A New Research Library--and a Museum with a View

It's been an eventful several months at the Natick Historical Society!

Remember the overcrowded rear wing of the Museum, crammed with file cabinets, bookcases and books, desks, photocopiers, and boxed archival materials?

Before the move. There's a window behind all those bookcases!

In October 2017, following an intense period of packing and planning, we moved all these items to new quarters: our beautiful new Research Library & Office at 207 Union Street, just around the corner from the Museum.

Partly unpacked: a room at the new Research Library

The clean, well-lit space gives us badly-needed room to store, preserve, and share with users our growing collection of books, photographic materials, and paper archives.

We'll soon have regular open hours at the Research Library. In the meantime, if you need to access materials or would like help with research, please call or email for an appointment.



Meanwhile, back at the Museum, excitement was growing. For the first time in anyone's memory, we could see the space as it must have looked in 1880, when the Natick Historical Society first moved into the newly-built Bacon Free Library building.

 NHS board members Tim Hinton and Terri Evans
 admire the new view

It was a thrilling moment when we could at last open the shutters at the rear of the building, admitting a shaft of October sunlight and a view of the river outside.

The open space inspired new ambitions for the Museum. Guided by architect and NHS board member Steve Evers, a team of experts embarked on what would become a major restoration project.


















First, the many hundreds of objects on exhibit at the Museum had to be safely packed, inventoried, and stored.

Sorting and packing decades' worth of artifacts and miscellaneous objects

Museum objects, tagged
and stored

Cynthia Cowan with NHS curator
Marya Van't Hul

Cynthia Cowan, a specialist at
Historic Newton's museums,
helped with this mammoth task.

Carpenter Dan Bache prepares to jack up the Museum floor

 Structural problems--sagging floors in both wings of the Museum--were also addressed. 

Next, cabinetmakers returned the Museum's nine-foot-tall ash-wood exhibit cases to their original configuration. Their work restored the symmetry of the Museum's two side wings, eliminated an unsafe and overcrowded storage alcove, and exposed another long-blocked window.

This overcrowded storage alcove was
 too narrow for a stepladder

Cabinetmaker John Murphy in the opened-up storage alcove

A large free-standing exhibit case, built in 1897, posed a problem: it had to be removed, but no one could bear to see it demolished--especially when we found a penciled signature of the cabinetmaker on the underside of a board.

"Built by C. J. Foskett, Candlemas Day 1897"

NHS member Vin Vittoria saved the day by finding a home for the cabinet at the Walnut Hill School. We were so happy to know the cabinet will remain here in Natick!








Next up: painting of walls, ceilings, and the interiors of exhibit cases--still underway as of this writing. Then the Museum's floors will be refinished. New LED lighting will replace old dim bulbs and tangles of wires.

One wing of the museum, cleared and ready for painting and floor refinishing

All this work will likely be done by May. It's been quite a journey! We can't wait to show you our shining new Museum.

Spilling the Beans till Dawn: A 350-Year-Old Loving Cup

Among the many ceramic dishes on exhibit in our museum is this unassuming little brown stoneware bowl, donated to the Natick Historical Society in 1876. 

The bowl was originally a wedding gift to Hannah Battle on January 1, 1667. As decades passed, it became an heirloom, passed on through generations and given to three more New England women on their wedding days: Hannah Lincoln in 1688, Patricia Lincoln in 1794, and Eliza Lincoln in 1851.

 Nottinghamware bowl. Stoneware, c. 1666

If you look closely at the bowl, you can see the scar from what was probably a handle. If the bowl originally had two handles, perhaps it was a “loving cup,” a shared drinking vessel traditionally used by the bride and groom at wedding feasts.

I consulted Patricia Stamford, director of the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Lab, who examined photos of the bowl. She writes, "I would say that you do have the lower half of a Nottingham stoneware loving cup. The top edge of the piece appears to be rough in places, suggesting that the piece was broken at some point and then probably lovingly evened off to make a footed bowl."

Nottinghamware was salt-glazed brown stoneware made in Nottingham, England, from the late 1600s until the early 1800s. “Salt glazing” is just what it sounds like: during kiln firing, salt is introduced into the kiln, where it reacts with the clay to create a shiny, pitted glaze that makes brown stoneware look a bit like bronze. Nottinghamware was quite fine stoneware. This bowl is evenly thin, not thick and clunky like some more utilitarian pieces.

