A History of Westport Calvary Bible Church

A History of Westport Calvary Bible Church
with Pastor Jared Heatherly and members of the congregation
Thursday, May 15th 2008
7:30 PM at the Calvary Bible Church
1100 State Road, Westport

Pastor Jared Heatherly, with contributions from members of the congregation, will trace the evolution of the Calvary Bible Church. Additionally, Tony Connors, president of Westport Historical Society, will present an overview of the development of Westport Factory village, the community originally served by this church.

Founded in 1899, this church was originally known as the Union Gospel Church and was located on Union Avenue at Westport Factory. In the 1950’s it was renamed the Calvary Bible Church and, as it had outgrown its original building, the present church was built in the 1970’s.

All are welcome. Admission is free. Refreshments will be provided. Please call 508-636-6011 for reservations so that we can plan accordingly.

Researching your Family’s History:

Combining the Best of Internet and
Traditional ResearchSaturday May 3rd 2008
2:00 PM at Lees Market Community Room
796 Main Road, Westport

Rhonda McClure, staff genealogist at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, will present a program on methods of researching family history. She will look at going beyond the Internet by taking advantage of computerized research to further your search in traditional records and repositories. For all levels of experience.

Rhonda McClure is a nationally recognized genealogist and lecturer, specializing in New England research. She is the author of over ten books, including the award winning The Idiot’s Guide to Online Genealogy.

Admission is free. Space is limited. Please call 508 636 6011 to reserve a seat. Please use the Town Hall parking lot.

A History of Westport United Congregational Church

Thursday, April 17th 2008
7:30 PM at the United Congregational Church
500 American Legion Highway (Rte 177), Westport

Please join us for the first in a series of presentations on the history of Westport’s churches. Reverend Sue Moenius, pastor of the United Congregational Church since 1996, with contributions from members of the congregation, will trace the history of the church. Westport United Congregational Church was created from the merger of two churches, the First Christian Church of North Westport, founded in 1855 and the Fourth Christian Church, also known as Brownell’s Corner Church, on Sanford Road, which was founded in 1843. In 1966, following the merger, a new church was built at 500 American Legion Highway. Materials relating to the history of the UCC will also be on display.

Kate Cory: The Woman and the Whaleship with Robert Kugler

Thursday, March 20th 2008
7:30 PM at the Council on Aging
75 Reed Road, Westport

Robert Kugler who lives in the Philip L. and Kate Cory Grinnell house in Westport Point, will review Kate’s background as well as Philip’s heritage at Westport Harbor, and the patterns of their lives at the Point from marriage in 1884 until their deaths in the 1930s.

The whaleship Kate Cory, named by its principal owner, Kate’s father, Alexander H. Cory, was built at the Point in 1856, but was captured and destroyed off Brazil by the Confederate warship Alabama in 1863. Bob Kugler will draw on a lifelong interest in nautical history and naval architecture as well as contemporary accounts, to discuss the Cory’s design, methods, career and place in the history of New England whaling.

Admission is free, but donations will be gladly accepted. Refreshments will be provided. Please call 508-636-6011 for reservations.

Paintings and Poetry of Mercy Etta Baker 1876 - 1957

New exhibition presented by Westport Historical Society: Paintings and Poetry of Mercy Etta Baker (1876 - 1957)
For the month of March, Westport Historical Society is pleased to present an exhibition featuring the delicate watercolor paintings and reflective poetry of a little known Westport artist Mercy Etta Baker. Born in 1876, Mercy Baker grew up at Westport Point, exploring the vast holdings of her father Jehiel Baker at Horseneck. The seasonal and natural beauty of Westport’s landscape provided the inspiration for her painting and poetry. With the recent purchase of four additional watercolors by Mercy Etta Baker (funded in part by the Westport Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency), the Historical Society felt it was time to focus attention on both the paintings and poetry of this somewhat obscure artist. Her personal attachment to Westport, particularly to Horesneck, is powerfully articulated through her art which features dune and river landscapes and evocative portraits of her acquaintances. Today, her work provides a glimpse into the early 20th century Westport and environs. Also on display will be reproductions of her work held by the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
Exhibition located at the Bell School, 25 Drift Road, Head of Westport
Open Mondays and Wednesdays 10AM – 4 PM, Saturdays 1 PM - 4 PM, Saturday, March 1st through March 31st, 2008
Free to all.

