Novel about Life in the Quabbin Towns

Novel about Life in the Quabbin Towns

by | Dec 2, 2021 | 2021 History Bites, Blog

Join us on Friday, December 3, at noon. For our last History Bite lecture of the season, Ms Jacqueline T Lynch will talk about Beside the Still Waters; her novel of life in the four Massachusetts towns submerged by the flooding of the Quabbin Reservoir in the 1930s. Families are torn apart, divided between those who protest the construction, those who give up and leave while they can, and those who help to build the dam that will flood the towns. The story is about family, tradition and community, and how our hometowns make up a big part of our family heritage and our personal identities. Photos and map images will accompany the talk.

The Amherst Historical Society’s Fall 2021 History Bites series is being given over Zoom, with technical support from our friends at Amherst Media.

History Bites – the Todds of Amherst

History Bites – the Todds of Amherst

by | Nov 4, 2021 | 2021 History Bites, Blog

This week on History Bites, Dr Julie Dobrow will talk about the Todd family in Amherst. David Todd was the Amherst College astronomer and world traveler, his wife Mabel brought the first three editions of Emily Dickinson’s poems to publication, and their daughter Millicent chronicled the publication effort, as well as the relations between the Todds and the Dickinsons. Join us at noon on Friday, November 5.

Julie Dobrow is Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at Tufts University in Medford, MA. She is the author of After Emily, a Tale of Two Women, which tells the story of the collaboration which led to the publication of Emily Dickinson’s poetry.

The Fall 2021 History Bites series is being given over Zoom, with technical support from our friends at Amherst Media. The Zoom link for the lecture is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84485731584

And next week, at noon on November 12, we will host Dickinson scholar Aife Murray, who will talk about her new show, The Slave is Gone. ‘The Slave Is Gone is the show that talks back to Apple TV’s DICKINSON. Acclaimed poets Jericho Brown (Pulitzer Prize 2020) and Brionne Janae (Cave Canem Book Prize 2020) join forces with “rogue scholar” Aífe Murray for a podcast that celebrates what works and breaks down what doesn’t in this award-winning and popular series. And in every episode, they bring it back to the poems that continue to intrigue, attract, and inspire.’

The History of Pelham

The History of Pelham

by | Oct 22, 2021 | 2021 History Bites, Blog

The town of Pelham, Massachusetts, was part of the Equivalent Lands compromise, and was first settled in 1738 by mostly Presbyterian Scotch-Irish immigrants. It was officially incorporated in 1743, so it is older than Amherst by 16 years. It is perhaps best known as the home of Daniel Shays, the Revolutionary War captain who gave his name to Shays’ Rebellion in 1786, but in the 19th century its western slopes were the home of the Montague Fly-Rod Factory and of the Orient Springs Health Spa.

An eastern region of Pelham was annexed by the town of Prescott, and later submerged by the Quabbin Reservoir. 

In the 19th century, the town was home to the Orient Springs health spa and the Montague Fly-fishing Rod Mfg Co., and was a stop on the Amherst electric trolley line.

In the twenty-first century, Pelham holds the distinction of having the oldest town hall in continuous use in the United States.

Join us at noon on Friday, October 22 as Pelham resident Joe Larson tells us more of the stories of our neighboring town.

The Fall 2021 History Bites series is being given over Zoom, with technical support from our friends at Amherst Media.

(VIDEO IN PROCESS)

New Haven to Northampton Canal

New Haven to Northampton Canal

by | Oct 8, 2021 | 2021 History Bites, Blog

On Friday, October 8, we hear Mr Robert Madison talk about the New Haven to Northampton Canal.

After the success of the Erie Canal, which opened in 1825, people in several states were seized with the idea of building canals to transport goods. In 1804, Amherst businessmen had already built a short canal on the Connecticut River to circumvent South Hadley Falls, but in 1825 ground was broken on the 80-mile long New Haven to Northampton Canal. The canal was finished in 1835, but by 1848 it was getting competition from the new Connecticut River Railroad.

Author Bob Madison talks about his rails-to-trails book. The Canal Greenway takes the bicyclist or hiker on a historic trip through sixteen towns into the interior of Western New England – – from New Haven, CT to Northampton, MA. His rails-to-trails book is a comprehensive guide which includes trail maps, trailhead descriptions, original watercolor paintings by the author, attractions, distances and a little history of each of the sixteen towns along with the history of the canal and the railroad as the modern rail trail works its way along some 81 trail miles or 87 mile canal length.

(VIDEO IN PROGRESS)

Stories of Amherst

Stories of Amherst

by | Sep 24, 2021 | 2021 History Bites

by George Naughton

There can never be one History of Amherst, since there are always more stories to collect and pass on. This week’s presentation is titled ‘Stories of Amherst,’ and will take us on a tour of some of the personalities and events which shaped our town. Did you know that Amherst was founded in the same year, 1759, that the Guinness Brewery was founded in Dublin? We include stories of Amherst’s industrial past, and the connections between Amherst and Japan.

George Naughton is President of the Amherst Historical Society and is a long-time resident of Amherst

(VIDEO IN PROCESS)

Biography of Edward Hitchcock

Biography of Edward Hitchcock

by | Sep 10, 2021 | 2021 History Bites

by Robert McMaster

Edward Hitchcock was one of the most eminent American scientists of his time, a popular professor and president at Amherst College, and an inspired preacher. But, nearly 160 years after his death, his story has never really been told. So in his new book, All the Light Here Comes from Above: The Life and Legacy of Edward Hitchcock, Williamsburg author Robert T. McMaster at last brings to light the many facets of one of this state’s and the nation’s most famous sons.

(video in process)