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March 1, 2010

Aesop’s Mirror, A Love Story

Maryalice Huggins discusses her newly published book Aesop’s Mirror, A Love Story

4PM, Sunday March 14th 2010 at Macomber Community House
930 Main Road, Westport MA 02790

Aesop’s Mirror is the story about an antique restorer’s obsession with a mirror she bought at a country auction in Rhode Island in 1995. The rococo style of the frame is based on a fable, The Fox and the Grapes. In a search to discover the frame’s maker, and what period it was manufactured, the reader is introduced to players in the high-end world of antiques and decorative arts. In the process of seeking documentation, the narrator traces the mirror back to the original owners, the Woods, a wealthy 19th century family from Providence. There are elements of a love story, of mid-19th century politics, of insider gossip about today’s restoration/antiques business, of curatorial education, of a treasure hunt. The book addresses the mystery of why we are attracted to rare and beautiful things.

Maryalice Huggins is a restorer and gilder of antique mirrors. She has worked for museums, interior decorators, and private collectors. For more information please contact Westport Historical Society 508 636 6011

January 15, 2010

Westporters and the Civil War

2011 marks the beginning of the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. In preparation for this anniversary Westport Historical Society is undertaking research into Westporters who were involved with the Civil War as soldiers, medical officers and other roles. The historical society seeks photographs, objects, any personal papers, accounts, correspondence and biographical information on Civil War veterans from Westport. Much of this research will build upon the publication “Westporters and the Civil War” by Richard Wertz and Andrew Macomber. The historical society welcomes suggestions from the community on ways to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

For towns in Northern states such as Westport, the impact of the Civil War was felt most keenly through the personal experiences of soldiers and the human cost of lives lost or disabilities sustained by those who survived. The fate of many of Westport’s soldiers is recorded in a resolution at the town meeting in 1866:

“resolved that we still cherish the memory of such brave men who have laid aside their armour and have passed through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Some have fallen on the field and sleep in rebel soil. Some have sickened and died in the camp. Some have returned to their families only to die among their friends. Others have lingered famished in loathsome rebel prisons away from home and friends, denied even a cup of cold water to cool their fevered lips and aching heads.”

One of the grandest testaments to the individual experience of Westporters in the Civil War can be found in Linden Grove cemetery. A verse on the tombstone of Frederick Allen describes his fate:

“Brave soldier who nobly gave himself to the service of his country in the great Southern Rebellion of 1861. Enlisted in the 20th Regt. of MASS. Vol. July 12, 1861, was taken prisoner at the battle of Ball's Bluff Oct. 21 and exchanged Feb. 19, 1862, was wounded and again taken prisoner at the battle of Malvern Hill July 1, 1862 and exchanged Aug. 28. Fought in the sanguinary battle of Antietam Sept. 17, was again wounded from the effects of which he died Oct. 20, 1862. Aged 18 yrs and 10 days.”

As noted in “Westporters and the Civil War”, the grave does not contain all his remains. Allen’s arm was amputated on Oct 12 1862 and was collected by the Army Surgical Corps in an effort to learn how to prevent death from infection. Today this collection is held by the Smithsonian and includes bones identified as the remains of Frederick Allen.

A list of Civil War veterans from Westport is provided below. The historical society welcomes suggestions from the community on ways to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Anyone with an interest in assisting with research projects and other Civil War related events, should contact Jenny O’Neill at 508 636 6011 or westporthistory@charterinternet.com