The underside of the bowl

Many 17th-century New England colonists owned ceramics imported from Europe. Along with locally-made pottery, a typical Massachusetts household might have had pieces from Holland, Spain, England, Portugal, and even China. England continued to import stoneware to the colonies until the end of the Revolutionary War.

We'll never know how or when this loving cup came to be broken, or who decided to give it a second life as a bowl. But I like to imagine Hannah Battle and her new husband, more than 350 years ago, sharing their first drink as a married couple from the cup.

Next time you visit the Natick Historical Society, take a look at the little brown bowl. You can view many examples of Nottinghamware loving cups on the websites of English museums--including the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, whose collection includes the example on the right.

While you look, you might like to listen to the Rolling Stones' "Loving Cup" (1972).

Note from the Curator

Marya Van't Hul

Curator

I am lucky enough to be the new curator at the Natick Historical Society. I am so happy to be here! The Natick Historical Society’s collections are endlessly interesting, and I learn every day from the visitors, researchers, and volunteers who spend time here.

I’ll continue to use this space to share items from our collections and the stories they illustrate. Meanwhile, if you have questions about our museum or any of the objects on exhibit, please leave a comment, find me at the museum, or send me an email at curator@natickhistoricalsociety.org.

--Marya Van't Hul

A Note From the Curator:

As a new year starts, we have a lot of changes to look forward to at the Natick Historical Society. Our newly revived  programs committee has been keeping the museum busy with regular events, we’ve expanded our range of educational programs for local school groups and we’ve just published our newest book! Unfortunately, I will not be around to take part in these exciting new developments. I will be moving on from y position as curator later this month to pursue new opportunities. Working at the Natick Historical Society has been a wonderful experience and I now I can leave feeling confident in all the work we have achieved in the past two years. While I’ve greatly enjoyed my time working here and I know I’m leaving you in capable hands of our wonderful staff of volunteers and our new director Aaron Dougherty. There are some very exciting things to come and I hope you’ll stay tuned to see what NHS will be up to next!

-Ben Federlin

Guest Post! Newly Opened Collections

This month we're happy to have a guest post from our archival intern Caleigh Ross. Caleigh has just finished processing  a new donated collection about the lives of some fascinating Natick residents: 

Newly Opened Collections:

Erica Ball Personal Papers and Jay Ball Personal Papers

The Natick Historical Society is pleased to announce that the Erica Ball and Jay Ball collections are open and available for research.

Erica Ball

Erica Esther Weisz (Ricky) was born in Vienna in 1937. She and her parents emigrated to Trinidad in 1938. When she was ten years old, Erica and her parents moved to Passaic New Jersey, where she attended high school before attending Brandeis University. She married her husband, Jay Ball, in 1958, and had three sons: David, Alan and Jonathan. David became a nurse and a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force, and Alan is a professional actor in Chicago. Their son Jonathan was killed in a school bus accident in 1967, and the tragedy galvanized their efforts to ensure greater school bus safety measures. Their ‘no standees’ initiative is now state law, and many communities employ the school bus monitor concept they promoted.     

Ball entered politics by way of the League of Women Voters (LWV), which she joined in 1967 and in which she was a driving force for 21 years. She served as President of the Natick LWV for two terms, playing a major role in the formation of the Lake Cochituate Watershed Association, and serving on the League’s State Legislative Committee from 1972 to 1974. From 1968 to 1980 she represented the League on the South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC), an agency that she later served as President (1974-1975) and Vice President (1976-1977).

In 1975 she campaigned for a seat on the Natick Board of Selectmen, and became the first woman in the town’s 350-year history to serve in that capacity. She has been a Natick Town Meeting Member since 1973. Ball served on the Natick Ad-Hoc Day Care Committee, initiating and coordinating efforts to offer extended day childcare in Natick.

An inveterate political campaigner, Ball has actively participated in and volunteered for countless campaigns, including her husband Jay’s campaign for Natick’s Board of Selectmen in 1997. Ball was a founder of The Center of the Arts, a growing and vibrant venue for the performing and visual arts, located in downtown Natick, and continues to remain actively involved as a member of the Board of Directors, focusing on Development. In 2010 Ball ran for a position on the Board of Commissioners for the Natick Housing Authority, and continues to serve on the board.

