Antiquarian News & Stories

About our Costumes

Posted on July 3, 2020 by - 20th Century, Pilgrim Breakfast

Part 5 in a special series on the Pilgrim Breakfast

Since the 1930s guests have been charmed by the costumed volunteers serving food, singing, and demonstrating crafts at the Pilgrim Breakfast. We continue to wear 17th-century style costumes – even though they can be quite uncomfortable on a hot summer day!

The first Antiquarians diligently researched and recreated period clothing, seeking to understand its impact on everyday activities. They made costumes to wear at the Harlow Old Fort House, undoubtedly following the lead of Rose T. Briggs, who designed the costumes for the first Pilgrim Progress held in the summer of 1921 for Plymouth’s tercentenary (a tradition that also continues today). The 19th-century image of Pilgrims in all-black ensembles with large buckles on their hats gradually gave way to more historically accurate representations.

The costumes we use today have been passed down by many generations of Antiquarians – which means we have an assortment of styles to choose from. Most pieces were made for the Pilgrim Breakfast by our members, although there are a few ready-made items. Instead of the wool and linen used by 17th-century colonists, our costumes are mostly made of cotton. We also use modern conveniences like zippers.

Our goal is to add a festive element to our event, not to perfectly recreate 17th-century styles. Girls and women wear a skirt and bodice, apron, coif (cap), and kerchief. Boys and men wear breeches and a shirt. We always recommend leather shoes if our volunteers have them, but our priority is that everyone be equipped with comfortable and safe footwear for a busy morning running across the yard.

The costumes aren’t marked with modern sizes, which makes dressing a crew of over 20+ volunteers a unique challenge. The annual fitting before the big day provides a special opportunity to note the passage of time as our youngest volunteers outgrow the previous year’s costume. They return year after year, ascending the ranks from tussie mussie sellers to muffin distributors to assistant servers and (finally!) senior servers, fully responsible for serving the guests at one or two tables. We think the Pilgrim Breakfast’s future is ensured; we’re grateful for the many young history lovers who view it as an essential part of their summers.

Interested in creating your own Pilgrim costume for Plymouth’s 400th anniversary? Learn more from local reenactors and material culture experts: New Plimmoth Gard, Society of Mayflower Descendants and Plimoth Plantation.

A Gallery of Antiquarian Costumes through the Years

 

Cooking Tips from Rose T. Briggs

Posted on July 2, 2020 by - 20th Century, Pilgrim Breakfast, Women's History

Part 4 in a special series on the Pilgrim Breakfast

No series on Pilgrim Breakfast traditions would be complete without a few cooking tips from Rose T. Briggs. (We mentioned her in our first post and you can see a photograph of her in our third post.)

Rose Thornton Briggs, daughter of George R. and Helen Taber Briggs, was born in Plymouth on May 26, 1893, in what is now the Mayflower Society House on North Street.  She lived most of her life at Indian Brook, her parents’ home in Manomet, where her father had built many acres of cranberry bogs. Her mother helped found the Plymouth Antiquarian Society in 1919 and served as its President (1927-29). Rose was Assistant to the Directors and later Curator of the Antiquarian Society (1932-73). She was also active in the Pilgrim Society, serving as its first Director. She was considered a national authority on 17th-century Pilgrim life and an expert in historic clothing. She worked tirelessly to understand the past and to preserve Plymouth’s history. On September 23, 1981, Rose T. Briggs died and was buried at Vine Hills Cemetery in Plymouth. In his eulogy at her memorial service, the late Rev. Peter J. Gomes stated, “She labored night and day for the Pilgrims and was one of them in spirit and in fact.  She illuminated a time and a place far removed from us by her skillful and creative scholarship, and, in doing so, she added much light and joy to our own time.”

For sixty years Rose Briggs played a major role in shaping the interpretation of colonial life at the Harlow House. Her influence extended to the techniques used for preparing food at the Pilgrim Breakfast. Many thanks to local historian James W. Baker for sharing the following clipping from around 1957. The newspaper is unknown, but the title says it all: “Fireplace Cooking is Test of Real Culinary ‘Know How’”. The author, Margaret Clark, describes a lesson on making fishcakes from Rose.

Miss Rose T. Briggs of Plymouth is an expert on preparing meals in Pilgrim style, so we asked her for helpful suggestions after we went to the Pilgrim breakfast at the Harlow Old Fort House, Plymouth, and had eaten heartily of the fishcakes she cooks so perfectly in the ancient fireplace.

