Colrain Historical Society
Saturday, December 10, 2022
Christmas House Tours 2023
Saturday, December 3, 2022
2023 Calendars Now on Sale!
All 14 pictures in the calendar are from paintings in the 2022 Colrain on Canvas III Art Show. The cover is a painting of Colrain Center by Marshall Looman dating to the late 1950’s or early 1960’s.
Artist biographies for the paintings featured in the calendar are in the Art Show hand-out, photos below.
Friday, November 25, 2022
November 2022 Update and Membership Drive
Click on the photos below to enlarge and read.
Dear Members and Friends,
Perhaps you attended the engaging Colrain on Canvas Ill art show in September, the magical Woodland Garden Tour in the spring (both of them fundraisers) or the nostalgic revisiting of the Dude Ranch at its former site in Colrain.
What you could not see was the extensive recent work under the Pitt House to ensure its stability as a refreshed museum. Over the winter, electrical work inside the house will include removal of knob-and-tube wiring, a new service box, and improved lighting. Enhanced insulation will help to reduce our heating costs.
For all this, and to meet ongoing expenses such as heating, insurance, and maintenance of our extensive collection, the Colrain Historical Society counts on your support.
You can help us as well by volunteering at events such as the summer daylily sale, or the fall art show, in building upkeep (we have five buildings to maintain!), or in maintaining our extensive, and growing, collection of Colrain artifacts, costumes, and ephemera, and in planning exhibits.
Check out our new website, colrainhistoricalsociety.org, and watch the Colrain Clarion for advance notice of events such as a fascinating program on Colrain's apple history next year.
We hope you'll consider joining the Helen Stacy Legacy Circle by including the historical society in your estate planning as a steward of Colrain's history into the future.
Please fill out the form on the back of this letter and return it in the enclosed envelope with your generous donation.
Thank you,
CHS Board of Directors
Belden Merims, Joan McQuade, Ken Noyes, Phil Sherburne, Debby Wheeler, Sarah Hollister, Casey Ryan, Bill Cole and Cynthia Herbert
- - - - - -
I support the efforts of the Colrain Historical Society!
**Non-member friends who contribute $50 or more will become life members.
Name
Address
Email
Phone
Please accept my donation of ( ) $50 ( ) $100 ( ) $250 ( ) $500 Other:$
Please make check payable to The Colrain Historical Society. Thank you!
Note: The CHS is a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization, so all your donations are deductible to the extent of the Federal tax regulations.
Monday, October 31, 2022
CHS Annual Meeting - November 17th
The Colrain Historical Society will hold its annual meeting and election of officers Thursday, November 17, at 7 p.m. at the home of Bill Cole, 31 Jacksonville Road. Previously scheduled for October 13, this meeting had to be re-scheduled for lack of a quorum.
Following the meeting at 7:30 p.m., Prentice Crosier will trace the history of the G. William Pitt House, whose former tenants included Crosier himself as well as Ken Noyes.
The meeting and presentation are open to the public, and refreshments will be served. Questions? Call Belden at 624-3453.
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Program: History of the Pitt House
G. William Pitt House many years ago
Date: Thursday, October 13, 2022
Time : Potluck supper 6:00 pm, business meeting and election of Officers and Board 7:00 pm, program 7:30 pm
Location: Joan McQuade’s home, 7 Main Road, Colrain (across the road from the Pitt House)
A potluck supper at 6 pm will be followed at 7 by the monthly meeting with annual election of officers and Board, and at 7:30 by the program, presented by Prentice Crosier, who also once made the Pitt House his home.
Elections will require a quorum of eight members.
Those attending the potluck are asked to bring an entree, veggie, or dessert to share, along with their own place setting.
Questions? Call Joan McQuade, 624-8818.
G. William Pitt House, 8 Main Road, Colrain
Friday, September 9, 2022
Third Annual Art Show!
SEPTEMBER 24 & 25, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Colrain on Canvas III Art Show
Shelburne-Buckland Community Center
53 Main St, Shelburne Falls, MA 01370
Some 50 paintings, not previously shown, will include Colrain scenes, people and animals by many artists, past and contemporary. There will be a special display of works by the late Colrain artist A. Hale Johnson. Other works will include paintings by George Gardner Symons, Steve Maniatty, and Colrain native Evelyn Pennegar, among many others.
