1774 Militia Training Day

On Saturday, October 14, 2017 Westborough’s Veterans Freedom Park became the location for a 1774 Westborough Militia Training Day. The Westborough Rotary Club and the Westborough Historical Society presented a re-creation of the 243rd anniversary of the Westborough militia’s 1774 march to Worcester to seize the county courts from British control.  Watch the video of the event.

Reenactors portraying the Westborough militia performed the Manual of Arms as they practiced the art of military exercise from 1774. Musket firing demonstrations were performed throughout the day; a colonial market was set up to show a variety of colonial trades and crafts; and Westborough’s own Rev. Ebenezer Parkman harangued and informed the crowds. Other reenactors portraying fellow citizens of Westborough were making items for barter or sale to the assembled militiamen.

This historic re-creation of Westborough in 1774 was based on original town records that document a turning point in American history and the actions of Westborough citizens as they proclaimed their desire to separate from British rule.

• Re-enactment Militia companies, artisans, and crafts-people.
• The “walk of history” – a display that tells the story of how Westborough participated in the seizing of the Worcester County court by regional militia men in the fall of 1774.
• Artifacts, children’s games, literature, and documents focused on 18th-century Westborough and its role in the birth of America presented by the Westborough Historical Commission and the Westborough Historical Society.