As part of Wrentham’s 350th anniversary celebration in 2023, the committee planning next year’s events has asked residents to submit memories of significant people in the town’s history. Following is a submission the anniversary committee shared with Local Town Pages.

Bennett Schroeder Bradbury

Bennett Schroeder Bradbury was a nationally-known seascape artist whose seascape paintings of Southern California and Hawaii continue to command more than a thousand dollars on the auction market. And – you guessed it – Bennett was born right here in little old Wrentham on February 23, 1914. 

Bennett was born into talent, with his mother being Elfrida Schroder, the lead singer of the Boston Opera Company, and his grandfather being Alwin Schroeder, considered at that time as the greatest living cellist.

And…drumroll here please…Bennett’s younger brother was none other than internationally acclaimed author Ray Bradbury, of Fahrenheit 451 fame! Ray was not born in Wrentham as the family had moved by that time.

We have not been able to determine how long Bennett lived in Wrentham, but circumstances suggest it was not too long. For a time, Bradbury left Laguna Beach to spend eight years in Honolulu, where he maintained a studio at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Upon his return to California, Bradbury continued to paint California coastal views in and around Laguna Beach. He taught painting on the Monterey Peninsula, and in 1970 moved to Carmel, where he lived until his death in 1991.

Submitted by Ed Goddard, Chair of Wrentham 350 Committee and Town Moderator