Westport Historical Society Annual Report 2006 - 2007

President’s Report

This past year has been one of great accomplishments for our Society, and I wish here to thank our Director and the volunteers who have been responsible for our success. This will be my final report as President of the Society, and I am very grateful to you all for the opportunity to work with you for the past eight years. I am grateful to those who have served on the Board, and want particularly to thank Roger Griswold, our Treasurer, who was Treasurer when I arrived, and has continued his excellent work during my tenure as President; I hope he'll be willing to continue for some time. I would also like to thank Carolyn Cody and Helga Nichols, both of whom are leaving the board, for their contributions and service. The Society is in good shape now, and our future is bright.

Finally, I would like to welcome the incoming President, Tony Connors. Tony spent much of his youth in Westport and, in his retirement after 32 years in the software business, has developed a keen interest in the social and economic history of those people involved in the region’s industrial past. He is currently spending a month at Monticello on a fellowship with the International Center for Jefferson Studies researching a book on Thomas Jefferson’s tobacco business. I hope that many of you will have a chance to welcome him when he returns in November.

William Wyatt

Director’s Report

The year has been marked by many activities, some familiar and some brave new ventures, all of which could only be achieved through the goodwill of many local businesses and the willing help of volunteers. We simply could not operate without the help of the local community and those friends and strangers who for whatever reason decide to help out. Thank you to everyone!

Major events this year included:

Community on Camera contest and exhibit. Although this event took place in 2006, it occurred within the current financial year. Not only did the exhibition, held in Lees Market community room, generate much excitement amongst the 50 contestants and 200 visitors, it also created a brand new collection of 112 images to be preserved in the archives of the Historical Society. We are grateful to the Helen E. Ellis Trust for funding this project.

Treasures and Traditions – A Portrait of Westport’s Past
Our summer exhibition brought with it new challenges and opportunities, challenges of transforming the Bell School into a viable exhibition space, and opportunities to display some unique objects and to invite the community into the Bell School throughout the summer months. We expanded our opening hours to include Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays for the months of July and August. Through the work of many people and generous contributions of local individuals (a special mention of Carol Coutinho for her skills in exhibit installation) we were able to create a stunning display and an introduction to the special local flavors of Westport’s history.

Westport’s 220th Birthday Party and Fundraiser
The Society celebrated this milestone on June 30th with a pig roast by Smoke and Pickles, bluegrass music and a raffle. In addition to the enjoyment had by all 150 guests, the Society raised $7,000. It was a tremendous effort by a group of very dedicated volunteers, spearheaded by the event committee co-chairs Sally Sapienza and Sharon Wypych. The Society is indebted to the many local businesses that offered raffle prizes and sponsored the event, in particular to our founder sponsor Lees Market and Incorporator sponsor Waring-Sullivan Funeral Homes.

Ralph Guild Day cosponsored by Westport River Watershed Alliance
On August 25th a few hundred people gathered at Adamsville pond to celebrate and recognize Ralph Guild and his efforts to restore the Adamsville pond. The event committee, chaired by Bill Wyatt, pulled off an enjoyable and successful event complete with Johnny cakes and music by Charlie Cann and the Bear Swamp Admirals. Refreshments were donated by Lees Market and Brian Medieros of Dartmouth Orchards.

Other activities this year included:

With a matching grant from the SE Massachusetts Convention and Visitors Bureau and the design skills of Jon Alden we were able to print a new brochure outlining our mission and activities.

