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47-491: Paul Winthrop McCobb was born on June 5, 1917, in Medford, Massachusetts , to parents Winifred Leontine (née Caulfield) and Raymond Winthrop McCobb. His father's family was from Maine and his mother's family was from Ireland . His father was employed, as of 1920, as a men's clothing salesman. His mother was employed as a stenographer . He knew from an early age that he wanted to be an artist, and studied drawing and painting at

94-625: A design and decorating consultant for Martin Feinman's Modernage Furniture in New York City in 1948. While working at Modernage Furniture, McCobb met B.G. Mesberg. Mesberg and McCobb would later be business partners in the Planner and Directional furniture lines. The Planner series has become an emblem of 1950s American furniture. In 1955, he was married to Mary "Mollie" Frances Rogers, an interior designer. Together they had two children. He taught at

141-650: A former governor. Across the river was Ten Hills Farm , which belonged to John Winthrop , Governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony. In 1637, the first bridge (a toll bridge ) across the Mystic River was built at the site of the present-day Cradock Bridge, which carries Main Street into Medford Square. It would be the only bridge across the Mystic until 1787, and as such became a major route for traffic coming into Boston from

188-476: A household in the city was $ 52,476, and the median income for a family was $ 62,409. Males had a median income of $ 41,704 versus $ 34,948 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 24,707. About 4.1% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.7% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over. Medford has three Public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable TV channels. The Public-access television channel

235-827: A mile (1.6 km) to the Powder House where a large supply of American gunpowder was kept; they removed all the powder, sparking a popular uprising known as the Powder Alarm . The Battle of Chelsea Creek took place in the river's watershed in May 1775, and the British attacked via the river's beach in the Battle of Bunker Hill in June. In 1805, the Middlesex Canal linked the Charles and Mystic Rivers to

282-414: A particular neighborhood. Irish Americans have a strong presence in the city and live in all areas. South Medford is a traditionally Italian neighborhood. West Medford, the most affluent of Medford's many neighborhoods, was once the bastion of some of Boston's elite families—including Peter Chardon Brooks , one of the wealthiest men in post-colonial America and father-in-law to Charles Francis Adams —and

329-623: A poem out of the trip across town to her grandparents' house , now the song " Over the River and Through the Wood ". Paul Revere 's famous midnight ride traveled along Main Street and continued onto High Street in Medford Square. An annual re-enactment honors the historic event. The Peter Tufts House (350 Riverside Ave.) is thought to be the oldest all-brick building in New England. Another important site

376-644: A smallpox epidemic which in 1633 killed Nanepashemet's sons, sachems Montowompate and Wonohaquaham . Sagamore Park in West Medford is a native burial site from the contact period, which includes the remains of a likely sachem, either Nanepashemet or Wonohaquaham. After the 1633 epidemic, Nanepashemet's widow, known only as the Squaw Sachem of Mistick , led the Naumkeag, and over the next two decades would deed large parts of Naumkeag territory to English settlers. In 1639,

423-920: A social worker in 1925. Elizabeth Short , the victim of an infamous Hollywood murder and who became known as The Black Dahlia , was born in Hyde Park (the southernmost neighborhood of the city of Boston , Massachusetts) but raised in Medford before going to the West Coast looking for fame. Medford has sent more than its share of athletes to the National Hockey League ; Shawn Bates , though born in Melrose , grew up in Medford, as did Keith Tkachuk , Mike Morrison , David Sacco and Joe Sacco . Former Red Sox pitcher Bill Monbouquette grew up in Medford, as did former Major League Baseball infielder Mike Pagliarulo . Medford

470-479: A tavern and boarding house on High Street, in the late 19th century, resident James Pierpont is rumored to have written " Jingle Bells " after watching a sleigh race from Medford to Malden . There is also a claim that Pierpont wrote it while he was the music director at Unitarian Universalist Church in Savannah, Georgia . He copyrighted the song while there. Another resident, Lydia Maria Child (1802–1880), made

517-599: Is TV3 , The Educational-access television is channel 15, and 16 is the Government-access television (GATV) municipal channel. Medford is home to many schools, public and private. City Council School Committee The City of Medford has several local news and media outlets: Three MBTA subway stations are located in Medford: Wellington on the Orange Line , plus Medford/​Tufts and Ball Square on

