A Westport sampler

Phoebe Baker’s Sampler 1807 From the mid-eighteenth century it was common for young girls to work on samplers as part of their education. Phoebe Baker’s sampler displays the letters of the alphabet and a strawberry border. WHS 2000.036.001 Gift of Clara Sherman  

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Contact and Pre Contact Period

Contact Period (1500–1620) The first documented accounts of Native and non-Native interactions along the shores and harbors of Old Dartmouth (the original territory from which Westport was subdivided) indicate that these areas were inhabited by Native American groups affiliated with the Wampanoag tribe (Denison 1879; Ellis 1892; Howland 1907). The MHC (1982) notes a large […]

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A Handy House Thanksgiving

  Not much is known about how the holidays were celebrated at the Handy House, however we’ve uncovered that Thanksgiving 1927 was a real hair-raising time! Abbott Smith, who purchased the Hix Bridge Road home in 1911, hosted 48 of his nearest and dearest at one large table out on the front porch, according to […]

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Just how old is the Cadman-White-Handy House?

The Westport Historical Society has received a $10,000 National Trust for Historic Preservation grant to help answer a $10,000 Question: Just how old is the Cadman-White-Handy House? This project is part of an innovative process of “opening windows” into the interior of the house to reveal its evolution. Just how old is the Cadman-White-Handy House? […]

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Splice the Main Brace

A CELEBRATION OF WESTPORT’S WORKING WATERFRONT SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013 AT HISTORIC WESTPORT POINT’S LEES WHARF and PAQUACHUCK INN RIGGERS’ REWARD 7 pm – 9:30 pm $55 per person Dine on canapés, local fare and delicious desserts. Boogie to BLUES TRAIN! Cash bar tickets $5 with free soft drinks. SOLD OUT! CAPTAIN’S PARTY 6 pm […]

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Annual Appeal

Please help us reach our target of $20,000 for our annual appeal! Our annual appeal has particular urgency this year. The annual operating budget of the Society has grown with our increased responsibilities and the continued expansion of our role in the community such as Second Saturdays at the Handy House, public archaeology days, as […]

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