From the land of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, to the land of John and Sam Adams—a wheelwright, a blacksmith, and an editor recently hit the road to celebrate a very special cannon.
Our tradespeople often do work for other museums, but this cannon was a special case. The town of Braintree, Massachusetts was celebrating its 375th birthday, and commissioned Colonial Williamsburg’s Wheelwright and Carriage Shop for a perfect birthday gift! The council wanted new wheels for the cannon that sits in the center of town, in front of local and national hero General Thayer’s house.
Journeyman Wheelwright Andrew De Lisle and blacksmith Mark Sperry drove up to Braintree to install the wheels last weekend in a special town ceremony with speeches and Andrew gave a presentation about how the wheels were made. Discussion of this project and partnership actually started a year ago. Click here to read more about how it all came together and check out the photo slideshow that documents the progress. I’ve also posted a video of the wheels being straked (getting the tires put on).
The real celebration happened June 26, when the town banded together to hold a Cannon Ball (haha, get it?)—a ball in honor of the new cannon wheels.
Andrew and I didn’t quite know what to expect from a black-tie gala in honor of cannon wheels, but it was quite the party! There were some very special guests of honor: Governor Baker of Massachusetts said a few words to start the celebration, Mayor Sullivan was in attendance, and a couple of state and national senators were also there. The town hall quickly filled with residents and friends of the cannon project, and as the symphony played canons (so many puns)—we danced, ate, and toasted to the health and long life of the town and its cannon.
Photo Courtesy: Gary Higgins/The Patriot Ledger
Much like Colonial Williamsburg, Braintree is a small, tight-knit community that cares a lot about its history and that was clear from our time there. The cannon wheels Colonial Williamsburg’s tradespeople produced for the town were from one historical community to another, and that thread was strong and certainly a reason to celebrate. We were able to share with the town a piece of what we do here in the Revolutionary City, and together we celebrated the American history we all share.
Click on our podcast to hear more about the challenges our wheelwrights faced during this project.
Guest Blogger: Claire Gould
Claire Gould is an Editor-Writer (and word nerd) in Educational Media with a passion for American History and civics. She edits the Teacher Gazette e-newsletter, manages the Colonial Williamsburg Education Facebook page, and writes and edits content for HERO, Teacher Institute, and many other projects.
She’s lived in Sydney, Chicago, New Jersey, and Delaware, but is now proud to be a Williamsburgian!
What fun!! It makes me proud to know our history museums - CW and Braintree - are keeping history alive and our tradespeople get to share their wonderful talents with others - not just CW.
Keep up the great posts/blog posts!!