Next to the window in Buckman Tavern’s West Room hangs a portrait of John Buckman, tavern proprietor in 1775. When I look out the window at the sight of the battle across the street, however, I don’t feel like I’m looking through John’s eyes. Rather, I wonder what the tavern’s other keeper, Ruth Buckman, must have been thinking, as a revolution broke out within steps of her ancestral family home.

Ruth Stone Buckman was born in 1744 to Samuel Stone and Jane Muzzey, daughter of Buckman Tavern’s first owner, John Muzzey. Growing up down the road in what is now Burlington, little Ruth must have spent quite a lot of time in her grandfather’s establishment, as her father was eventually chosen as the heir to the home and business. When John sold the tavern to Samuel in 1764, Ruth would have been an important part of keeping the family tavern running. Located just off the town common at the juncture of two important roads, the Great Road to Boston and the Bedford Road, the tavern was an important establishment, and Ruth’s days would have been busy helping her parents and sister to feed, house, and entertain scores of both locals and travelers.

It is not known when Ruth began courting John Buckman, but family tragedy likely played a part both in the timing of their marriage, and in the establishment of the tavern to his ownership. John’s mother, Mary, died February 10, 1768, and his father, John Buckman Sr., followed a week later on February 17. He left behind both a retail business and two children still at home, John and his younger sister Ruth, aged 13. While John, just 23, was still grieving for his parents, Samuel Stone died shortly thereafter on April 2nd. John and Ruth were married on July 21st of that year, with just Ruth’s mother Jane to watch over the newlyweds.

While the tavern quickly became known as Buckman's Tavern, Ruth would have been just as involved in the whirlwind of daily activities in the space as her husband. Farming, milking cows, cooking, and cleaning for a family was hard enough in the 1770s, but to keep a business like a tavern running was a gargantuan task. The tavern boasts nine fireplaces spanning three floors. Stables outside required frequent cleaning. Five cows, two oxen, two pigs, two sheep, and a horse needed to be fed. The family brewed their own hard cider for personal use, enough to fill fifteen barrels, and may have brewed beer as well. On Sundays, dozens of townsfolk flocked from the meetinghouse across the street for their nooning break, seeking cold beer and a hot fire. All of this was accomplished without the standard gaggle of children for assistance.

As the Revolution dawned, Ruth would have been intimately aware of the town’s politics in a way few other women were. There is much we do not know: What did she hear when she was clearing tables in the taproom? Was she a part of the female-driven protest movement of the 1760s, perhaps camping out for the day on her neighbor Anna Harrington’s lawn spinning flax to make patriotic homespun clothing? Was she in agreement with her husband when he allowed secret meetings to take place in the tavern, once public gatherings had been banned by the royal governor? How did she react when Paul Revere knocked on her door in the middle of the night? When the smoke cleared and she saw the bodies left lying on the common? When the town doctor began hauling wounded men into her parlor, placing them in her care?
​
We will never know, but as I walk through the rooms of the tavern, I think about the unspoken roles women played in keeping the town running, and how much their contributions and memories have played a role in our history and its preservation. Ruth Buckman died in 1778, likely the victim of an unnamed epidemic that swept through the town that summer, carrying off nearly forty people in the span of just a few weeks. She didn’t live to see the end of the war, but she would have heard the news barreling through town of the Declaration of Independence, the Battle of Trenton, and the slow struggle to birth a new nation. Her words haven’t survived, but perhaps she knew that she had an important role to play in the beginning of that struggle. The words of other women town have survived, though. From the memories of Dorothy Hancock and Elizabeth Clarke, we know firsthand the weight of the chaos and emotion the night of the battle. From the memories of Anna Munroe, we know about a child’s experience of war, and of George Washington’s historic visit to town in 1789. We cite these women’s stories, indispensable to our understanding of these historical events, to visitors who arrive not knowing their names nor expecting to learn them.

