http://www.pembrokehistoricalsociety.org/

Pembroke Historical Society, 116 Center Street, Pembroke, MA (2026)

08/25/2026

🌟✨TUESDAY TRIVIA and
🌟✨ LAST WEEK’S WINNER!!! ✨🌟

We had several correct responses to our 300 Years of History book trivia question asking which Pembroke company got its start in the 1940s.

The correct answer was D. Thayer Scale! 🎉

Congratulations to Donna McDonell Cannone, who was the first to respond correctly! Donna, you can pick up your prize at one of our regular Saturday open houses or at our next Wednesday evening open house on Wednesday, September 9, from 6–8 PM.

A little more about Thayer Scale

Thayer Scale was founded in Rockland in 1949 before moving to Pembroke’s Schooset Street in 1956. At the time our 300 Years of History book was published in 2012, the company employed approximately 130 people.

Now, on to another company that appeared on our list: West Box Factory!

We recently had the Pembroke Quaker Meeting House open for one of our final Sunday open houses of the season, and West Box Factory played an important part in the story of this historic building.

The West Box Factory was operated by the Quaker West family. Their roots can be traced to the Calvin Shepherd family, whose daughters married into the West and Lefurgey families. The West family operated the box factory for approximately 150 years.

One important reason the 1706 Friends Meeting House survived is thanks in part to West Box Factory owner Gilbert West, who joined forces with Rockland Trust founder Horace Fogg and others to raise more than $3,000 toward the restoration of the building.

That effort eventually led to another major renovation in 1988, with yet another restoration project planned for Fall 2026.

One of the highlights of Sunday’s open house was especially meaningful. A fourth-generation descendant from each of the two Shepherd daughters pictured in this 1848 photograph—the daughters who married into the West and Lefurgey families—met at the open house for the first time! What a wonderful connection to make through history- over 175 years in the making ❤️

The West Box Factory supplied wooden boxes 📦 to many industries and companies over the years.

So here is our next trivia question:

Which company or industry listed below was NOT a customer of West Box Factory?

A. Baker Chocolate
B. Fish
C. Nails
D. Ocean Spray Cranberries
E. Razors
F. World War II powder boxes

What’s your answer? Please comment below—

📣 UPCOMING EVENTS:

🚪 MONTHLY OPEN HOUSE-SEPTEMBER:
Wednesday, September 9th
6pm-8:00pm @ the museum
Join us for a quiet night at the museum. Learn about our great town and its history through our archives and maps. All ages welcome. ((OPEN HOUSES are every 2nd Wednesday of each month))

🍁 VINTAGE MARKET
Saturday, September 26
10:00-3:00 @ the museum
•multi vendor
•antiques|vintage decor|artisan made goods|succulents + plants
•free admission

🌟PLEASE NOTE: We are not accepting vendors for this event. Please do not communicate with anyone for booth rental and do not exchange financial information or payment. Thank you.🌟

08/24/2026

We’d like to take a moment to recognize the tremendous efforts of Miles Prescott, Alan Gianatassio, and Deanna Hebert in opening the doors of the Friends Quaker Meeting House. Together, they created thoughtful displays designed to engage visitors while sharing Quaker history, stories, and the significance of this very special place.

For many visitors, this was their first time stepping inside the Friends Quaker Meeting House. Whether it was your first visit or you’ve been here before, we hope you discovered something new, enjoyed the displays, and took a little time to appreciate the history within these walls.

The Friends Quaker Meeting House is so much more than a building to drive by. We’re always proud to share that it is the oldest Quaker meeting house in Massachusetts and the third oldest in the United States. Established in 1706, it celebrates its 320th anniversary this year.

Restoration work will soon begin, and once it is complete, we look forward to opening the doors once again and welcoming everyone back into this lovely and truly special space.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen—and to all who stopped in, explored, and shared in its history with us.