Ricky Ball’s numerous contributions to the Natick community, infrastructure, and people are reflected in her newly processed personal papers. The collection contains correspondence, photographs, news clippings, notes, and ephemera related to Ball’s extensive work in local government and service organizations, including the town of Natick’s Board of Selectmen, League of Women Voters, and Housing Authority, among others. This collection also contains letters, memos, and reports created during her 1982 campaign for Massachusetts State Representative. Through her collection, researchers can learn about the challenges that Ball faced, the pitfalls she experienced, and the victories she enjoyed throughout her long career. This collection also serves to promote a deeper understanding of the shared experiences of female politicians and community organizers in the late twentieth century.  If you would like to explore the Erica Ball Personal Papers, please feel free to call or email to make an appointment!

Jay Ball

Jay Ball was born in 1935 in Brooklyn New York. He completed his primary and secondary education in New York before attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He graduated from MIT with a degree in engineering in 1956, and married his wife Erica (Ricky) that same year. Jay received his Masters degree in engineering from MIT in 1961. The Balls had three sons, David, Alan, and Jonathan. David became a nurse and a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force, and Alan is a professional actor in Chicago. Their son Jonathan was killed in a school bus accident in 1967, and the tragedy galvanized their efforts to ensure greater school bus safety measures. Their ‘no standees’ initiative is now state law, and many communities employ the school bus monitor concept they promoted.

In 1997 Jay campaigned for a seat on the Natick Board of Selectmen. He served three terms as a Selectman from 1997 to 2006. As a Selectman, he was an integral force behind the creation of the annual Natick Days event, and also served to facilitate the transition when the Town Administrator passed away in 2002. Ball has also been actively involved with the Temple Israel Congregation, particularly as a member of the Ark Builders, who have built and donated several woodworking creations to the Temple and to the local community.

Personally, Ball is an avid photographer and actor, participating in many of The Center for the Arts Natick (TCAN) productions. His photographs have been featured in local exhibits and newspapers, as well as in the Old Town Calendar.

The Jay Ball Personal Papers contain documents, correspondence, photographs, news clippings, notes, and ephemera related to Jay Ball’s extensive work in local government and service organizations, including the town of Natick’s Board of Selectmen, the Temple Israel Ark Builders, and the School Bus Transportation Safety Study Committee, among others. This collection also contains materials relating to Ball’s business interests and personal interests, in photography and theater. Through this collection, researchers can learn about the work, the interests, and the activities of one of Natick’s true Renaissance Men. If you would like to explore the Jay Ball Personal Papers, please feel free to call or email to make an appointment!

A One Of A Kind Desk

Daniel Takawampbait's Pulpit Desk

The museum of the Natick Historical Society isn’t the biggest space. We sometimes don’t have room to display all the unique artifacts from Natick’s past. Furniture in particular can sometimes be a problem. There is one piece however, that we always are sure to make room for. Daniel Takawampbait’s pulpit desk is one of the most special artifacts in our collection and rightly, gets a place of honor right in the center of the museum.  Today the pulpit desk sits at the center of our museum space in a case focused on the lives of John, Eliot, Daniel Takawampbait and other members of the early ‘Praying Indian’ community in Natick. The piece is not only a connection to an important figure from Natick’s history; it’s also a unique example of early American furniture.

Desk Foot, Shaped
Like a Deer's Hoof

The pulpit desk was made by Native Americans in Natick between the years 1676-1678.  Very few example of furniture made by Native Americans in this period survive. The desk is distinctive for a few reasons. The upper portion of the pulpit desk is removable and was designed so that it could be detached and carried as a small speaker’s podium. The sides of the pulpit desk are patterned with symmetrical lines, an unusual pattern for furniture made in the 17^th century. The feet of the desk are carved to resemble deer hooves, another distinctive feature on wooden furniture from this period. Because few pieces of furniture made and designed by native people exist from the early years of European settlement a desk like this one is an interesting example of Native American craftsmanship and aesthetic.