Prints of some of the paintings will be for sale, along with a silent auction of two paintings of Colrain scenes.
Admission to this benefit exhibit is $10. Please call 624-8800 for more information.
Sunday, August 28, 2022
Program: Reading the Gravestones of Colrain and Environs
Date: Thursday, September 8, 2022
Time : 7:30 pm
Location: Stacy Barn, behind the Pitt House, 8 Main Road, Colrain
"Reading the Gravestones of Colrain and Environs” will be the topic of a presentation by author John Hanson at the September 8 meeting of the Colrain Historical Society at 7:30 p.m. in the Stacy Barn behind the Pitt House.
Author of Reading the Gravestones of Old New England, Hanson has been collecting and studying early New England epitaph verse for years. In this talk, he will share some outstanding verses on old stones in local burial grounds and discuss what these early New Englanders’ very personal choices of memorial verse tell us about their attitudes towards life, death, and eternity.
The program is open to the public, following a meeting at 7. Refreshments will be served. For information call 413-624-3453.
In Memory of
Mr. George
Patteson, who died
July
ye 21 in 1789 in ye
64th year of
his age.
The patient soul who loves
In mind shall love always
(Chandler Hill Cemetery, Colrain)
Sunday, August 21, 2022
Save the Date - Art Show!
SEPTEMBER 24 & 25, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Colrain on Canvas III Art Show
Shelburne-Buckland Community Center
53 Main St, Shelburne Falls, MA 01370
The Colrain Historical Society will hold their third annual art show, Colrain on Canvas, September 24 and 25 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Shelburne-Buckland Community Center. Some 50 paintings, not previously shown, will include Colrain scenes, people and animals by many artists, past and contemporary.
There will be a special display of works by the late Colrain artist A. Hale Johnson.
Other works will include paintings by George Gardner Symons, Steve Maniatty, and Colrain native Evelyn Pennegar, among many others.
Prints of some of the paintings will be for sale, along with a silent auction of two paintings of Colrain scenes.
Admission to this benefit exhibit is $10. Please call 624-8800 for more information..
Thursday, August 4, 2022
Picnic August 11th: Remembering Hale
Date: Thursday, August 11, 2022
Time : 6:00 pm
Location: Behind the Pitt House, 8 Main Road, Colrain
The Colrain Historical Society will hold their annual picnic potluck behind the Pitt House Thursday, August 11, at 6 pm.
This will be followed at 7 pm by a business meeting and remembering artist Hale Johnson, whose recent bequest included the Historical Society. Hale was a life-long supporter of the society.
Picnic attendees should bring a main course, salad or dessert to share, along with their place settings. A cold beverage will be provided. BYOB, if you like.
Attendance is free and open to the public. For information call Joan, 624-8818
1894 USGS Topographic Map
Greenfield Quadrangle
Daylily in a Colrain garden
Saturday, June 25, 2022
Program: A Dude Ranch in Colrain?
Date: Thursday, July14, 2022
Time : 7:30 pm
Location: Cal Coombs Road, Colrain
You bet. From 1947 until 1970, the Pioneer Valley Dude Ranch at the end of Cal Coombs Road hosted dudes from New York City to Boston. Off-season, it provided bunks to deer hunters and skiers. And it offered locals a congenial Saturday night watering hole and restaurant with live music for dancing.
The program location is at the former Dude Ranch on Cal Coombs Road, Colrain.
A program after the 7 p.m. meeting of the Colrain Historical Society Thursday, July 14, at the former dude ranch will explore this colorful chapter of Colrain history. Starting at 7:30 p.m., the program is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
Saturday, May 28, 2022
Program: “ Improper Intimacy": Almira Edson and the Perfectionist Movement
Almira Edson (1803-1886) was a stepdaughter of Edward Adams of the busy village of Adamsville in Colrain. She develped a style of family registers combining calligraphy and watercolor, much sought after by collectors of folk art today. After years of teaching at the Halifax Academy she joined a utopian community in Putney, Vermont which combined spiritual purity and "complex marriage" only to find herself in conflict with the movement's leaders.