It’s a curious thing about museums: they are often founded and staffed by women to tell the stories of men. Anyone who’s taken an academic class in the museum field has been introduced to the Grand Dame of museums, Ann Pamela Cunningham, founder of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. Having seen Washington’s mansion sitting all but collapsed from a riverboat, Cunningham’s mother had written a letter to her daughter. “If the men of America have seen fit to allow the home of its most respected hero to go to ruin,” she said, “why can't the women of America band together to save it?”

That was in 1853, and since then, we have seen a centennial, a bicentennial, and are coming up on a semiquincentennial (250 years) of the country’s founding. Just now we are finally breaking free of the mold set up before the Civil War and beginning to tell the stories of the less lauded segments of society who nevertheless helped to change the course of history: the poor, the enslaved, the children, the women. As we move forward to the next great anniversary, I hope that we can strive to remember that the Revolution did not happen in a vacuum around the seventy men who stood on the common, but that it was the efforts of a community coming together for a common cause that allowed those men to stand up for what they believed in.

​-Sarah McDonough, Programs Manager

As we turn the page to 2022 we still face so much uncertainty, but my firm belief is that
we need to keep looking forward, planning ahead, and finding things that make us
happy. For me that joy has always derived from history, art, and museums; in fact, if you
ever need to find me outside of my work hours at the Society, you’ll most likely find me
at a museum nearby. And I know that our museums and historic sites can be that place
for people, now more than ever.

For over 125 years, Lexington Historical Society has been a witness, steward, and
interpreter of history. How can you not feel immersed in history while crossing the
threshold at Buckman Tavern? Or meandering through the gardens at Munroe Tavern?
Or arriving at the Hancock-Clarke House knowing that Paul Revere did the same on a
moonlit night long ago?

Now I ask, how will we uncover and look anew at the stories of those who came before
us? How will we tell the stories of our time? How will we speak to future generations?
And how will we serve as a community resource for Lexington and beyond? It’s exciting
to think about learning and growing together.

One of my main goals as I began my tenure here was to map out our calendar of
programs and events for the upcoming year. I want to honor the mission of the Society,
while also expanding our vision and audience. History can mean 1775, but it can also
be now, and I want our museums to reflect the diverse and dynamic history of
Lexington.

That means our programming in 2022 will run the gamut from lectures on Alexander
Hamilton to historic tavern nights, to a month-long celebration about the history of
chocolate. We’ll also partner with organizations in town such as the Association of Black
Citizens of Lexington (ABCL), CAAL, CALex, LexPride and LexSeeHer to discuss and
represent contemporary issues and history. We’ll offer exhibitions that bring together
history and contemporary art, we’ll create opportunities for local artists to showcase
their work within our historic sites, and we’ll activate our gardens through programming
and partnership with the Lexington Field and Garden Club.

As we consider the next phase of the life of the Society there is no better way to focus
that energy than to transform the Depot into a space that will be accessible to all, and
allow visitors from Lexington and beyond to begin their historical journey with us right in the center of town. I am so excited to share that we have just received a significant
portion of funding needed for this large-scale project. State Representative Michelle
Ciccolo generously led the charge and secured $150,000 toward the transformation of
the Depot into an educational and exhibition space which will become the first
touchpoint for guests to the Society. The space will be a combination of permanent and
changing exhibitions showcasing all aspects of our collections, and be a space where
school tours can become immersed in history, where local residents can come together
for dynamic programming, and where national and international tourists can witness all
that Lexington has to offer.

The reason I decided to work in the museum field, and specially begin my career in the
museum education sector, was to share my excitement of art and history with people. I
personally wanted to know everything about the art and artifacts I was looking at, and
then by extension I wanted everyone else to be just as excited as I was about them.
This led me down the path of becoming the Director of museums - to lead and guide
organizations to showcase all the amazing items in their collections, and most
importantly, to make those collections accessible and thrilling to the public.

