Attleboro Historic Preservation Society.

"The House With Nobody In It" written by Joyce Kilmer, 1914
"Whenever I walk to Suffern along the Erie track
I go by a poor old farmhouse with its shingles broken and black.
I suppose I’ve passed it a hundred times, but I always stop for a minute
And look at the house, the tragic house, the house with nobody in it.
I never have seen a haunted house, but I hear there are such things;
That they hold the talk of spirits, their mirth and sorrowings.
I know this house isn’t haunted, and I wish it were, I do;
For it wouldn’t be so lonely if it had a ghost or two.
This house on the road to Suffern needs a dozen panes of glass,
And somebody ought to w**d the walk and take a scythe to the grass.
It needs new paint and shingles, and the vines should be trimmed and tied;
But what it needs the most of all is some people living inside.
If I had a lot of money and all my debts were paid
I’d put a gang of men to work with brush and saw and spade.
I’d buy that place and fix it up the way it used to be
And I’d find some people who wanted a home and give it to them free.
Now, a new house standing empty, with staring window and door,
Looks idle, perhaps, and foolish, like a hat on its block in the store.
But there’s nothing mournful about it; it cannot be sad and lone
For the lack of something within it that it has never known.
But a house that has done what a house should do, a house that has sheltered life,
That has put its loving wooden arms around a man and his wife,
A house that has echoed a baby’s laugh and held up his stumbling feet,
Is the saddest sight, when it’s left alone, that ever your eyes could meet.
So whenever I go to Suffern along the Erie track
I never go by the empty house without stopping and looking back,
Yet it hurts me to look at the crumbling roof and the shutters fallen apart,
For I can't help thinking the poor old house is a house with a broken heart."
Credit to rightful owner

Attleborough's Solemn League and Covenant Historian Dr. Samuel A. Forman speaks about US Founding Father Dr. Joseph Warren, and the history of the Solemn League and Covenant, a Revolutionary War era ...

We are starting to plan 24-25 programs - What topics do you want to hear about? Do you want to present or know a presenter?

We had a great program tonight! Thank you Lady J and the Attleboro & Mass Cultural Councils 😍
Looking forward to our 2024-2025 programs.

Beat the heat…the Industrial Museum is air conditioned - come see tonight’s program about Deborah Sampson!

AHS is always striving to further our vision to be a community united around education and our community partnerships are a big part of that. Just this weekend Cory Rugg and his students helped clean up the Follett burial grounds. It's just another example of AHS staff and students living our vision and core values.

Pretty daffodils (or jonquils?) at the Academy today

KEYS TO UNLOCKING THE PAST
Tonight 4/18 @6:45PM
Oldtown Church (N. Att.)

We're so excited to see you for Attleboro's Winter Festival tonight from 4:30 to 7:30 PM. The hot cocoa (and marshmallows are on us!). Victoria and friends at the museum have lots of fun things to do too!

DATE CHANGED-reminder that our program at the Coptic Church has been moved to next week - FEB 22, 2024 @ 6:45pm.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/wBBQ1bLrsDHytJzg/?mibextid=xfxF2i

Our own Rachel Killion! Looks like a great time.

Take a look at downtown shopping in Attleboro in 1985!

Downtown Christmas Shoppers Interview {1985} Main Street Businesses Downtown Attleboro MA Vintage AttleboroDowntown Attleboro Christmas Shoppers Interview {late 1985}featuring John Suoza and John Stout from the Television Production class at Attle...

Members and Friends join us for our annual holiday dinner - reservations required (see image)

The Oldest Original Railroad Passenger Car In North America. This car, built in 1834-1836, was constructed of wood, with an iron frame and leather straps. Originally, it was pulled by horses before bring pulled by steam engines. The car was well traveled after retirement, including display at the 1893 and 1939-1940 World's Fairs, the latter by B&P successor the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. The car then spent time at the Danbury Fair until its closure and was later purchased and moved to The National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri, where it was sitting on October 30, 2011.

