Massachusetts

Massachusetts unveils bust of famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass

Published

2 years ago

February 14, 2024

Massachusetts unveils bust of famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass

BOSTON (AP) — A bust of famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass was unveiled in the Massachusetts Senate Chamber on Wednesday, the first bust of an African American to be permanently added to the Massachusetts Statehouse.

It’s also the first bust to be added to the Senate Chamber in more than 125 years.

Senate President Karen Spilka emphasized the ties that Douglass — who lived for a time in the state and delivered speeches in the Senate chamber and at Boston’s Faneuil Hall — had to Massachusetts.

“Though he was not born here, in Massachusetts we like to call Frederick Douglass one of our own,” she said. “He came to our state after escaping enslavement. This is where he wanted to come.”

Douglass also first heard news of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation while in Boston, she said.

With the bust, Douglass takes his place as a founding father in the chamber and offers some balance in a Statehouse which honors people who are predominantly white, leaving out the stories of countless people of color, Spilka said.

Noelle Trent, president of the Museum of African American History in Boston, also emphasized the connections Douglass had to the state.

“It is here where he would write his groundbreaking book the ‘Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave,’” she said. “It is here where he would begin his career as one of the most renowned orators of the 19th century.”

Senate leaders chose February 14 to unveil the bust. With the true date of his birth unknown, Douglass opted to celebrate February 14 as his birthday. A quote by Douglass – “Truth, justice, liberty, and humanity will ultimately prevail” – adorns one wall of the chamber.

Other states have recognized Douglass.

In 2020, Chicago renamed a sprawling park on the city’s West Side after Douglass and his wife, Anna Murray-Douglass. Earlier that year, county lawmakers voted to rename the airport in Rochester, New York, after Douglass. Also in 2020, Maryland unveiled bronze statues of Douglass and Harriet Tubman in the Maryland State House.

Douglass was born into slavery in Maryland in February 1818. His mother died when he was young and he never knew his father. Barred from attending school, Douglass taught himself to read and, in 1838, dressed as a sailor and with the help of a freed Black woman, boarded a train and fled north to New York City.

Fearing human traffickers, Douglass, now married to Anna Murray, fled again to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he gained a reputation as an orator speaking out against slavery with the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. Abolitionists ultimately purchased his freedom, and the family settled in Rochester, New York.

In 1845 in Boston, Douglass published his experiences as an enslaved person in his first autobiography, which became a bestseller.

He also embraced the women’s rights movement, helped formerly enslaved people fleeing to freedom with the Underground Railroad, and bought a printing press so he could run his own newspaper, The North Star.

In 1855, he published his second autobiography, “My Bondage and My Freedom.”

During the Civil War, Douglass recruited Black men to fight for the Union, including two of his sons who served in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment. A memorial to the famed Civil War unit made up of Black soldiers is located directly across the street from the Massachusetts Statehouse.

He met with Lincoln to press for equal pay and treatment for Black troops and pushed to ensure that formerly enslaved people were guaranteed the rights of American citizens during Reconstruction.

He also served in high-ranking federal appointments, including consul general to Haiti from 1889-1891.

Douglass died from a heart attack on Feb. 20, 1895, at age 77.

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Massachusetts

Here are 10 haunted places in Massachusetts to visit this spooky season

Published

5 hours ago

October 21, 2025

Press Room

Here are 10 haunted places in Massachusetts to visit this spooky season

Ready to celebrate Halloween next week?

While preparations for the holiday typically include buying candy and watching spooky movies, if you’re a true horror fan, you’re probably looking for ways to celebrate the more scary aspect of the holiday. Luckily, Massachusetts has plenty of haunted places you can visit this spooky season, including restaurants, hotels, cemeteries and even ships.

Here are 10 must-visit haunted places in Massachusetts to check out this fall.

Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast

For those who love true crime, this Fall River bed and breakfast allows you to eat or stay at the scene of a historic murder. The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast is the former house of Lizzie Borden, the primary yet exonerated suspect in the unsolved axe murders of her father Andrew Borden and stepmother Abby Gray in 1892.

Guests can stay in the rooms where the murders happened and eat breakfast in the very room where the first autopsies were performed. Many report a chilling dining experience, with guests often seeing apparitions of Lizzie or her deceased parents.

Room rates at the Lizzie Borden House typically range from $200-400, with breakfast for an additional $20 per person. To secure the room option you want, it is recommended to book as far in advance as possible. The hardest months to get a booking are August and October.

If you don’t want to sleep with ghosts but still want to visit, the Lizzie Borden House also offers daily tours from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at $30 a ticket, nightly ghost tours from 7 to 9 p.m. at $25 a ticket and nightly ghost hunts from 10 p.m. to midnight at $40 a ticket.

Location: 230 Second St., Fall River

Omni Parker House

Founded in 1855, the Omni Parker House is one of the oldest continuously operating hotels in the country, housing names like Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawhorne, Ulysses S. Grant, John F. Kennedy, Judy Garland, James Dean and more.

