Editing Woburn, Massachusetts (section)

== History ==
Woburn was first settled in 1640 near [[Horn Pond (Massachusetts)|Horn Pond]], a primary source of the [[Mystic River]], and was officially incorporated in 1642. At that time the area included present day towns of Woburn, Winchester, Burlington, and parts of [[Stoneham, Massachusetts|Stoneham]] and Wilmington.  In 1730 [[Wilmington, Massachusetts|Wilmington]] separated from Woburn. In 1799 [[Burlington, Massachusetts|Burlington]] separated from Woburn; in 1850 [[Winchester, Massachusetts|Winchester]] did so, too.
[[File:OrdinationOfCarter.jpg|thumb|left|This painting depicts the ordination of [[Thomas Carter (minister)|Thomas Carter]] as minister of Woburn, Massachusetts in 1642.  To his right is [[Edward Johnson (founder of Woburn, MA)|Captain Edward Johnson]], the "Father of Woburn."  The painting hangs in the Woburn Public Library.]]

Woburn got its name from [[Woburn, Bedfordshire]].  Woburn played host to the first religious ordination in the Americas on November 22, 1642. [[Rev. Thomas Carter]] was sworn in by many of the most prominent men of New England including [[John Cotton (puritan)|John Cotton]], minister of the First Church of Boston, [[Richard Mather]] minister of the First Church of Dorchester, and Capt. [[Edward Johnson (founder of Woburn, MA)|Edward Johnson]] co-founder of the church and town of Woburn. Johnson is regarded as "the father of Woburn."  He served as the first town clerk, represented the town in the Massachusetts General Court, made the first map of Massachusetts, and wrote the first history of the colony.<ref>Johnson, Edward Francis, ''Captain Edward Johnson of Woburn, Massachusetts and Some of his Descendants,'' Press of David Clapp & Son, Boston, MA, 1905.</ref>

[[File:Woburn, Mass., 1883 LOC 78695092.jpg|thumb|[[Perspective map]] of Woburn from 1883, J. Lyth engraver]]
The first organizational [[Town meeting|Town Meeting]] was held on April 13, 1644, and the first town officers were chosen. Town Selectmen were Edward Johnson, [[Edward Convers]], John Mousall, William Learned, Ezekiel Richardson, Samuel Richardson, and James Thompson. William Learned was also selected as Constable. Michael Bacon, Ralph Hill, Thomas Richardson were chosen as Surveyors of Highways. (The History of Woburn, 1868)

Deacon [[Edward Convers]] was also one of the founders of Woburn.  He was one of its first selectmen, and built the first house and first mill in Woburn.  He was very active in town affairs and was a large landowner, miller and surveyor.<ref>Richardson, Doug. ''The English Origin and Ancestry of The Parker Brothers of Massachusetts and their Probable Aunt, Sarah Parker, Wife of Edward Converse.'' NEHGS Register, Vol. 153. January 1999, No. 609. See {{cite web |url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~converse/sources/nehgs.html |title=Sources for Deacon Edward Convers & Descendants |access-date=2007-05-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041013152545/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~converse/sources/nehgs.html |archive-date=2004-10-13 }}. Accessed 20 May 2007.</ref><ref>Thompson, Rev. Leander, "Deacon Edward Convers," ''Winchester Record,'' October, 1885 ({{cite web |url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~converse/bios/edw-bio.html |title=Converse Biographies |access-date=2011-02-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103025036/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~converse/bios/edw-bio.html |archive-date=2012-11-03 }}) Retrieved 10 Feb. 2011.</ref>

