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. 

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.

The program location is at the former Dude Ranch on Cal Coombs Road, Colrain. 

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.

An Invitation...

Friends of the Colrain Historical Society are invited to join the Helen Stacy Legacy Circle by including the society in their estate planning. Along with the late Hale Johnson, Brad Brigham, and others, participants will help to secure the Pitt House property and the collection it houses: artifacts, photos, diaries and documents which constitute both the material history of the town and a legacy from its residents. 

 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.