However, the most popular name at the Omni is Harvey Parker, who is believed to haunt the hotel he once founded. Guests have reported seeing an apparition of a older man with a mustache wearing clothes from the 1800s floating through the hallways or standing inside guest rooms, according to the Omni Hotels’ “Unpacked” blog.

Other ghostly encounters include noise complaints for empty rooms, a lingering smell of whiskey and the elevator traveling to the third floor – the floor where Charles Dickens once stayed – by itself.

If you want to see Parker with your own eyes, make a reservation to stay at Omni Parker House online.

Location: 60 School St., Boston

S. K. Pierce Mansion

Back in the 1800s, this historic mansion was built for thriving local businessman Sylvester Pierce. Pierce’s wife died just weeks after moving in, and the building eventually became a boarding house known as The Victorian, which filled the property with drinking, gambling and prostitution.

The mansion has been certified as haunted by six mediums and paranormal experts, according to The Gardner News. During an episode of “Ghost Hunters” filmed at the property, it was determined that Pierce Mansion is inhabited by a trio of ghosts – a 19-year-old girl, a five-year-old boy and a resident who died in a fire.

Today, the mansion offeres guided tours on weeknights and weekend afternoons for $40 per person. For the brave of heart, Pierce Mansion also offers ghost tours and overnight stays. Tickets and scheduling can be found online.

Location: 4 W Broadway, Gardner

Turner’s Seafood

Of course, many of the state’s haunted restaurants are in Salem. One of these is Turner’s Seafood located in the historic Lyceum Hall, home to famous visitors like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederick Douglass, Henry David Thoreau, John Quincy Adams and Alexander Graham Bell, who gave the first demonstration of the telephone in Lyceum.

However, the history of this restaurant reaches back even further. Before the grounds were Lyceum Hall, they were the site of an apple orchard belonging to Bridget Bishop, the first woman killed in the Salem Witch Trials.

Visitors report seeing a figure believed to be Bishop in windows, mirrors and staircases while wearing a long, white gown. Whenever guests in the dining room get a strong whiff of apple, it is believed that Bishop is lingering nearby.

See if you can sniff Bishop out in the main dining room from noon to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday or noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Guests can request a table online, but walk-ins are welcome.

Location: 43 Church St., Salem

Spider Gates Cemetery

Spider Gates Cemetery, also known as Friends or Quaker Cemetery, lies deep in the woods of Kettle Brook Resrvoir out near Worcester. Legend says that the former entrance to the 18th century cemetery is the eighth gate to Hell, according to ghost tour company Boston Ghosts.

A 2024 report from the Worcester Telegram shares the stories of various hauntings on the cemetery grounds: a Hanging Tree haunted by someone who took their own life among its branches; a second cemetery across the street that disappears after you see it once; the river Styx running underneath a cave where a young woman was murdered; and the voice of Marmaduke Earle, who speaks to those that rest their head on his gravestne at midnight.

Location: 15 Earle St., Leicester

Wayside Inn

The oldest hotel in the entire country, The Wayside Inn dates all the way back to 1661, when John How, one of the first settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was granted a license for a house of public entertainment, or “pub,” in Marlborough, which began a multi-generation tradition of family innkeepers.

The first two-room dwelling was built in 1703, acting as the How family house until 1716, when four Sudbury selectmen granted Samuel’s son David How permission to keep a house of entertainment for travelers.

Today, the inn is believed to be haunted by former resident Jerusha Howe, who ran the inn with her brother Lyman until her death in 1842. According to Boston Ghosts, Howe died from a broken heart after the man she was supposed to marry never returned from England, and now she haunts the hotel looking for male companionship. Male guests of rooms nine and ten – Howe’s former living quarters – have reported feeling her presence or finding her at the foot of their bed in the night.

Double-occupancy rates at The Wayside range from $220-240 per night, and reservations can be booked by calling the front desk at 978-443-1776.

Location: 72 Wayside Inn Road, Sudbury

Hoosac Tunnel

Looking for a ghostly encounter without staying the night? Take a drive by the Hoosac Tunnel in the Berkshires. Running along the Deerfield River, this tunnel is believed to be haunted by the 200 deaths that happened during its 24-year construction, earning the tunnel the nickname of “the bloody pit.”

While only freight trains can drive through the tunnel, past travelers have repoted hearing voices and seeing orbs from outside, says US Ghost Adventures.

Location: Eastern portal at 239 River Road, Drury

Warren Tavern

Established in 1780, Warren Tavern is the oldest tavern in Massachusetts and one of the first buildings to be erected after Charlestown was ransacked and burned by the British in 1775. Many founding fathers visited the tavern, including Paul Revere and George Washington, whose funeral speech was given there.