Our historic houses are the foundation, literally and figuratively, of our collection. They
are truly witnesses to close to 250 years of history in Lexington. We honor them, the
people that came before us, and the stories they tell; we also embrace the history we
are living through day to day. All of these moments are worthwhile, and what we have
planned in 2022 will bring the houses, collections, and narratives of Lexington to life. I
hope to have you come along on the ride with us and become part of history as well!

-Carol Ward, Executive Director

Hello loyal (note: “Loyal” not “Loyalist”) Blog Readers!
 
You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Wait, didn’t Chris just tell us about the windows of the houses? It’s not his turn for the blog again!” If that thought crossed your mind, you would be correct. While Thanksgiving was a few weeks ago, I wanted to take this opportunity to say a special few thank you’s as this will be my last week at Lexington Historical Society before I move onto a new career opportunity at the USS Constitution Museum. 
 
It’s been a wonderful 6 (almost 7) years at Lexington Historical Society, and it is hard to imagine that when I first started back in March 2015 I was a fresh faced museum professional just starting out on my career path. Fast forward to now and I’m still a fresh faced (at least I like to think I am, haha) mid-career museum professional with two children who have been lucky enough to grow up in the wonderful family that Lexington Historical Society is.
 
It’s been a truly enjoyable time working for the Society and there are so many memories that are truly special that will stick out in my mind. The first being my first Patriots’ Day when I forgot to turn off the smoke alarms in the attic of Buckman Tavern and they went off in the middle of the re-enactment (note: remember to leave a note about that for the new person). Another memory will be donning a bee suit and fulfilling one of those “duties as assigned” tasks of eliminating a nest of yellow jackets from the attic of Munroe Tavern.
 
However, one thing that will always stick in my memory will be the smiling faces and laughter of our summer campers as we worked through colonial crafts and the pride they felt upon completion of the craft, as well as the sense of wonder and amazement they would have while listening to our British reenactor friends explain what life was like for a British Regular (“you mean they walked from Boston?!?”).
 
Finally, as I mentioned in the beginning, I want to take a few moments to say a few special thank you’s:

• First, I want to thank Susan Bennett for taking a chance on me six years ago and believing that I was the right fit for the Historical Society. Your faith in my abilities and my thankfulness for that faith cannot be understated.
• Thank you, Erica McAvoy, for allowing me to grow as a manager and expand my managerial abilities by trusting my decision making.
• Thank you, Marsha Baker and the rest of the Interpretation Committee, for all of your support the past six years. Your knowledge of Lexington history and your passion for sharing that knowledge is unparalleled.
• Thank you to my fellow co-workers, your ability to make me smile over the past six years, even during the most stressful and frustrating periods, can’t be repaid. Getting to know you and your families has been a joy and I’m excited to see what the future brings you all.
• A tremendous thank you to my guide staff and volunteer greeters. I know I say it every time we’re all together, but you all made my job so fun, enjoyable and easy. Your willingness to be flexible and patient (especially the last few years as we navigated a COVID world) can’t be overstated and for that I will be forever thankful. I’m going to miss you all, but as I’ve said, I’ll make sure to pop in from time to time and maybe get to enjoy one of these famous Patriots’ Day pancake breakfasts.
• Finally, thank you to all our school groups, Summer Camp kids, Colonial Crafts participants, Battle Reenactment participants, and all the other visitors that I’ve had the chance to meet over the past six years. Your interest and love of history and the enjoyment I got from interacting with you all is why I want to work in the museum field. I hope you’ll all come visit me at the USS Constitution Museum!

 
Well as I wrap this up and begin to dry off my keyboard, I’ll leave you all with a quote from A.A. Milne (author of Winnie the Pooh) that pretty much sums up how I’m feeling at the current moment:
 
“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

-Chris Kauffman, Education and Interpretation Manager

The right visual can really make the message. I am very lucky that when I begin to plan marketing for the various programs, events, and initiatives the Historical Society executes annually, I have access to thousands of photos, objects, documents, paintings, etc. to help communicate our message.