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564-654: Is also home to a historic African-American neighborhood that dates to the Civil War. Between 2021 and 2022, the United States Census Bureau ranked Medford as having one of the nation's fastest-growing populations. As of the census of 2010, there were 56,173 people, 22,810 households, and 13,207 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,859.9 inhabitants per square mile (2,648.6/km ). There were 24,046 housing units at an average density of 2,796.0 per square mile (1,079.5/km ). The racial makeup of

611-498: Is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km ) (5.79%) is water. A park called the Middlesex Fells Reservation , to the north, lies partly within the city. This 2,060-acre (8 km ) preserve is shared by Medford with the municipalities of Winchester , Stoneham , Melrose , and Malden . The Mystic River flows roughly west to southeast through the middle of the city. People from Medford often identify themselves with

658-401: Is the "Slave Wall" on Grove Street, built by "Pomp", an enslaved person owned by the prominent Brooks family. The Royall House and Slave Quarters , which once belonged to one of Harvard Law School 's founders, Isaac Royall, Jr. , is a National Historic Landmark and a local history museum. The house was used by Continental Army troops, including George Washington and John Stark , during

705-472: The 54th and 55th Massachusetts regiments and the 5th cavalry. Medford was home to Fannie Farmer , author of one of the world's most famous cookbooks—as well as James Plimpton, the man credited with the 1863 invention of the first practical four-wheeled roller skate , which set off a roller craze that quickly spread across the United States and Europe. Amelia Earhart lived in Medford while working as

752-492: The American Revolutionary War . George Luther Stearns , an American industrialist and one of John Brown's Secret Six . His passion for the abolitionist cause shaped his life, bringing him into contact with the likes of Abraham Lincoln and Ralph Waldo Emerson and starting The Nation magazine. He was given the rank of major by Massachusetts Governor John Andrew and spent most of the Civil War recruiting for

799-592: The Art Institute of Chicago , Cleveland Museum of Art , and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum . In 2021, the Johnson County Museum in Overland Park , Kansas , has held a posthumous exhibition, Paul McCobb: American Designer . This exhibit came from the collection of Samuel Hildreth. Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city 6.7 miles (10.8 km) northwest of downtown Boston on

846-559: The Green Line . The MBTA Commuter Rail Lowell Line stops at West Medford . Medford is served by MBTA bus local routes 80, 94, 95, 96, 99, 100, 101, 108, 134, and 710, plus express routes 325 and 326. Interstate 93 travels roughly north–south through the city. State routes passing through Medford include 16 , 28 , 38 , and 60 . Mystic River The Mystic River is a 7.0-mile-long (11.3 km) river in Massachusetts . In

893-582: The Lower Mystic Lake and travels through East Boston , Chelsea , Charlestown , Everett , Medford , Somerville , and Arlington . The river joins the Charles River to form inner Boston Harbor . Its watershed contains 44 lakes and ponds, the largest of which is Spot Pond in the Middlesex Fells , with an area of 307 acres (124 ha). Significant portions of the river's shores are within

940-575: The Massachusett language , missi-tuk means "large estuary", alluding to the tidal nature of the Mystic River. The resemblance to the English word mystic is a coincidence, which the colonists followed. The Mystic River lies to the north of Boston and flows approximately parallel to the lower portions of the Charles River , encompassing 76 square miles (200 km ) of watershed. The river flows from

987-616: The Massachusetts General Court purchased the land that would become present-day Medford, then within the boundaries of Charlestown , from the Squaw Sachem. Medford was settled in 1630 by English colonists as part of Charlestown , of the Massachusetts Bay Colony . The settlement was originally called "Mistick" by Thomas Dudley , based on the Massachusett name for the area's river . Thomas Dudley's party renamed

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1034-660: The Merrimack River in Lowell . Ten shipyards along the Mystic River built more than 500 clipper ships during the 19th Century. Shipbuilding peaked in the 1840s, as schooners and sloops transported timber and molasses for rum distilleries between Medford and the West Indies. Extensive salt marshes lined the banks of the Mystic River until 1909, when the first Craddock Locks was built across the river, converting salt marsh to freshwater marsh and enabling development. The Amelia Earhart Dam

1081-507: The Middlesex Canal by 1803, the Boston and Lowell Railroad in West Medford in the 1830s, and the Boston and Maine Railroad to Medford Center in 1847. A horse-powered street railway began running to Somerville and Charlestown in 1860. The street railway network expanded in the hands of various private companies and went electric in the late 1890s when trolleys to Everett and downtown Boston were available. Streetcars were converted to buses in