“Use a kettle well smudged from previous fires,” Miss Briggs recommended. “It is all right to scour the inside but leave the outside sooty, then it won’t smoke when you hang it over the fire.

“Before immersing the fishcakes in the hot cooking oil, I put them in this antique skimmer, so I won’t lose them in the depths of the kettle while they are cooking.

“Fireplaces are dark except where the fire is and it is impossible to see in cooking pots even if you sit down on a chunk of wood the right height, or a stool. We had to improvise a modern fry basket from our old skimmer. Cooks of the period may have used skimmers this way, too, though I haven’t yet found any drawing to authenticate our fry-basket skimmer as has been the case with some of our other improvisations.

“Fireplace cooking has made us realize how sensible the Pilgrim women were to wear caps. When you hang pots on hooks inside a fireplace your topknot goes inside the sooty interior as well as your hangs. If you don’t have a cap on, your hair would look like a hearth broom in no time.”

 

Memories of the Pilgrim Breakfast

Posted on July 1, 2020 by - 20th Century, Pilgrim Breakfast

Part 3 in a special series on the Pilgrim Breakfast

Lifelong Plymouthean and historian James W. Baker shared the following memories of the Pilgrim Breakfasts he attended in the 1950s-60s. His mother, Jane Cooper Baker (1908-1998), was a descendant of Sgt. William Harlow and an active Antiquarian. 

Recollections inevitably fade and commingle after 60 years, but I do have some surviving impressions. The breakfasts I attended from the early-1950s to about 1967 were not unlike those we have now, but details differ. The shaky card tables and venerable wooden folding chairs out under the great shady elm tree (now long gone) were arranged around the well box (ditto) and garden beds. Some guests were served in the house (not just when wet out) where fishcakes were on occasion fried in the fireplace. The rest of the operation was out of the old woodshed – I recall the excitement when the 1939 “kitchen” was modernized in 1967 – from which servers brought the baked beans, cornbread, “gems”, standard doughnuts and homemade relishes or ketchup in those very sturdy custard cups. Cranberry juice or water was served in rather small waxed paper “Dixie Cups” and of course, coffee. I do not remember any eggs, although they may have been served then. All of this for $1.25 – a tenth of today’s post-inflationary cost.

My mother was involved at various levels, from chairman of the Breakfast committee to organizer of the “tussie-mussies” which involved scrounging in other people’s gardens such as Mrs. Cyrus (Edith) Jones’ down Howes Lane, for example, pinning the tiny bouquets and ribbons together and delivering them to their young distributors in pans of water. Still, it all blends together into a hazy idyllic summer scene from those far-off days to the tune of locusts and the smell of crushed lemon balm leaves.

Report of Jane Baker, chairman of the Harlow House committee, November 5, 1959

“We have made two innovations to our breakfasts [July & Sept]. One is to post the menu at the gate so that unsuspecting tourists may be forewarned as I have met those for whom baked beans and fish cakes were just too great a challenge to their digestions. We have also added cranberry juice to the menu and it has been poured by our president at a table just outside the Harlow House door and at the entrance of the garden…I would like to mention here that the July Breakfast was directly preceded by the holiday which made it impossible for Mrs. Dunham to make her usual arrangements for ordering the food. Mr. Dunham, who is supervisory cook at the County Farm offered to prepare the beans and fish cakes from their kitchens, a great courtesy and convenience.”

Curious about the “gems” Jim mentions above? We’re pleased to share this description and recipe from The Plimoth Colony Cook Book (originally published in 1957). This book is available to purchase in our online gift shop.

Gems for Breakfast
Gem pans were heavy cast-iron pans with rather shallow oblong divisions with rounded bottoms. A gem was rather like a small oblong popover. Sometimes they were made with rye flour instead of white flour. Gem pans were introduced to Plymouth kitchens about 100 years ago [ca. 1850s]. They may still be found in antique shops. Home tinkerers like to keep nails in them.

Plymouth Gems
2 cups flour
1 cup milk
1 cup water
pinch salt

Mix all ingredients, beat well; pour into well-heated greased gem pans, and bake in a hot oven (400 F.) about 20 minutes. Eat immediately. Popover pans may be used, if desired. Fill pans only about 2/3 full.

