With the help of generous donations, Easton Legacy Fund aims to help Easton not-for-profits support and give back to the town through various projects. Below, we highlight the Easton Historical Society and Museum, which we feel is a strong consideration for future Legacy Fund grants.
Easton Historical Society and Museum
80 Mechanic Street, North Easton | Visit Site
The Easton Historical Society and Museum was formed by a group of interested citizens at Frothingham Memorial Hall in 1948. However, it was dormant from 1953 until 1967, when 17 dedicated individuals led by Edwin C. White, Hazel L. Varella, Duncan B. Oliver, and Gustav Winroth, met at The Ames Free Library to breathe new life into the organization. Their successful efforts can still be seen today.
In 1969, John S. Ames, Jr., David Ames, Senator Oliver F. Ames, and William Parker purchased the Old Colony Railroad Station built by Henry Hobson Richardson in 1883 and gifted it to the Society. The first Curator was Robert “Bob” Carpenter. The Society continued to flourish making significant contributions to the community (eg. establishing the Easton Historical Commission).
Over time, local historians like Margaret McEntee, Edmund Hands, Jeffrey Nystrum, Duncan Oliver, Hazel Varella, and Robert Brown created programs and publications that are still enjoyed to this day. During the 1980s, the collection grew, programs flourished and Paul Berry joined the team as Curator.
The mission of the Society is to preserve, promote, and interpret Easton’s unique industrial, social, cultural, architectural, and environmental history. Its goal is to foster interest in Easton’s rich history through educational events, published materials, and informative public exhibits. Recently, the Society has been led by Presidents Kenneth Michel, Frank Meninno (Curator from 2006 to 2022), and Deborah MacPhee. Their efforts along with the Board of Directors have secured the Society’s goodwill within the community, excellent research materials, and many successful exhibitions and programs.
The Society hosts monthly Open Houses focusing on different cultural aspects of Easton through artifacts, photographs, and ephemera. Most materials are from the Society’s own collections, but some are loaned by interested members. Recent exhibits include the Easton Little League’s 70th anniversary, Ames Plow Company Farming implements, and the history of the NRT.
Currently, the 1899 Morse Car is on permanent exhibit at the railroad station. It is one of only two remaining of the original 48 cars that were manufactured in Easton.
The Society’s Chowder and Chatter event funded by the generosity of the Avery Lee Williams family, features a panel of speakers on a wide range of Easton-centric topics.
Many of the same subjects appear in Reminiscences, the Society’s annual review of Easton’s history. Copies of its 13 volumes are available at the Society’s gift shop, along with books and mementos.
The Society’s current goal is to arrange, catalog, and house its collections in an accessible manner, and is in the process of securing funding to create a climate controlled archival space at the railroad station. The Society welcomes volunteers willing to help with preservation, archival, and cataloging. As always, the community’s support is appreciated as the Society continues to work towards its goals.
Hazel Varella
Longtime Member of the Easton Historical Society and Museum
Volunteers and staff are the reasons why not-for-profits can do so much for Easton. Their vision and commitment shape the role their not-for-profits play in the community. And while their efforts are collective, some individuals are exceptionally important.
Hazel Varella is one of them. Hazel has done many remarkable things in her life. She was an educator for an amazing 63 years, she has served on many important and diverse boards, both professional and community. Here, Hazel talks about her 56 years with the Easton Historical Society and Museum.
As a history teacher who has lived in Easton since 1945, and was a member of the graduating class of 1950, I have always believed that a person should be proud of, and contribute to, one’s community. As a young teenager, before coming to Easton, I helped my prior community, North Beverly, to clean up the parish center.
When I was hired by the Easton schools to teach history I wanted to challenge residents of Easton to learn more about the town’s history and uniqueness (Richardson, Olmsted, and the contributions of the Ames family).
I began a semester class, for OAHS seniors. Each weekend students were to become better acquainted with their neighborhood and share the information with their classmates on Monday. I also taught an evening class for adults with their “discovered” information. Bus tours for students and adults also occurred.
Because of my interest in Easton’s history, I was one of the group of 17 residents who brought back the Historical Society in the late 60s. It had been inactive since 1956.
I was very committed to the society from the beginning but what really made a difference to me was the 1969 gift of the Old Colony Railroad Station to the Historical Society by John, David, and Oliver Ames, and William A. Parker. After that, we had space for collections, exhibits, and events and I really wanted us to take advantage of that.
I am particularly proud of two things during my years at the Society. First, restoring the Railroad Station. It was not in good condition when we got it. It had been closed since 1960 and it took a lot of hard work from Society members to put it in shape before we could hold events there but we did it.
Second, the many things we did, and are still doing, to bring Easton history to residents. Some were fun, historically themed events like lectures and trips, and others I hope will have a more lasting impact. We distributed 100 copies of Chaffin’s excellent history of the town of Easton to schools and the library, and we created a successor volume bringing it up to date, for Easton’s 250th. And since 2010, we have produced the annual “reminiscences” series. Each issue is about 100 pages long and contains many interesting stories about old-time Easton and its residents. In addition, we supported many books produced by individual historical society members. Ed Hand’s wonderful 1995 “Neighborhoods of Easton”, and Jon Coe’s and Buddy Wooster’s 2018 “A Beautiful Image of Historic Easton” are a couple but there were many other good ones too.
Personally, I was very humbled when I was honored with a lifetime achievement award for my contributions and work with the society in May of this year. Many people including former students were there.
Going forward I think our volunteers will be what make the difference for the society. More than anything else I hope we continue to attract the energetic dedicated people that have been so important to our success.