FOSTA - Friends of the Sandwich Town Archives

08/08/2026

Be sure to catch "How to Make A Time Capsule," Robert Thomson's article in the Sandwich Enterprise column "From the Town Archives" published August 8 and linked here-- https://bit.ly/How-To-Make-A-Time-Capsule and also available on our website https://www.fostasandwich.com/post/how-to-make-a-time-capsule-lessons-from-the-centennial-box .

The creators of Sandwich's Centennial Box didn't have an instruction manual in 1876 when they launched one of America's first time capsules on a 100-year voyage. Their wood-and-tin box looks as crude to us as the Mayflower or a Mercury spacecraft.But like those other pioneering voyagers, it delivere...

08/05/2026

Thank you to author Cara Robertson for visiting us on the anniversary of the Borden murders to discuss her book, The Trial of Lizzie Borden. Her presentation and ensuing conversation were truly riveting, offering fresh insight into this enduring mystery.

We hope to see you at our next event! Registration is now open.

𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐲𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐤
Thursday, August 20 at 6:00 PM
https://bit.ly/redcometsylviaplath (FREE)

08/01/2026

Like many Bay Staters, author and poet Sylvia Plath spent her summers on Cape Cod. When she was away, she wrote with longing for its beaches and the calm of the ocean. In a 1957 letter to her mother, Plath wrote: “I get an immense sense of eternity and peace from the ocean. I can lose myself in staring at it hour after hour.” Her time on Cape Cod didn’t just offer an escape, it fueled the way she wrote.

Author Heather Clark will join us at the Sandwich Public Library to discuss her biography and explore Plath’s life and enduring legacy which continues to resonate across generations.

𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐲𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝟔:𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐌
𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲

Register now! (FREE)
https://bit.ly/redcometsylviaplath

📷Sylvia Plath (21) in Chatham, Massachusetts, July 1954, Gordon Ames Lameyer Papers (1953-1956), Lilly Library, Indiana University

07/28/2026

A fun bit of local history from the Sandwich Town Archives!

The property on the north shore of Spectacle Pond in Sandwich began as the farmstead of Hezekiah Hoxie (1768–1857). Later known as “the Hermitage,” it became the summer home of Ethel Sugg Ford (1888–1933) and her husband, Thomas Burton Kinraide (1864–1927). An electrical inventor and early X-ray pioneer, Kinraide helped translate Nikola Tesla’s ideas into practical, commercial applications, including work on one of the first portable high-frequency X-ray machines, the “Kinraide Coil.”

Kinraide emigrated to Massachusetts from New Brunswick in 1882. He met Rebecca Thayer Jackson, wife of Gideon F. T. Reed, head of Tiffany’s Paris office. Her financial support let him focus on scientific research. By 1900 he lived in the newly built home Ravenscroft at 38 Spring Park Avenue in Jamaica Plain, where he maintained a laboratory.

Around 1905, while fishing on Cape Cod, Kinraide noticed Hoxie’s former land for sale at Spectacle Pond. He bought the property and expanded the Quaker building and barn until the house had twelve rooms and a screened porch. In 1910 he installed a log cabin from New Brunswick. A neighboring beach cottage, once a 14-by-14-foot widow’s walk on Ravenscroft, was later moved to the Cape.

Between about 1905 and 1920, the family split time between Jamaica Plain and the Hermitage until public divorce proceedings involving Ethel and Thomas Kinraide brought their private lives into public view. During this period, Thomas’s sister, Mary Annetta “Nettie” Kinraide (1862–1951), and her husband, LaForest J. Carpenter (1859–1926), lived at the Hermitage with their children: Lillian, Rachel, and Ethel (later known as Shirley). Carpenter served Sandwich as a selectman and assessor.

The main house burned on March 23, 1952. Today, the Lakewood Hills Associates Club House on Kiahs Way, named for Hezekiah, stands near the former site.

View More: https://bit.ly/kinraide

📸 Sandwich Town Archives: Cecil Kinraide, Robert Kinraide, and Ethel Carpenter at the Hermitage, undated.

07/28/2026

📣Our Trial of Lizzie Borden event is now full but we have another exciting author event for you on August 20th!

𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐲𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐤
𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝟔:𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐌

Register now!
https://bit.ly/redcometsylviaplath

Join us for an illuminating evening of literature, biography, and conversation about Sylvia Plath with her award-winning biographer, Heather Clark. Clark will discuss Plath's life and legacy in all its brilliance, ambition, and complexity to reveal a fiercely intelligent, driven, and innovative writer whose work continues to resonate across generations. Clark, a Falmouth native, will also discuss Plath's ties to Cape Cod.

07/24/2026

We had a wonderful time learning about the history of the Cape Cod Canal during today's Sandwich Town Archives Open House!

What treasures do you want to see next time? Let us know in the comments!

07/22/2026

An 1866 case shows how marriage promises were once enforceable in court and what that meant for women’s rights in early America. Click the image to read FOSTA's latest "From the Town Archives" article by William Daley. You can also access it in the July 17 edition of The Sandwich Enterprise https://bit.ly/Noble-P-Swift-Sued-For-Breach-Of-Promise.

In April 1866, Emily Harrison of Sandwich brought suit against Noble P. Swift of West Sandwich (presently Sagamore) for Breach of Promise to Marry. Now this may seem like a quaint and curious situation, but in centuries past it was a serious matter and courts granted a woman the legal right to sue w...

07/21/2026

Curious what is in the Sandwich Town Archives? Drop by for their open house this Friday!

𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

Join us this 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟐𝟒 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝟏𝟏:𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐌 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟏:𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐌 for an exclusive look at the treasures of the Sandwich Town Archives, featuring a special display of artifacts related to the Cape Cod Canal.

Drop in - No registration required.

07/14/2026

We have another exciting event for you next month, this time about poet Sylvia Plath and her connections to Cape Cod!

Join us on Thursday, August 20th at 6:00 PM for an illuminating evening of literature, biography, and conversation about Sylvia Plath with her award-winning biographer, Heather Clark. Clark will discuss Plath's life and legacy in all its brilliance, ambition, and complexity to reveal a fiercely intelligent, driven, and innovative writer whose work continues to resonate across generations. Clark, a Falmouth native, will also discuss Plath's ties to Cape Cod.

Register Now!

Join us for an illuminating evening of literature, biography, and conversation about Sylvia Plath with her award-winning biographer, Heather Clark. Clark will discuss Plath's life and legacy in all its brilliance, ambition, and complexity to reveal a fiercely intelligent, driven, and innovative writ...

07/07/2026

What really happened on that August morning in Fall River?

Join us on Tuesday, August 4 at 6:00 PM as Dr. Cara Robertson discusses The Trial of Lizzie Borden, her acclaimed account of one of America's most notorious murder cases. With compelling local connections and fresh archival insights, this FREE event is a unique opportunity to explore the true story behind one of history's most enduring mysteries.

Register today!
https://bit.ly/trialoflizzieborden

Discover the true story behind one of America's most infamous murder cases. Join author Cara Robertson for an engaging discussion of her book, The Trial of Lizzie Borden.   The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Robertson recounts the true story of one of the most sensational legal battles in American...