List of important events
*Gershom Flagg's tannery was built in 1668
*The [[Middlesex Canal]] was opened in 1803
*Thompson established a tannery at Cummingsville in 1823
*The [[Boston and Lowell Railroad]] started operating through Woburn in 1835
*The ''Woburn Sentinel'' newspaper began in 1839
*In 1840 the first membership library opened
*The telegraph started operating in Woburn in 1867
*"America's oldest active gun club," the [[Massachusetts Rifle Association]], was founded in 1875 and moved to Woburn in 1876.
*The public library opened in 1879
*The telephone was introduced in Woburn in 1882; Electric lights in 1885
*Woburn was incorporated as a City on June 12, 1888
*Route 128 opened in 1951
*Route 93 was built through the town in 1963
*Rail depot closed in 1962.
*Cummings Properties, the major holder of commercial properties in the region, was founded in 1970.
*Cummings Foundation was established in 1986.
*Cummings Foundation purchased the former Choate Memorial Hospital site and turned it into the New Horizons of Choate senior living community in 1990.
*[[Community Weeklies]] Inc. was founded by William S. Cummings and began publishing ''Woburn Advocate'' in 1991. The firm was bought by a division of Fidelity Investments in 1994, and ''Woburn Advocate'' is now being published by [[GateHouse Media]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mondotimes.com/1/world/us/21/1128/2866|title=Woburn Advocate - newspaper in Woburn, Massachusetts USA with local news and community events|website=www.mondotimes.com|access-date=2016-11-11}}</ref>
*Middlesex Superior Courthouse moved to TradeCenter 128 business campus in 2008.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/02/14/court_move_a_hassle_for_commuters/|title=Middlesex Court's move to Woburn to add hassle for commuters - The Boston Globe|newspaper=Boston.com|date=14 February 2008|access-date=2016-11-11|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105032846/http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/02/14/court_move_a_hassle_for_commuters/|archive-date=2016-11-05|last1=Moskowitz|first1=Eric}}</ref>
*The final phase of construction is completed on TradeCenter 128 business campus in 2010.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://woburn.wickedlocal.com/x1235860498/TradeCenter-128-named-Project-of-the-Year|title=TradeCenter 128 named Project of the Year|newspaper=Woburn Advocate|access-date=2016-11-11|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105100436/http://woburn.wickedlocal.com/x1235860498/TradeCenter-128-named-Project-of-the-Year|archive-date=2016-11-05}}</ref>
*Woburn Police Officer John B. Maguire was killed in the line of duty while responding to an armed robbery on December 26, 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.odmp.org/officer/20626-police-officer-john-b-maguire|title=Police Officer John B. Maguire|website=odmp.org|access-date=30 April 2018|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430114901/http://www.odmp.org/officer/20626-police-officer-john-b-maguire|archive-date=30 April 2018}}</ref>
*Massachusetts Biotechnology Council awarded Woburn the platinum-level "Bio-Ready community" designation in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/real_estate/2011/12/woburn-joins-elite-biotech-zoning-list.html|title=Woburn joins elite biotech-zoning list - Boston Business Journal|website=Boston Business Journal|access-date=2016-11-04|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105161000/http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/real_estate/2011/12/woburn-joins-elite-biotech-zoning-list.html|archive-date=2016-11-05}}</ref>

=== Groundwater contamination incident ===
Woburn was the scene of a high-profile [[Water pollution|water contamination]] crisis.  During the mid to late 1970s, the local community became concerned over the high incidence of childhood leukemia and other illnesses, particularly in the Pine Street area of east Woburn. After high levels of chemical contamination were found in City of Woburn's Wells G and H in 1979, some members of the community suspected that the unusually high incidence of [[leukemia]], [[cancer]], and a wide variety of other health problems were linked to the possible exposure to [[volatile organic compounds]] in the groundwater pumped from wells G and H.

In May 1982, a number of citizens whose children had developed or died from leukemia filed [[Anderson v. Cryovac, Inc.|a civil lawsuit]] against two corporations, [[W. R. Grace and Company]] and [[Beatrice Foods]]. Grace's subsidiary, Cryovac, and Beatrice were suspected of contaminating the groundwater by improperly disposing of [[trichloroethylene]] (TCE), [[Tetrachloroethylene|perchloroethylene]] (perc or PCE) and other industrial solvents at their facilities in Woburn near wells G and H.

In a controversial decision, Judge Walter Jay Skinner ruled that the jurors should answer questions that they and many others considered confusing. Beatrice was acquitted and Grace only paid $8 million, a third of which went to  the lawyers and lawyer fees. A [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] report later found Beatrice and Grace responsible for the contamination.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ce547.groups.et.byu.net/woburn/briefhistory.php|title=Brief History|website=ce547.groups.et.byu.net|access-date=30 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110921000725/http://ce547.groups.et.byu.net/woburn/briefhistory.php|archive-date=21 September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2005/05/11/judge_walter_skinner_77_oversaw_woburn_grace_case/ | work=The Boston Globe | first=Tom | last=Long | title=Judge Walter Skinner, 77; oversaw Woburn-Grace case | date=11 May 2005 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080423081718/http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2005/05/11/judge_walter_skinner_77_oversaw_woburn_grace_case/ | archive-date=23 April 2008 }}</ref>
A book titled ''[[A Civil Action]]'' was written about the case by [[Jonathan Harr]].<ref>Harr, Jonathan (1996). A civil action. Vintage Books, New York, 502 p. {{ISBN|0-394-56349-2}}.</ref> In 1998 the book was turned into a movie starring [[John Travolta]] and [[Robert Duvall]], also titled ''[[A Civil Action (film)|A Civil Action]]''. The film was largely filmed in nearby Bedford and Lexington, with only a few shots on location in Woburn.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}