Westborough – Before the GPS, people used this thing called the “map.” See your community in a whole new light – through maps! A week-long exhibition by the Westborough Historical Society, “Mapping Westborough” will open at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 29, at the Community Room downstairs at the Westborough Public Library.
The exhibition features approximately 40 maps of Westborough drawn from the collection of the Westborough Historical Society, the Westborough Public Library, the Town of Westborough, and the Westborough Historic Commission. The maps explore the history of the town from early colonial days to the present time.
Monday, April 30, at 7 p.m., the exhibit will be featured at a program of the Westborough Historical Society with a lecture on the historical significance of the maps by Leslie M. Leslie and Kristina N. Allen, co-chairs of the Society's Education Committee. This event will be held at the Westborough Public Library.
Through the language of cartography, the maps in the exhibition illustrate the way Westborough changed over time: from a farming community to a small village to a thriving community served by major roads and highways. Maps featured in the exhibition include the Marlborough Plantation, dated 1667; the plan of Chauncey 1717, submitted with the petition to form the town; a copy of the first map of the United States published in America, dated 1784 and showing Westborough; bird's eye view map from 1888; fire insurance maps from 1904; highway map from 1938; an aerial photo/map from 1967, and many more.
The exhibition will run through Saturday, May 5. The Library's Community Room will be open from 3 to 9 p.m. daily and will be staffed by docents. The exhibit will be open on Saturday, May 5, from 1 p.m. to closing, in celebration of the Rotary Spring Festival. The exhibit will also kick off the annual Westborough Local History program for all third grade students in Westborough.
The Westborough Public Library is located at 55 West Main St., and the Westborough Historical Society is located at the Sibley House, 13 Parkman St.
