New England Trivia Quiz
June 21, 2007
1. What New England
state was the scene of
a Civil War battle?
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Answer to 1: On October 19,
1864, Confederate cavalrymen
snuck across
the border from Canada
and seized St. Albans,
Vermont, in a desperate
bid to distract
Union troops from their
last triumphant push
through the South.
One resident was killed
before the rebels were
chased away by a posse
led by a Union major
home on leave.
2. Where in Boston is
the first US territory
ever stepped on by a
Catholic pope?
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Answer to 2: Pope Pius IX stood
on the deck of the USS
Constitution when the
ship visited Naples on a
good-will tour in 1849.
3. What New Englander
is “Uncle Sam”?
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Answer to 3: Although he didn’t
have a white beard or
wear a high hat, Arlington
meat packer Samuel
Wilson provided casks
of beef marked with
the monogram “US” for
American troops during
the War of 1812, and
the legend began that
the initials stood for
“Uncle Sam” Wilson.
Congress made it official in 1961: Sam Wilson
was Uncle Sam.
4. Where in Boston
was baseball’s first
World Series?
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Answer to 4: Not at Fenway,
but on the Huntington
Avenue Grounds,
home of the Boston
Pilgrims, later to become
the Red Sox. Left
field was bordered by
Huntington Avenue,
right field by Gainsborough
Street. Cy Young
pitched for the Pilgrims
against Pittsburgh in
the best-of-nine series
in October 1903;
Boston won in eight
games. A piece of granite
behind Northeastern
University’s Cabot
Cage marks the site of
home plate.
5. What New England
town is the basis for
“Riverdale” of the
Archie comic books?
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Answer to 5: Haverhill, hometown
of artist Bob Montana.
Archie, Veronica,
Jughead, and the gang
were inspired by Montana’s
fellow students
in the Haverhill High
School class of 1940.
6. Where was the
very first Macy’s store?
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Answer to 6: Not in New York City,
but in Haverhill, where
R.H. Macy got his start
in the retail business
by opening a dry goods
store at 70 Merrimack
Street in 1851. Macy
sold the store in 1858
and moved to New
York. The first Macy’s
parade was also held
not in New York City,
but to mark Independence
Day on July 4,
1854, in Haverhill.
7. What four US
presidents were born
in Greater Boston?
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Answer to 7: John Adams and
John Quincy Adams,
who were born in what
is now Quincy;
John F. Kennedy, who
was born in Brookline;
and George Herbert
Walker Bush, who was
born at 173 Adams
Street in Milton on
June 12, 1924.
8. How did Massachusetts
get its name?
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Answer to 8: The state was
named for an unimpressive-
looking arrowhead-
shaped knoll
in Quincy that Native
Americans called Moswetuset
Hummock—
“mos” for “arrowhead,”
and “wetuset” for
“hill.” The spot is now
part of the Wollaston
Beach Reservoir.
9. Where in New England
was the only place
in America shelled
by the enemy during
World War I?
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Answer to 9: The German submarine
U-156 turned
its guns on Orleans on
July 21, 1918. Curious
residents rushed to the
beach to watch as the
shells landed harmlessly
behind them until
the Navy launched a
seaplane to scare the
sub away. A plaque off
Nauset Heights Road
marks the site where
the shells fell.
10. Where in New
England are the world’s
highest tides?
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Answer to 10: Eastport, Maine,
boasts the highest
tides in the world at 29
feet, so huge there was
a local industry in scuttling
old ships at high
tide, then scavenging
them on the beach.
These vast fluctuations
also create the largest
tidal whirlpool in the
Western Hemisphere,
the Old Sow, which
comes alive beginning
two hours before each
high tide.
