Enjoy lemonade and popcorn concessions as the Concerts return to Barre Common. View photos albums and memorabilia while enjoying the concert.

MEMBER PERK: Popcorn is free for members!

Enjoy lemonade and popcorn concessions as the Concerts return to Barre Common. View photos albums and memorabilia while enjoying the concert.

MEMBER PERK: Popcorn is free for members!

Enjoy lemonade and popcorn concessions as the Concerts return to Barre Common. View photos albums and memorabilia while enjoying the concert.

MEMBER PERK: Popcorn is free for members!

Join us in celebrating "Quock Walker Day," a holiday honoring the Barre man whose actions were instrumental in freeing all enslaved persons in Massachusetts in 1783.

Prince Walker was Quock's much younger brother. While Quock's actions were beneficial to most enslaved people in Massachusetts, Prince, only 9 years old, was sold into slavery in Connecticut. Lucy Allen, Historian, highlights Prince’s long life (1774-1858) and journey from enslavement to becoming a landowner in Barre.

Please note: The location and time of this event is still being determined. Please check back for more information.

Enjoy lemonade and popcorn concessions as the Concerts return to Barre Common. View photos albums and memorabilia while enjoying the concert.

MEMBER PERK: Popcorn is free for members!

Lucy Allen, Historian, and Nancy Huntington, Program Coordinator for the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will be co-hosting a hike to the Prince Walker Burial Ground and the nearby homesite of Prince Walker. Prince Walker was born June 24, 1774, so this hike will commemorate the 251st anniversary of his birth.

The Prince Walker Burial Ground is the only African-American burial ground in Barre, and one of few in Central Massachusetts. Prince Walker was born enslaved in Barre in 1774 and died at his homesite near the burial ground in 1858. He built a burial ground on his property after his first wife died in 1809, and several children are buried there as well as Prince Walker himself. He gave the burial ground to the Town of Barre before his death. The small, remote burial ground is surrounded by Ware River Watershed land. 

Lucy Allen will describe Prince Walker’s life from his childhood in Barre, his sale into slavery in Connecticut when he was only nine years old, and his escape to Barre before his 21st birthday. Here he purchased property, farmed, and was a registered voter and respected citizen. Nancy Huntington will describe the history of the Ware River Watershed and the management of the area.

The walk to the Prince Walker Burial Ground is about 1/3 mile uphill on a wooded trail. Please wear solid footwear. Insect repellent is advised. Because June has been so rainy, the walk to the Homesite is tentative as it requires going through a wet area. If heavy wind, rain, or thunderstorms appear likely, we will reschedule the hike at a time to be determined.

Those wishing to participate should meet at the Barre Historical Society headquarters at 18 Common Street in the center of Barre at 9:45 a.m., from which we will carpool to the trailhead because of limited parking there. The Burial Ground is located off Gilbert Road, a dirt road that leads left off Route 62 East near the Hubbardston Town Line. There is no address for the meeting place and no sign, thus best planning is to meet at 18 Common Street. We will start the program at the Gilbert Road site at 10 a.m. 

This event is for members only.

Join us on the grounds of the Society as we celebrate another year and welcome the summer season! Featuring light refreshments from local businesses, along with The Evening Standard jazz ensemble, this outdoor lawn party overlooking the beautiful Barre Common, is THE way to begin the new season!

THIS EVENT IS POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER.
We will announce a new date at a later time. Please check back for updates.

Please stop by to support this major fundraiser.

MEMBER PERK: Members enjoy early bird shopping at 8 a.m. with a free coffee!

The fifth installment in our traditional arts series, this class will be held by Director Kellee Murphy. Attendees will be given the basics of bookmaking.

All materials will be provided for this free class fit for ages 4-104!

After we complete the annual business meeting, we will gather to share and discuss favorite tools. Bring yours from the kitchen, sewing room, garage or elsewhere and view tools from the collections.

This is a free community event focused on repairing items where a person with expertise in fixing various household items, like electronics, clothing, stuffed animals, small furniture, small engines/farm tractor, houseplants, knife sharpening, etc., volunteer their time teaching/offering repair skills and reducing waste while fostering a sense of community.

Join us for a presentation by Historian Lucy Allen on Thursday, July 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Barre Town Hall, 2 Exchange St.

The year was 1783. A long-running legal dispute that featured an enslaved man from Barre, Massachusetts—Quock Walker—and his would-be enslaver, Nathaniel Jennison—was finally settled by Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice William Cushing. In the end, slavery was abolished in Massachusetts, the first state to fully eliminate slavery.

What started in 1781 as a seemingly routine “personal freedom” lawsuit by Quock Walker against his alleged enslaver changed over the course of years into an important legal argument heard before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. It was no longer a question of whether Quock was “owned” by Nathaniel Jennison, but whether any person in Massachusetts could be owned by another human being. In evaluating all the evidence, in 1783, Chief Justice William Cushing found that “the idea of slavery is inconsistent with our own conduct and Constitution.” Quock Walker was now a free man and because of these legal actions, all other enslaved persons in Massachusetts were also freed. This program that will focus on the exciting times of 240 years ago and will discuss how the enslaved people of Barre lived before their emancipation, and the changes in their lives that came about in 1783 when they were freed. The lives of Quock Walker, his family members, and other important characters in this story will be described.

Light refreshments will be available before the program, beginning at 6 p.m.  with the presentation starting at 6:30 p.m. Come early to grab a seat and a sweet treat.