07/01/2026
The Fourth of July in Melrose
As Melrose prepares to honor the nation’s 250th birthday on Saturday with celebrations scheduled at the Common and Mount Hood Park, we look back at some earlier observances and traditions, starting with the nation’s 100th:
The Centennial of 1876 took place barely a decade after the Civil War in which many of the citizens of Melrose served and hundreds of thousands of Americans had perished. The nation was still at risk of fracturing—the period of Reconstruction in the South was in jeopardy, there was a severe economic depression with widespread unemployment, the results of the upcoming Presidential election would be disputed, and women’s movements were protesting a century in which they had been denied the vote. With the horrors of the recent Civil War front of mind, many communities embraced the Centennial to foster national unity. The federal government had declared the 4th of July a nationwide holiday in 1870, but local Massachusetts towns had been marking the holiday for years with readings of the Declaration of Independence and public gatherings. The Centennial celebrations planned in Melrose began at dawn on the 4th with a sunrise unfurling of a 30-foot American flag atop Town Hall followed by a parade, speeches and a concert, all before 8am. The patriotic orators marveled at Melrose’s successful development of the town in its first 25 years, modeling American values by transforming sparsely settled farmland into a bustling municipality with thriving public institutions and schools. Baseball and croquet competitions followed. More speeches and concerts filled the afternoon before a 6pm Regatta on Ell Pond featuring four-oared boats competing to win a 10-foot flag. The celebrations culminated with fireworks throughout the town.
1878 is the first mention in local newspapers of Melrose ushering in the Independence Day celebrations with a Bonfire. The local militia spent the days leading up to the celebration hauling boards and barrels up High Rock in the Melrose Highlands. Throughout night of July 3rd they kept oil fires burning, lighting up the summit, and greeted the dawn of the 4th with salvos of artillery. Cannonades and the ringing of church bells sounded throughout the town at sunrise, noon and sunset. As night fell on the 4th, the citizen-soldiers burned the remaining oil-soaked barrels in a Bonfire visible over a dozen miles.
By the turn of the 20th century the Bonfire tradition was well established. Sometimes taking place near Ell Pond, but most often at the Melrose Common. The typical two-day celebrations began on the 3rd of July with an evening concert preceding a midnight lighting of the Bonfire, attended by thousands. The 4th of July was greeted at dawn with the ringing of church bells, a morning parade, afternoon sports competitions, more speeches and musical entertainment. A customary celebration culminated with a fireworks show over Ell Pond.
The photo from 1899 features a 35-foot tower of 1400 barrels, many soaked in tar, topped with a wooden wagon and an American flag. This conflagration could be seen for miles. The 1899 4th of July celebration in Melrose also featured the triumphant homecoming of Melrose’s own Rear Admiral N. M. Dyer. Just months earlier Dyer, who was also a Civil War hero, along with Admiral Dewey, had secured the United States as a global power with the naval victory at the Battle of Manila. Melrose celebrated the United States triumph over the Spanish with patriotic fervor. These celebrations often included the indiscriminate shooting of small fi****ms, much to the consternation of some local citizens including Mary Livermore who protested the “hideous noise” accompanying the annual festivities. The local government responded to these complaints of illegal activities in 1900 by legalizing the firing of small arms during Bunker Hill Day and the 4th of July.
By 1913, the eve of World War I, with construction of new houses in the East Side proceeding at a growing pace, neighbors of the Common protested that the huge bonfires put their homes at risk. Nevertheless, in 1914 the Melrose Common was once again the center of the incendiary celebrations. Thousands attended a concert of the Boston Philharmonic Band, and the mayor applied a torch to the towering Bonfire at midnight of the 3rd of July. The next day track races including the 1-mile race and the 220-yard dash were held at Pine Banks Park and celebrants enjoyed the spectacle of a greased pole competition. Over 1000 children attended a free event at the recently completed Memorial Hall and the Iroquois and Meadowbrook baseball teams competed at Messenger Meadow (Roosevelt School grounds). The excerpts from an original 1911 event program pictured describe in more detail the intricate annual celebrations during this period.
By the late 1920s the Bonfire was relocated to the freshly built Melrose Athletic Fields, located where the high school sports fields stand today, featuring a 4000-person concrete grandstand. The economic boom of the 1920s tripled auto ownership in the U.S. leading to more personal freedom and leisure travel. Consequently the 1929 Bonfire drew over 20,000 visitors to Melrose, just months before the Great Depression.
In 1937, the final nine holes of the Mount Hood golf course, constructed and funded by the Works Progress Administration during the Depression, were nearing completion. On this Independence Day, the Bonfire was to take place on the 16th green at midnight. Once again tens of thousands were expected to attend. In lieu of the usual pyre however, organizers planned to ignite a two-story home that stood on the fairway, one of several local farmhouses that were razed to make way for the golf course. Unfortunately, an errant spark caused the home to ignite at 5 p.m. witnessed by only a few park employees.
This 1937 blaze is the final Independence Day Bonfire referenced in local newspapers. World War II was on the horizon. More than 3200 men and women from Melrose served. The post-war building boom increased the number of homes in Melrose by 50% by 1970, with increased density raising the risk of accidental fire. Post-war the annual Melrose bonfire transitioned to a January event, held on the Athletic Field to safely dispose of Christmas trees. Massachusetts passed laws restricting municipal bonfires.
The tumultuous period preceding the nation’s 200th birthday included events such as Woodstock in 1969, the first Earth Day in 1970, the resignation of President Nixon in 1974 and the fall of Saigon in 1975. The Bicentennial in Melrose reflected the nationwide emphasis on restoring civic pride and national unity following the Vietnam War. The Melrose Bicentennial Commission was tasked with the dual role of celebrating the 75th anniversary of Melrose becoming a city as well as honoring the nation’s Bicentennial. The Commission planned two years of events as diverse as establishing the first bike route in the city, holding a 3000-member parade, participating in a nationwide-bell ringing, an interfaith service at Memorial Hall, and culminating in an Armed Forces celebration in August 1976. The Melrose Bicentennial Commission held a competition to design an official Melrose city flag. The winning entry featured the First Period Phineas Upham house on a field of white framed by red stripes designed by Sylvia Macaulay, mother of Melrose historian Scott Macaulay whose collection is featured in these photos. The pictured flag is the original created for the 1975-76 celebrations that hung in Mayor Milano’s office.
As Melrose celebrates America's 250th on Saturday, whether attending the family-centered events at the Melrose Common in the morning or listening to the rousing patriotic marches performed by the Middlesex Concert Band at Mount Hood in the evening, participants step into a legacy over 150 years in the making. The 4th of July in Melrose continues the tradition of civic celebrations, hometown pride and meaningful reflection on our nation’s past, present and future.
Special thanks to Scott Macaulay for sharing the photographed items included here from his personal collection.
Photo 1: 1899 photograph of Bonfire, Melrose Common
Photo 2-7: 1911 Official Program 4th of July Celebration in Melrose
Photo 8: Melrose Bicentennial Commission flyer advertising the 3-hour parade
Photo 9: Mrs. Sylvia Macaulay’s original entry for the City of Melrose flag competition
Photo 10: Mayor Milano’s original Melrose flag c. 1975
Photo 11: 2026 4th of July Concert announcement (Melrose Weekly News)
