Security You Can Trust
Welcome to American Alarms’ business and home security page for Millis, Massachusetts. This informational page provides important additional information for those living in or considering moving to Millis.
Based in New England since 1971, we’ve worked in the Millis area for decades. We know the landscape and we have good relationships with local police and fire officials. Our team of employees (200 strong and growing) live in the communities we serve, this means our customers are our neighbors.
Millis was first settled in 1657. It was originally part of Dedham until that town granted the lands that comprised Millis, and other present-day surrounding towns, to Medfield in 1651. In 1713, pioneers of Medfield applied for a grant to create a new town. When that grant was approved, they named the new land Medway. This new town consisted of West Medway (present day Medway) and East Medway (present day Millis). Millis was incorporated as separate town on February 24, 1885. Millis is named after Lansing Millis, one of the founders of the town.
Millis is the home of the nationally famous “Millis Lights.” The “Millis Lights” are a display of Christmas decorations and lights on the 40-acre Causeway Street estate of Kevin Meehan, the owner of several car dealerships. In 2004, Al Roker traveled to Millis for a segment centered around the “Millis Lights.” After the publicity of The Today Show, an estimated 7,000 cars traveled to the “Millis Lights” daily during the Christmas season.
Recently, the Meehan family decided to give “Millis Wonderland” (formerly Millis Lights) and all its assets (1,200 animations, 45 glass-encased floats, 100,000 lights, and all supporting equipment) to a suitable nonprofit after the 2014 Christmas season.
The Herman Shoe Company was a very important industry in town. The company manufactured boots and other equipment during the Spanish-American War. In addition, it produced most of the boots worn by the troops during World War II.
Richardson’s Tavern on Exchange Street was built around 1720. This tavern accommodated George Washington for lunch on his way to Cambridge in 1775. It is rumored that Nathan Hale and the Marquis de Lafayette also stopped at the tavern to dine.
The Niagara Engine House, located at the corner of Route 109 and Exchange Street, was constructed in 1857 by Elijah Partridge for $675 in what was then East Medway. The building originally had a single entrance and included a tower for hanging hoses to dry after use. When Millis was incorporated in 1885, the engine and engine house were purchased from Medway and renamed “Niagara No. 1” to continue its tradition of fire protection. The Millis Historical Society is restoring the building to house the town’s Fire and Millis History Museum.
The Oak Grove Farm house on Exchange Street was the base for Lansing Millis’ dairy farm, one of the largest in Massachusetts in the mid-19th century.
Christian Herter was born in Paris, France on March 28, 1895. The 59th Governor of Massachusetts, and Secretary of State under Dwight D. Eisenhower, Herter lived in the Clark Home, an estate on Causeway Street. Herter died on December 30, 1966 in Washington D.C.
Misha Defonseca (Monique De Wael) was born in Belgium in 1937. Defonseca claimed to be a Holocaust survivor. She is famous for her 1997 book “Misha: A Memoire of the Holocaust Years,” which she ultimately admitted was a hoax. Defonseca and her husband moved to the United States from Paris in 1988 and bought a house in Millis.
John Forbes Kerry was born in Aurora, Colorado in December 11, 1943. Kerry, a former U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and 68th U.S. Secretary of State, lived for about a year in Groton and then he lived in Millis for about five years until he was about 7.
Millis, MA, United States
Sales: 781-859-2400
Security Command Center:
781-859-2700
FAX: 781-648-0199
Technical Support: 781-859-2600
Accounting: 781-859-2500
Human Resources: 781-859-2300
Advanced Signal: 781-963-2024
Auburn Office: 508-753-1322
Electronic Alarms, RI: 401-737-2221
Manchester, NH Office: 603-627-2002
Wallingford, CT Office (Monitor Controls): 203-269-3591
Weymouth Office (Atlas Alarm): 781-337-8866