The tavern is named after Dr. Joseph Warren, a major general in the Revolutionary War who sent Paul Revere on his messenger ride and lost his life in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Bar guests have reported seeing a man in a colonial wig and tights and hearing the click of Colonial-era heeled boots, leading many to believe that Dr. Warren’s spirit still resides at his namesake tavern. Another female entity, possibly a relative, has been seen hanging around the front room in Victorian clothing.

Warren Tavern is open for dining from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily. Reservations are not required, but can be made by calling 617-241-8142.

Location: 2 Pleasant St., Charlestown

The Mount

The Mount, the former home of author Edith Wharton, is believed to be haunted by various spirits, according to haunted research company Haunted US. Paranormal activity may date al the way back to when Wharton was alive, as the frightened author frequently claimed she was followed by “formless horrors.”

In 1942, when the estate became the Foxhollow School for Girls, students began to complain about hearing strange noises and phantom footsteps. Visitors have also reported apparitions, both of a young house servant wandering the halls and of Wharton herself reading books.

The Mount offers ghost tours about these stories and more on select dates from July through October. Tickets, which can be bought online, cost $30 per adult or $25 per child. The estate also offers ghost tours for children and regular house tours.

Location: 2 Plunkett St., Lenox

USS Salem

Quincy is home to one of the most haunted ships in the nation, the USS Salem. Once the most powerful vessel in the United States Navy, the USS Salem treated over a thousand civilians after a powerful earthquake in Greece during August of 1953. Many of the patients suffered mortal injuries, and it is believed that they still roam the passageways of the ship alongside her many former sailors.

On select Friday and Saturday nights from 7 p.m. to midnight, The Greater Boston Paranormal Associates offer guided paranormal investigations aboard the ship for $50 per person, which includes state-of-the-art equipment. The ship is also open for general admission self-guided tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday through Nov. 23.

Location: 549 South St. Pier 3, Quincy

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Massachusetts

Obituary for Travis E. Green at Brookside Chapel & Funeral Home

Published

1 day ago

October 20, 2025

Press Room

Obituary for Travis E. Green at Brookside Chapel & Funeral Home

Haverhill Travis E. Green, 52, a resident of Haverhill since 2014, died on Thursday, October 16, 2025, after being stricken at home. Born in Concord, Massachusetts, son of the late James and Edna Griffin Green, Travis was raised in Maynard and attended St. Bridgets School. After moving to Concord with

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Massachusetts

Boston Police Blotter: Hawaii child rape fugitive arrested in Massachusetts

Published

2 days ago

October 18, 2025

Press Room

Boston Police Blotter: Hawaii child rape fugitive arrested in Massachusetts

U.S. Marshals in Worcester arrested a woman wanted for child rape in Hawaii.

Authorities arrested Coleen Kuamo`o, also known as Malama Kuamo`o, 43, who is wanted in Hawaii for one count of sexual assault in the first degree, three counts of sexual assault in the third degree and one count of use of a computer in the commission of a crime. Authorities say that she assaulted a child in Wailuku, Hawaii.

“Anyone who thinks they can flee across the country to avoid facing justice is mistaken,” said Acting U.S. Marshal for Massachusetts Kevin Neal. The U.S. Marshals Service is committed to ensuring fugitives face justice – no matter where they run.”

The Maui Police Department and the Marshals Service in Hawaii contacted the Massachusetts Marshals Service in Massachusetts because they believed the fugitive was hiding in the Bay State. Marshals tracked her down in Worcester Thursday.

Incident summary

Between 10 a.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday, the Boston Police Department reports that its officers responded to 299 incidents. Those included two robberies, six aggravated assaults, five thefts from vehicles, two stolen cars, and 25 instances of miscellaneous larceny.

Arrests

All of the below-named defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

– Shaneya Hollins, 2053R Columbus Ave., Roxbury. Operating a motor vehicle in violation of license class.
– Devin Hines, 10 Forsyth St., Chelsea. Possession of burglarious instrument.
– Daniel Rosario, 2030 Columbus Ave., Jamaica Plain. Municipal violation: Drinking alcohol in public.
– Tomongo Bey, 107 Devon St., Boston. External warrant arrest.
– Dayquan Hardy, 31 Oak Grove Ave., Springfield. Larceny under $250.
– Kerri Dunbar, 444 E. Third St., Boston. External warrant arrest.
– Dominique Hines, 106 Heath St., Boston. Felony possession of a firearm.
– Luis Abreu-Shanlatte, 250 Margaretta Drive, Hyde Park. Shoplifting over $100 by concealing.
– Terrell Harris, 64 Lithgow St., Dorchester. Shoplifting by concealing.
– Chamelea Miller, 378 Centre St., Dorchester. Shoplifting by asportation.
– Alex McGee, no address listed. Trespassing.
– Stanley Winn, 1352 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester. Trespassing.
– Jailson Gomescarvalho, no address listed. Criminal operation of a motor vehicle with suspended license.
– Jailene Rentas, 145 Navarre St., Roslindale. Operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

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