Since 1909, we have participated in preserving Barre’s History.
The Formation of the Barre Historical Society:
Dream it.
The Barre Historical Society began after the following notice appeared in the Barre Gazette on Friday, April 30, 1909: “All persons interested in the formation of a local historical society are requested to meet at Library Hall, Monday evening, May 3, at 8 o’clock. The object in view is the gathering of facts and data relative to the past history of Barre, recording and preserving them for the use of the future historian of the town, whoever that may be, and interesting meetings to discuss different localities are in anticipation. Let everybody who is in the least bit interested, the ladies as well as gentlemen, be present.”
The article was signed by George R. Simonds, a local businessman and the man credited with the idea of forming the Barre Historical Society.
Build it.
Mr. Simonds’s meeting was held, in the spacious auditorium of the Woods Memorial Library, generating a large attendance and significant interest. Officers were elected, committees formed, and there was general agreement about the importance of a local Society dedicated to the collection of historical documents and objects particular to Barre.
At that time – and for yet another half-century – the Barre Historical Society shared quarters with the town library, meeting there on a regular basis and using that structure’s large attic for the accumulation of its treasures. The Society featured a regular and continuing selection of lectures, programs and site visits to fulfill its mission to preserve, protect, interpret and display items from the town’s past.
Grow it.
By the mid-1950s, it became apparent that the Society was growing – both in terms of membership and collections – and it was time for the Society to seek another home.
One of the buildings the Society considered was the residence of local attorney Arthur Winters; located right on Barre Common, steps away from the Harding Allen Bandstand, the structure was historically and architecturally significant and classically attractive as well. But the purchase price was too steep.
Fate intervened, and Winters’s health and fortunes changed. He moved to Worcester, but not before he and his bank reached a deal to sell his residence to the Barre Historical Society for $10,000. The year was 1962, and the Society had incorporated the year before in anticipation of becoming the business they now were. Through the determination and leadership of then-President Alice Roper, the Society’s mortgage debt was retired in a year’s time.
Grow it. Again!
The Coach House and the Allen Gallery were built in 2001 as a post-and-beam carriage house. The Coach House section contains Barre’s historic 1859 Concord stagecoach, the provenance of which has been documented and is available for viewing. It is one of the country’s few remaining 12-passenger stagecoaches still in its original, conserved condition. The Allen Gallery contains several larger artifacts pertaining to Barre’s history. After the Hon. Stephen Brewer’s 2015 retirement from the State Senate Office a small addition was added to this building to house a replica of his office and contains his offical archives.
Connect it.
The need for more space to house and preserve its expanding collections reached a critical stage. The Society was facing the very real possibility of having Barre’s history stop at a given point – beyond which there would be neither the room nor the ability to accept donations of artifacts beyond a certain date. Then in 2018 the purchase and the creation of The Heritage Center is that five distinct and prestigious organizations have come together in an effort to save an historic property and re-purpose it for the challenges and opportunities of a new century. This level of cooperation and faith in a common goal is unprecedented in this community. Like The Heritage Center itself, this historic collaboration is together with the Barre Historical Society, the Barre Village Improvement Society, the First Parish Church of Barre, the Rice Family Foundation and Fidelity Bank.
Join it.
The Barre Historical Society, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, is always recruiting new members. All our work is accomplished by volunteers who are eager to preserve Barre’s fascinating history so it will be available to you and future generations. We are looking for new members to help us achieve these goals.
Becoming a member of the Barre Historical Society is a great value. An Individual membership costs $20 per year, and a Family can join for $30 per year. Other than paying annual dues, membership carries no obligation, although we hope that you will attend meetings when possible.