1128-611: The Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts , United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census , Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University , which has its campus on both sides of the Medford and Somerville border. Native Americans inhabited the area that would become Medford for thousands of years prior to European colonization of the Americas . At the time of European contact and exploration, Medford

1175-623: The Mystic River Reservation and are administered by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation , which include a variety of recreation areas. The Mystic River has a long history of industrial use and a continuing water quality problem. Some sections are undergoing an extensive cleanup as part of the construction of Everett's new Encore Boston Harbor casino. American Indians and colonists used weirs to catch alewives and fertilize their crops. In 1631,

1222-581: The Philadelphia Museum School of Art . While he became best known for his furniture designs, McCobb also designed radios and televisions for CBS-Columbia and hi-fi consoles for Bell & Howell , along with other household items. His Planner line, manufactured by Winchendon Furniture Company, was among the best-selling contemporary furniture lines of the 1950s and was in continuous production from 1949 until 1964. McCobb's other well-known furniture lines include Predictor by O'Hearn Furniture,

1269-708: The Vesper George School of Art in Boston . He did not complete his course there, and enlisted in the United States Army as a Private on December 5, 1942. While enlisted in the Army, he was in the Camouflage Corps of the Army Corps of Engineers and worked as an instructor of painted scenery. He only served for a short time and was released on medical discharge for hypertension in 1943. McCobb came to prominence as

1316-400: The 20th century. Interstate 93 was constructed between 1956 and 1963. In 1868, a French astronomer and naturalist, Leopold Trouvelot , was attempting to breed a better silkworm using spongy moths . Several moths escaped from his home at 27 Myrtle Street. Within ten years, the insect had denuded the vegetation in the neighborhood. It spread over North America. In Simpson's Tavern,

1363-923: The Calvin Group by Calvin Furniture, Directional by Calvin Furniture, the Irwin Group by Calvin Furniture, and the Connoisseur Collection by H. Sacks and Sons. McCobb had been struggling with a long illness and died in his home at 1175 York Avenue in New York City, he was 51 years old. Since 2016, the rights to McCobb's furniture designs are managed by Form Portfolios. Form Portfolios is a Danish-American company that works with furniture manufacturers to bring back midcentury modern furniture designs. McCobb's work can be found in public museum collections, including at Brooklyn Museum , San Francisco Museum of Modern Art ,

1410-548: The Charlestown town meeting. In 1674, a Board of Selectmen was elected; in 1684, the colonial legislature granted the ability to raise money independently; and in 1689, a representative to the legislature was chosen. The town got its religious meeting room in 1690 and a secular meeting house in 1696. In 1692, the town engaged its first ordained preacher, Rev. John Hancock Sr. . During his time of service, Rev. Hancock lived in Medford, serving until November 1693. One of his grandsons

1457-456: The Mystic River, pollution and dam building have severely damaged the populations. Pollution came from various mills and a small ship building yard in the past. The main source of pollution in the 20th century and into the present is from drainage from cities and towns in the watershed. Many of the records of nearby drainage pipes have been lost, or have undocumented changes and diversions. Once described as having so many herring that one could cross

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1504-552: The United States is located in Medford, built by Biocell Center , a biotechnology company led by Giuseppe Simoni . Medford was the location of some infamous crimes: Medford is located at 42°25′12″N 71°6′29″W  /  42.42000°N 71.10806°W  / 42.42000; -71.10806 (42.419996, −71.107942). According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 8.6 square miles (22 km ), of which 8.1 square miles (21 km )

1551-547: The city was 78.6% White , 8.80% African American , 0.2% Native American , 6.9% Asian , 0.01% Pacific Islander , 2.8% from other races , and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.4% of the population. There were 22,810 households, of which 22.3% had children under 18 living with them, 42.5% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.1% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who

1598-656: The first ship built in Massachusetts was the Blessing of the Bay , launched from the river's shores. The first bridge was built in 1637; neighboring towns squabbled about the costs for more than a hundred years. The Mystic River played a role in the American Revolution on September 1, 1774 when a force of roughly 260 British regulars rowed from Boston up the river to a landing point near Winter Hill . From there, they marched about

1645-427: The north (though ferries and fords were also used). The bridge would be rebuilt in 1880, 1909, and 2018. Until 1656, all of northern Medford was owned by Cradock, his heirs, or Edward Collins. Medford was governed as a "peculiar" or private plantation. As the land began to be divided among several people from different families, the new owners began to meet and make decisions locally and increasingly independently from

