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X-WR-CALNAME:Stoneham Historical Society & Museum
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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Stoneham Historical Society & Museum
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260910T190000
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DTSTAMP:20260817T141601Z
CREATED:20260815T222226Z
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UID:10000205-1789066800-1789072200@stonehamhistoricalsociety.org
SUMMARY:Robbed in the 'Hardest\, Longest Race'
DESCRIPTION:  \nHow Ford Motor Co. cheated Shawmut Motor Co. from Stoneham in an epic cross-country race\nIn 1909\, America was home to 253 automakers\, a landscape of visionaries\, schemers\, and would-be barons of the new century. But when playboy millionaire M. Robert Guggenheim announced an audacious coast-to-coast auto race from New York City to the Seattle World’s Fair\, only three of those companies were brassy enough to show up at the starting line: Acme\, Ford\, and Shawmut – the latter built in a tiny factory in Stoneham\, Mass. \nFord was looking to make a name for its tiny affordable runabout – the Model T\, while Shawmut was struggling to survive after a devasting factory fire in 1908. \nThe race would take weeks on a brutal 4\,106-mile course of mountain ranges\, mud bogs\, washed-out wagon bridges\, and harrowing canyon trails\, long before the era of asphalt highways\, seatbelts\, and service stations. \nBut Henry Ford was intent on proving that the Model T could go the distance and beat out the muscular luxury cars—and he didn’t plan to leave it to chance. Indeed\, a little over three weeks after the race began\, a Ford crossed the line hours ahead of the Shawmut. \nExcept that victory was a fraud. \nAuthor Eric Moskowitz will illuminate the harrowing adventure\, including the dirty tricks and downright sabotage that meant the Shawmut Motors crew from Stoneham – drivers T. Arthur Pettengill\, Robert Messer\, and mechanic Earle Chapin – were robbed of their moment in the spotlight as the true winners of the race. \nRace route\n  \nAttendees can visit the SHSM exhibit on Shawmut Motor Company\, including a Shawmut headlight that made the epic cross-country journey. \nDoors open at 6:45 pm.  There is a brief meeting at 7:15\, followed by the talk.   Free and open to the public. \nCopies of the book The Longest\, Hardest Race will be be on sale\, and can be autographed by the author. \nAbout the Speaker:\nEric Moskowitz spent 12 years as a reporter at The Boston Globe\, where he won the National Headliner Award for feature writing\, shared in the Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing and its aftermath\, and was one of the lead reporters on “The Valedictorians Project\,” a Pulitzer finalist examining obstacles to college and career success for the top graduates of many of Boston’s public high schools. Among other beats\, he spent three years covering transportation\, and he started as a suburban reporter in the old Globe NorthWest bureau\, where his coverage of a Stoneham budget crisis in 2007 led him indirectly to the overlooked history of the Shawmut Motor Company — and many years later\, to his first book. He has written for The Atlantic and The New York Times\, and his stories have been featured in The Best American Sports Writing and The Best American Newspaper Narratives anthologies. He lives in Brookline with his wife and two boys and now works as a staff writer at Harvard. \nYou can hear an interview with Eric about the 1909 race on WBUR radio. \n  \n 
URL:https://stonehamhistoricalsociety.org/event/robbed-in-the-hardest-longest-race/
LOCATION:Stoneham Historical Society & Museum\, 36 William Street\, Stoneham\, MA\, 02180\, United States
CATEGORIES:Monthly Meeting,Sports
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://stonehamhistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/167CECFD-477E-476A-B044-4642D0206908_1_201_a-scaled-e1786831962652.jpeg
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260927T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260927T160000
DTSTAMP:20260820T184008Z
CREATED:20260712T150825Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260820T184008Z
UID:10000053-1790514000-1790524800@stonehamhistoricalsociety.org
SUMMARY:New Date: Monthly Open House and Research Your House Day
DESCRIPTION:Note: For September\, our monthly open house will be on the 4th Sunday rather than the 3rd. \nFind out more about your home by using town street listings\, maps\, tax valuations and more to learn about the history of your house. Volunteers will be on hand to help with your research.  Special Extra Opening Hours from 1-4 pm.  \nYou’ll also be able to visit our Shawmut Motor Co exhibit and learn more about how a car built in Stoneham was robbed of its victory in America’s first cross-country race.
URL:https://stonehamhistoricalsociety.org/event/monthly-open-house-and-museum-opening-13/
LOCATION:Stoneham Historical Society & Museum\, 36 William Street\, Stoneham\, MA\, 02180\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibit,Monthly Open House
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://stonehamhistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/research-day-25.jpeg
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