Pilgrim Breakfast Receipts

Posted on June 30, 2020 by - 20th Century, Pilgrim Breakfast

Part 2 in a special series on the Pilgrim Breakfast

In 1957 the Plymouth Antiquarian Society published The Plimoth Colony Cook Book. It featured “receipts” used in Plymouth from the colonial period to the end of the 19th century. Antiquarians Elizabeth St. John Bruce and Edith Stinson Jones collected the recipes, preserving culinary methods and traditions passed down in local families for generations. Their meticulous documentation and faithful recreation using period tools provided the foundation for cooking demonstrations at the Harlow House.

The first pages of the cookbook feature recipes served to guests at the Pilgrim Breakfast. Recognizing that not everyone had access to a brick oven, the Antiquarians modernized the recipes for this publication.

Interested in recreating the Pilgrim Breakfast at home? Download our recipe sheet here.

Harlow House Mulled Cider

3 quarts cider
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
ginger, if liked
¾ teaspoon cloves
1/3 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt

Add the spices and salt to the heated cider and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Makes 24 punch cup servings.

Harlow House Doughnuts

often called “Wonders”
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter, melted
flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt

Beat sugar, eggs, and milk together, add butter. Sift 3 cups flour with rest of ingredients, add to first mixture and stir until smooth. Add more flour, if necessary, to make a soft dough. Chill dough overnight. Roll out on floured board and cut with doughnut cutter. Fry in fat hot enough to brown a 1-inch cube of bread in 40 seconds (375 F.). As doughnuts rise to top, turn and brown on other side. Remove, drain on absorbent paper.

Harlow House Baked Beans

2 pounds pea beans
1 onion
2 teaspoons mustard
½ cup molasses
½ teaspoon salt
3/8 pound salt pork

Pick over, wash, and soak the beans overnight. In the morning, drain, rinse, and cover with cold water, bring to a boil and cook until the beans can be pierced with a pin. Drain, put in bean pot with an onion in the bottom. Add mustard, molasses, and salt. Scrape and score the pork and bury it in the beans so that only the top shows. Cover with water and bake in a slow oven (300 F.) about 6 hours, adding water as needed. Uncover the pot for the last hour to brown the pork. 6-8 servings.

Harlow House Fish Cakes

4 cups potatoes, cut in 1-inch cubes
1 cup salt fish, picked and shredded
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Boil together potatoes and fish until potatoes are tender. Drain, mash, and beat in eggs. Drop by spoonfuls in hot fat, (390 F.) and fry for 1 minute. Drain on absorbent paper. 6-8 servings.

The Origins of a Plymouth Tradition

Posted on June 29, 2020 by - 20th Century, Pilgrim Breakfast

Part 1 in a special series on the Pilgrim Breakfast

The founders of the Plymouth Antiquarian Society sought to preserve not just the buildings and objects of the past, but also the traditions and skills of everyday domestic life. The Harlow Old Fort House, purchased in 1920, became their primary venue for practicing and teaching the household industries of colonial New England. A focus on open-hearth cooking led the Antiquarians to host food-related events for the public.

The earliest recorded Pilgrim Breakfast at the Harlow Old Fort House was in 1933. That year’s annual report on the Society’s activities included a very brief mention of this special event: “A delightful old fashioned Sunday morning breakfast was served at the Harlow House Oct 1st, after which the house was closed for the season.”

The Breakfast became a fixture in the Antiquarian Society’s annual calendar. By 1949 the Antiquarians established a schedule of holding two Breakfasts each year, on the Sundays closest to July 4th and Labor Day. PAS members prepared the meal, which costumed volunteers served to the public both inside and outside the historic house. The menu from the beginning featured fishcakes (or “fishballs”), baked beans, and cornbread.

Rose T. Briggs, who served as the Assistant to the Society’s Directors, used the Breakfast as an opportunity to showcase the traditional crafts that the Antiquarians demonstrated throughout the year at the Harlow House. Their innovative course for adults, “Household Arts of the 17th Century”, drew national attention. Held every July between 1935 and 1941, it featured hands-on lessons on preparing flax and wool, spinning, dyeing, weaving, candle making, and open-hearth cooking, supplemented by lectures on architecture, furniture, clothing, and by trips to other historic houses and museums.

The Pilgrim Breakfast was a family affair; the children of Antiquarian Society members were recruited at an early age to dress in costume, sell “tussie mussies” (small bouquets), and serve the guests. In the 1930s and 40s PAS member Souther Barnes and his siblings (Brooks, Mercy, Parker, and Philip Jr.) would help their mother, Mercie Hatch Barnes (1899-1992), cook inside the Harlow House. “I kept the fire going and she cooked the fishballs, which are like the fishcakes they serve today. She fried them by the spoonful in hot fat. That fire was so hot her face would be beet red,” Souther recalled in an interview with the Old Colony Memorial in 2019.