We continued to make improvements to the Bell School building which with funding from the Community Preservation Committee received a fresh coat of paint inside and exterior storm windows were installed to protect the original windows and to reduce damage by UV light to the collection.

We had successful school visits by the 2nd grade from the Paul Cuffe charter school in Providence and Westport 3rd grade. My thanks to Nancy Burkholder for helping with both visits and to Sharon Wypych for her help with the Paul Cuffe school visit.

I will conclude with a summary on some internal activities and planned activities for the coming year. The Director’s hours have been increased from 3 days a week to 4 days. Work on our collection continues relentlessly and I am happy to report that we have reached a new level in the management and care of the collection. There will always be more to do, but I would like to thank the board for their vision and understanding of the importance of caring for the collection. My thanks also to Peggy Cornell and Heather Reed who have helped with office duties. One of our greatest challenges now is how best to develop the collection and to define a collecting strategy. We hold these collections for you, our community. It is a treasure trove of information that is always open and accessible to anyone interested.

For the coming year, our plans include a summer exhibition on the hurricanes, a new book on Westport history, an updated website with additional research and exhibit features. Last but not least, we are in the process of updating our bylaws and board structure and will begin work on a strategic plan this winter. We welcome your help and input with all these activities.

Jenny O’Neill

Collections Committee

The Collections Committee has been very busy behind the scenes. Suzanne Palmer and I have worked every week accessioning and cataloging new donations as well as continuing to catalog materials found in the collection from earlier times. The statistics are impressive. Currently our PastPerfect collections database holds records and digitized images of 2200 photographs, 1497 archives, 1276 objects, 186 books. Much of this work is thanks to the following volunteers: Eileen Flaherty (postcards) and Ingrid Davidge (clothing). We were also lucky this year to have the skills of Anna Duphiney, Barbara Smith, Heather Reed and Craig Mignone. Carolyn Cody, as Historian for the Society, completed a very useful index to Poor Bill’s Almanac.

We had over 70 new donations this year. The donors have all been thanked privately and in the Harbinger. Here, I would like to point out some of the research possibilities of our collections. This year we added substantial material related to the establishment of the Westport Free Public library and history of the Westport Public Library Association and Alumni Hall. Cukie Macomber kindly donated much information on the Harvest Festival as well as writing us a short history of South Westport. Anyone wishing to know more about these subjects will find a look at our archives beneficial. Recently the Society received a book titled The Third Massachusetts Regiment Volunteer Militia written in 1906 by the Rev. Gammons who fought with that regiment and whose sword is in our collection. The book includes first hand accounts of 52 Westport men who fought in the Civil War. Our collection is becoming a good source of information for researchers interested in that period. On the domestic front we also have an impressive assortment of 19th and early 20th century clothing. Recently Dorothy Curtis gave us, among other things, many fine garments made in the early 1900s. Anyone interested in early clothing would do well to look at our materials.

Barbara Moss

Programs Committee

The popularity of our programs led us to seek larger venues this year and most events were held offsite. Our thanks to Greenwood Terrace, Lees Market, and COA for providing venues. The Society is also very grateful to Sue Smith of Noquochoke Orchards for continuing to provide her wonderful refreshments and to Lees Market for donating refreshments. Nancy Burkholder continues to videotape many of the programs for the local cable station. Programs for this year included:

The Music of Ragtime Jack Radcliffe
Uncovering Westport’s Scottish Roots with Albert Lees III
Architecture of Westport Point with Jim Collins
A History of Acoaxet Chapel with Reverend Robert Hollis
Rough Waters: North Watuppa Reservoir with Tom Moran
Westport’s Lifesaving Station and Light Ships with Chip Gillespie and Cukie Macomber
Wampanoag History and Culture with Randy Joseph

Jim Panos

Oral History Committee
In addition to filming all the WHS programs during the year, I have created three other categories of programs: the Westport Art Group, Westport Farms, Farm Produce and Farm Stands, and Westport Poets. I consider them all under the umbrella of history.