Edson is the subject of a presentation by Prentice Crosier in the Stacy Barn behind the Colrain Historical Society's Pitt House on Thursday, June 9, at 7:30 p.m. following the Society's business meeting at 7:00 p.m. This program is free and open to the public.
David Lyons - Boston Tea Party Participant
David Lyons (1737-1803) took part in the Boston Tea Party in 1773, and later moved to Colrain in 1784. A plaque was placed at his gravesite in the Chandler Hill Cemetery on May 24, 2022. Read the article from the Greenfield Recorder here.
Friday, May 27, 2022
An Invitation...
The first legacy to the society came from Colrain native Helen Stacy, whose bequest made possible the building of the Stacy Barn behind the Pitt House. Building on her generosity will create a legacy for the people of Colrain. History matters.
For information on how to include CHS in your estate planning, contact president Phil Sherburne at seriouswhimzy@ gmail.com, or call 413-522 -2750.
Friday, May 13, 2022
Woodland Garden Tour and Plant Sale Benefit
A woodland garden tour and special plant sale at 90 Call Road in Colrain will benefit the Colrain Historical Society. The extensive gardens wander along the forest edge and house and are bounded by the Fox Brook and centuries old stone walls. Rhododendrons, Azaleas and Mountain Laurel will be blooming along with Spring ephemerals. Special and rare Spring plants can be seen including Lady Slippers at the woods edge.
The plant sale will feature woodland and Spring plants as well a rarely found collection of Epimedium from a specialty grower. Yellow transectional peonies will also be for sale.
The cost is $10.00 for the tour and plant sale. Admission includes 1 free raffle ticket for unusual plants donated from garden centers. Refreshments will be served.
Please wear walking shoes as the terrain is uneven. The event will be held rain or shine.
Please call 413-624-8800 for more information.
Saturday, May 7, 2022
Program: A Hurrah’s Nest and other Yankee Talk
May 12th, 7 pm
Sarah and Harry Hollister will present a lively reading of a New England short story from the “local colorist” period (1860-1900)*, when the Colrain Historical Society resumes in-person programs at the Stacy Barn behind the Pitt House Thursday, May 12.
The story by Alice Brown provides a window into the lives of our ancestors, using local dialects, phrases and a fair amount of humor. The speakers will give a little background on the “local colorist” writers, most of whom were women.
Photo and brief biography of Alice Brown.
The program at 7:30 p.m. will follow a business meeting at 7:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served, and the program is free and open to the public.
Welcome back!
* During the late 1800’s “local color”, as defined as the characteristics and traits that make a location unique, was popular in literature.
Monday, April 11, 2022
Historical Notes 2022
The Spring 2022 edition of Historical Notes, the newsletter of the Colrain Historical Society, was mailed in earlyApril. Click on the photos of the pages below to view a larger image.
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
Colrain Historic Surprise
Colrain Historic Surprise
I walked through the Pitt House breezeway
And wondered why it’s there.
Did it protect the farmer
When there was weather in the air?
Was it to keep the wagon dry,
Outside shelter for the herd?
Was it access to the grass behind,
The wood lot?
What’s the word?
And then this narrow yellow door
I noticed to my right.
I pressed the antique thumb latch down
And guess what came to light?
A tiny room and all enclosed,
Vented windows way up high.
I wondered just how many times
I’d passed this doorway by.
A member since the eighties,
I’d toured house and barns before.
I wondered why in all that time,
No one pointed out this door.
A bench was built across the back,
Little room to turn around.
Rusted hook holds rusted lantern
In this precious place I’d found.
Lath and plaster on the walls
In a barn, who would have thought?
And on that plaster, maple leaves
Hand-stenciled, the whole lot.
The bench had two hinged covers
But they were both nailed shut.
My guess—for hiding two large holes
For doing you know what.
I imagined the Sears catalog,
Pages torn, not meant for reading.
I think by now you all must know
Which way this rhyme is leading.
The reason for this breezeway?
Pay attention one and all,
Was to keep Mother Nature
From impeding nature’s call!
Guy Wheeler
Colrain Historical Society
Poem and photo posted on the Colrain Historical Society website with permission from the author.
This poem was previously published in the Colrain Clarion - February 2022 Issue.
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