Hanover MA Historical Society

06/08/2019

It finally feels like Summer and the Stetson House is open, today from 12 noon to 4pm. This is a painting done by Louise I. (Cannaway) Ashton. She was born in 1905, grew up in Rockland, and lived most of her life in Hanover until her death in 1988. She decorated trays and boxes, restored and painted early American chairs, worked on braided and hooked rugs, and took up painting landscapes and seascapes in the 1960s. This example from a private collection is currently on display at the Stetson House through the summer in Artists of Hanover’s Past.

06/06/2019

We have an inquiry asking if any area residents might posses a photo of Mary (White) Howes, the wife of Dr Woodbridge Ruggles Howes. The inquirer is her 2nd great granddaughter and she would like very much to have a photo to place alongside the photo she has of Dr. Howes.

06/05/2019

Two more third grade classes from Center Elementary School toured through the Stetson House, Barn, and Cobbler's Shop this morning! Our Stetson Scholars presented their research, the students tried writing with quill pens, they already knew all about the Bailey Clock, and were fascinated by the "creepy dolls" on the second floor.

06/01/2019

The Stetson House will not be open today because the Executive Director will be leading. tour of Burial Hill in Plymouth at 1pm. Please join if you can!

05/31/2019

Signs of a successful school visit! All four Cedar Elementary third grades classes visited the Stetson House, Barn, and Cobbler's Shop yesterday, and left some quill-and-ink signatures behind. Thank you to Board members Susannah Leslie and Dick Bancroft for helping make the visit memorable for the students.

05/30/2019

The weather may have turned rainy, cold, and gray since Monday, but for the first time in years, the sun was shining on the Hanover Memorial Day Parade as it passed the Stetson House. Dozens of visitors toured the house and grounds, and explored Hanover history.

05/29/2019

The weather may have turned rainy, cold, and gray since Monday, but for the first time in years, the sun was shining on the Hanover Memorial Day Parade as it passed the Stetson House. Dozens of visitors toured the house and grounds, and explored Hanover history.

05/27/2019

It's Memorial Day, the sun is shining, there's a parade through Hanover Center this morning, and the Historic Drummer Samuel Stetson House is open today from 9am to 1pm.

05/24/2019

Come visit the Hanover Historical Society and the Drummer Samuel Stetson House this Memorial Day Weekend! We are open from 12 noon to 4pm on Saturday, May 25th, and from 9am to 1pm, on Monday, May 27th.Discover Hanover's History!

05/05/2019

This is Musical Instruments from the Collections of the Hanover Historical Society. The Historical Society puts exhibits in the Hanover High School, the Hanover Center School, the John Curtis Free Library, and other venues throughout the year. These exhibits are only made possible by the generous donations of our members and supporters. Thank you to everyone for helping keep Hanover's history alive!

05/04/2019

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we regret to announce that the Mother's Day Tea at Stetson House, scheduled for Sunday, May 12th, has been cancelled.

05/01/2019

Thank you to everyone for making the Historical Society's 2nd Annual Tavern Night a great success last Saturday night!

04/06/2019

The first few flowers of Spring are up at Stetson House! Join us on Friday, April 12th, for a Spring Clean Up on the grounds of the Stetson House starting at 10am.

03/22/2019

Drop into the Stetson House between 10 and 4 today to pick up Tavern Night tickets. Cash and check only. If you want to pay by credit card, call Maura, 508-212-4182

03/18/2019

First Regiment of Foot Guards at Stetson House
Saturday, March 23rd, from 9am to noon
Grounds of the Stetson House, 514 Hanover Street, Hanover, MA 02339
This Saturday, March 23, from 9am to noon, the First Regiment of Foot Guards, a reenactment group portraying British soldiers of the American Revolution, will be drilling at the Historic Drummer Samuel Stetson House. The group is preparing for their role the battle reenactment at Lexington & Concord on Patriots Day weekend in April. The Guards welcome you to come watch the drilling and learn about life during the American Revolution.
The Guards invite you to join their ranks!

03/11/2019

Check out the new products page on our website! More inventory to come!

