Blog - Page 32 of 61 - Westport Historical Society

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Jenny ONeill

Over view of Native American presence in Westport

Westport’s recorded histories contain numerous references to Native American settlement and activity areas and the existing archaeological record for the town supports this presence. Native people who utilized Westport’s abundant natural resources most likely remained in the area well into the historic period, especially given the slow and highly dispersed colonial settlement within the present-day […]

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Jenny ONeill

Mabel Crosby Ball interviewed by Mary Giles 1976

This morning, I am making a tape recording of Mabel Crosby in the house she was born in, and where she lived for over sixty years. It is a very old farm here in Westport. Mabel, can you remember very much about your childhood here? I can remember first that […]

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Jenny ONeill

Mary Hix Brown and Durant Brown interviewed by Mary Giles August 18, 1975

Mary Hix Brown and Durant Brown interviewed by Mary Giles August 18, 1975 Interviewer – Today I am talking with Mary Hix Brown and her son, Durant, about old Westport families, their genealogies and, if we have time, about some of the old houses in Westport. I’d like to start this with talk of any […]

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Jenny ONeill

Bojuma Farm milk bottle

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Jenny ONeill

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

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Jenny ONeill

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 […]

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Greg Stone

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 […]

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Greg Stone

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? […]

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Jenny ONeill

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without”

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” Born in 1914 and still going strong, Elvira Smith reflects on her childhood and what it was like growing up on a Westport Farm located on Horseneck Road, down a long lane. Growing up on a farm was a lot of hard work […]

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Greg Stone