Cranberries: New England’s Bounty
Speaker: Anthony Sammarco
Where: Mural Barn, Atwood Museum
When: Tuesday, March 17th, 2026 – 5:00 PM
Native Americans introduced European settlers to cranberries near what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts. They used the versatile fruit for food, dye, and medicine. The settlers learned to harvest wild cranberries and came to rely on them for nutrients and for bartering with their Native American neighbors. By the late 18th century they were used to cure scurvy and by the 20th century cranberries were big business from juice as well as sauce and would become inseparable from turkey at Thanksgiving.
Reservations are available by clicking HERE. Admission is $10 for non members, and free for members.
About Anthony Sammarco:
Referred to as the “Balzac of Boston History” by the Boston Globe, Anthony Mitchell Sammarco is a noted historian and author of many books on the history and development of Boston, and he lectures widely on the history and development of his native city.
He commenced writing in 1995, and his 89th book, published in 2024, was The History of the Christmas Tree Shops. Among his books Lost Boston, The History of Howard Johnson’s, Jordan Marsh: New England’s Largest Store, The Baker Chocolate Company: A Sweet History, and Inferno: The Great Boston Fire of 1872 have made the bestsellers list.
Mr. Sammarco taught the popular course Boston History at the Boston University Metropolitan College. He also taught at The Urban College of Boston, where his courses led to him being named Educator of the Year. He wrote the book Boston’s Immigrants for the widely diverse ethnic base of students to use in his course on Boston immigration.
He received the Bulfinch Award from the Doric Dames of the Massachusetts State House, the Washington Medal from Freedom Foundation, a lifetime achievement from both the Victorian Society and the Gibson House Museum and was named Dorchester town historian by Raymond L. Flynn, mayor of Boston, for his work in local history. He was elected a Fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society, is a member of the Boston Author’s Club, the Colonial Society, the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, the St. Botolph Club in Boston and a proprietor of the Boston Athenaeum.
He is president of the Osterville Village Library; past president of the Bay State Historical League and he served as a corporator of the New England Baptist Hospital for a decade. He lives in Boston and in Osterville on Cape Cod.
