Happy Birthday! Northbridge, MA
The town of Northbridge, Massachusetts has been celebrating its 250th birthday. Incorporated on July 14, 1772, the last major celebration was held during the bicentennial in 1972. Small town birthdays are not what they use to be, but the cute parade down Main Street contained several highlights from New England history. Here are a few of my favorites.
Founded in 1980, the New Liberty Jazz Band performs in parades and concerts throughout New England. They sit on top of a vintage firetruck with a trailer hitched to the back.
A police car from the Massachusetts State Police Museum & Learning Center advertised the opening of their new location. The museum is now in the Whitinsville Bank Building at 1 Memorial Square in Whitinsville, a village of Northbridge. The museum is open on Tuesday and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The new use of this beautiful building is super exciting for the town.
The parade was filled with vintage cars, firetrucks, John Deere trackers, and an antique oil tanker from Nydam Oil. My favorite car was a yellow Ford Model A Convertible Cabriolet with whitewall tires and bright red rims. This car was likely produced in the early 1930s and was perfectly restored.
Finally, the only horses in the parade were the Clydesdales pulling the hearse from Carr Funeral Home. The family-owned business has been serving Northbridge since its founding by patriarch Hial Carr in 1850. Its current building is a mansion built in 1869 for the wealthy Whitin family who owned many of the nearby water-powered mills and for whom the village of Whitinsville is named.
Although different than my usual trips, celebrating the birthday of Northbridge was a fun local event created by enthusiastic people and filled with hints of history. If a town near you is hosting a birthday parade, I recommend attending for a free staycation event, particularly if you have young children or older relatives who are popular around town.
Abby Epplett’s Rating System
Experience: 5/10
Accessibility: 10/10