There are many benefits to using images from our collections for social posting, press releases, and such when we need them. We are most likely to have a clear copyright with items for our collections and using them in our communications collateral helps showcase the richness of our collection.

For example, when I created the top left graphic in the grid, I knew we had some great photos of winter fun in the collection, but wasn’t sure which would be the best fit for the message. I searched by keyword (you can too on our online collections site) for “sled” and this image of Levi Doran with his grandsons on a sled in the early 20th century popped up. I knew it would be a great one for our winter holiday post.

We also like to use our portraiture for events, as it’s wonderful to see some of our sober seated portrait subjects reimagined for a modern audience or situation. You can see above how we showed John Buckman as a bidder for our Bids for History auctions in 2020 and 2021. We also gave William Munroe the proper PPE for our hard hat tour of the new Archives and Research Center in March 2019.

One consideration, especially with human subjects, is respect. We would never show the people in our collection in unusual or disrespectful positions. It’s one of the basic tenets of museum best practice to care for the items in our collection as though they were our own and this applies to the subjects as well. Many of our uses of human subjects in marketing collateral are lighthearted, but we are careful to respect the humanity of the subjects in our care.

It’s much simpler with photos of landscapes or objects. In the above grid, I’ve used images of Lexington Park and a set of 18th century embroidered bed hangings to illustrate information for events and historic houses. And sometimes we can pair archival images with images from present-day Lexington, such as in the Then & Now duo of the Old Reservoir in 1968 and 2021.

As I mentioned earlier, one of the benefits of using our own photos, paintings, decorative arts, documents, etc. in our communications is how it allows us to share our rich collections with both the general public and the press involved in getting the story to the public. Often, a background image from a social post or a press release will spark a research request and someone who didn’t know we even existed will realize that we have something they are looking for! It’s highly gratifying when this happens and it reminds us that ultimately, caring for and sharing our collections is the purest form of mission fulfilment.

-Stacey Fraser, Collections and Outreach Manager

Over the course of our staff blog, I’ve written about some of the more frequently asked questions our visitors have regarding our historic houses (original floorboards and original paint colors).  Today I’m going to continue looking at our FAQs and chat a bit about the windows at each house.  The information presented below comes from the historic structures reports on each house and serve as a wonderful resource if you ever find yourself asking, “I wonder if that’s original?”

We’ll start our discussion with the oldest home we manage, Buckman Tavern, built in 1710.  While most of the original windows were replaced sometime around 1870 to stay in line with the popular Victorian style of 2 panes over 2 panes, there is evidence that the westernmost window in the northeast chamber (present office space on the second floor) is a surviving 18th century window.  It is described by Abbie Griffing as being “Mary’s clothes room” and being full to the brim of clothing, so it is possible the room was too full for workers in 1870 to get in and replace the window.  All the other windows showing the popular 12 panes over 12 panes style were reproduced in the first major restoration of the building in 1917.  The only other surviving 18th century window is the inner transom window above the front door and has a popular “bull’s eye” pattern set in it.  Despite the panes being replaced over the years, the frames of the windows all date to the 18th century and were more than likely installed sometime before the Tavern’s final expansion in 1755.

Despite moving locations back and forth across Hancock Street, the window frames of the Hancock-Clarke House have not changed in size or their location on the building due to the fact that the openings are integral to the original window trim that is located in the interior of the building.  However, the design of glass windows have been changed at least twice over the course of the building’s history.  There is evidence that the original configuration of the windows was a nine over nine construction (9 panes over 9 panes) as evidenced by a painting of the home from the 1840s.  However, that design was changed to the current design of the windows that features a twelve over sixteen (12 panes over 16 panes) in 1897.

