Peabody Historical Society & Museum

04/28/2026

04/28/2026

04/28/2026

04/06/2026

🍍What does Dole Pineapple Plantation have to do with Peabody’s history?

Before the automobile, horse-drawn carriages were important both for moving people and goods.

William Titcomb Dole was born in a house located on 14 Washington St. on August 15, 1816 to Moses Dole and Sarah Boardman Titcomb. Moses T. Dole was a blacksmith and had his own shop across the road on Washington St. in 1822.

Dole & Osgood were widely known for producing carriages for commercial and municipal use. Among the uses of their carriages, Peabody’s fire department ordered a new hose carriage, and “the tires of the wheels of Steamer 1” from Dole & Osgood (Peabody Press, 11 December 1872, page 2). Quickly, their carriages were introduced to export markets. During the 1870s and 1880s, they were fulfilling orders for carriage ambulances in South Africa, and express mail carriages to Adelaide, New South Wales.

Most famous among Dole & Osgood’s carriages was a personal luxury carriage produced for the Queen of Hawai’i, Liliʻuokalani. As this newspaper article stated, the carriage company had a number of “agents” in Hawai’i facilitating trade.

There was only a very brief time in Hawai’ian history when Queen Liliʻuokalani reigned. This was between 1891 and 1893. In 1893-94, the Queen was deposed by a U.S.-backed coup. Having played a prominent role in the coup, the man who replaced the Queen was named Sanford Ballard Dole, the first president of the Republic of Hawai’i, and later the first governor of Hawai’i in 1898. One year later, a man by the name of James Drummond Dole moves to Honolulu to begin a farming venture. By 1920, his business would become the foundation for the corporation Dole Food Company.

At this point, if you are wondering if the Doles of the Dole & Osgood company had any connection to the Doles of the pineapple plantations and food production firm, you would be correct.

Read on our website or link tree to finish the article!

https://peabodyhistorical.org/2026/04/the-rise-and-fall-of-peabodys-carriage-manufacturers-dole-osgood-carriage-factory/

04/04/2026

🍍What does Dole Pineapple Plantation have to do with Peabody's history?

Before the automobile, horse-drawn carriages were important both for moving people and goods.

William Titcomb Dole was born in a house located on 14 Washington St. on August 15, 1816 to Moses Dole and Sarah Boardman Titcomb. Moses T. Dole was a blacksmith and had his own shop across the road on Washington St. in 1822.

Dole & Osgood were widely known for producing carriages for commercial and municipal use. Among the uses of their carriages, Peabody’s fire department ordered a new hose carriage, and “the tires of the wheels of Steamer 1” from Dole & Osgood (Peabody Press, 11 December 1872, page 2). Quickly, their carriages were introduced to export markets. During the 1870s and 1880s, they were fulfilling orders for carriage ambulances in South Africa, and express mail carriages to Adelaide, New South Wales.

Most famous among Dole & Osgood’s carriages was a personal luxury carriage produced for the Queen of Hawai’i, Liliʻuokalani. As this newspaper article stated, the carriage company had a number of “agents” in Hawai’i facilitating trade.

There was only a very brief time in Hawai’ian history when Queen Liliʻuokalani reigned. This was between 1891 and 1893. In 1893-94, the Queen was deposed by a U.S.-backed coup. Having played a prominent role in the coup, the man who replaced the Queen was named Sanford Ballard Dole, the first president of the Republic of Hawai’i, and later the first governor of Hawai’i in 1898. One year later, a man by the name of James Drummond Dole moves to Honolulu to begin a farming venture. By 1920, his business would become the foundation for the corporation Dole Food Company.

At this point, if you are wondering if the Doles of the Dole & Osgood company had any connection to the Doles of the pineapple plantations and food production firm, you would be correct.

Read on our website to finish the article!

https://peabodyhistorical.org/2026/04/the-rise-and-fall-of-peabodys-carriage-manufacturers-dole-osgood-carriage-factory/

03/31/2026

🌷Dearest gentle reader… come join us for an hour of live music and entry-level colonial social dancing at our historic barn! Dress in your finest and bring a friend!

03/09/2026

Join us for this first family day celebrating local pottery history of the Revolution! FREE for members and youth under 18. $5 entrance for adults.

Master potter Rick Hamelinand researcher will fill this afternoon with a pottery demonstration, a chance to make your own pinch pot, and an author talk and guided tour of our pottery collection.

Rick’s program is ideal of families with children!
Justin’s program is best for local history buffs, but all are welcome!

This program is made possible by the generous support of the Peabody Cultural Council, an affiliate of Mass Humanities.

More info in our bio or our website!

01/22/2026

🎓Hello Peabody college students! Once again, the George and Rachel Shaw scholarship for $3,000 is being generously offered to a college student from Peabody. The application can be accessed here: https://peabodyhistorical.org/scholarship-opportunities/

01/20/2026

This spring, the Peabody Historical Society & Museum is hosting a paid internship program! 🌟

We will provide one paid internship opportunity aimed at giving youth and early career museum professionals hands-on experience in exhibit design, non-profit marketing, and museum interpretation best-practices. Apply here: https://ncph.org/job/museum-exhibition-spring-intern/

01/19/2026

On this Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, drive safe!

Lowell St. Peabody, MA, circa 1900. Photograph of the Peabody Historical Society & Museum Collections.