Daniel Takawampbait, the previous owner of this desk is a fascinating figure from Natick’s past. Daniel Takawampbait was a Native American from the Nipmuc tribe who converted to Christianity and initially moved to a praying Indian village near Natick. Following the King Philip’s War in 1675, Takawampbait, like many ‘praying Indians’ was displaced from his community. Many of these displaced Christian Native Americans moved to Natick, where the Christian Indian community was able to mostly survive the bloody conflict which had displaced them. Takawampbait became integrated into the community and became an important leader in Natick. In 1681 he was ordained as a minister, the first Native American to become a puritan minister in North America. He took over the pulpit as leader of the congregation in South Natick after John Eliot passed away in 1690. Daniel Takawampbait remained minster in Natick for twenty six years, until his death in 1716. During his tenure as minister Takawampbait preserved a number of elements of native culture and language despite the growing incursion of English settlers. He was buried in South Natick and his headstone still stands, though it was moved in the 1980s to be in front of the Eliot Church of South Natick.

Daniel Takawampbait's Headstone

The desk was later used by Natick ministers Stephen Badger and Oliver Peabody. Today the desk is owned by the First Congregational Church, the spiritual successor to Eliot’s original meetinghouse, who have been kind enough to loan it to us so that it can be displayed and studied here in the museum.

What's the Point? Projectile Points, Stone Tools and More

Part of our goal here at the Natick Historical Society is to collect anything and everything related to Natick’s past. Doing this allows us to better to tell every individual part of Natick’s story. These objects can vary pretty significantly. One particular collection that we have been working with quite a bit recently is our collection of stone tools, most of them made by native people from the Natick region thousands of years ago.

Though the town of Natick was founded in 1651, people had been living in this area for thousands of years before that. While we have little evidence of any major permanent settlement in most of Natick prior to the 1600s, archaeological evidence left behind can tell us quite a bit about the lives of the people who were living in what would day become Natick.

A Selection of Some of the Projectile Points 

Objects from the early years of Natick’s founding are relatively rare. We can consider ourselves lucky to have as many objects as we do from the early years of a human presence in this area. The majority of these objects are stone tools, which survive for a variety of reasons. These tools can be dated as far back as 8,000 to 5,000 years ago to the Archaic period, though we have  a few pieces from the more recent Woodland Period (3,000 to 2,500 years ago). Native people would have used a variety of different tools in their daily lives, not just stone tools however the stone tools and lithics are generally the only objects that survive. Stone is obviously much less likely to be broken or discarded than other materials and it’s significantly more long lasting. In temperate or wetter climates organic material deteriorates more easily overtime and we are left with very few wooded, reed or cloth materials from the distant past.  

The majority of our stone tools are what are referred to by archaeologists as ‘projectile points’. This is a general term used by archaeologists, anthropologists and historians to refer to sharp, pointed objects that could be used for a variety of different purposes. Previously we had attempted to define the uses of individual artifacts more specifically, often just based on size or general appearance and while styles; materials and certain general statements can always be made about projectile points, knowing their exact purpose is quite challenging to us today. This is one of the reasons that the term ‘arrowhead’ is rarely used by archaeologists today. Stone tools would usually be used with some element that was made of wood, fiber or another organic material which would have decomposed over time. Without these pieces of archaeological context it can be very difficult to classify exactly how these objects would have been used. Though they were obviously used for cutting, piercing or similar activities the exact usage is difficult to state with certainty and thus the more general term of ‘projectile point’ fits better.  These objects were likely used for a variety of purposes including, but not limited to arrowheads, spearheads, darts, scissors, knives and scraping tools.

Most projectile points in our collection come from locally available stones like quartz or felsite. There are a few examples of objects found in Natick made of non-locally occurring stones which may have arrived here through various trade routes that existed between native communities of Algonquin speaking peoples along the East Coast.

Despite their seeming simplicity creating lithics like these took a high degree of skill to manufacture. Chiseling stone into very specific shapes, which would be almost identical in each manufactured piece, took years of training in skills that would have been passed down between generations.   

Not all the stone tools in our collection meet these descriptions of course. We have a number of other sorts of stone tools that were used by indigenous people living in the Natick area including hand axes, chisels, fishing sinkers and mortars and pestles. As is the case with our projectile points it can sometimes be difficult to determine the use of these artifacts without the natural materials that would have been used to use them. 

Summer Changes!