One unique aspect of the windows at Hancock-Clarke House has that the other two houses do not have are interior shutters.  The four main rooms (Keeping Room, Hancock-Adams Room, Dorothy Quincy Room and Rev. Clarke’s Study) all have interior shutters installed and have a unique story.  For example, the shutters located in the Keeping Room and the Hancock-Adams Room are original to the construction of the home, however, were shifted around during the 1897 restoration of the home.  Both rooms have a combination of 3-panel shutters and 2-panel shutters, but originally the 3-panel shutters would have been reserved for the Hancock-Adams room as it was the most elaborate room in the home.  The shutters located in the Dorothy Quincy Room and Rev. Clarke’s Study were reproduced in 1897, so while they are “old”, they aren’t “old, old” like the shutters on the first floor.

Munroe Tavern has seen the most exterior work of the three houses done over it’s lifetime and as a result, not many original aspects of the windows remain in the current structure.  All the windows and frames are reproductions of 18th century windows that were installed during a major restoration in 1939.  After studying a pre-1859 photo we are able to determine that the windows originally were of a 6 pane by 9 pane style that are displayed in the Tavern today (seen in the pre-1859 image).  The 1939 restoration also restored to original locations of the window frames to pre-1860 locations, the post-1860 locations of the window frames are shown in the below photo.  So while Munroe’s windows and frames are not original, the story behind how they look today is intriguing.

Stay tuned for more information on our historic doors and if you have questions/ suggestions for another “Is it original?” blog feel free to comment below!

-Chris Kauffman, Education and Interpretation Manager

It is only fitting that our the ribbon cutting for our brand new Archives and Research Center (ARC) took place in October – American Archives Month. After years of planning, the completion of the building project in 2019, the completion of the collections move in early 2020, the cancellation of our originally scheduled opening in April 2020, and a prolonged closure due to the pandemic for the bulk of the next eighteen months, we are very excited to announce that our grand opening took place on October 7, 2021. It was a lovely event which gave us the chance to thank our donors and supporters, and it was certainly a long time coming.
 
With that, we are pleased to announce that today, November 1, we are officially opening our doors to the public for research access. With our custom built shelving and storage for our archival and curatorial collections, our spacious processing room for volunteers and staff, and our beautiful reading room with a browsing library and exhibit cases, we are more prepared than ever to share Lexington’s history with visitors, scholars, and researchers.
 
Our previous Archival Procedures remain generally unchanged for researchers visiting this new space; however, as seems to frequently be the case recently, the pandemic has necessitated that we implement some additional requirements for those wishing to do research in the new space. We will be requiring proof of vaccination prior to research visits, masks will be necessary for all visitors, and the number of researchers permitted in the space at any given time is limited to two. We hope to make the space as safe as possible for staff, volunteers, and researchers.
 
If you are interested in making an appointment for research, please fill out a Research Request Form on our website. We will accommodate researchers as soon as possible, but please allow three weeks for research appointments to be scheduled, and please allow three weeks for us to respond to all research requests.
 
We look forward to sharing ARC with all of you, and we are incredibly excited to finally have this wonderful storage space for all of our historic treasures!
 
-Elizabeth Mubarek, Archives Manager

Behold all you that passeth by
As you are now, so once was I
As I am now, so you must be
Prepare for death and follow me
 
It’s a cliché by now: surely this poem was written by some Gothic New Englander looking back on the Puritan days with a morbid fascination, like Hawthorne. One can easily hear the folksy voice of Bing Crosby sneaking it into a scene in the old Disney cartoon of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. But in fact, this was a very real sentiment inscribed on hundreds if not thousands of gravestones in the 18th century.
 
Several are right here in Lexington.
 
The Puritans were an interesting bunch. Believing in the theology of predestination, they operated under the assumption that their place both in life and death had been chosen by God even before their birth: He knew exactly whether each and every one of us was destined for Heaven or Hell, pulled along by the twisted hands of fate. Of course, this only went so far, as adherence to laws and outward displays of good works were both within one’s control and a sign of salvation. And in a world in which war, disease, and natural disasters were all too common, death was a constant neighbor. To that end, they filled their sermons and their lives with reminders that none of us are long for this world, and that we had better shape up while we still can.
 
