By 1900, Worcester was home to the largest Swedish population in the eastern United States. These new residents brought an innovative and unique spirit to the community. Industrialist John Jeppson invented an artificial emery stone, and his experiments in the abrasives field became the foundation of the Norton Company. Worcester welcomed Swedish immigrants who preserved traditions through various lodges, church congregations, and Swedish-owned businesses...

The state of Massachusetts was home to many historic institutions; however, few compared to the size and elegance of the asylums built in Worcester and Danvers during the late-nineteenth century. Designed using the linear plan devised by Dr. Thomas Kirkbride, their curious forms were made to adhere to the principles of moral treatment. Here, the mentally ill were taken out of prisons and dungeons and placed into handsome buildings with bright, airy...

A “lucid, compassionate, [and] inspiring” chronicle of an American Rabbi’s struggle to keep the faith of his congregation (Chicago Tribune).
 
Journalist Paul Wilkes spent a year with Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum of Congregation Beth Israel in Worcester, Massachusetts. He silently observed the Rabbi’s life and work, got to know his congregation, and listened in as he performed the myriad tasks both spiritual...

"This book is a selective history of the railroads in the Monadnock Region, focused on their operating years and their relationships to the communities they served"--Title page verso