Historical Commission Monthly Tales of Our Town:

The Historical Commission is providing monthly 2020 Minute Histories about important people in Town history. This month’s story concerns the four Emery sisters (Mary Elizabeth, Louisa, Frances, and Georgianna) who in 1905 received disbursement of an unexpected inheritance worth about $30 million in today’s dollars. These religious and civic-minded siblings viewed their windfall not so much as their own but rather as a gift from God to be held in trust. They spent the ensuing half-century using their wealth to transform West Newbury for the better—even when, thanks to a dispute over a potential use of what is now called the Carr Post, the Town managed to spurn offered gifts including a free water distribution system using waters from the Artichoke.

To read all about it, click here.