Hi, I’m Jake!
I’m the founder and cohost of HUB History, a weekly podcast where we share our favorite stories from Boston’s history. Before starting the podcast, I founded and ran a walking tour company called Boston Strolls for a couple of seasons. More recently, I’ve been a lecturer at Cambridge Center for Adult Education, an organizer of History Camp Boston, and a volunteer docent at the Shirley-Eustis House.
In addition to my obsession with Boston history, I take the photographs that I share here, and I enjoy running marathons, kayaking, gardening, making jam and jelly, brewing hard cider, and grilling and barbecuing tasty meats. At work, I help physicians use our EHR. I volunteer with a dog rescue called Shultz’s Guest House and I give platelets to the Red Cross (you should, too!).
My Websites
- jacobsconyers.com I like to take pictures. I take pictures of Boston, of my adventures, of breaking news, of animals, and flowers, and sunsets. I post the decent ones on this site. You can consider this the canonical site for Jacob Sconyers. When all the rest are gone, this site will abide. Call it
<link rel="me canonical">, ya know? - HUBhistory.com My wife and I host a weekly podcast. It’s our way of sharing our favorite stories from Boston’s history.
- charlesriverguide.com A paddler’s guide to the Charles. I like to paddle on our local rivers, but there aren’t a lot of online resources to help you plan a trip. The site I used to rely on went offline, so I created this one. Tell your paddling friends!
- historycamp.org History Camp is an “unconference” for history, founded in the Boston area and expanding beyond. I built and maintain their website, as well as helping to organize monthly history events for History Camp enthusiasts.
- fuckingyum.com My wife and I are decent cooks. We blog here at irregular intervals about the things we make.
- sconye.rs I registered a Serbian domain name to run my vanity URL shortener.
- bostonstrolls.com We used to run a tour company. This Bootstrap-based placeholder site is all that remains.
Published Photos
Boston Globe
Gravestone photos published in a spread on Haunted New England
WGBH
My food picture stands in for a 17th Century Puritan meal.
CBS Boston
Photo of the Make Way for Ducklings statue decorated for spring.
Dorchester Reporter
A picture I took on a historic tour made it to the front page of a neighborhood paper.
Where Magazine
A picture of Acorn Street (Beacon Hill) in a feature on Boston Strolls.
Universal Hub
- Stony Brook fire from Buck Hill in the Blue Hills.
- Wearing their spring finest in the Public Garden.
- First in war, first in peace, first in the NHL East.
- Our sunrises have been pretty good, too.
- Came the dawn.
- At least the cash registers still worked.
- Space-saving madness infects Readville.
- Permanent PDA spreads to the Public Garden.
- Police investigate gunfire in Hyde Park.
- Turkeys bored with just ruling the roost take over the street in West Roxbury.
- American faces
Podcast APPEARANCES
My friend Rachel and cohost Kristin started The Town Council, a podcast “dedicated to chronologically rewatching and recapping every single episode (and both movies!) of the ’90s hit TV series ‘Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.’ For both the snarks and the history buffs.” I appear occasionally as their resident historian.
- Episode 106 – Father’s Day: In this episode, Dr. Quinn advocates for smallpox vaccination in Colorado Springs. I was invited on to discuss the history of smallpox vaccination and the Boston inoculation controversy of 1721 involving Cotton Mather.
- Episode 206 – Where The Heart Is (2 hour special): When her mother falls ill, Dr. Quinn and the children go back home to Boston for a long visit. I provided an overview of the condition of Boston in 1869 and pointed out what the show got right, and what was definitely wrong.
- Episode 306 – The Washington Affair (2 hour special): Dr. Quinn, Sully, and the children travel to Washington, DC. Along the way, they save President Grant from assassination, Sully is almost executed as a deserter, and Michaela single handedly reverses US policy toward Native Americans. Despite all that, there are a few nuggets of good history.
Social Stuff
- Facebook is the main channel I use to keep up with real-world acquaintances.
- I post photos to Instagram pretty frequently.
- Follow @HUBhistory for a daily dose of Boston history. I share pictures, maps, trivia, and #OnThisDay anniversaries.
- I rarely tweet under my own name, but hit me at @JacobSconyers for anything not related to Boston history.
- I don’t actively maintain my Google+ profile, but I’m on there if you are.