WHS Oral Histories
A Tour of Stonewall Interests with Russ Hart 10-26-06
Randall E. Ellsworth, A Biography 12-29-06
Stonewall Building with Connie Taber 6-21-07 (Incomplete)

Westport Art Group:
A Series of Sketches of WAG for a Grant
The Creative Process by Alyn Carlson 3-19-07
The World of Color by June Roche 5-07-07
Artists in the Garden Tour 6-21-07
Community Show Opening 7-24-07
Painting classes by John R. Maslen 8-20-07
Photo Transfer Workshop by Anne Connors Winner 8-2107
Painting at Round Hill with JR Maslen 8-2207
Watercolor Freedom by John R. Maslen 8-23-07
Weave A Web of Wonder, A Ssummer Camp for Young Artists with Denise Zompa 8-5-07
Ralph’s Random Acts of Art with Norm Buck 9-17-07
Show and Tell with the Nantucket Basket Class Participants 9-29-07

Westport Farms, Farm Produce and Farmers’ Markets
The Shy Brothers’ Farm and Hannabell Cheeses with Barbara Hanley 7-20-07
The Corn Crib Produce and Craft Store with Janice Albanese 8-07
A Tour of the Farmers’ Market at the Westport Grange 8-07

Westport Poets:
Visions in Verse with Poets from the Senior Center Poetry Group 8-24-07 and 9-07

Nancy Burkholder

Membership

426 members in total.
33 new members.

Sustaining 31, Contributing 72, Family 144, Individual 164, Life 6, Charter 6

The Harbinger

The Harbinger continues to be the mainstay of our public relations programs. The purpose of The Harbinger is four-fold:
1. To create an awareness of the WHS throughout our community
2. To present WHS positions on important historical events in town
3. To report on WHS events and happenings
4. To recruit new members

Some of the best moments of our year are captured in The Harbinger’s pages alongside current news events, WHS meeting reviews, reports on our growing collection, donation summaries from the community, and stories and events of historical importance. We continued in 2007 to market our organization by way of The Harbinger to prospective members from within our town as well as our out-of-town summer visitors. Free point-of-purchase distribution of the Harbinger through several businesses and organizations in town has increased an awareness of our Society and has resulted in new memberships. We will continue to enhance The Harbinger’s ‘look and feel’, broaden its appeal to our general readership, encourage new people to contribute articles to enrich the content, and work hard to share all Society workings with our townspeople.

Jon Alden

Treasurer’s Report

Your Society had another successful year in 2007. The Birthday Party in June, discussed elsewhere, was the most successful fundraising event in the Society’s history by a wide margin, and caused the Society to show an operating profit for the year. The Society’s capital account benefited from a welcome grant of $10,000 to the Sylvan Endowment Fund. The Society’s assets now exceed $365,000 with no valuation included for the building or most of the collection. The Society has no debts.

Roger Griswold

Westport Historical Society Annual Meeting and program

“A History of the Paquachuck Inn” with Brenda Figuerido

Thursday, October 18th, 2007
7 PM at the Paquachuck Inn
2056 Main Road, Westport Point

A brief annual meeting will be followed by a presentation on the history of the Paquachuck Inn. Brenda Figuerido, the current owner of the inn, will share some of her ongoing research into the history of the building. Built by Isaac Cory in the 1820’s, the building was central to the commercial life of Westport Point during the whaling and shipbuilding era and served as a general store, post office, and customs house.

The program will be followed by a reception in honor of Bill Wyatt who is retiring as President of the Historical Society. We invite you to celebrate his eight years of service to the Society and his tireless efforts over the years to document, promote and preserve the historical understanding of Westport.

Admission is free, but donations will be gladly accepted. Refreshments will be provided. Please call 508-636-6011 for reservations.