Full resolution pics and prints: https://www.riverrailphoto.com/nmot/eb3dc26f7

Here are 2024 programs
Note: FEB. DATE CHANGE
We can't wait to see you there!🤩

ISO a local volunteer who knows how to do historic deed research. I often need a second set of eyes or confirmation for the many unusual circumstances that come up when I am researching a property. It would only be occasionally, and likely via email, but I would like someone local so that we can meet in person when needed. TY

Hope to see you at tonight’s program - Show & Tell. This is an interactive program where you bring in Attleboro memorabilia and tell your story or ask a question on your Attleboro history mystery 😀

Happy July!
In August we will begin to put together our 2023-2024 programming - please let us know what you would like to know more about in Attleboro OR if you would be willing to present!
You can comment here or email me at [email protected]

It was really the Attleboro Historical Commission Preservation Awards, we are “cousins” and often confused 😍

Attleboro historic preservation awards resume after four-year absence ATTLEBORO -- It was a long time in coming due to coronavirus, but the city's Historic Preservation Society was finally able to resume its annual...

SOS - SAVE OUR SCHOOL!
The imminent city council vote to remove the facade restriction in bid specs for the old high school at 135 County Street will likely result in the demolition of that iconic 1912 building in the not too distant future. There are many ways to re-purpose it for a new use, be it residential, community center, arts collaborative and performance space or the expanded space needed for a larger city hall.
We urge you to immediately contact the mayor and members of the city council to voice your support for saving and re-purposing one of Attleboro's signature buildings. Addressing the city council in person or letters to the editor of the newspaper are other ways to be heard. If you value the uniqueness that makes Attleboro a wonderful place to call home, now is the time to let it be known.

Mayor Cathleen Desimone 508-223-2222 x3221, 508-399-1014 [email protected]
Jay DiLisio 508-838-7328 [email protected]
Todd Kobus 508-954-9372 [email protected]
Ty Waterman 508-455-1918 [email protected]
Michael Angelo 508-851-7561 [email protected]
Sara-Lynn Reynolds 508-761-9778 [email protected]
Kelly Bennett 508-639-0789 [email protected]
Laura Dolan 774-306-6759 [email protected]
Diana Holmes 508-399-1746 [email protected]
Rick Conti 508-222-6662 [email protected]
Peter Blais 508-431-7230

In person: anyone can speak during the public comment part of the city council meeting on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month.

Newspaper: email to [email protected]

Thank you!

Join our friends in North Attleboro for their May Breakfast and Open House on May 7, 2023.

The NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH HISTORICAL SOCIETY will hold its annual May Breakfast on Sunday, May 7th, between the hours of 8:30 A.M. and 11:30 A.M. The breakfast is served in the Little Red Schoolhouse, which is next door to the Woodcock Garrison house at 362 North Washington Street; the junction of Routes 1 and 1A in the north end of town. The breakfast includes muffins and pies, sliced ham, scrambled eggs, home-fries, baked beans, juice, coffee and tea. Our traditional New England breakfast includes a piece of pie. The cost of the breakfast is $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 5 to 12 and free for those under 5. For an additional $2 you can visit our omelet station. A tour of the historic Woodcock Garrison house, available from 9 until noon, is included in the price of the breakfast. Tickets are sold at the door.

The proceeds from the May Breakfast funds go toward the society's many endeavors to teach, support and preserve our local history.

'These were the patriots of Attleboro': Area's history includes 66 who signed Solemn League and Covenant ahead of Revolutionary War July 14, 1774 was a big day in the history of Attleboro.

This Saturday: Learn all about early automobile makers in MA and RI! Historian David Setterland will visit the museum with his collection of early automobile prints and paintings.

David has written a chapter about Frank Mossberg of Attleboro, his United States Automobile Company, and his early automobiles, including an electric car.

Again, the event is this Saturday, April 15th from 1-2pm. Admission is free. We hope to see you there!

Learn more: https://industrialmuseum.com/events/

ISO - we are still looking for pictures of the old South Attleboro Fire Station. It is now on Park Place next to the Sadler Factory. It was on Newport Ave before being moved and used as a community hall.

Don’t forget our program is tomorrow (Wed 2/22) at the Attleboro Arts Museum

Saturday March 4th at 10 AM the Attleboro Public Library hosts Attleboro resident Kate Kelley, aka "The Photo Angel," who will discuss her love of returning old, lost photos to their family descendants. Kelley, a special education teacher and genealogy buff, seeks out labeled vintage family photos at flea markets and antique shops, and then uses a variety of genealogy methods in her attempts to reunite old photos with family members. Please register at attleborolibrary.org or call 508-222-0157.

Check out this great program the Attleboro Public Library is hosting March 4, 2023

Google Docs: Sign-in Access Google Docs with a personal Google account or Google Workspace account (for business use).

Check out these new businesses in the beautiful historic Col. Willard Blackinton Homestead.