Posted on May 27, 2021 by Jenny ONeill
Jim Pierce
Jim Pierce interviewed by Mary Giles
Continue ReadingPosted on May 18, 2021 by Jenny ONeill
James Vaughan
An interview with James Vaughan
Continue ReadingPosted on April 20, 2021 by Jenny ONeill
Westport’s Poetic History: In Celebration of National Poetry Month
Local history research can lead to some unexpected discoveries. What began as an effort to highlight some poetry found in the Westport Historical Society’s collection, has led to a deeper exploration into the history of Westport’s cultural past. Westport’s seclusion and natural beauty has served to attract, inspire and rejuvenate artists and writers for […]
Continue ReadingPosted on April 9, 2021 by Jenny ONeill
John Stevens of Annibon Island and Westport, Massachusetts
Written by Betty Slade, 2021 This story about John Stevens is that of a family of color whose father came to America from Africa in the mid-19th century not as a slave but as a free man. He arrived just before the Civil War in Westport Point, Massachusetts. He married a Native American woman and […]
Continue ReadingPosted on March 4, 2021 by Jenny ONeill
Westport Women Taking Care of History
Written by Jenny O’Neill and Betty Slade It is striking how many women have been leaders in the effort to preserve Westport’s history. This series of profiles celebrates the contribution made by Westport women towards historic preservation, whether through documentation, education, building restoration, artistic expression, writings, and activism. A common thread that links many of […]
Continue ReadingPosted on March 1, 2021 by Jenny ONeill
A Celebratory Bell Ringing
We are so pleased to be able to share a celebratory bell ringing with our community. (Thank you to Merri Cyr for creating this wonderful video.) The Westport Historical Society gratefully recognizes the generous support provided by a Community Preservation Act grant for the restoration of the tower and roof, and the restoration of […]
Continue ReadingPosted on February 9, 2021 by Jenny ONeill
The Country, Memories of the Wainer Farm on Drift Road by George H. Wortham Jr.
The Importance of the “The Country” Blueberries The Animals Driving Mom, the Great Organizer Baseball The Gardens Springtime The Elders Up on the Hill GaGa’s Medicine The Radio Monday’s The Flag The Wainer Stories The Farmhouses The Graves The Stone The Well The Ancestors About the Author The Farm was known as the Wainer Farm […]
Continue ReadingPosted on January 14, 2021 by Jenny ONeill
A Westport Sign of Mystery
Have you ever noticed the large, slightly battered sign “Handy Hill Crossing” sitting at the intersection of Main Road and Handy Hill? It marks the location close by of Handy Hill Creamery, well known to all of us as well as the Handy Hill diner, recently removed from the site. It also marks the location […]
Continue ReadingPosted on November 19, 2020 by Jenny ONeill
Remembering Mouse Mill Pond by Claude Ledoux
Page 47 of Tony Connor’s “Small Town Big History” made reference to Mouse Mill Pond. This triggered lingering memories of this Westport site and I decided to write about it and a network of ancient ponds that existed when my family migrated to Westport in 1949. This review of historical facts is likely foreign to […]
Continue ReadingPosted on November 16, 2020 by Jenny ONeill
The Buildout at Westport Point in the 1770s by David C. Cole and Richard Gifford
Until the 1770s, Paquachuck Point (now known as Westport Point or The Point) was little more than open pasture. It was a North-South peninsula surrounded by an estuary with a narrow opening to Buzzards Bay and the Atlantic Ocean at its southwestern most extremity. There was a “way” now known as Main Road that ran […]
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