Visit Parting Ways

Posted on June 19, 2020 by - 18th Century

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Historical Significance

Parting Ways Cemetery is the final resting place of four African-American Revolutionary War veterans: Prince Goodwin, Cato Howe, Quamony Quash, and Plato Turner. At least three and perhaps all four had been slaves before the war. Quamony Quash fought for American independence while still enslaved; he was not emancipated by Theophilus Cotton until 1781. Their graves are visible reminders of the New Guinea Settlement at Parting Ways (named for the fork in the road leading from Plymouth to either Plympton or Carver). In 1792 the Town of Plymouth granted approximately 94 acres to  the men for clearing the land. They created one of the earliest independent African-American communities in New England.

Directions

From Route 3, take exit 6 onto Samoset Street. Travel west for 1.5 miles. Turn right onto Route 80 East (Plympton Street). Travel 1.5 miles. Parting Ways is located on the right, just before the Kingston townline. There is a small parking area and a half-mile trail through the woods behind the gravesites.

Learn More

Long Road to Freedom: Online exploration of African-American history in Plymouth based on 2006 exhibit at Pilgrim Hall Museum, featuring digital copies of original documents with transcriptions

Parting Ways: Chapter from In Small Things Forgotten: An Archaeology of Early American Life  by Dr. James Deetz, who led an archaeological dig at Parting Ways in 1975 and 1976

Early African-American Settlement at “Parting Ways“, Plymouth: Blog post by historian Patrick Browne (PhD Candidate at Boston University)

Antiquarian Society Supported by CARES Act Grant

Posted on June 18, 2020 by - News

The Plymouth Antiquarian Society is honored to announce that it is the recipient of a CARES Act grant for $2,500.00 from Mass Humanities, the state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Funding from Mass Humanities has been provided through the NEH as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020.

Mass Humanities awarded $572,500 to 123 humanities organizations across Massachusetts through the grant program, which provides operating support for museums, libraries, archives, and other nonprofit organizations during this unprecedented year. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many institutions face an uncertain future due to lost admission and cancelled events.

The Antiquarian Society’s Board of Trustees, staff, and members extend their thanks to Mass Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities for this invaluable support. The grant will ensure that the Society can continue our mission of preserving and sharing local history through this challenging summer and beyond.

Learn more about the grant program.

NEH-Preferred-Seal820

Hedge House Frontage Project Underway

Posted on May 1, 2020 by - Historic Preservation

After years of preparation and fundraising, we are pleased to announce that the landscape improvements to the 1809 Hedge House are moving forward. A general contractor was selected for the project before the coronavirus pandemic disrupted life in Massachusetts. Since construction is regarded as an essential business, work can move ahead even as all of the Society’s in-person activities are suspended. We hope that the successful completion of this project will lift our spirits during this uncertain time as we anticipate future gatherings in years to come.

This project is generously supported by our members and community partners – thank you!

Historical Background 

Today the 1809 Hedge House Museum sits above a rolling lawn overlooking the Plymouth waterfront. However, during its long history as a residence, the house was located at 83 Court Street and faced west towards the town’s main thoroughfare. The Federal mansion was rescued from demolition by the Antiquarian Society in 1919, and moved a short distance from its original site to a nearby lot that had once been part of Plymouth’s old waterfront district.

The Society acquired an adjoining lot in 1927 from the American Woolen Company, the last of several industrial companies that used the large building (ca. 1880) on the lot as a storehouse. The Society razed this building and leveled the land to create a clear view to the harbor. To provide a better setting for the historic house, the Society undertook a series of landscape improvements at the new 126 Water Street location in the 1920s. Society members created a boxwood-bordered garden area in front and planted trees bordering both sides of the lawn. Eventually they turned their attention to enclosing the property. In its heyday as a home at 83 Court Street, the Hedge House enjoyed only a modest frontage, bordered by a simple white picket fence. The new yard on Water Street needed a more impressive style of enclosure. The Society opted to duplicate the white painted wooden fence and gate from the King Caesar House in neighboring Duxbury. Deliberations about the fence began in September of 1929; it was completed by 1932.

