What’s New May 2024

The Weston Historical Society board and volunteers are hard at work setting up the new office and archives at the Josiah Smith Tavern and preparing two exhibits that will open May 18:

“Weston Then and Now,” an exhibit of historic and contemporary photographs of the Town Center showing changes over time, including outstanding images by photographer Nicole Mordecai.

“The Jones Family at Home,” an exhibit of furniture, decorative arts, and photographs belonging to three generations of the Jones family, who occupied what is now the Josiah Smith Tavern until 1950.

See a quick promo video for these open houses:

Join WHS and Eric Schultz for a discussion of his book King Philip’s War: A History and Legacy of America’s Forgotten Conflict, which he co-authored with Michael Touglas. The book is available from Amazon.

Metacom (c.1638–1676), also known as King Philip, was a tribal leader of the Pokanoket tribe (R.I.) and Wampanoag nation. The second son of Massasoit, he followed his father as chief sachem, but his relationship with the colonists was more contentious. Disputes over land, peace treaties, and the ensuing mutual mistrust led to an uprising against the colonists known as King Philip’s War (1675 – 1676), considered the bloodiest per capita in U.S. history. More than half of New England’s towns were attacked, including an incursion into Weston.

Eric Schultz is a former chair of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and the Gettysburg Foundation. He is currently a director of the Old Colony Historical Society in Taunton.