Buy Bill Pitt’s Books

Bill Pitt was an omnivorous reader.  His library in the G. William Pitt House, which now belongs to the Colrain Historical Society, housed hundreds of histories, art books, novels, cookbooks, books about Maine, reference and travel books, and poetry, as well as a collection of books about the theater.

The curatorial committee has set aside all of the theater collection and all books dealing with Colrain and local history, and we will be selling hundreds of the other books from his library Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 5 and 6, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. across from the Brigham farmhouse on Route 112 just north of the village.  Proceeds of this sale will help to fund repairs to the Pitt House buildings.  The books will be priced to move, and there are some wonderful finds there.

Across the road, in front of the farmhouse, there will be a tag sale of antiques and farm implements from the Brigham farm—well worth a look.

We will be masked and practicing social distancing, and hope visitors will do so as well.  Cash and checks only.

Ownership of the Pitt House on Main Road

(Article from the September 2020 issue of the Colrain Clarion.)

With great enthusiasm the Colrain Historical Society has accepted ownership of the Pitt House on Main Road. After a two-year absence from the property, the society looks forward to restored life and activities in these buildings. Meetings and the popular programs on Colrain history will return to the Stacy Barn behind the house. The main barn, containing much of the collection of agricultural, industrial and cultural artifacts, will be stabilized and open again to the public and to school children, as will the town’s early fire station/hose house. And, finally, a re-organized Pitt House will re-open. The Historical Society’s Building Committee (Ken Noyes, Guy Wheeler and Phil Sherburne) is organizing the first phase of the restoration. The Finance Committee (Bill Cole, Prentice Crosier and Guy Wheeler) is planning a capital campaign with the goal of raising funds for these essential projects. Co-Chairmen Brad Brigham and Hale Johnson will spearhead this effort. The work will take time, organization and money — but success will mean that one of the few remaining historic buildings in the village,* along with its important collection, will remain a proud landmark accessible to the people of Colrain, many of whom donated to the collection and supported the Historical Society for nearly 70 years. *The Colrain Inn, Memorial Hall and the Blue Block are no more; the future of the Brick Meetinghouse is uncertain.

“Be part of this community effort. Help us grow,”  asks Board Chair Belden Merims. To lend a hand—or an idea— call Belden at 624-3453, Joan McQuade at 624-8818, or Debby Wheeler at 624-8800 (or email).

 

Colrain Historical Society Accessions Barrel Stove

 

The Historical Society recently accepted this historic barrel stove, a gift from Lee Denison of Denison Logging and Lumber in East Colrain. 

 

The term "barrel stove" refers to its function rather than to its shape. This stove was used to heat moistened staves arranged around it until they become flexible enough to bend. The staves are then held together by metal hoops to create a barrel.

 

Wooden barrels and crates were widely produced throughout our agricultural history for transporting and storing apples, potatoes and other produce from Colrain farms. This barrel stove joins the Historical Society's collection of artifacts from the town's economic, cultural, and social history.

 

The lumber business started by Caroll A. Denison in 1900 is as historic as this barrel stove. It is now a fifth generation family enterprise offering a multitude of services such as timber harvesting, site development, and emergency tree services.

Catamount Hill Quinquennial Reunion on August 8

Catamount Hill Quinquennial Reunion via Zoom Maintains Tradition

 

2012 photo descendants of Major Hezekiah Smith, Jr. (1752-1843) at the stone monument marking the site of the Catamount Hill School house where Hill residents raised a flag in protest of American sailors being captured at sea and impressed in to the Royal Navy prior to the outbreak of the War of 1812. The event marks the transition of the flag from a military banner to a national symbol.

 

The Catamount Hill Association was organized in Colrain in 1875 and its members take a long view of their history. Descended from families of Revolutionary War veterans who were also politically active in support of War of 1812, the Association's members have reunited every five years ever since.

This year, because of COVID-19, the Association's 30th Quinquennial Reunion program will happen online via Zoom, a popular digital video conference service. As a technology, Zoom is a far cry from the steam railways and horse-drawn vehicles which brought participants to the first Reunion in 1875, held near the small caves on Catamount Hill known as "the dens". 

On Saturday, August 8 the Quinquennial will be held for the first time in cyberspace. Descendants will meet at 11 a.m. EDT by using a link e-mailed to them from the Association's contact list. Non-listed descendants may send their name, e-mail address, and family affiliation to catamounthill1875@gmail.com.

The Reunion program will include a presentation of images, historic and contemporary. The business meeting of reports and elections is traditionally heralded by the ringing of a cow bell. This year, rather than echoing through Colrain's hills and valleys, it will resonate through cyberspace.