08/23/2026

Thank you to everyone that joined us at the museum yesterday! Our Open House and Book Sale brought a lot of smiles. We’re always so honored that you choose to spend part of your day with us. There’s nothing we enjoy more than hearing the sounds of laughter and conversation flowing through the museum walls.

A heartfelt thank you to Miles, Alan and Andrew for sharing their love of Pembroke’s history. We’d also like to thank Joe and Otis for joining us to sign books and share conversations with visitors. We’re always grateful to spend time with Ken, Carrington and Deanna-their support and time means so very much to us.

Days like yesterday make it abundantly clear as to why we love this town and want to share its important history with you and yours.

We hope to see many of you today at Friends Quaker Meeting House. Deanna, Miles, Alan and many Quakers from area towns will be sharing their stories and traditions between 12-2:00. Find FQMH at the intersection of 53/139 at 70 Washington St.

Wishing you all a fantastic week ahead!

08/18/2026

✨TUESDAY TRIVIA and
🌟✨ LAST WEEK’S WINNER!!! ✨🌟

For our 300-Year Book author signing trivia, we had several correct responses to the question: Which building was NOT designed by Alexander Parris?

The answer was C — the Hexagon House, shown here. It was designed by Parris’s nephew, Luther Briggs Jr.

Congratulations to Jane Hodge, who was the first to respond correctly! 🎉

Jane, many of our authors will be here this Saturday to sign your 300-Year Book and give you a piece of Pembroke’s history to be proud of!

We also want to thank Joe Chetwynd and Otis Hathon for their wonderful written contributions to the 300-Year Book. Both Joe and Otis will be joining us on Saturday to sign books.

Now, on to another 300-Year Book author — Ed Quill, who will be at our museum Saturday, August 22nd, to sign your book.

Ed worked for the Boston Globe and is the author of several books about Pembroke-area history. He contributed several pieces to our 300-Year Book, and this week’s trivia focuses on one of the Pembroke businesses he featured.

🏭 THIS WEEK’S TRIVIA:

Which of these Pembroke companies was founded in the 1940s?

A. E.S. Ritchie Compass
B. Protectowire
C. Sunrise Systems
D. Thayer Scale
E. West Box Factory

Who knows the answer? 🤔

Be sure to stop by the museum this Saturday, August 22nd, to meet Ed, Joe and Otis to have your copy of the 300-book signed—or purchase one here.

📣 UPCOMING EVENTS:

📚🧥🧺 BOOKS, VINTAGE CLOTHING + LINENS SALE:
Saturday, August 22nd
9am-2pm museum
Multi vendor. Vendors inside and outside. Art, books, media, ephemera, linens and vintage textiles

If interested in donating to the museum, the following items can be donated:
•BOOKS of any age (pre-loved and new)
•VINYL RECORD ALBUMS
Please message us through this page for more information. Please don’t give your contact information to anyone other than PHS thru this page.

If you’re interested in setting up a table to sell your own books ephemera or linens/vintage clothing, we’d love for you to join us. Message us to reserve a spot. *please do not correspond with anyone other than PHS board members. We will not take vendor fee payment until the day of the event.*

🚪OPEN HOUSE Friends Quaker Meeting House
Sunday, August 23
12pm-2pm

Join us on Sunday, August 23rd as we open the doors to one of the oldest structures in Pembroke~Friends Quaker Meeting House. Established in 1706, the meeting house is the oldest in Massachusetts and the 3rd oldest in the United States.

Have you often wondered what the meeting house looks like from the inside out? Stop by for a quick informative tour and chat with Pembroke Historical Society members, Quakers and friends of FQMH. Sit in the history of this quiet, serene space.

More information will be shared as the date approaches. Soon, restoration efforts will begin on the structure and when done, we’ll open the doors once more. For now, we hope to see you on Sunday, August 23.

Open to all ages. Admission is free.

08/12/2026

TUESDAY TRIVIA!!! ✨🌟
AND
🌟✨LAST WEEK’s WINNER!!!✨🌟

We had more than one correct response for last week’s trivia, honoring the 59th anniversary of the Pembroke Arts Festival, which was a smashing success last weekend!

