The ‘Mother of the Boston Tea Party’ gets a statue in Medford

A Medford woman who played a key role in the Boston Tea Party was honored Monday with a statue unveiled outside Medford City Hall.

Sarah Bradley Fulton, often referred to as the “Mother of the Boston Tea Party,” helped. deny Participants paint their faces and hide their clothes, according to what was reported on the radio Tea Party Ships and Museum in Boston. She also waited for their return and got rid of her disguises.

statue, It was unveiled on Patriots Dayculminates a long-term effort led by Laura Duggan, a historian, actress and playwright who hosts the “Looking at Medford History” show.

Dugan started the project in early 2024 and later founded a non-profit organization, Looking back at Medford’s historyto raise funds with the help of donors.

“I came across this woman who was called the ‘Mother of the Boston Tea Party,’ and I was like, ‘How did a woman from Medford become the Mother of the Boston Tea Party?’” Duggan told Boston.com.

As her research deepened, Dugan said she came to see Fulton as “a very remarkable woman” — a woman she had never met in her own studies.

“Women involved in different parts of history are often overlooked or forgotten,” she said. “I felt like she really needed to get some recognition for what she did.”

Duggan said Fulton’s contributions extended beyond the Boston Tea Party. After the Battle of Bunker Hill, she organized women to care for wounded soldiers. In 1776, Fulton carried an urgent message across the British lines along the Charleston waterfront on behalf of John Brooks to George Washington.

During the Siege of Boston, Fulton also encountered British soldiers who had seized a shipment of lumber intended for American forces. She reportedly chased them, grabbed the oxen pulling the cart, turned it around, and even dared the soldiers to shoot, according to the museum. The soldiers were so amazed by her courage that they handed over the firewood without resistance.

Fulton died in 1835 at the age of 95 and was buried in Salem Street Cemetery in Medford.

The idea for the statue is rooted in permanence, Duggan said.

“The statue will have lasting power to help people here, locally, remember this woman,” she said.

Duggan noted that the Fulton Memorial is one of the few statues honoring women associated with the American Revolution.

“I think more people should know about it, because women haven’t gotten attention for what they have contributed in the past to our country,” she said.

Duggan added that the statue is intended not only to honor Fulton but also to inspire others.

“It is a symbol of inspiring you to contribute to your community and fight for freedom,” she said.