Recent Events and Features: June 2022 - Weston Historical Society

FEATURED VIDEOS

Weston Historical Society has collaborated with Weston Garden Club and Weston Media Center to produce a history of our much-loved Watering Trough:

View “History of the Watering Trough”

Past

A horse pulling a carriage drinking from the watering trough, another horse and carriage waiting in line.

Present

Closeup of watering trough with pink and purple flowers.

Watering trough with yellow flowers with First Parish Church in background on clear sunny day.

“William Sumner Appleton and the Preservation Movement” by Ken Turino

If you missed the April 28 lecture, it’s now available thanks to Weston Media Center:

View the lecture video

William Sumner Appleton.

William Sumner Appleton in front of the Harrison Gray Otis House in 1929. Appleton founded the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities in 1910 in response to the loss of the region’s historic fabric. Photo courtesy of Historic New England.

In the mid-20th century, sisters Ellen and Alice Jones bequeathed their residence, the former Josiah Smith Tavern, to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA, now Historic New England). To celebrate the re-opening of the restored tavern, the Weston Historical Society spring 2022 lecture is devoted to the history of SPNEA beginning with William Sumner Appleton, founder and chief force behind the early 20th century movement to preserve historic homes in New England.

Speaker Ken Turino is Manager of Community Partnerships and Resource Development for Historic New England. His presentation uses Appleton’s story to show how the preservation movement in America was born and how the techniques he developed were adopted by what became the profession. He also talks about how the field has evolved and broadened over time.

In addition to his work at Historic New England, Ken Turino is on the faculty of Tufts University in the Museum Studies Department, where he teaches courses on Exhibition Planning and Reimagining Historic House Museums. He is a curator, educator, director, producer, and author. His films have been shown on PBS including the prize-winning film, “Back to School: Lessons from Norwich's (VT) One-Room Schoolhouses.”

View more videos

All videos courtesy of Weston Media Center

WHS Exhibit to Reopen in the Fall

Those who were able to visit the Josiah Smith Tavern for the May 21 Celebrate Weston day were treated to a preview of the Weston Historical Society exhibit “History Under One Roof: The Evolution of the Josiah Smith Tavern.”

The exhibit is finished and it is amazing. But because of construction and administrative delays, the society does not yet have a formal lease at the JST. The Town needs to finalize the master lease agreement with the private, non-profit organization Friends of the JST, which will be managing the building. WHS will be sub-leasing four rooms from the Friends. Once that happens, WHS will be able to hold regular exhibit hours and gallery tours. We expect this legal process to be concluded sometime this summer. The exhibit will be on view through the end of 2022.

For out-of-town guests who can only visit this summer, please email info@westonhistory.org for an appointment.

We are often asked about the restaurant. Once the master lease is signed, The Friends of the JST will be negotiating with the many interested restaurateurs, who will need to fit out the space in the barn and connector and put in a kitchen.

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