Please see our latest newsletter for all the Easton Historical Society details and more...
Also see our new "Guide to Collections", which is arranged topically for your convenience. It is intended to provide you with an overview of our collections.
Annual Meeting Notice
The 2012 Annual Meeting of the Easton Historical Society will be held on Sunday, May 6th. The meeting will begin at 3 P.M. at Oakes Ames Memorial Hall, North Easton. Oakes Ames Memorial Hall is handicapped accessible. The afternoon will begin with a short business meeting. Following the business portion of the meeting, you will be treated to a presentation of "The Haunted History of New England" by Professor Christopher Daley. He is a well known lecturer who has done in-depth research on topics such as the Lizzie Borden case and the Sacco-Vanzetti case. This one hour presentation combines storytelling and slides to bring you a number of New England mysteries. Professor Daley presents the historical background for the event, then follows with the mystery. In the past, he has spoken for the Society on the Sacco-Vanzetti case. Light refreshments will be served following the meeting. The Society thanks Oakes Ames Memorial Hall and Frederick Ames for co-sponsoring this event and for making the hall available to us for this meeting.
Calendar Notes!
All events are held at the Easton Historical Society unless otherwise noted.
Spring Bottle and Can Drive In memory of Ken Martin
We will be holding our spring bottle and can drive on Saturday, May 5th, at the Society museum, 80 Mechanic Street, North Easton. All of our bottle drives will be held in memory of Ken Martin, who ran this important fundraiser for 24 years before passing away from injuries he received in an auto accident last November. The spring drive begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m., and will be held rain or shine. You may call Frank at 508-238-7774 for large pickups, or if you are not able to drop off on the day of the drive. The Society thanks you for your continued generosity and support of this important fundraiser.
--Sunday, May 20th, Open House, 1-5 p.m.
--Looking ahead...
Open houses on June 10, July 8,
and August 12th.
--We are available for open houses and tours all summer. Give us a call for availability!
Digital History
At long last, your Society is making the leap into
the Digital Age! Thanks to our members generous
support, we are beginning the long process of transitioning
our collections into digital format. Our recent
purchase of a computer and high resolution scanner gives
us the tools to take on this project. There are several
benefits for doing this important work:
--Digitizing allows for archival preservation in a
format that can be readily accessed and easily
updated as new technologies become available;
--It allows for less handling of fragile or rare items;
--We will have the ability to send information to
researchers over the web, which is a growing need;
--We will have a better presence on the web;
--Requests for copies of photos, etc. can be more
easily filled without re-exposing the original papers
and photos to damaging intense light from a copier;
--We can keep copies of our collection in multiple
locations as a protection against disasters.
We have begun to post a Topical Guide to our
collections on our web site. The data comes from work
done by our research committee: Barbara Beech, Joanne
England, Ed Hands, Fran Holland, Judge Leon J. Lombardi,
Frank Meninno, Maureen Raymo, Judy Sabin, Hazel Varella,
and Jean Visnauskis. Dan Pare has been instrumental in
preparing the listing for publication. More topics are
in process, and the list will be updated periodically.
Digitizing will better position us to serve the
next generation of historians. So sit back, watch us
grow, and enjoy the ride into the future!
Early Easton...
In 1694, the first settler, Clement Briggs established his home near the Easton Green. In 1711, the Taunton North Purchase
area became Norton, and in 1713, the twenty-six families settled in Easton and hired Elder William Pratt as their first
minister. There was no legal parish in Easton until 1722 when the East Precinct of Norton was recognized. In 1725, the area
was incorporated as the Town of Easton; it was so named because it was formerly called the "East End" of the Taunton North
Purchase and was shortened by pronunciation to Easton.
News :
--The Spring 2012 Newsletter is ready for viewing!