Medford historian Dee Morris’s summer walking tour for 2023 is “The South Medford Experience,” where famous horse racing tracks became a community of homes. In the summer of 1866, two investors threw open the gates of Mystic Trotting Park to a crowd in love with harness racing. The South Medford race track, supplied with over 100 horses, fronted on Main Street at Tufts Square. By the 20th century, these acres evolved into streets filled with comfortable homes owned by Italian American and Irish American families. This lively walking tour will feature many reminders of South Medford’s colorful past. Meet in the Tufts Square parking triangle across the street from the South Medford Fire Station at Zero Medford Street.

Please note that this walk was rescheduled from its original date of June 17 because of poor weather.

The walking tour also will be presented at 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 15, and Saturday, September 16. Morris also will give a companion talk on Mystic Trotting Park at the Medford Public Library at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 29.