The painted wooden fence, within a stone’s throw of the harbor, required a level of maintenance that the Society was often unable to provide in ensuing years. By the 1960s, sections had rotted and been haphazardly replaced, the original design had become a patchwork, and the need for reconstruction was critical. The Society struggled during years of economic recession, but in 1975 finally managed to install a white painted tubular steel fence, with rebuilt wooden columns. The new design had no historical basis. This 45-year-old metal fencing remains in place today. The metal is in a state of advanced fatigue, the reconstructed wooden columns are in disrepair, and the entire array must be replaced. Furthermore, the removal of the boxwood-bordered garden area, the loss of some of the perimeter trees, and the installation of gas and water lines over the years have disrupted the front lawn, leading to dangerous sections of uneven ground and an austere appearance that distracts from the Federal elegance of the historic house.

Following restorations of the historic building’s interior and exterior between 2002 and 2007, the Society began planning for a major re-landscaping plan for the front lawn of the Hedge House. In determining what type of fencing or enclosure would be appropriate for the frontage of the 126 Water Street property, the Society turned to the work of Plymouth architect Joseph Everett Chandler, born in town in 1863. Chandler, a descendant of William Harlow, had assisted the Antiquarians with the restoration of his ancestor’s 17th-century home, which the Society acquired in 1920. He also consulted on the landscaping for the relocated Hedge House. In the 1920s Chandler prepared several designs for a Colonial Revival garden for the Hedge site that were partially, though never fully, executed. Preserved in the Society’s archives, the long dormant plans formed the basis for the recreation of the Rose T. Briggs Memorial Garden in 2013. Chandler had also sketched some ideas for the front yard of the museum site, but apparently never developed a frontage design before his death in 1945. Fortunately, several historical examples of Chandler’s landscape designs still exist in Plymouth. Among the most striking are the brick gates and walls of the Fay family’s 1889 estate, “Bayswater,” on Sandwich Street, and the Flemish bond brick walls and iron fencing that border the Willoughby House on Winslow Street, today known as the Mayflower Society House. These surviving features are the historical inspiration for a new Colonial Revival style frontage plan for the Hedge House Museum. They have been scaled down to better suit the size and style of the Hedge House.

Project Scope & Design

  • Water Street and Memorial Drive Perimeters: The new fence will duplicate the scale and location of the existing fence. It will include brick piers and black galvanized steel pickets. The brick will be laid in the Flemish bond pattern used in existing examples of Colonial Revival fences in Plymouth, dating from the turn of the twentieth century. This design will complement existing brick pathways. The brick piers will house electric outlets, which will permit the Society to add temporary lighting during events, improving the safety of the property when used by the public.
  • Southern Boundary: The existing cedar fence will be continued parallel to the property line to hide the rear parking lot of the neighboring restaurant. A new bed of native trees and bushes will be planted in front of the fence, restoring the garden border that framed the lawn in the 1930s.
  • Existing Features: In the late 1920s the Society installed walkways to lead to the Water Street entrance and the boxwood-bordered garden on what is now the front lawn. The granite steps have settled; to improve the site’s safety they will be reset and handrails will be added to match existing handrails elsewhere on the property. The bricks in the walkways have been replaced and re-laid over the years; as needed, small areas with bricks that are cracked or heaved will be reset or replaced to eliminate tripping hazards. The paths themselves will maintain their original orientation and dimensions. The four majestic linden trees planted approximately 75 years ago on the Memorial Drive side of the property will be protected throughout the project.
  • Grading and Irrigation: The prominent location of the Hedge House requires regular lawn maintenance to provide the best setting for this historic home. The grass dies every summer, creating an embarrassing blemish on Plymouth’s waterfront. The grading of uneven areas and installation of an irrigation system will help ensure the future maintenance of the property, increase the site’s functionality during high-traffic events, and eliminate the hazard of unexpected hollows and holes to visitors.

Our goal is to beautify the property in such a way that it will remain welcoming to the public, while also providing a secure perimeter on Plymouth’s busy waterfront. The addition of irrigation and electricity enhances the lawn’s functionality for community events, including the Society’s annual Summer Fair. We hope the improved frontage will strengthen the Hedge House’s position as one of the jewels in Plymouth’s historic landscape.

Anticipated Completion: June 2020

Design: Ray Dunetz Landscape Architects (using preliminary plans created by Bill Fornaciari Architects, Inc.)

