Program: East Colrain Tales

East Colrain tales will be the subject of Colrain Historical Society’s May program, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in the Stacy Barn behind the Pitt House at 8 Main Road in Colrain. 

 Harry Hollister will present selections from a diary about life on the Copeland farm in East Colrain during the 1930s and 1940s. Mark Scranton, who has lived on that farm for the last 50 years, will relate stories about life in that area when there were still many working farms. 

 The photo above, dating from the late 19th century, shows the original Edgar Copeland farmhouse, which was replaced in 1912 by the present Scranton farmhouse. The photo is from the collection of Mark Scranton.

The program at 7:30 p.m. will follow the CHS meeting at 7. Both are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Greenfield Recorder clipping from 1912 mentioning the new house built by Edgar Copeland and son for “a probable cost of $4000.”

Colrain Flower Gardens Tour

Save the dates

July 11 and 12, 2026

Colrain Flower Gardens Tour

A fundraiser for the Historical Society. Eight Colrain gardens on a self driving tour in all the corners of Colrain. Map comes with your ticket. Two mini lectures and a large perennial plant sale will be included. Stay alert for when tickets go on sale and where. Questions call 413-624-8800.

Photo: an early Spring flower bed in Colrain with bright yellow daffodils blooming beside a stone bird bath carved by Mike Purington.

Chandler House

This undated photo from around the 1880s shows members of the Miller family in front of the house built between 1791 and 1795 (accounts vary) by Robert Miller for Clark Chandler, who arrived in Colrain in 1790 at the age of 20, and promptly married 17-year-old Nancy Lyons. The couple lived with her parents in the former Pennill Tavern at the top of Colrain mountain while Chandler started a store there. Boards from the recently dismantled first meetinghouse nearby are believed to have been used to build the house, as well as the new store building between it and the tavern. Chandler became a wealthy man and a leading citizen of Colrain. 

In 1840, Miller’s grandson purchased the property from the Chandlers. Only the house remains where the Chandlers produced 21 children, not all of whom survived childhood. Today the sixth generation of Miller/Apt descendants occupy the house, the home of David Nims. 

Colrain Historical Society archive photo.

[Source of article and house photo: Colrain Clarion April 2026 issue.]

Goods available at Clark Chandler’s store in 1793.

Clipping from 

The Impartial Intelligencer,

Greenfield, Massachusetts.

2026 Calendar Still Available

It’s not too late to get your 2026 Colrain Historical Society calendars, featuring 12 stunning paintings of local scenes by local artists, all from private collections and seen in our sixth annual art exhibit last fall. The calendars are available at $15 each at the Catamount Store and Pine Hill Orchards in Colrain, Hagers’ Store in Shelburne, and at Nancy Dole Books in Shelburne Falls