In early 1917, 30 acres around Wright’s Pond was leased by the City of Medford to the Society Players Film Corporation run by F. Eugene Farnsworth. Soon, ads showed up in the Boston Herald looking for investors for what was promised would be a second Hollywood. Eventually a studio was built for $100,000, but it lasted only 3 years. In this talk by Kyna Hamill with never before seen images of the studio, learn of the intrigue, fraud, bankruptcy, and connections to the Ku Klux Klan, that made this short-lived industry worthy of a film itself.

About the presenter:

Kyna Hamill is a reference volunteer at MHSM and faculty at Boston University. She has unearthed surprising histories of Medford including unknown stories about Jingle Bells, early Medford robots, and the WPA mural in the Post Office.