Homestead

We New Englanders pride ourselves on being ahead of the curve, so it’s no surprise that Boston socialite and social reformer Julia Ward Howe first declared a “Mother’s Day for Peace’’ in 1870, a full 44 years before President Wilson issued the first national Mother’s Day proclamation. The holiday is a good excuse to celebrate strong women such as Howe who are part of our New England heritage. Here in Boston you might want to visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Mary Baker Eddy Library, which continue the work of two Howe contemporaries.

At Saturday's annual Town Meeting in Hamilton, residents voted unanimously to accept the Patton Homestead, including 27 acres of land and valued at $2 million. The Patton family offered to donate the homestead, once home to General George S. Patton, to the town for historic preservation. Residents also voted an assessment for the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District budget that included a $500,000 "giveback" to residents of Hamilton and Wenham. The Regional School Committee had approved a budget that did not include the overage in the Excess & Deficiency Account, and was scheduled to...

The town is seeking to hire a project manager to represent its interests in overseeing the project to renovate the Thayer homestead property at 2B Oak St. The estimated cost of construction for the project is $2.3 million. Officials hope design work will start this spring and be completed by the fall, with construction beginning shortly afterward and completed in October 2013. For more information on the project, visit the town's website, www.townofmedway.org. - Rachel Lebeaux

There are 27 articles for the warrant for the Saturday annual Town Meeting. Among them is whether the town should accept the Patton Homestead on Asbury Street as a gift. Another asks whether to rescind a 2006 Town Meeting vote to sell a town-owned parcel on Lake Drive. In financial matters, the town's fiscal year 2013 budget will be considered, and its allocation to the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District. The meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. at Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School.

A Vermont town that's celebrating its 250th anniversary wants to raise money for a tool museum. The Shaftsbury Historical Society wants to create a museum dedicated to the early operations of Stanley Tools, which factors heavily into the town's business history. The Bennington Banner reports (http://bit.ly/wZZ3s5) the town plans to raise money by selling envelopes with special U.S. Postal Service cancellations commemorating the anniversary of Shaftsbury's charter being signed.

HILLSBOROUGH, N.H. -- If Franklin Pierce were an answer on "Jeopardy!", most American TV viewers probably would not know the question. That's not surprising, since history gives short shrift to the 14th president, who served an unmemorable term, 1853- 57. But his native state remembers him. A college, law center, highway, and mountain are among sites bearing Franklin Pierce's name. The capital, Concord, counts a statue, the Manse, and his burial site among its landmarks. (The Manse, where Pierce and his wife, Jane, lived from 1842-48, was saved from demolition and moved in the 1970s.)

Florida's legislature could let local governments limit property tax assessments and offer additional exemptions on homes of low-income seniors under a pair of ballot proposals passed in the House. The chamber approved the proposed state constitutional amendments Thursday. They would go on the November ballot if also passed by the Senate. Each needs 60 percent approval. One measure (HJR 169) would allow for an additional tax exemption. The other (HJR 55) would limit assessments to the previous year's value for homes that get an existing local...

HOT SPRINGS, Va. -- The road from Roanoke to this one-street-long town is an ascending corkscrew, and with each twist and switchback a new scene churns into view: A roaring waterfall disgorges the heavy rains of the night before, a herd of cattle grazes in a rolling meadow, a vast mountain gap, once traversed by George Washington, stretches into the blue-ridged distance. Like the road itself, this rural region unspools its history, its recreational diversity, and its cultural finery one turn at a time.

HAMILTON — It's a grand old home, with a high-flying US flag, set on 27 acres of soft green fields rolling toward the Ipswich River. The Patton Homestead, purchased in 1928 for George S. Patton, the iconic World War II general, and his wife, Beatrice, has been home base for three generations of his storied family. The couple lived at the estate on Asbury Street, named Green Meadows, between military assignments. General Patton planned to retreat to Green Meadows in retirement.

BEST FOR WALKING Nauset Beach stretches 10 miles from Orleans -- where there's a snack bar near the beach entrance and plenty of parking -- to Chatham. Taking a long walk on the ocean side of the Cape is especially nice if you wake early enough to catch the sunrise. On Maine's southern coast, the walk from below Ogunquit Beach to Wells Beach can be a vigorous 5-or-so-mile workout, part of it in soft sand. Get dropped off at Oarweed restaurant and walk along Marginal Way, a cliffside footpath in Ogunquit with dramatic views and fragrant sea roses, and head north toward the 2.5-mile-.long expanse of...