03/05/2019

Join us tomorrow night, Wednesday, March 6th, 6:30pm at the Hanover Council on Aging (665 Center Street) to hear author Stephen Puleo talk about his book "American Treasures: The Secret Efforts to Save the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address."

03/02/2019

Because of the weather, the Stetson House will not be open today. But it does look great in the snow.

03/01/2019

March is maple sugaring time. Here are some photos taken by Hanover's own Charlie Gleason from early in the 20th Century of some boys and their dog collecting maple sap for sugaring.

02/20/2019

Hanover MA Historical Society

02/19/2019

The Hanover Historical Society mourns the loss of Paul Cripps, Executive Director of Destination Plymouth and the Plymouth County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Paul was a tireless and devoted advocate of the tourism industry and of all the historical and cultural organizations in Plymouth, on the South Shore, and throughout Massachusetts. And, he was a good friend.

02/13/2019

Yesterday's storm was not too bad, when you consider what it looked like in Hanover in the winter of 1960. These are two photos of Four Corners from the Scrapbooks of Charlie Gleason.

02/01/2019

In honor of the Superbowl this Sunday, here is a photograph of the Hanover High School Football team of 1928. Wishing the best of luck to the New England Patriots!

01/19/2019

Norwell Nature Watch Caleb Estabrooks

Barstow's Two Oaks Shipyard was in Hanover.

Barstow's Two Oaks and the Upper North River Shipyards brought to you by NSRWA, South Shore Mass Audubon, South Shore Natural Science Center, Clean Harbors, ...

12/23/2018

Last minute shopping ideas at the Curtis Store, Hanover Four Corners, 150 years ago! The Curtis Store was located in the Hanover Academy Building where Times Past Antiques is today.

12/22/2018

Happy Holidays from the Hanover Historical Society!

12/03/2018

Scenes of this past weekend's display Sleds Sleighs & Wagons at the Samuel Stetson House

12/01/2018

Come visit the Stetson House to see Sleds, Seighs & Wagons! Saturday, Dec. 1 and Sunday, Dec.2,10am to 4pm!

11/26/2018

More than a dozen antique sleds, sleighs, and wagons will be on display inside and outside Hanover's historic Stetson House this Saturday and Sunday.

11/21/2018

The Hanover Historical Society has so much to be thankful for this year, wonderful friends, energetic vounteers, an active board, and a town full of friendly neighbors. We would like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

11/12/2018

Hanover Historical Society's History Matters Series at the Hanover Council on Aging, 665 Center Street, Hanover, MA 02339, Doors open at 6pm, program starts at 6:30

Wednesday, November 14th, 6pm
Joseph M. McCarthy, Ph.D.
Emeritus Professor of History
Suffolk University, Boston

"Over Here" The Homefront during World War I

Suffolk University History Professor Emeritus Joe McCarthy has been studying World War I for decades. His talk will focus on the local Home Front duing the War, exploring ways to make the homefront real. What was life like on other homefronts in Austria, Russia, Germany, Serbia. What were the broad trends on the US homefront, including anti-German sentiment, Hooverizing, social security and civil rights, and the great influenza epidemic. These considerations will create vignettes of what life was like in the Greater Boston area during the First World War.

11/10/2018

World War I ended 100 years ago on November 11th, 1918. These are some of the graves in Hanover's Center Cemetery of veterans of "The Great War."

11/03/2018

It was a rainy but informative tour of WWI graves in Center Cemetery this morning. The Stetson House will not be open for tours today, Saturday, Nov. 3rd. Please stop by Stetson House next Saturday to see the exhibit, Hanover and World War I, on the 100th Anniversary weekend of the end of The Great War.

10/30/2018

Hanover Center Cemetery Walking Tour
Saturday, November 3rd, 2018, 10am

Join local historian John Galluzzo and Stephen O’Neill, the Hanover Historical Society’s Director, for a tour of Hanover’s Center Cemetery looking specifically at the graves and monuments of World War I veterans. This tour will last about an hour and will begin near the Cemetery Office. Rain or shine.

