Statue of Medford Revolutionary War heroine Sarah Bradlee Fulton installed at City Hall

By Rich Tenorio

During the Siege of Boston, Medford resident Sarah Bradlee Fulton made daring spy missions on behalf of the Patriots. At night, she walked from Medford to Charlestown, then rowed into British-occupied Boston bearing dispatches from the commander of the Patriot army, Gen. George Washington.

Two and a half centuries later, as Medford joins in the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, a statue of Fulton will be dedicated in a ceremony at City Hall on Monday, April 20, at 10:15 a.m.

The statue project culminates an extensive awareness campaign around Fulton by a new nonprofit, Looking Back at Medford History, Inc., and its president, Laura Duggan.

“I made it my mission to help other people get to know her,” Duggan said.

Even before the American Revolution, Fulton participated in resistance to the British. She reportedly inspired the Patriots to disguise themselves as Native Americans for the Boston Tea Party in 1773. After independence, Washington visited Medford and met with Fulton, as did another hero of the Revolution, the Marquis de Lafayette.

“Women often get trivialized or forgotten,” Duggan said. “My son said, ‘President George Washington would not come to Medford to see her if she had done nothing in the Revolution.’”

The statue was installed last Tuesday ahead of the dedication. It is the third statue of a Revolutionary heroine in Massachusetts, after sculptures honoring Abigail Adams in Quincy and Deborah Sampson in Sharon. Women represent six percent of all statues in Massachusetts.

Originally from California, Duggan has made Medford her home and focused on getting the word out about Fulton. Duggan made a film about Fulton – in which she played the title role – that is available to view online, and she spearheaded a Sarah Bradlee Fulton Day that will mark its sixth year on Monday.

The statue project brought its own challenges. Five nonprofits turned down the chance to be associated with it before Duggan took her son’s advice and created her own sponsoring organization, Looking Back at Medford History.

As she searched for a sculptor, a friend recommended Robert Shure of Skylight Studios in Woburn.

“[Shure] was intrigued,” Duggan said. “It would be a statue of somebody not as well known.”

The bronze statue would depict Fulton on one of her daring spy missions.

“It was a very dangerous mission to deliver messages to the Sons of Liberty inside Boston,” Duggan said. “She knew Boston very well. Her brother lived there.”

Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn approved a location outside City Hall as a site for the statue. Fundraising for the statue and pedestal has taken several years, with the bulk of the $87,600 raised as of this point.

Duggan credited several individuals with especially generous donations, including community arts patron May Marquebreuck and trial lawyer Robert Bonsignore. The Bloomberg Foundation, the state of Massachusetts and the city have all helped out, as have multiple private individuals.

“Something like this is not easy to do,” Duggan said. “You have to be confident, optimistic and maybe relentless.”

She called the statue “something for the City of Medford,” which will “help them remember and know part of their history, be proud of who they are.”

“People who were here 250 years ago fought for freedom and risked their lives to do it,” Duggan added. “Someone like Sarah, who was not from the elite population. We should be encouraged to do the same.”