Dedham native James Parr is the author of “Dedham: Historic and Heroic Tales from Shiretown,” a new paperback from the History Press on the “small town with a huge story.” He will hold a book signing Friday at 7 p.m., at The Blue Bunny on High Street.
Q: What led you to write this book?
A: Years ago I took a haunted walking tour of York, Maine. I knew a few spooky Dedham stories at the time and figured there ought to be more – enough to do our own haunted tour. In 2004 I organized a haunted trolley tour with the help of the Dedham Community House, Fairbanks House and Dedham Historical Society. The tour sold out and raised money for those organizations, and eventually led to the writing of the book.
| About James Age: 50 Grew up on: Tower Street Tell us about Hilarious Acting Around Massachusetts: “It's a drama group I started for kids that also raises money for charities. I write my own plays – fairy tale spoofs, cowboy farce, even an old-time radio show.” |
Q: What is the origin of the word Shiretown? When did Dedhamites last commonly refer to their town as such?
A: The shire town is the county seat of a county (it’s an old English term). Dedham is the county seat of Norfolk County. I remember the nickname being used in the 1970s when I was in high school – sometimes they called the sports teams the Shiretown Marauders in news articles.
Q: You’ve collected some incredible tales – the legend of Wigwam Pond, Jason Fairbanks’ murder of Elizabeth Fales and his subsequent public execution (Norfolk County’s first), and the highway robber who asked that his life story be printed and bound in his own skin. Which did you find most astounding?
A: I would have to say the stories of capital trials (and punishment) in town were pretty fascinating. From the carnival-like atmosphere on hanging days in the early 19th century to the “invitation only” hangings in the jail in the later 1800s to the excitement of the Millen Brothers/Faber trial in 1934, people showed a morbid interest in these big trials that is still demonstrated today. The tale of the filming of the 1919 “Anne of Green Gables” movie at the Fairbanks House (and the subsequent Hollywood murder mystery) is another favorite of mine.
Q: How do you think Dedham’s history impacts the town today?
A: People from Dedham should be proud of its past, and share their own tales of growing up in such a great town. I’d love to see the return of some of the old traditions such as canoe races, fireworks and Horribles parades.
Q: If you could time travel, which incarnation of Dedham would you return to?
A: I’d most like to have been in town in the days when the stagecoaches came through on the turnpikes and the numerous taverns and inns around the center of Dedham were filled with travelers, politicians and traveling curiosities like “the learned elephant” and the wax museum featuring figures of Jason Fairbanks, Elizabeth Fales and others both tragic and heroic.
Dedham Transcript staff writer Edward B. Colby can be reached at 781-433-8336 or ecolby@cnc.com.
