Potato Award

Bronze potato award In 1940, the Smith family of Long Acres farm was awarded this bronze potato in recognition of a record-breaking production of 613 bushels of potatoes on a single acre. John Smith, who arrived in Westport from Scotland, purchased this property of 110 acres located near Cadmans Neck in 1882. For the next […]

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The first tractor in Westport

The First Tractor In 1921 Julius T. Smith (Turtle Rock Farm) bought one of the first tractors to be used on a Westport farm. The Fordson tractor was invented for a man “with a strong back and a weak head. We always took a monkey grip on the handle when we cranked the tractor, otherwise […]

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Inventing the Macomber Turnip

This commemorative handkerchief from the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition depicts the source of seeds that created Westport’s Macomber turnip. Westport can lay claim to its very own vegetable, the Macomber turnip. In 1876 Adin (1845-1915) and Elihu Macomber (1846-1933)  ventured to the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition where they procured some seeds.  The brothers planted the seed on […]

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Have you ever heard of the Macomber fowl?

  Macomber fowls  / “Tripps Yaller Hens” / Rhode Island Red Have you ever heard of the Macomber fowl? By Richard Gifford Westport farmer John Macomber played an important role in the breeding of the Rhode Island Red, “an egg laying machine.” He swapped hens with Little Compton farmer William Tripp, and successfully bred “an […]

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Two Rivers of Resistance

Two Rivers of Resistance By David C. Cole[1]   During the Revolutionary War the South Coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island were largely controlled by the British Navy which had local headquarters in Newport and patrolled the length of Buzzards Bay. The British assault on Dartmouth in September 1778, that included raids on settlements and […]

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Help us transcribe the journal of Henry Smith!

Volunteer opportunity Are you looking for a challenging and educational volunteer opportunity?  The Westport Historical Society seeks a team of volunteers to transcribe the contents of the Henry Smith journal. Volunteers will transcribe the handwritten pages of this journal and will explore the themes of local history that will be illuminated during this project. Much […]

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Risky Business: Following the threads of Westport’s short-lived silkworm enterprise

By Jenny O’Neill A most exotic and little-known aspect of Westport’s agricultural history is the activity known as “sericulture” — the production of silk, the rearing of silkworms, and the cultivation of mulberry trees. The story remains incomplete and somewhat fragmented, with strands found within correspondence and journals chronicling the lives of the Macomber family of Central Village. […]

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