As the second-largest city in New England, Worcester is well known for its contributions to manufacturing and transportation. However, many other people and events contributed to the building of this city. Timothy Bigelow led a revolution to take back Worcester from British rule almost two years before the Declaration of Independence. Abby Kelley Foster helped establish the first national women's rights convention in Worcester and was a leading voice against slavery. The city was also home to one of the nation's first professional baseball teams, the Worcester Brown Stockings. Join local author Dave Kovaleski as he reveals the stories behind revolutionaries, reformers and pioneers from the "Heart of the Commonwealth."

The fascinating history of Worcester illustrated through old and modern pictures.

Author Kenneth J. Moynihan chronicles the fascinating early history of this bustling junction town and offers readers a front-row view of Worcester's dramatic, nearly forgotten past. The Nipmuc Indians destroyed the first settlement at Worcester in 1675. A second attempt was made in the 1680s, but a permanent settlement did not take root until 1713. Worcester's first citizens battled French and Indian enemies and endured a succession of political, ethnic and religious rivalries. How did the Nipmuc deal with the English threat? How did settlers cope with changes in economic and political life after the Revolution? For the first time in 170 years, a historian takes a fresh look at the history of early Worcester.

By the late nineteenth century, Swedish immigrants began arriving by the thousands in New England, attracted by the area's heavy industry. In particular, the steel and ceramic shops of Worcester provided a livelihood for many of them. As a result, new areas of Swedish settlements developed throughout the surrounding towns. Swedes of Greater Worcester captures the area's Swedish heritage through a collection of images that displays everything from vintage weddings to ski-jumping events and stories known only by the families of the Swedes who first traveled to Worcester. These images represent a time when the Swedish element was a vital and vibrant part of the identity of the greater Worcester area.

Worcester, with its diverse economic base, has been known as the Heart of the Commonwealth” for over 100 years.