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Take the Trolley, January 25th

How nice it would be to take a trolley for 5¢ each way from Williamstown to North Adams and back.  Did you know that there used to be such a trolley line running between these two northern Berkshire towns?  On January 25th at 11 am in the Milne Public Library John Hyde will be giving an illustrated talk beginning with an overview of trolley cars as a means of public transportation in the United States.  Particular emphasis will be given to the emergence, dominance, and ultimate disappearance of trolleys from Williamstown and Berkshire County.

 Bio:

Professor Emeritus John M. Hyde has been a member of the faculty and administration of Williams College for the past fifty years.  He is also a member of the fifth generation of a family which has lived in Berkshire County for more than 200 years.  An ardent “rider of trains,” he is too young to have “taken the trolley” but has turned his attention to another vehicle that traveled on rails in this lecture.

Mount Hope Estate

The legendary Mount Hope estate fascinates us with stories of wealth and innovation.  In November, 2013, Joe Bergeron lectured about the evolution of the estate, its rise to prototype farm, its “million dollar” barn and other buildings, and the development around its windy road since Mount Hope’s founding by the Prentice family.  This talk was given in conjunction with the opening of our winter exhibit, also on the Mount Hope Estate, curated by Joe Bergeron.
Joe is a relatively new Williamstown resident, having first arrived in town 17 years ago to attend Williams College. He, his wife and daughters live across the street from Mount Hope on an old part of the farm and love the rewarding responsibility of acting as caretaker to one of Mount Hope’s barns.

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Past Exhibits

Williamstown Historical Museum has begun to explore ways to keep our temporary exhibits running for a longer period of time online.  The first exhibit to have this done was the very popular “Williamstown in the Golden Age of Postcards.”   Please enjoy this exhibit at your leisure at http://williamstownpostcards.wordpress.com/.

Spring Street Then & Now

In the museum’s special exhibit that was on display from May through October, 2013 on the History of Spring Street, visitors were able to view captivating images of the street’s evolution.  Prior to Spring Street’s  acceptance as a town street, it was little more than a well-trodden lane leading to two springs at its southern end that supplied townspeople and college students with drinking water.  After years of development by the college, residents, and businesses, the street emerged into what is now a commercial “hub” of the town.  In the exhibit, the buildings, businesses and people of Spring Street came to life in the “then and now” images and their accompanying descriptive text.  Look for our online exhibition of Spring Street Then and Now coming soon!