With the town under a spyglass because of the Karen Read murder trial, this article highlights one former resident of surprising historical significance.
Like many people across the country–and the world–I have been riveted by the murder trial of Karen Read. And with my interest in discovering obscure and interesting tidbits about the cities and towns of the Commonwealth, I decided to take a dive into the town where the crime occurred to see what I could find.
It didn’t take long for me to land on an ironic fact about a famous historical figure who spent the latter part of his life working and living in Canton. Unlike most of the despicable players involved in the drama that is the Karen Read Trial, this former resident was a patriot and hero of the American Revolution.
The above image is not the most famous, however it better reflects Revere’s stage of life during his Canton days.
My research led me to The Canton Historical Society page about Revere’s life in Canton.
“He has been immortalized as a hero of the American Revolution — a sturdy figure on a horse, speeding across the moonlit countryside with news that the British were about to advance. But Paul Revere was also a businessman — a gambler of sorts — who spent the final years of his life establishing a major new American industry in Canton, Massachusetts.”
“And, although the revere family spent winters in Boston, they spent summers in their Canton home — a place which Paul Revere affectionately referred to as Canton Dale. “
“Paul Revere’s own words probably best describe what his life in Canton was like. For the charms of life in the country inspired the patriot to write a poem about Canton Dale which included some of the following verses:”
Canton Dale by Paul Revere
At early morn I take my round,
Invited first by hammer’s sound;
The furnace next; then Roleing-Mill;
‘Till Breakfast’s call’d, my time doth fill;
Then round my Acres (few) I trot,
To see what’s done and what is not.
Give orders what ought to be done,
Then sometimes take my Dog and Gun.
Under an aged spreading Oak.
At noon I take my favorite Book
To shun the heat and feed the Mind,
In elbow chair I sit reclined…
At eve’ within my peacefull Cot,
Sometimes I meet, and sometimes not,
The Parson, Docter; or some Friend,
Or neighbour kind, one hour to spend;
In social chat, our time we pass;
Drink all our Friends, in parting Glass
The Parson, Docter; neighbour gone
We prepare for bed, and so trudge on.
Let this post serve as a gentle reminder that, despite the spotlight on Canton’s deplorables (McCabes, Alberts, Higgins, et al.), the town was once the home of an American Hero, Paul Revere.
John Singleton Copley
Read the entire poem:
by JLK
Massachusetts First 
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