Albert M. Allen, Cornelius T. Allen
Frederick S. Allen
Pardon S. Allen
Thomas Andrews
Nicholas B. Anthony
Albert Babbitt
Henry Clay Baker
Jehiel Baker
Adam G. Borden
Isaac S. Borden
Peleg S. Borden
Thomas L. Borden
George E. Bradley
Alexander S. Brightman
John H. Brightman
Nicholas W. Brightman
Jireh F. Brownell
Charles Burt
James E Childs
Solomon Cornell
John P. Dean
Stephen E. Demoranville
George R. Devol
Henry S. Devol
Isaac Dunham
Stephen Dyer
Andrew R. Earl
George H. Enos
William T. Freelove
John Fuller
John G. Gammons
Lemuel T. Gammons
Abram Gifford
Eli M. Gifford
George A. Gifford
Gideon D. Gifford
Isaac Gifford, Junior
James B. Gifford
Thomas J. Gifford
Sidney N. Gray
Dr. James Hervy Handy
Lemuel Mortimer Hedge
John J. Holmes
Daniel Howard
Albert Franklyn Howland
Stephen S. King
George Frederick Lawton
Peleg P. Lawton
James Leary
Thomas Lee
David Macomber
George P. Macomber
Leonard W. Macomber
Richmond Macomber
William R. Macomber
Borden Manchester
Edwin F. Manchester
Allen G. Mayhew
Charles F. Mead
Andrew J. Mosher
Augustus M. Mosher
Benjamin F. Mosher
Edward J. Mosher
Willard B. Mosher
Abner D. Palmer
Israel Peckham
Jacob Peckham
Daniel A. Petty
George A. Petty
Hiram S. Petty
James H. Petty
Pardon Z. Petty
George F. Pierce
Edwin R. Pool
Peleg W.P. Read
Robert S. Reed
Alexander Sanford
Barnabas B. Sanford
Daniel Sanford
John G. Sanford
Uriah Gifford Sanford
Edward Shannon
Charles H. Sherman
Charles Short
Martin Frederick Simpson
Edward Smith
John Smith
William W. Smith
Asa Snider
James H. Soule
Robert F. Soule
Alden W. Tripp
Allen H. Tripp
Almanza Tripp
Augustus G. Tripp
Charles F. Tripp
Charles M. Tripp
Daniel H. Tripp
David R. Tripp
Edwin C. Tripp
Ephraim T. Tripp
James A Tripp
Joseph H. Tripp
Theodore J. Tripp
Eli Wordell
George P. Wood

December 16, 2009

Paul Cuffe, Self Made Man

A Self-Made Man, Capt. Paul Cuffee. This small pamphlet was written by the great grandson of Paul Cuffe to mark the dediciation of a monument to Paul Cuffe on June 15th 1913 at the Quaker meeting house in Westport. Available as PDF here.
Download file

December 14, 2009

History of Westport's villages

Adapted from The Archeological Reconnaissance Survey of Westport, Massachusetts 2004. Please contact Westport Historical Society for further information.

Included here are summary histories of North Westport, Westport Factory, South Westport, Head of Westport, Westport Point, Westport Harbor, and Horseneck.

North Westport

This interior section of Westport did not develop a core area of settlement as early as some of the other sections of town. Instead, this zone is characterized by nineteenth- and twentieth-century residential clusters, and by the corridors surrounding Route 6 and Interstate 195. Three historic period archaeological sites were identified within this zone during the reconnaissance survey.

The construction of the Old Colony railroad across Watuppa Pond spawned the development of a small recreational hamlet in the 1870s. The completion of the railroad bridge divided South Watuppa Pond and created a protected water body that became known as Middle Pond. This area, which became known as “The Narrows,” developed almost immediately with the construction of two boathouses on the east and west sides of Middle Pond. Summer boating and fishing, and winter skating drew many of the town’s residents and people from neighboring communities, and led to the construction of numerous casinos and clubs on the waterfront. In the 1940s the Narrows was a magnet for the town’s nightlife, drawing crowds with professional singers, comedians, and dancers. The construction of Route 195 in the 1960s resulted in the filling of Middle Pond and the end of the Narrows as a thriving social center (Maiocco 1995:73).

Continue reading "History of Westport's villages"

Chronology of Westport History 1500 – present

Adapted from The Archeological Reconnaissance Survey of Westport, Massachusetts 2004. Please contact Westport Historical Society for further information.

The historic period in Westport is categorized as beginning with Native/European contact and includes both Native American and Euro-American cultural components through the modern period. Explorations along the Buzzard’s Bay coastline probably occurred over a period of several hundred years, and likely included sporadic contact between the area’s Native population and various non-Native peoples.