Just as the seasons are changing from spring to summer there are quite a few changes happening here at the Natick Historical Society. As usual, our programming slows down a little bit in the summer months (though a big thank you to everyone who came on our literary and John Eliot district walking tours last weekend! It was great seeing you!) We have some extra time to focus on improving our current exhibits and creating new ones. This can mean little things like installing more shelves for our geology specimens or printing fresh labels for some of the projectile points but it also means some bigger changes too!

An Illustration from Stowe's
Book Old Town Folks 

Though the summer is just getting started we’re excited to report two new exhibits already! The first is here in the Natick Historical Society museum where our long-awaited literary Natick exhibit is here. “Natick and the New England Character” is a brand new exhibit focusing on the lives of thinkers, writers and activists from Natick, who not only shaped the course of American History but also shaped the way America thought of Natick

and New England. Figures highlighted here included acclaimed authors like Harriet Beecher Stowe, Alexander Wheelock Thayer and Horatio Alger Jr. as well as politicians and activists like Henry Wilson and Lydia Maria Child. Many of the objects in our new exhibit have never before been on display and we’re thrilled to have the chance for people to see them.

Henry Wilson's School House
Farmington NH

Our second new exhibit opened just this week at the Morse Institute Library. This smaller exhibit focuses on one of our favorite former Natickites, Henry Wilson. Entitled “The Education of Henry Wilson,” this exhibit explores the unconventional but deeply impactful way that learning, reading and writing changed the life and opinions of Henry Wilson. In this exhibit we tried to highlight not only Wilson’s classroom education and reading habits but also experiential learning experiences like his time in the Natick Debating Society or his travels. This exhibit will be on view in the first floor Morse Room of the Morse Institute Library through November of 2016.

Lastly, we have some sadder news to convey. Our beloved director Jane Hennedy will be leaving us at the end of June. While we will miss her terribly she is moving on to a new exciting opportunity with Historic New England and we wish her only the best.

Be sure to come by the museum sometime this summer and take a look at some of the changes we’ve already got underway. Thanks for reading and have a great Fourth of July! 

Early twentieth Century Fourth of July card from Natick

A Trip Down Memory Lane

As the weather starts to get warmer and spring begins to unfold it’s time once again for the Natick Historical Society to host school trips from just about every public school in Natick. These young museum visitors keep us quite busy and can certainly be quite exciting. Having so many school groups come to visit is a nice reminder of all the great resources we have here in our archives related to schools, education and past classes of Natick students.

Front Cover of 1925 Sassamon

We have a large collection of materials related to education, including graduation programs, schedules of course and classes photos from various points in Natick’s past. One of the biggest and most useful collections in our archives is our collection Natick High School Yearbooks. Originally called “the Sassamon”, the Natick High School Yearbook has been published for over a hundred years by the Natick High School and serves as an invaluable resource for anyone visiting our archives to learn more about genealogy or their family’s history in Natick. Our earliest Sassamon is from the class of 1925 and it’s amazing to see how much the yearbook and Natick have changed since then. The 1925 Natick High School Sassamon was published in paperback and contains just over a hundred students, none of whom have pictures to accompany their entry in the yearbook. Instead, there are a pair of class portraits in the center of the book where most of the graduating seniors are pictured. For contrast, the most recently acquired yearbook in our collection, from 2014, was published in full color and contains over 330 students. Looking at the survey of these books it’s easy to see the many different ways Natick has changed over just a short period of time. Changes in fashion and growing populations are all readily apparent when one looks through a few years’ worth of Natick High yearbooks. The style changes overtime have produced some really memorable fashion choices!

Doug Flutie's Yearbook
Picture

Flutie playing baseball

 It’s possible to even find a few recognizable faces when flipping through the old copies of our copies of the Natick yearbook. Perhaps the person most famous we’ve noticed recently in our yearbook collection is famous quarterback and recent Dancing with the Stars contestant Doug Flutie. Flutie graduated from Natick High School in 1981 and already seemed to have started quite an impressive athletic career. He played both football and baseball and is mentioned in the class history for having been elected to the High School Hall of Fame for his athletic achievements.