The correct answer to the question of who originated the idea for the Arts Festival was C. Brooks Kelly. 🎉Congratulations, Kathleen Wall!🎉

Kathleen, you can claim your prize either at our Open House this week on August 12th from 6–8 PM, or at our next Vintage and Book Sale Market on August 22nd.

Brooks Kelly made a huge impact on Pembroke over the years—not only with the Arts Festival, which in some years had more than 3,000 attendees, but also through his leadership as President of the Pembroke Historical Society. He was instrumental in leading the charge to publish more recent town history, including Ed Quill’s book in 2000.

The photo attached was taken in 1988 and shows Brooks Kelly accepting a matching donation from the state to restore our 1706 Friends Quaker Meeting House. Also pictured are past Historical Society leaders Libby Bates and Nancy Ford. Standing behind Brooks is another great Pembroke contributor, Otis Hathon.

Otis was the architect for the Meeting House, and he also designed the Harry Woods Pavilion, where the bands played at this year’s Arts Festival.

Otis was also one of our historian-authors and was instrumental in creating our very popular 1712–2012: 300 Years book. Otis and several of our other authors will be at the Historical Society on Saturday, August 22nd, to sign copies of the 300-year book.

So, this is your chance to bring in your copy to have it signed—or purchase a new one to have signed by the authors. We still have some copies left in stock from last year!

For the next few trivia questions, we’ll be drawing from some of the fascinating research published in our 300-year book. We’ll begin by focusing on two of Pembroke’s famous architects: Alexander Parris and Luther Briggs Jr. Our own architect and historian, Otis Hathon, wrote about both of these important figures.

So, here goes!

Which building below did Alexander Parris NOT design or help design?

A. Charlestown Naval Yard
B. First Church of Pembroke
C. Pembroke’s Hexagon House
D. Plymouth’s Pilgrim Hall
E. Quincy Market

📣 UPCOMING EVENTS:

🚪 MONTHLY OPEN HOUSE-AUGUST:
Wednesday, August 12th
6pm-8:00pm @ the museum
Join us for a quiet night at the museum. Learn about our great town and its history through our archives and maps. All ages welcome.

📚🧥🧺 BOOKS, VINTAGE CLOTHING + LINENS SALE:
Saturday, August 22nd
9am-2pm museum
Multi vendor. Vendors inside and outside. Art, books, media, ephemera, linens and vintage textiles

If interested in donating to the museum, the following items can be donated:
•BOOKS of any age (pre-loved and new)
•VINYL RECORD ALBUMS
Please message us through this page for more information. Please don’t give your contact information to anyone other than PHS thru this page.

🚪OPEN HOUSE Friends Quaker Meeting House
Sunday, August 23
12pm-2pm

Join us on Sunday, August 23rd as we open the doors to one of the oldest structures in Pembroke~Friends Quaker Meeting House. Established in 1706, the meeting house is the oldest in Massachusetts and the 3rd oldest in the United States.

Have you often wondered what the meeting house looks like from the inside out? Stop by for a quick informative tour and chat with Pembroke Historical Society members, Quakers and friends of FQMH. Sit in the history of this quiet, serene space.

More information will be shared as the date approaches. Soon, restoration efforts will begin on the structure and when done, we’ll open the doors once more. For now, we hope to see you on Sunday, August 23.

Open to all ages. Admission is free If you’re interested in setting up a table to sell your own books ephemera or linens/vintage clothing, we’d love for you to join us. Message us to reserve a spot. *please do not correspond with anyone other than PHS board members. We will not take vendor fee payment until the day of the event.*

08/08/2026

Lots going on in the center today!

•Pembroke Arts Festival/Community Center
•Yard Sale and Car Show at 1st Church
•Open House here at Pembroke Historical Society

Come on down!! 💃🏻🕺

Pembroke Historical Society

08/25/2026

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