Health Equity Timeline of MetroWest | Leverage The Power of Our Past

Map of North America showing human migration routes

Beginning of Migration

Built Environment

Native American

Engraving showing a Native American medicine man caring for an ill Native American. National Library of Medicine.

Spread of Disease by European Settlers

Built Environment

Native American

Southern New England tribes around year 1600

Displacement of Native Communities in Metrowest

Built Environment

Native American

Colonial Trade Routes and Goods

Enslavement Starts in Massachusetts

Built Environment

Health Care Systems

Seal of the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Massachusetts Is First Colony to Legalize Slavery

Built Environment

Health Care Systems

The first seven Praying Indian towns

Natick is Founded as the 1st Praying Town

Built Environment

Native American

King Philip's War

Praying Indians Banished to Deer Island in Boston

Built Environment

Native American

Smallpox burial ground in Nobscot Scout Reservation

Onesimus: Public Health Pioneer Against Smallpox

Health Care Systems

Susan Anne Ridley Sedgwick

Two Court Cases Push For Abolition

Built Environment

Health Care Systems

Petition of Edward J. Pompey and 104 others of Nantucket for Amendment of the Common School Law, Presented by J.M. Earle of Worcester, Jan. 16, 1845

Black Families Advocacy Pushes MA for Universal Access to Public Education

"Thirteenth Annual Announcement of the New England Female Medical College"

The First Female Medical College Established

Depiction of Irish Immigrants Arriving at Constitution Wharf, Boston, 1857

Irish Community Begins Settling in Framingham

156 Franklin Street: there is a small marker with a plaque, placed there by the Framingham Historical Society

Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison Burns US Constitution at Framingham Rally

Department of Veteran's Services Brochure

MA General Law Chapter 115 Establishes Department of Veteran's Services

New England Female Medical College

Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler Becomes the first Black Woman MD

Artist Rendering of the Hospital Institution as seen in 1886.

Westborough State Hospital Opens for Patients with Mental Illnesses

Boston Irish Famine Memorial

Irish community Continues Integrating into American Culture

Solomon Carter Fuller circa 1910

Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller Returns to Work at Westborough State Hospital

Health Care Systems

A mother comforts her child in 1908

Mother's Rest Association purchases property in Needham

Built Environment

Photo Inside Columbus Club

Columbus Club Established for Italian community in Framingham

A graduating class of nurses from Plymouth Hospital and Nurses Training School, from a report printed in 1914. Boston, MA. (Courtesy Lisa Gordon)

Plymouth Hospital Opens as First and Only Black Hospital in MA

Framingham History Center collage of newspapers about the flu pandemic.

Tuberculosis Demonstration in Framingham (1st CBPR Study in the World)

Image of Framingham Children's Health Pandemic

1918-1920 Flu Pandemic Impacts Framingham

Health Care Systems

Admission ticket to the Massachusetts House of Representatives on June 25, 1919, the day the state officially ratified the 19th Amendment.

19th Amendment: Women in Massachusetts earn Full Voting Privileges

Front page of the Worcester Telegram, October 19, 1924

Largest New England KKK Gathering Ends in Violent Riot

Image of Waverly Market in Framingham

Waverly Market is established as a cultural staple for the Italian community in Framingham.

Cornelius Garland, M.D.; Founder of Plymouth Hospital

Black Medical Professionals Are Finally Allowed to Work at Boston City Hospital

Built Environment

Health Care Systems

Presentation titled "The Ammo Dump: A Taking of Heritage" for the Sudbury Historical Society on March 7, 2024.

Eminent Domain Displacement of 80 Families in MetroWest

Built Environment

One of the main Mess Halls, Cushing General Hospital, Framingham, Mass

Cushing Hospital Opens for Soldiers Wounded in WW2

“Plan and Build It” advertisement in the Metrowest Daily News

Metrowest Post-WW2 Housing Boom

Built Environment

Protest for Fair Housing

MA Fair Housing Law Passes

Framingham Heart Study physicians

Framingham Heart Study Begins

Italian Immigrant Presence Increases in Framingham

Administration building from the terrace, Cushing General Hospital, Framingham, Mass.

Cushing Hospital Begins Era of Elder Care

Natick Fair Housing Committee Founded

Natick Fair Housing Practices Committee is founded to actively work against housing discrimination.

Built Environment

1959 Schematic of Water Fluoridation System (New York)

Sudbury Residents Debate Merits of Municipal Water Fluoridation

Health Care Systems

Ceremony for National Head Start Day in the East Room of the White House, Washington, DC. Originally from White House Photo Office Collection, 11/22/1963 - 01/20/1969

Framingham Launches Six Head Start Classrooms

Ceremony for National Head Start Day in the East Room of the White House, Washington, DC. Originally from White House Photo Office Collection, 11/22/1963 - 01/20/1969

SMOC Incorporates and Expands Anti-Poverty Programs

A letter from a resident of Wellesley, MA, who works in Boston to Mayor John F. Collins stating their hope that the mayor will show support for those who wish to abolish de facto segregation in Boston Public Schools

Wellesley Among First METCO Districts

Bill Baird hands out contraceptive products to students at his 1967 BU lecture, shortly before he was arrested.

MA Legalizes Birth Control for Married Women

A flyer from Boston's first Pride activities, then called Christopher Street Liberation commemoration events. 1970.

Boston Holds First Pride Events

“Pushing for Cushing” Movement Emerges

Northampton Hospital, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views

Northampton Consent Decree Expands Community Mental Health Programs

GLAD Established After Anti-Gay Police Sting

Brazil…by way of Boston

Brazilian Immigration to Framingham Grows

Cushing’s Elder-Care Programs Gain National Recognition

Nyanza Chemical Federal Superfund Site Ashland taken in November 2001

Nyanza Site Added to EPA Priority List

Governor Dukakis

MA Establishes Right to Shelter for Families

Cushing Strengthens Research and Opens Alzheimer’s Unit

Deer Island wastewater treatment plant in Boston Harbor

Ashland Blocks Boston Harbor Sludge Plan

Boston Globe Series Highlights the Framingham Eight

Framingham boasting its role in heart health

FHS Enrolls First Omni Cohort

Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller

Framingham Honors Solomon Carter & Meta Fuller

First Brazilian Bakery Opens in Framingham

Downtown Framingham

Framingham Brazilian Community Faces Discrimination

News segment about the jail diversion program

First Co-Response Jail Diversion Program Begins

2004 Goodridge v. Department of Public Health

MA Court Grants Same-Sex Marriage Rights

See how EMK has grown in Framingham and Milford since 2004

Kennedy Community Health Expands to Framingham

MW Health Foundation Forms Disparities Committee

Romneycare Expands Coverage for MA Residents

MA Requires Standardized Race/Ethnicity Data Collection

Brazilian man looking for work, 2010

Framingham Continues Welcoming Brazilian Community

Court Rules Framingham Violated Disability Housing Law

Built Environment

BRACE Founded in Framingham

A 2017 educational video explains the value of medical-legal partnerships

Medical-Legal Partnership Launches at Kennedy Health

Governor Baker outlines COVID-19 vaccination plans for state

Framingham Receives Additional Vaccine Equity Resources

Health Care Systems

Michael Curry’s Opening Remarks at the Health Equity Trends Summit 2023

Health Equity Compact Forms to Advance Reform

Governor Maura Healey, Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler, Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Lauren Jones and Secretary of Economic Development Yvonne Hao

MA Establishes Free Nursing & Community College Programs

Doula Services Covered by MassHealth