Walking into the Old Burying Ground from its oldest side (near St. Bridget’s Church) you are treated to the perfect October sight: neat rows of gravestones adorned with skulls and crossbones, empty hourglasses, and Latin inscriptions of memento mori (remember death) and fugit hora (time flies). Just in case visiting the dead was not enough of a reminder of your own mortality, the ancestors wanted to make sure you remember where your final resting place will be, by any pictographic means necessary if you don’t read Latin. The earliest gravestones are the most grim; by the 18th century the skulls had grown flesh to represent the spirit, but the old sentiments remained in the writing on the stones. Ruth Buckman, tavernkeeper in Lexington in 1775, lies under a “Behold all you” inscription, and similar sentiments echo throughout the burying ground.
 
By the early 19th century, these fatalistic reminders of death had given way to romanticization, as the harsh physical iconography of bones gave way entirely to abstract symbols like weeping willow trees and classical urns. Cemeteries became more than mere repositories for the dead as landscapers created rolling hills and trees to soften the imagery. All these years later though, it is the iconic “death’s head” of the winged skull and the eerie poetry beneath that still captures the imagination this time of year. The meaning is still clear: always remember death, because it will certainly remember you.

-Sarah McDonough, Programs Manager

As an art historian it’s become innate in my habits to walk into any room and look at objects, and with looking at those objects come the questions of who made it, what was/is it used for, when was it made and why is it important (more on that concept later). We’re surrounded by objects in our life - some utilitarian, some precious treasures which hold memories, and others somewhere in between. 

The reason I became an art historian, and then decided to work in the museum field, is partly because I was always intrigued by the questions surrounding objects. I remember walking into the Tate Britain my junior year of high school and stopping cold in front of a particular painting (Ophelia by John Everett Millais) and all of a sudden wanting to know everything about it. I’d come to learn later that my desire to know about that work of art was the study of art history. Added on to this thirst for knowledge about art and objects was an equally rich need to share my knowledge with others, if I know about these amazing artworks than everyone else should know too! Further to my education I would come to learn that this fell into the world of museum education, and my eternal gratitude goes to Dr. Tom Somma at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA for teaching and guiding me to the path I’m on today.

The path has been winding for sure, with curves I never thought I would take, and thankfully it has now led me to Lexington Historical Society as the new Executive Director. One of the major reasons I accepted the position was the depth of the history surrounding the four sites overseen by LHS. How can you not be in awe of houses that literally saw the birth of our country? And the fact that they are still standing, still here for us and future generations is thanks to all who came before us and lends gravitas to me and my staff being stewards of that history now. Tied into this is how do we make these sites speak to contemporary audiences and showcase our collection in new and interesting ways to get people just as excited about the stories behind objects as I am.

One of the first things I did, week one of my tenure, was walk through each site and take notes on the interpretations, and anything that came to mind for the future. What ended up happening though as well, and it came as no surprise to me, is I would stop every minute or two to take macro photos of various collections objects. On my off days you’ll find me stretching my photographer muscles, and macro photography is a love of mine. So as I walked through Buckman Tavern, Hancock-Clarke House, and Munroe Tavern I stopped, slowed down and really looked at the smaller objects in the collection. When you slow down it’s amazing what you’ll find and see, and whether it’s the light coming through the stopper of a decanter, the tulip decoration on a jar, or the decorations on a tea cup it begs the question what is the story behind this object?

Sometimes as museum professionals we get caught up in dates, famous names, preserving the collection at all costs, which is all important and valid. But at the heart of the mission, in my eyes, is to tell the stories of the objects and the people connected to them. Sometime, two hundred years ago, someone was using that decanter during dinner, just as people are doing today. These objects are witnesses to history and can connect us to that history through shared experiences, feelings and purpose.

