A Wicked Good Visit to Mefa

They say that you never explore your own home, and this is true for NOT Duck as well. Despite living in Medford for several years now he has never really explored it. Outside visits to Tufts University and heading to the airport, he's not seen much of this. So one afternoon he set out to rectify this in the historical city of Medford..

Medford, one of 9 Medfords in the United States is located 5 miles northwest of Boston along the Mystic River The city was founded in 1630. The Mystic River has served as the focal point for the city from it's inception. One of the early industries here was ship building along this river. More recently, the Mystic River, visited by NOT, is the river referred to in the song "Over the River and through the woods to Grandmothers house we go."

Even more well known is the song Jingle Bells which was written in a tavern in Medford on High Street at Medford Square. The song referred to sleigh races that took place along Salem Street as it neared the square.

NOT went over to Salem Street to see if he could find any sleigh races but alas, there were none. Maybe it was the lack of snow. Or the need to steer around all those cars.

Medford was one of the corners for the famous colonial "Triangle Trade" of Slaves-Molasses-Rum. Medford was the site of several distilleries which took the shipped molasses from the West Indies and processed it into Rum which was then shipped to Europe. After time, the distilleries began to consolidate and close until there are no more distilleries in Medford today.

Photos by J.J. Kwashnak

Last Updated December 1998