Though our collection only dates back to 1925 there are other places to see Natick High School Yearbooks going back even further. The Morse Institute Library has digital copies of many of the Natick Sassamons going as far back as the year 1916 that are available to be viewed online here: https://archive.org/search.php?query=subject%3A%22Natick+High+School+(Natick%2C+Mass.)--Students--Yearbooks%22.

We are always looking to expand our collection to be better able to tell the history of Natick,  and filling in some of the gaps in our yearbook collection would be a great way of doing this. Currently we are only missing twelve copies of the Natick High School yearbook and would be happy to receive any of them. If someone was looking to donate their old yearbook from 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1937, 1939, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2013 or 2015 we would be very grateful!

What's in a Name?

When Natick was founded in 1651 it was established to be a community of “Praying Indians.” Christian Native Americans from a variety of tribal backgrounds came together to form a community separate from both the European and Native American communities nearby. Like many other communities of this type, the town took its name from an Algonquin word. There has been quite a bit of debate over the years about the exact original meaning of “Natick.” Some have claimed that Natick translates to “Place of Hills” which may be true, though most visitors to Natick will notice that it is not an especially hilly place. Another proposed translation has been “the Place that We Were Looking for” which also may be true.

Runners of the Boston Marathon in Natick, 1996

While many other towns that had previously been founded as Native American towns changed their names as more European-Americans moved there, Natick kept its original name even after its demographics began to shift. Grafton, Canton, Lowell and a number of other Eastern Massachusetts communities initially began as some form of praying Indian community similar, though smaller, to the one in Natick. Keeping our original name has made Natick stand out among the many English named towns nearby. Traditional English town names often end with the suffixes ‘ham’ or ‘bury’ and anyone familiar with this area can likely think of at least half a dozen towns or cities that fit this description.

 A few people may know that for crossword enthusiasts Natick has an entirely different meaning. In a Sunday crossword for the New York Times back in 2008 there was a clue referring to a certain town at mile 8 on the Boston marathon route. That town was, of course Natick. Natick has proudly played host to the Boston Marathon since its inception. Over four miles of the marathon route between Framingham and Wellesley are here in Natick. However, a large number of crossword solvers couldn’t figure out the clue-- or gain hints from any of the intersecting clues! This incident actually ended up becoming a bit famous in crossword puzzle circles. The term ‘Natick’ came to mean any answer, usually a proper noun, that couldn’t be solved with the clue or any intersecting answers. Crossword puzzle writer now use the “Natick principle” to avoid having more obscure proper nouns be made up of letters from difficult intersecting clues.

 This coming week the Natick Historical Society will be doing our part to celebrate Patriots Day as well. Stop y the museum between 10-11 April 19^th through the 23^rd, for our new self-directed family program ‘Marathon around the Museum’ which explores Natick’s history, the society’s collections through the lens of the Boston Marathon.  

Harriet Wilson's Parasol

Harriet Wilson

One of the most prominent figures in Natick’s past was a Vice President of the United States, Henry Wilson. We’ve previously discussed Wilson on our blog and it’s more than likely he’ll come up again. Wilson was one of the most famous people to have ever lived in Natick and he spent the better part of his life here, really immersing himself in the community (Wilson was originally born in New Hampshire). This immersion included his marriage to Natick native Harriet Howe. Harriet and Henry met in 1837 and were married just a few years later in 1840.  Their wedding was attended by both families and was presided over by their good friend, the Congregationalist minister Samuel Hunt.

Henry and Harriet seemed to have had a very happy marriage; the couple had one son, Henry Hamilton Wilson, who was born in 1846. Harriet was a strong proponent of women’s suffrage and rights for women, views that influenced her husband, who would argue for greater rights for women in his political career and push legislation he thought would benefit women.  Mrs. Wilson suffered from ill health for much of her life which unfortunately limited the amount of time she could spend outside her home or on the campaign trail with her husband, sometimes remaining in Natick during his trips to Washington. Wilson remained an attentive husband throughout their marriage. He even retired from political life for years at a time to tend to Harriet’s health when needed. Sadly, Harriet Wilson passed away in 1870, just before Henry became Vice President.

Harriet Wilson's Silk Parasol

Our collections relating to the life of Henry Wilson contain a large variety of objects. While many of these are political pieces, like Henry Wilson’s writings against slavery, many are simple household objects. These kinds of pieces-- teapots, eyeglasses, pens etc.-- give us an idea of Wilson as a man, not just as a famous politician. Personal items owned by members of the Wilson family further humanize this important historical figure and put his personal relationships into a more human context and illuminate the lives of people who did not leave behind as much in documents.

