Central Massachusetts is home to two exciting events in honor of Henry Knox this winter.
 

Knox Trail 250 in Worcester

On Saturday, January 31, Knox Trail 250, a winter-long sequenced program designed to represent the Henry Knox Noble Train of Artillery of 1776, will arrive in Worcester. This historic event was the catalyst for what we now recognize in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as Evacuation Day. To honor the occassion, on the morning of January 10, 2026, along the Massachusetts and New York state border, there was a ceremony representative of the official Knox handoff that occurred, followed by a historic journey that crosses the whole state. The 2026 commemoration in Massachusetts started in Great Barrington, and goes through over 33 towns to simulate the journey and celebrate in designated hubs, including Worcester, MA.

Reenactors with horses and sleds, accompanied by fifes and drums, will march at 1 p.m. from Elm Park to the Worcester Common, at Worcester City Hall. Visitors can also attend the free event at 2 p.m. at the AC Hotel by Marriott (125 Front St., in downtown Worcester). Originally scheduled to be held at the American Antiquarian Society, the event was moved to the AC Hotel by Marriott to accommodate a larger audience, due to the popularity seen at events held in Western Massachusetts. Scott Casper, American Antiquarian Society president, and Nan Wolverton, American Antiquarian Society vice president for academic and public programs, have been invited to speak at the program. There will be a short video about the Knox Trail and attendees can read about and hear stories about the artillery’s journey through Central Massachusetts.
 

Getting to Know Knox's Connection to Worcester

Knox was born and raised in Boston and during the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770, he unsuccessfully tried to convince the British soldiers to return to their quarters. He was only 25 years old when he led the transport of 43 cannons, six coehorns, eight mortars and two howitzers, all captured from forts on Lake Champlain. The artillery was carried on sleds and wagons drawn by horses and oxen from Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point through deep snow, across frozen lakes and rivers and over the Berkshire Mountains.

The Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston houses Knox’s diary, which documents his journey to deliver the artillery to Boston. The diary is about 30 pages long and begins on Nov. 17, 1775, when Knox departed Boston for upstate New York, and ends in early January before the journey reached Worcester. Notably, Knox moved his wife Lucy to Worcester for her safety after he joined the Continental Army following the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and Lane said they reunited for the first time in months when the artillery train passed through.

Read more about the history in this Worcester Gaurdian article.
 

Celebrating Knox in Sturbridge

Saturday, January 31st and Sunday, February 1st, visit Old Sturbridge Village for a one-of-a-kind event, commemorating the 250th Anniversary of Henry Knox’s Noble Train of Artillery. In partnership with Fort Ticonderoga, this unique event explores the Noble Train as it went from Fort Ticonderoga through central Massachusetts, and onward to Boston. Join staff from Fort Ticonderoga and reenactors from Knox’s Regiment of Artillery to discover how Henry Knox’s achieved the 300 mile journey to deliver 59 artillery pieces to Dorchester Heights. Examine reproduction artillery tools and ammunition to understand the importance of artillery in the Revolutionary War. Explore the historic Village and interact with costumed historians as they demonstrate the facets of daily life after the Revolution, hear stories from reenacted patriots who marched on the Trail, see cannon demonstrations, and learn about the impacts the Revolution had on people in the 1830s. 


Event highlights attendees can expect:

  • See oxen in action as they demonstrate hauling cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Dorchester Heights. 
  • Watch Knox’s Regiment of Artillery demonstrate cannon firing in 1776. 
  • Learn about American artillery of the Revolution compared to the Massachusetts Artillery of the 1830s. 
  • Try using an artillery engine, lifting reproduction cannon from Fort Ticonderoga.  
  • Handle reproduction cannon ammunition and explore their types and use. 
  • See our cabinetmakers building a log sled based on one in our collection. 
  • Learn about using draft animals and their importance to early 19th-century farmers, featuring our ox teams. 
  • See our blacksmiths forging cannon carriage hardware. 
  • Hear stories from a recreated patriot who marched on the Knox Trail from Pittsfield to Cambridge in 1976. 

See the full schedule for each day on the Old Sturbridge website here.