Museums and historic sites are here to educate, to embrace the community we serve, and first and foremost to tell the stories of the people and objects which have come before us. It is also our job, and so important to me as the new Director of LHS, to continue those stories through weaving them with contemporary narratives and art to continue our mission for the next two hundred years. 

-Carol S. Ward, Executive Director

One item in the collection at Lexington Historical Society of great interest is a sampler created by Lucebia Windship.  It was finished sometime after 1780, and it depicts Lucebia's siblings as branches of a tree, growing from her parents. The purpose of samplers was to show off the needlework skills of the creator.  One look at the tight, little green stitches on every single leaf of the tree will leave no doubt as to the ability of Eusebeia to create beautiful, lady-like art.  But this piece has more to tell us.

When I began giving tours at Munroe Tavern in 2012, this piece was a prime feature in the exhibit.  It was placed in the “women’s bedroom," as we were interpreting it at the time, and we were using the opportunity to say something about the history of Lexington’s women. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much to say. Women in the 18th century would have been literate, as this was a tenet of the then-current prevailing Puritanical values of understanding the Bible for oneself. However, since the written records – town meeting minutes, sermons, tax records, etc.  – were the exclusive domain of men, most of women’s stories have not come down to us.

This sampler, as well as others, does give us a window into their world, though. This sampler was meant to be displayed for company, and it records that there were two Daniels in the family tree, as well as two Eusebias.  This was because you did not have the luxury, in the eighteenth century, of expecting all of your babies to grow up.  It was a hard fact of life.  Also apparent is the fact that Eusebia saw no problem in recording that her parents were wed on May 3, 1760 and that her elder brother Levi was born just six months later on November 9.

-James Miele, Museum Store Manager

History has many methods to capture one's interest and encompasses everything we do. It's not only our past but also our future. This is one of the reasons I chose to study history.

A little bit more about me, my name is Lizzie, and I'm a rising senior at the University of New Hampshire. I'm majoring in History with a Minor in Italian Studies, and Classics. I was given the opportunity to intern with the Lexington Historical Society this past summer and couldn't pass up the chance to work in my future field. With the help of Dr. Kimberly Alexander, as well as Stacey Fraser, the Collections and Outreach Manager at Lexington Historical Society, I was able to peek behind the curtain of how a historical society is run and the amount of time and effort that are poured into it.

When we visit these historic houses, we don't always think about the amount of effort that was put into every room, the amount of research that was conducted to get all the right information to make a memorable experience for anyone who walks through the door. I was able to see that all of the staff, volunteers, and tour guides are very passionate about what they do and it's inspiring.

The Society receives historical materials pertaining to the American Revolution and other eras studied at the Society. These materials are catalogued and stored based on 2D versus 3D materials. Each type is stored based on their needs and is temperature controlled. The storage of these materials is crucial to their longevity and quality. Cataloguing these materials is a multiple step process that includes electronic entries, as well as the physical storing of these items. Stacey and Elizabeth Mubarek, the Archives Manager, manage these 3D and 2D materials respectively, and care very greatly for every item they receive.

I worked primarily with Stacey, the Collections and Outreach Manager at the Lexington Historical Society. She was incredibly helpful whenever I had questions and showed me the ropes on how to handle the marketing of a non-profit, something that is much harder and more intricate than one may think. With her, I was able to design social media posts, create a posting schedule, as well as other related tasks, and of course, write this blog post!

Working on the marketing aspect of history has been such a great learning experience, and my appreciation for history only grew throughout this experience. I’m grateful that I was able to get the chance to work in my future field and observe and participate in a museum studies setting. Interning at the Lexington Historical Society has been a pivotal stepping stone in figuring out my future, and for that I’m forever grateful. I'd like to thank Stacey and everyone at the Historical Society for their help and support this past summer and for granting me this great opportunity!

-Elizabeth Racioppi, 2021 Summer Intern