One of these objects, which is currently on view as part of our exhibit on the life of Henry Wilson, is a parasol owned by Harriet Wilson. The parasol was donated to the Historical Society by Margaret Coolidge Sturtevant, who had purchased it from Harriet Wilson’s estate. Parasols were quite common among members of the upper classes in the mid-nineteenth century. Mrs. Wilson’s parasol is made of black lace, and while it wouldn’t do much in a rain storm, it would certainly help her stay out of the sun and maintain a fashionably pale complexion.  

Parasols were more than just a shield from the sun. They also served as fashion accessories and would have been a part of any society woman’s ensemble.  Women were generally expected to carry a number of accessories in the Victorian period including not just parasols, but also fans, gloves and a purse. Like fashion accessories today, these were expected to match the outfit in question. Harriet Wilson’s parasol’s black color may have meant it was used with a mourning outfit, possibly bought after her son Henry tragically passed away in 1866.  

Happy Saint Patrick's Day from Natick Historical Society

We hope everyone is enjoying the surprisingly warm weather for the past few days. We've been very busy here at the museum with new programs, getting ready for our visiting school groups and designing several new exhibits. Details about our new installations will be up soon, but in the meantime here are a few postcards to celebrate Saint Patrick's day! They're both from our archives and were sent here in Natick over a hundred years ago. 

A New Look At Some Vintage Clothes

Trends come and go and so do exhibits here at the historical society. While our permanent exhibits don’t change often we do occasionally get the chance to put on a temporary exhibit that shows items normally not on display. Our collection of objects is too large for us to display everything at once, so we try to take opportunities to showcase some of the objects that visitors often don’t have the chance to see. 

For a very limited time, some special pieces from our textile collection will be on view as part of our programming for  Fashion Week. Select items from the textile and fashion collections are currently on display in the NHS museum.  Be sure to come by the museum now through February Twenty Third to see  the selection of hats, purses, shoes and fans not normally on display! We also have recently changed two of the pieces in our permanent displays so there are quite a few new things to see.  If you don't have a chance to come visit us before the temporary exhibit is taken down, you can see some highlights below! 

The 'Lincoln' dress currently on display
in our textiles case

On February Sixteenth at 6:30 pm there will be a special event at the Bacon Free Library, "Clothes Encounters" , exploring fashion and clothing from the Edwardian and Victorian eras. After the event the museum will be open to the public to view the pieces on display. We hope to see you there! 

Would You Like to Tour Carling Brewery?

Over the years, Natick has been home to a number of different businesses which have brought new opportunities and people into our community. While some would remain here for decades and become a major part of our town's history like Grandmother's Mincemeat or the Pfeiffer Shoe Factory, some businesses would only stay briefly even if they left behind impressive footprints.

Carling Brewery Beer Cans

One such business was the Carling Brewery. This Canadian Beer company, originally founded in 1818, gradually expanded its market throughout Canada and into the United Kingdom where it found significant success. Following the repeal of Prohibition in the 1930s the Carling company looked to expand its market into the United States as well with their first American brewery opening in Cleveland in 1934. Their Red Cap Ale and Black Label brands were moderately popular and were produced in the States. In 1954  the company  was looking to expand their brewing operations into New England. Twenty-one different communities around the Boston area were surveyed before Carling eventually settled on expanding their operations here in Natick. Construction on a plant soon began and they opened their new brewery, the biggest in the state at the time, in 1956.

Promotional brochure for Carling

The Carling Brewery was greeted enthusiastically by the town when it opened. The new industry meant the creation of as many as two hundred and fifty new jobs for  the people of Natick. The brewery was located very near Lake Cochituate on Route 9. To further integrate themselves into the Natick community the Carling company offered free tours of the brewery during the summer months. Unfortunately, you can no longer take tours of the brewery.  The Carling Company closed the plant in 1975, only nineteen years after opening. The building left behind was so large that it was initially difficult to find a new tenant for the site. It has now been used by several different occupants and remodeled over the years, though it is still one of the most distinctive buildings here with its mid-century modern design and prominent location.

