By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
In honor of their 125th Anniversary, the Walpole Historical Society hosted a celebratory event on Saturday, May 27th, at their specific location, the Deacon Willard Lewis House. According to their website, the Walpole Historical Society began on May 23rd, 1898, and was established to “collect, hold, and preserve documents, books, memoirs, curiosities, and all matters related to its history … and to secure and maintain a memorial building in which its collections may be preserved.” 125 years later, this society is still going strong and an abundance of different artifacts have been donated for them to display and preserve.
Those who joined in the festivities were allowed to walk through the house and see all that had been collected. Within these collections, there were several antique militia jackets on display which had been rescued from their attic after decades in hiding. These jackets had been recently restored by local tailor, Henry Cooke, who was also in attendance as a militia member.
Cooke, along with two other militia men, participated in a firing presentation every hour on the Town Common across from the Walpole Historical Society. Attendees were even given a chance to talk with a Boston Colonial Surgeon. If one wanted to know more about the artifacts within these walls, tours were happily given out with light refreshments at the end.
One of the directors of the Walpole Historical Society, Ann Marie LePage, was a tour guide for Saturday’s event and has been working at this society for over eight years. Once living near the Deacon Willard Lewis House, LePage has been a resident of Walpole all her life and knows the history extensively well.
In regards to the event, LePage expressed, “It’s wonderful. I’m so glad there are people here and I am excited to be able to have the doors opened. We have an awful lot here. We have a great house and we are fortunate enough to keep it open all year. We are open every Saturday from 1pm to 4pm. We just really love the company.”
Coming up next year will be the 300th anniversary of Walpole and in the next two years will be the 200th anniversary of the Deacon Willard Lewis House. For more information about these events, please visit the Walpole Historical Society Facebook Page.