General Contractor: Sheridan Landscaping (Plymouth, MA)

 

Preservation Grant Awarded for Spooner House Project

Posted on April 28, 2020 by - Historic Preservation

The Plymouth Antiquarian Society is delighted to announce that we are the recipients of a grant from the 1772 Foundation to support the preservation of the Spooner House. This grant will fund a project to repaint the North Street façade of this historic home, built ca. 1749. Since the house’s exterior restoration in 2011, the paint has become decayed and dirty, with chalking, discoloring, and significant mildew growth. Our goal is to clean and repaint the façade of the house in order to extend the life of its historic wood shakes and trim. By doing so we will also be restoring this home to its historic appearance.

About the Grant Program

Preservation Massachusetts, in partnership with The 1772 Foundation, has announced the final recipients of a new historic preservation grant program for Massachusetts. Preservation Massachusetts is the statewide non-profit historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving the Commonwealth’s historic and cultural heritage and The 1772 Foundation, based in Providence, RI, plays a leading role in promoting historic preservation nationwide. 

In their most recent grant round, the 1772 Foundation worked with the six New England statewide historic preservation organizations, including Preservation Massachusetts, to administer 1:1 matching grants of up to $10,000. Grants will be given to historic preservation projects for building exteriors. At their quarterly meeting, the trustees of The 1772 Foundation awarded $100,000 in grants to 14 Massachusetts projects, based on recommendations from Preservation Massachusetts. A total of $600,000 was awarded to seventy-nine grants from all six New England statewide organizations. 

Grant recipients in Massachusetts were Historic Deerfield, Inc. (The Creelman House $10,000), Alden Kindred of America, Inc. (Alden House Historic Site $2,600), Great Barrington Historical Society (The Truman Wheeler House $7,500), Historic New England (The Walter Gropius House $10,000), The Royall House Association (The Royall House and Slave Quarters $5,000), The Maria Mitchell Association (The Maria Mitchell House $8,250), Waterfront Historic Area League (First Bap st Church $10,000), Historic Newton (Durant-Kenrick House $10,000), Sons and Daughters of Hawley (East Hawley Meeting House $10,000), Plymouth Antiquarian Society (The Spooner House Museum $3,358), Essex National Heritage Commission (Assistant Light Keeper’s House on Baker’s Island $5,000), Old Colony History Museum (Bristol Academy $10,000), Chase Library Association, Inc. (The Chase Library $4,812) and Canton Historical Society (David & Abigail Tilden House $3,480). 

President and CEO of Preservation Massachusetts Jim Igoe states, “This new funding opportunity brought to Massachusetts by the 1772 Foundation was a great opportunity for stewards of historic buildings all across the Commonwealth. The reception to this grant was overwhelming with over $700,000 in funding being requested through our first round of inquiry letters. It clearly demonstrates the great need for funds to ensure these historic structures remain intact and in use for years to come. The organizations we have awarded grants to are remarkable stewards of these shared community assets and we are pleased to see their projects come to fruition. We are also extremely grateful to The 1772 Foundation for this collaborative opportunity which has enriched our organization and staff with deeper knowledge and connections with organizations and communities from the Cape to Berkshires. We look forward to continuing to work with The 1772 Foundation and also find other opportunities to expand funding for historic preservation projects like these across Massachusetts.” 

1772 Foundation Board President B. Danforth Ely remarked, “Small matching grants for brick-and-mortar preservation projects have long played an important role in the 1772 Foundation’s grant making, as it was the passion of its founder, Stewart B. Kean. However, this is the first year that we have opened the program up to all six New England states, and the expansion has been enthusiastically received. We have been fortunate to work with six fantastic statewide organizations, whose local community knowledge has proven invaluable. The vast response to this grant has also shown to the Foundation how necessary these brick-and-mortar grants are to keeping our historic structures standing.” 

About Preservation Massachusetts: Preservation Massachusetts was established in 1985 as Historic Massachusetts, Inc. We are the statewide non-profit organization that actively promotes the preservation of historic buildings and landscapes as a positive force for economic development and the retention of community character. The organization is supported entirely by grants, fundraising events and the support of our membership. In keeping with our mission, we work in partnership with national, state and local organizations and individuals across the Commonwealth to advance and understanding, appreciation and utilization of our historic built and natural landscapes. More information about Preservation Massachusetts may be found online at www.preservationmass.org 

About the 1772 Foundation: The 1772 Foundation was named in honor of its first restoration project, Liberty Hall in Union, NJ, which was built in 1772 and is the ancestral home of the Livingston and Kean families. The late Stewart B. Kean was the sole benefactor to The 1772 Foundation. The 1772 Foundation works to ensure the safe passage of our historic buildings and farmland to future generations. More information about The 1772 Foundation may be found at www.1772foundation.org.