The exhibit for April in the Local History display case is a selection of early 20th century color postcards showing Kingston buildings and places.
Stop by and take a look!
New exhibit: Vital Records
Vital records are the most basic paperwork of human life, the tangible evidence of the three most important events: birth, death and marriage. In Massachusetts, these events have been registered at the local level since 1635 and formally collected by the state since 1841. On display this month are a few examples of the forms that vital records take. Stop by and take a look.
New Exhibit – KINGSTONOPOLY!
The Local History Exhibit for February starts with the game of Kingstonopoly, a customized version of the classic board game Monopoly done for the PTO of Kingston Elementary School in 2000. Looking through the collections of the Local History Room, we find not only a pair of adorable wooden boxes fashioned after houses out on Wapping Road (buy a house), but letterhead from the Kingston Inn (build a hotel), stock certificates (collect $200), promissory notes (borrow from the banker), and foreclosure documents (don’t go bankrupt). Life imitates the game and our historical collections represent a slice of life.
Stop in and take a look!
New Exhibit: Ichabod Washburn Benevolent Fund
The Ichabod Washburn Benevolent Fund was established over 130 years ago through a bequest to the Town of Kingston. Washburn, who was born and raised in Kingston, made his fortune as a wire manufacturer in Worcester but never forgot his hometown or the struggles of his mother, who raised her family alone after the death of her husband. In 1869, Washburn’s will left $10,000 to the Town for the creation of a fund from which interest would be distributed to “widows and maiden ladies of good character and reputation.” Original account books, receipts and other records of the Fund are now on display in the Local History Room exhibit case.