There is, however, still a way to tour the Carling Bewery in Natick! Thanks to a promotional video put out in 1956 that was uploaded to YouTube its still possible to get to see the inner workings of one of Natick's biggest former employers. The video is embedded below and provides a very interesting look at the process of making and bottling beer that took place in Natick not too long ago. The Carling Company still manufactures beer in the United States with plants in both Ohio and North Carolina. 

For anyone interested in learning more about some local craft beers, I would encourage you to attend an upcoming event sponsored by our neighbor the Bacon Free Library. On February 11th at 7pm there will be a talk on the history of brewing as well as a tasting for visitors over 21. 

Happy Holidays 2015 from Natick Historical Society!

In honor of the holiday season I wanted to share a few of the holiday postcards that we accepted into our collection this year. The Betty Murray Collection, named after its donor, consists of over eighty holiday cards sent to Betty's ancestor, Carrie Goerke, of South Natick from 1910-1916. These charming greeting cards are not so different from the holiday cards we send today and give us a colorful glimpse into the seasonal celebrations of Natickites past. 

From everyone here at the Natick Historical Society we want to sincerely wish our readers a very Happy Holiday. We've had a wonderful past year in 2015 and look forward to what the next year has to offer!

The Natick Historical Society will be closed December 25th and 26th as well as January 1st and January 2nd. We will be open until 1 pm on December 24th and until 4pm on December 3st. Copies of our latest book, Have You Ever Wondered...? Natick Explained are still available so be sure to pick one up today. 

Henry Wilson's Shoe Shop and a New Book!

Henry Wilson's Shoe Shop

In any town as full of history as Natick, there are bound to be a number of historic sites to see and visit. One of our more well-known historic landmarks is Henry Wilson’s shoe shop. Henry Wilson, the eighteenth Vice President of the United States, lived most of his life in Natick and earned his initial success here as a shoe maker. The shoe industry was hugely important to Natick’s economy in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  Most of the shoes produced in Natick were brogans, a kind of heavy leather work shoe, often used for slaves in the American South.  Mills and factories grew exponentially in Natick, especially after the Boston/Albany Railroad came to town in 1834. For a period in the 1880s, Natick was one of the biggest producers of leather shoes in Massachusetts.

The growth of Natick’s industry did not go unnoticed outside the community. Waves of new immigrants moved into the Natick area, bringing diversity to the town. News of the opportunities afforded to young men brought in new Natickites from all over New England. One such enterprising young man was Jeremiah Colbath, who at the age of twenty-one walked just over a hundred miles from his home in Farmington, New Hampshire to seek his fortune making shoes in Natick. This humble Natick cobbler became a lot more well-known after he changed his name to Henry Wilson.

Henry Wilson entered the shoe business in the same way many young men did. He began operating his own business making shoes out of a small “ten-footer.” Ten-footers were small outbuildings used as a work spaces for a variety of purposes. They were previously relatively common throughout New England.  It was a small shoe shop like this one where Wilson learned to make leather shoes and where he paid rapt attention to his colleagues’ political discourse. Later in his life Henry Wilson would say that these early political debates were among the things that inspired him to become interested in politics and social reform.

Postcard Depicting the Wilson's Shoe Shop 

Wilson’s business and wealth grew over time. He expanded beyond his small shoe shop and eventually opened his own shoe business. This enterprise brought Wilson a comfortable level of prosperity which allowed him to formally enter politics. While the larger Wilson factory building no longer exists, Henry Wilson’s original ten-footer still does!  This building has been restored a number of times and can still be visited in Natick Center on Central Street. It has been a major point of interest in Natick since Wilson’s Vice Presidency. The interior of the building is not often open to the public, but it can be viewed from the outside year-round.  Maintenance and care of the Henry Wilson Shoe shop and the park where it is located is the responsibility the town of Natick.

To learn more about Henry Wilson’s Shoe shop and a number of other local places of interest be sure to check out the newest publication from Natick Historical Society, Have You Ever Wondered...? Natick Explained. This book explores the stories of notable people and places from around Natick. Full of vibrant photographs and wonderful pieces of history, Have You Ever Wondered...? is available now at select businesses around Natick, as online at the Historical Society’s website, and of course here in the Museum.

To purchase the book online, visit our website here.