An afternoon of talk and tea focusing on the lives and legacies of George and Martha Washington took place last Sunday at the Somerville Museum. —Photos by Beatriz Leite

By Beatriz Leite

This past Sunday, May 21, the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission gathered at the Somerville Museum to honor the history of George and Martha Washington for an afternoon with talks and tea.

In the month of May, the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission partners with local organizations to host events in honor of Somerville’s history, as May is the town’s preservation month, dedicated to highlighting the historical assets that Somerville has to offer.

This particular event covered the ten facts most people don’t know about Martha Washington, such as her previous marriage, her life in war – as she feared she and her children would be kidnapped, her life in Cambridge, and more. The speaker was dressed as the former’s president’s wife as she impersonated the historical figure by speaking on Martha’s life events in a first-person narrative.

The crowd interacted with the speakers with more curiosity about the historical figure as she educated all on the relevance of Martha Washington to the nation and to the Greater Boston area.

The second talk of the afternoon was about the exploits of George Washington around Massachusetts. The speaker was also dressed in character, as the former president, and gave his intel in first person as he developed on when and how the former president arrived in Boston in 1775. He highlighted how the Siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Evolution and how important this area was for the founding of the United States.

The events started at the beginning of the month, on May 4, and have been happening every two or three days since. The historical society has covered the Old Powder House, Milk Row Cemetery, “Researching the History of Your Family & Old House” as well as the Prospect Hill Tower.

In the following week, there will be three events: “Burials, Restorations & Civil War Monument Talk”, “Spark for the American Revolution – Raid on the Old Powder House” and finally, The Docent Opening of the Powder House to close the preservation month festivities.

The Somerville Historic Preservation Commission and the city of Somerville continue to highlight every year the historic importance of Somerville as a way to educate residents and indicate the great and rich history of the city.