10/27/2018

This Nor'easter may prevent the trail walk today, but the Station 5 Fire House will still be open from 2 to 4pm. Stop by and see the Fire Wagon!

10/24/2018

Fire Station 5 Open House & Trail Walk in conjunction with the Town of Hanover Open Space Committee
Saturday, October 27th, 2018, 2-4pm
1095 Boradway, South Hanover
Walk begins at 3pm and takes about 40 minutes
Jointly sponsored by the Hanover Historical Society and the Open Space Committee, enjoy a one mile walk through the Merry Property/Phillips Wildlife Sanctuary woodland behind the Station Five Museum on Broadway. Vernal pool, old stone walls, and cart-paths make this a lovely fall walk. The Museum is also open for tours, and refreshments are served. Park at the Firehouse

10/18/2018

At this very busy time of year, with meetings, talks, lectures, programs, and deadlines happening everyday, the Hanover Historical Society would like to take a moment to recognize the fleeting beauty of Fall in Hanover at Stetson House, as shared in these photographs taken by Historical Society Board member, the talented and generous, Betsey Josselyn.

10/15/2018

Hanover Historical Society's "History Matters Series" at the Hanover Council on Aging
665 Center Street, Hanover, MA 02339
Doors open at 6pm, program starts at 6:30
Wednesday, October 17th,
Les Molyneaux, Co-President
Hanover Historical Society
“Thomas Drew’s South Shore”

Thomas Drew (1845–1913) was a country storekeeper in the town of Hanover, Massachusetts, with a fascinating photography avocation. While he used his camera skills to create postcards and souvenir china of local scenes to sell in his South Hanover store, he also found time to preserve the images of family, friends, and South Shore landmarks on his glass-plate negatives. Drew's adult life was spent in a home on the banks of the Indian Head River in Hanover, almost across from his general store. His darkroom was his kitchen; his portrait studio, a burlap tarp hung outside. In his free time, he traveled the South Shore capturing scenes of interest to him, among them the shipwreck of the Helena in Scituate, the Stetson Shrine in Norwell, Hira “Bill” Bates's gunning stand on Oldham Pond in Pembroke, the Phillips beach cottage at Brant Rock, and his father's general store at Harding's Corner in Hanson.

10/09/2018

Hanover Historical Society's Annual Meeting & Dinner is this Saturday, October 13, 2018 at the Phoenix Lodge Masonic Hall, 133 Broadway, Hanover, MA .
The featured Guest Speaker is Caleb Estabrooks, who will be talking about the find he's made at the "Barstow's Two Oaks Shipyard" site.
Appetizers at 5pm, business meeting at 5:30, dinner at 6:00, and the presentation at 6:45.
Hanover Historical Society members $20 each, non-members $25 each
Please RSVP by Thursday, October 11, to [email protected] or 781-826-9575

10/06/2018

The Stetson House will be open today from 12 noon to 3pm. And look what we just got in--Hanover Walking Sticks $25 each.
These are hand-carved walking sticks made by Hanover resident Joe Grecco from wood harvested in Hanover. Each one is unique and great for getting outside to enjoy the Fall weather.

10/02/2018

09/28/2018

To show its gratitude to soldiers returning home from World War I, the Town of Hanover held not one, but two Welcome Home receptions in 1919. Visit the Stetson House on Saturday, from 12 noon to 4pm, to see the exhibit "Hanover & World War I."

09/21/2018

Come see "Hanover & World War I," the Hanover Historical Society's new exhibit, on display now at the Stetson House. Open on Saturdays, 12 noon to 4pm.

09/12/2018

"Hanover & World War I." When World War I ended, thousands of servicemen returned home to the U.S., trading their uniforms for civilian clothes. Women's fashions changed from shirtwiasts to Flapper dresses. The Roaring '20s had begun. Learn more about this pivotal time in Amercan history, see the new exhibit "Hanover & world War I" at the Stetson House, open for tours Saturdays, 12 noon to 4pm.

09/10/2018

"Hanover & World War I" is now on display at both the Stetson House and at Hanover High School. Look for the display inside the front entrance at the High School, and stop by Stetson House, Saturdays, 12 to 4pm to see the exhibit.