1692-437: The population, but the road network started a long-term expansion in the 18th century. The Medford Turnpike Company was incorporated in 1803 and (as was reasonably common at the time) turned what is now Mystic Avenue over to the city in 1866. The Andover Turnpike Company was incorporated in 1805 and turned what is now Forest Street and Fellsway West over to Medford in 1830. Other major commercial transportation projects included

1739-469: The river on South Street in Medford.) John Townsend Trowbridge 's popular 1882 novel, The Tinkham Brothers' Tide-Mill , had its setting along the river at a time when saltwater still reached the Mystic Lakes. In Dennis Lehane 's novel of the same name, Boston -area Mystic River holds a pivotal narrative development in the mystery. Later, Clint Eastwood directed the acclaimed film adaptation . In

1786-461: The river on their backs, the Mystic River herring run is much smaller than it was in historic times. Pollution has raised bacteria levels and turbidity, making it unfavorable for fish to live in. In 1844, Medford abolitionist and writer Lydia Maria Child described her journey across the Mystic to her grandfather's house in the poem " Over the River and Through the Wood ." ( Grandfather's House , restored by Tufts University in 1976, still stands near

1833-546: The settlement "Meadford". The name may have come from a description of the " meadow by the ford " in the Mystic River, or from two locations in England that Cradock may have known: the hamlet of Mayford or Metford in Staffordshire near Caverswall , or from the parish of Maidford or Medford (now Towcester , Northamptonshire). In 1634, the land north of the Mystic River was developed as the private plantation of Matthew Cradock ,

1880-554: Was John Hancock , who was a later notable figure of the American Revolutionary War and later elected as first and third governor of Massachusetts. The land south of the Mystic River, present-day South Medford , was originally known as "Mistick Field". It was transferred from Charlestown to Medford in 1754. This grant also included the "Charlestown woodlots" (the Medford part of the Middlesex Fells), and part of what

1927-439: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.00. The population was spread out in the city, with 13.8% under the age of 15, 14.3% from 15 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 or older. The median age was 37.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males. The median income for

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1974-423: Was at the time Woburn (now Winchester ). Other parts of Medford were transferred from Charlestown in 1811, Winchester in 1850 ("Upper Medford"), and Malden in 1879. Additional land was transferred to Medford from Malden (1817), Everett (1875), and Malden (1877) again. The population of Medford rose from 230 in 1700 to 1,114 in 1800. After 1880, the population rapidly expanded, reaching 18,244 by 1900. Farmland

2021-533: Was built in 1966, named for Amelia Earhart . In 1950, construction was completed on the Maurice J. Tobin Bridge which spans the Mystic River, joining Charlestown and Chelsea. At one time, the Mystic River was home to many species of fish, including salmon , alewife , blueback herring , striped bass , bluefish , smallmouth bass , largemouth bass , bluegill , carp and more. Although most of these species still live in

2068-551: Was divided into lots and sold to build residential and commercial buildings, starting in the 1840s and 1850s; government services expanded with the population (schools, police, post office) and technological advancement (gas lighting, electricity, telephones, railways). Tufts University was chartered in 1852 and the Crane Theological School at Tufts opened in 1869. In 1865, the Lawrence Rifles volunteer militia company

2115-611: Was formed in Medford during the Civil War . Medford was incorporated as a city in 1892, and was a center of industry, including the manufacture of tiles and crackers , bricks, rum , and clipper ships, such as the White Swallow and the Kingfisher , both built by Hayden & Cudworth. During the 17th century, a handful of major public roads (High Street, Main Street, Salem Street, "the road to Stoneham", and South Street) served

2162-459: Was home to Michael Bloomberg , American businessman, philanthropist, and the founder of Bloomberg L.P. He was the Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013. Mayor Bloomberg attended Medford High School and resided in Medford until after he graduated from college at Johns Hopkins University. His mother remained a resident of Medford until her death in 2011. The only cryobank of amniotic stem cells in

2209-525: Was the winter home of the Naumkeag people, who farmed corn and created fishing weirs at multiple sites along the Mystic River . Naumkeag sachem Nanepashemet was killed and buried at his fortification in present-day Medford during a war with the Tarrantines in 1619. The contact period introduced several European infectious diseases which would decimate native populations in virgin soil epidemics , including

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