The Women of the Kindergarten for the Blind (Event Video)

Jen Hale, Lead Archivist of the Perkins School for the Blind talks about the remarkable women associated with the Kindergarten for the Blind in Jamaica Plain during the late nineteenth century. The Kindergarten was the first of its kind in the United States and had considerable support from prominent women in the Boston area, including Isabella Stewart Gardner, Louisa May Alcott, and an eleven year old Helen Keller. After opening its doors to students in 1887, the Kindergarten was staffed by several exceptional women and some of the lasting impacts of their innovations may be surprising to audiences.

VictorianJamaica Plain Historical SocietyMarch 28, 2026event video, book talk, Firefighters

A Boston Harbor Islands Adventure (Event Video)

A talk by Stephanie Schorow and volunteers from the Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands on A Boston Harbor Island Adventure: the Great Brewster Journal of 1891. In July 1891, four intrepid women from Lowell, Massachusetts, set off for Great Brewster Island in Boston Harbor for an adventure they would remember all their lives. Calling themselves “the Merrie Trippers,” the women created a journal of their 17-day sojourn with entries, illustrations and photographs. But they did not include their names. In an illustrated lecture Schorow explores the journal’s discovery, its intriguing entries and photographs, and how volunteer researchers managed to identify the writers. Some of the volunteers read excerpts.

VictorianJamaica Plain Historical SocietyOctober 29, 2023event video, book talk, Firefighters

Mapping Places From Above (Event Video)

A talk by Emily Bowe of the Leventhal Map Center about the the Boston Public Library’s remarkable collection of approximately 500 bird’s-eye view maps from the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. How were these maps produced? How accurate are they? What sorts of historical information can we learn from them? Join Emily for a deep dive on bird’s-eye view maps of Boston, mapmaking techniques and more.

VictorianJamaica Plain Historical SocietyOctober 6, 2023event video, book talk, Firefighters

Great Boston Fire Book Talk (Event Video)

A talk by Stephanie Schorow about her book 'The Great Boston Fire’. For two days in November 1872, a massive fire swept through Boston, leaving the downtown in ruins and the population traumatized. Stephanie recounts the fire’s history from the foolish decisions that precipitated it to the heroics of firefighters who fought it.

VictorianJamaica Plain Historical SocietySeptember 17, 2022event video, book talk, Firefighters

Victorian Era