me know and I’ll correct the caption

One last point: bloggers are supposed to credit sources.  The historical information about the six towns is from the Quaboag Current, a weekly newspaper owned by Turley Publications, Executive Editor Tim Kane.