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  • Home
    • About
    • Board Directory
    • Blog
    • Contact
    • COVID-19 Information
    • Digital Content
    • Employment
    • Staff
  • Visit
    • Accessibility and Logisitics
    • Current Exhibits >
      • Past Exhibits
    • Historic Sites >
      • Buckman Tavern
      • Hancock-Clarke House
      • Munroe Tavern
    • Walking Tours
    • Virtual Tours
  • Education
    • Digital Learning
    • Family and Youth Programs >
      • April Vacation Activities
      • Colonial Kids
      • First Shot Summer Camp
    • Home School Programs
    • School Programs
    • School Group Visits
    • Colonial Performers
  • Events
    • Virtual Patriots Day 2021
  • Join
    • Membership
    • Volunteer >
      • Archives
      • Buildings and Grounds
      • Collections
      • Hancock-Clarke Greeters
      • Munroe Tavern Greeters
      • Programs and Events
  • Give
    • Bluebirds of Hope
    • Corporate Community Partners
    • Donate Something >
      • COVID-19 History Project
    • Help Us Conserve Something
  • Research
    • Archival Procedures
    • Archives & Research Center
    • Online Collections
    • Online Exhibits
    • Publications and Reports
    • Research Requests
    • Research & Reproduction Fees
  • Rent
    • Catering, Bartending & Equipment Rental
    • Depot Floor Plan
    • Depot History
    • Depot Photos
    • Rental Inquiry Form
    • Rental Rates
    • Venue Details
  • Shop
Picture
ITEMS IN NEED OF CONSERVATION:
Abby Ann Muzzey Sampler - 1816
Silk Needlework - 19th Century

Muzzey Civil War Flag - c. 1861-1865
​
Liberty Loan Flags - 1918 & 1919


ITEMS RECENTLY CONSERVED:
Anna Munroe Portrait - c. 1830

​Daguerreotype of Steam Train - 1846
Dr. Fiske Bill - 1775
Draft of Constitution of Massachusetts - 1780
Jonas Clarke Commemorative Sermon - 1776
Ledger Books - 1769-1803
​
​Mulliken Family Needlework - c. 1830
Munroe Family Porcelain - 18th Century
Muzzey Civil War Scrapbook - 1861-1865

Muzzey Civil War Uniform - c. 1861-1865
Oral Histories on Cassette - 1950-1997
Receipt for Lexington Militia Payroll - 1778
Receipt for Purchase of Drums - 1775





Daguerreotype of Steam Train - 1846
Picture
This rare and historic image shows the first steam train traveling from Lexington to Boston and is one of the earliest photographic images in the Society’s collection.

According to the Society's historian, Dick Kollen, Lexington resident Benjamin Muzzey spearheaded the effort to bring a railroad line through Lexington so that  local businesses might benefit by the additional commercial traffic.  He also had aspirations for a progressive Lexington, which at that time was a small farming community. 

Kollen writes of the railroad:
Passenger service began on August 25, 1846.  Present was Jonathan Harrington, the last surviving member of the Captain Parker's company.  This early railroad featured a passenger locomotive called "The Muzzey" and a freight engine called "Old Pittsfield."  But "The Tudor," a small cable engine pulling one passenger car, left the Depot in the center on the Lexington Branch's inaugural run. 

The daguerreotype was one of the earliest successful forms of photography, and it was widely utilized from the 1830s into the 1860s.
 
Treatment needed: Cleaning, deacidification of paper label, digitization and creation of custom-made housing.

Conservation completed by the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) in Andover, MA.
 
Total Cost to Conserve: $1,200

Picture
Funding from Mass Humanities has been provided through the National Endowment for the ​Humanities ​as part of the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Copyright 2021 Lexington Historical Society
Physical Address:
Lexington Historical Society
13 Depot Square
Lexington, MA 02420

Mailing Address:
Lexington Historical Society
P.O. Box 514
Lexington, MA 02420

Main  Office: 781-862-1703
Archives & Collections: 781-862-3763
Tours: 781-862-3763
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