Up close and personal with the Hutchinson and Dyer statues

© 2016 Christy K Robinson
Hutchinson statue seen from
Beacon Street over the iron fence.
That's as close as you get,
most times.
The memorial statue of Anne Marbury Hutchinson was cast in bronze in 1915, and placed on the grounds of the Massachusetts State House in 1922. For generations, it was a landmark easily visited by descendants and admirers of Hutchinson. But after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the state raised an iron fence around the statehouse, and no access is granted except by permit. For most people, the best they can do is shoot photos with a long lens, from Beacon Street. (The Mary Dyer statue, on the east wing of the State House, is fenced but open to the public.)

But lucky ticket holders have a chance to get up close and personal on July 20, 2016, the 425th anniversary of Anne Marbury's baptism. The Anne Hutchinson Society, in conjunction with OurFoundingMothers.org, is holding a ceremony at the statue in Anne's honor. Honored guests include biographer Eve LaPlante and former Massachusetts governor, the Honorable Michael Dukakis, who granted a pardon to Mistress Hutchinson in 1987, 349 years after she was convicted of heresy and banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony. Bring your camera and stock up on photos! Rub elbows with Hutchinson descendants and friends. For information on and tickets to the Hutchinson statue ceremony, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/founding-mothers-celebration-state-house-event-the-hon-michael-dukakis-tickets-26222921464 .

For info and tickets for other events surrounding Anne Hutchinson, visit: http://ourfoundingmothers.org/learning-event-series/


Christy K Robinson is the author of three books on William and Mary Dyer,

Mary Dyer Illuminated (2013) Mary Dyer: For Such a Time as This (2014) The Dyers of London, Boston, & Newport (2014)
and of this Dyer history site. The Dyers' lives were inextricably linked with Anne and William Hutchinson, Gov. John Winthrop, Rev. John Cotton, and many others whose descendants can be found all over North America.  Read their stories in the Robinson books.