Selectmen have signed a new 10-year lease with the Soule Homestead Education Center for its use of the town-owned Soule Farm in East Middleborough. The Homestead, a nonprofit organization founded by local resident Karen Dusek more than 20 years ago, teaches organic farming practices and conducts workshops and programs for adults and youth. Executive director Frank Albani currently oversees operations. The town must seek requests for proposals every 10 years for the lease of the town-owned property.

Florida's legislature could let local governments limit property tax assessments and offer additional exemptions on homes of low-income seniors under a pair of ballot proposals passed in the House. The chamber approved the proposed state constitutional amendments Thursday. They would go on the November ballot if also passed by the Senate. Each needs 60 percent approval. One measure (HJR 169) would allow for an additional tax exemption. The other (HJR 55) would limit assessments to the previous year's value for homes that get an existing local option exemption for low-income...

A Vermont town that's celebrating its 250th anniversary wants to raise money for a tool museum. The Shaftsbury Historical Society wants to create a museum dedicated to the early operations of Stanley Tools, which factors heavily into the town's business history. The Bennington Banner reports (http://bit.ly/wZZ3s5) the town plans to raise money by selling envelopes with special U.S. Postal Service cancellations commemorating the anniversary of Shaftsbury's charter being signed.

For a mobile workforce, there's nothing wrong with a workstation at your local coffee shop, said entrepreneur Charlie Weisman. He himself logged countless hours using cafes as free office space. But, Weisman said, "I always felt I had a little sign above me that said, ‘I work here because I can't afford my own office.' " Weisman, 36, recently opened Oficio, a shared workspace that offers a "home office away from home" and a swanky address (Newbury Street) to put on business cards.

Local officials hope residents will come up with suggestions on the best reuse for the historic, town-owned Keith Homestead on Lakeside Drive. The property includes a house built in 1783 and surrounded by conservation land. Old photos of the property are welcome, to be copied and returned to their owners. Ideas and photos should be submitted to lias@jmgoldson.com. - Christine Legere

Following the offer of a gift of the Patton Homestead and 28 surrounding acres, the Board of Selectmen is putting together a task force to study future uses for the property. According to town bylaws, residents will be asked to vote on whether to accept the property at Town Meeting in May. In a letter to the board, Joanne Holbrook Patton, wife of General George Smith Patton, a Hamilton resident since 1980, offered the gift, recognizing that the town "appreciates history and traditions that are worthy of preservation and sharing.

Barry Amaral, register for the Northern Bristol County Registry of Deeds, will discuss changes to the Homestead Act at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, in the Raynham Senior Center, 2215 King Phillip St. Assistance will be available to local residents and homeowners who want to file a Declaration of Homestead. The program is free and open to the public. - Christine Legere

Selectmen have signed a new 10-year lease with the Soule Homestead Education Center for its use of the town-owned Soule Farm in East Middleborough. The Homestead, a nonprofit organization founded by local resident Karen Dusek more than 20 years ago, teaches organic farming practices and conducts workshops and programs for adults and youth. Executive director Frank Albani currently oversees operations. The town must seek requests for proposals every 10 years for the lease of the town-owned property.

Following the offer of a gift of the Patton Homestead and 28 surrounding acres, the Hamilton Board of Selectmen is putting together a task force to study future uses for the property. According to town bylaws, residents will vote on whether to accept the gift at Town Meeting in May. In a letter to the board, Joanne Holbrook Patton, wife of General George Smith Patton, a Hamilton resident since 1980, offered the gift, recognizing that the town "appreciates history and traditions that are worthy of preservation and sharing.

The owners of a building in Lawrence where poet Robert Frost once lived are in trouble for converting it into what the city says are illegal apartments. City Inspector Gregory Arvanitis says the building at 173-175 Haverhill St. has four apartments, but no building, plumbing, electrical or gas permits on record. He also says there were not enough exits. The former Frost homestead is now owned by Anchor Baptist Church of Woburn. Lawrence Building Commissioner Peter Blanchette tells The Eagle-Tribune (http://bit.ly/vq9Vx2)