The 2007 South Shore History Symposium

September 8, 2007 9AM to 2:30 PM
Allerton Hall, The Church of the Pilgrimage 8 Town Square, Plymouth

Schedule

9:00 – 9:45 AM Registration and Refreshments
9:45 – 10:00 AM Welcoming Remarks, Mark Schmidt, Executive Director, Historic Winslow House
10:00 – 10:30 AM “Keeping the Faith,” Peg Baker, Director and Librarian, Pilgrim Hall Museum
10:30 – 11:00 AM “To Improve and Ornament: Stemming Duxbury’s Decay,” Patrick T. J. Browne, Executive Director, Duxbury Rural & Historical Society
11:00 – 11:30 AM “The Jones River Club 1909-1926: Its Origins, Early Years and Meeting Place—the Major John Bradford House,” Norman Tucker, Jones River Historical Society
11:30 – 1:00 PM Lunch on your own. The Church of the Pilgrimage is conveniently located in downtown Plymouth with numerous eating establishments right around the corner. A list of suggestions will be available.
1:00 – 1:30 PM “No Place Like Home: The Alden family Preserves Their American Birthplace,” Jim Baker, Curator, Alden House Historic Site
1:30 – 2:00 PM “Founding Mothers: Women , Preservation & the Birth of the Plymouth Antiquarian Society,” Donna Curtin, Executive Director, Plymouth Antiquarian Society
2:00 – 2:30 PM “The Winslow House: The Makings of a Pilgrim Governor’s Mansion from an 18th-century Home,” Mark Schmidt, Executive Director, Historic Winslow House

Speakers

Peg Baker has been Director and Librarian of the Pilgrim Hall Museum since 1995. Pilgrim Hall, built in 1824, is the oldest continuously operating museum in America. The Hall preserves a significant collection of actual 17th century Pilgrim possessions and uses these artifacts to illuminate the Pilgrim story. Its educational programs include on-site visits and a website that, last year alone, drew more than 7,000,000 hits representing over 1,000,000 visitors. Now in its 183rd year, Pilgrim Hall has just broken ground for a major renovation and expansion.

Patrick T.J. Browne has been Executive Director of the Duxbury Rural & Historical Society since 1998. The Society’s current major initiative, in collaboration with the Town of Duxbury, is the revival of the Wright Building—the former Town library. The original portion of the structure will become the Society’s new Drew Archival Library, due to open in September 2007. Browne is the author of King Caesar of Duxbury: Exploring the World of Ezra Weston, Shipbuilder and Merchant.

Norman Tucker is currently President of the Jones River Historical Society in Kingston. He also devotes his time and energy to the Duxbury Historical Commission and serves as a Trustee of the Pilgrim Society. He complied and authored Images of America: Kingston for Arcadia Publishing in 2001, reprinted in 2004. In 2007 he prepared the catalogue and curated the exhibition currently on view at the Major John Bradford Homestead on the early history of the Jones River Historical Society.

Jim Baker was born in Plymouth and grew up with the story of the Pilgrims. His first summer job was as a guide aboard Mayflower II. He received his undergraduate degree in History from Boston University (1968) and a masters in Library Science from the University of Rhode Island (1975). From 1975 to 2001, he worked at Plimoth Plantation. He is now Curator for the Alden House Historic Site in Duxbury, and lives in Plymouth (in a house his great-great-grandfather built) with his wife Peggy, the Director of Pilgrim Hall.

Donna Curtin is Executive Director of the Plymouth Antiquarian Society. The Society was recently awarded a total of $106,700 in Preservation Projects funding from the Massachusetts Historical Commission to support the restoration of the Harlow House. She served as program coordinator at the John Nicholas Brown Center for the Study of American Civilization in Providence, RI, and as supervisor of museum programs, research associate and museum interpreter at Plimoth Plantation. She received her PhD in American History from Brown University.

Mark Schmidt has been Executive Director of the Historic Winslow House since March 2005. He is also a professor of history at Fitchburg State College and a PhD candidate at Northeastern University. The former director of the Museum of World War II in Natick he is a member of the South Shore Military History Roundtable and has been the chairman of Back Roads of the South Shore since September 2005.

Backroads of the South Shore is an collaborative project of seventeen leading historic sites in eight towns along the south shore of Massachusetts from Hingham to Plymouth. The Group is dedicated to celebrating the history and spirit of the region.

Registration Form

Directions