Westport’s seventeenth- and eighteenth-century history is linked with neighboring Dartmouth, which encompassed the present-day town through most of the early periods. Prior to that time, Old Dartmouth encompassed portions of Tiverton and Little Compton, Rhode Island as well as the Massachusetts communities of New Bedford, Westport, Acushnet, and Fairhaven. As a result, many of the early historic period population figures and land use patterns for Westport must be inferred from the larger Old Dartmouth parcel.

The town reportedly earned its name as the westernmost point of the early Massachusetts Bay land grant that extended to Eastport, Maine (Macomber 2003). Westport was incorporated as a town in 1787, with periodic land annexes from Dartmouth in 1793, 1795, and 1805. The Westport/Dartmouth town boundary was established in 1828; the western boundary between Westport and Rhode Island was defined in 1861; and the Fall River/Westport town line was defined in 1894 (MHC 1981a).

Continue reading "Chronology of Westport History 1500 – present"

November 5, 2009

Paul Cuffe Symposium Papers

Exploring Paul Cuffe: The Man and his Legacy
A Public Symposium Saturday October 3, 2009

Opening keynote by Lamont Thomas

Lamont Thomas is the author of "Rise to be a People: A Biography of Paul Cuffe"


Local Relationships and Cuffe

Paul Cuffe's Social Networks and Entrepreneurial Success by Marion Kilson

Marion Kilson, scholar, Museum of African American History and author of "Kpele Lala:Ga Religious Songs and Symbols"


The Collaboration of Captain Paul Cuffe and Captain Isaac Cory of Westport by Richard Kugler

Richard C. Kugler, former director New Bedford Whaling Museum

In the Time of Cuffe

Thou Art Often the Companion of my Mind: Cuffe, James Forten and the Portrait of a Friendship by Julie Winch

Julie Winch, University of Massachusetts, Boston, author of "A Gentleman of Color: A Biography of James Forten"


Rise to Be a People - Sierra Leone

The Struggle for Respect: Paul Cuffe and his Nova Scotian Friends in Sierra Leone by David C. Cole

David Cole, former lecturer on Economics, Harvard University, author of "Between a Swamp and a Hard Place:Developmental Challenges in Remote Rural Africa"


If Paul Cuffe Had Lived a Few Years Longer: Sierra Leone and Liberia, As they Might Have Been by Kevin Lowther

Kevin Lowther, former director of Africare, author of forthcoming "The African-American Odyssey of John Kizell"


November 4, 2009





































Join now!
Start enjoying the satisfaction of being a member of the Westport Historical Society now! Just click on this link, print out the membership form, and mail it to us. Thanks!
Search Westport History
There are several ways to effectively search this and related Westport history Web sites. For a complete guide with appropriate links go here.
Use this to search this site - announcements, town records, and online exhibits.


To search our archive and photograph collection on line go here. This will take you to a database containing more than 6,000 individual records and over 3,000 images. You will find information on themes of Westport history: people, maritime activities, Native Americans, agricultural activities, buildings, events, businesses, tourism, mills, religious organizations, and civic institutions. You will find materials such as newspaper clippings, obituaries, deeds, wills, account books, maps, oral histories, postcards and photographs. This database is updated regularly.
Announcements by category
Westport History Web

This interactive Web site is brought to you by the Westport Historical Society in the interest of promoting and preserving knowledge of the history of Westport, Massachusetts. We encourage you not only to read, but to add your comments where appropriate, thus building to our overall knowledge of Westport.

What you'll find here:

The links at the top of this page point to consistent features of the site that change infrequently. We'll discuss them in a moment, but first please note the links in the right-hand column, for that is the dynamic portion of the site.

The frequently updated heart of this site is the announcements, the most recent of which appear in the upper right of this page under "What's Newest." You can add your own thoughts to any of these announcements through the comment form which appears at the end of each one. (You'll see it when you read the announcement.)

Your comments then stay with that particular announcement. This could prove particularly relevant if you have personal knowledge that relates to an announcement on a historical subject, but, of course, may prove relevant for any annoucement.

You'll notice the announcements fall into several categories and are also stored under these categories. Again, notice the links on the right headed "Announcement Catagories." This list is also a good guide to the varied content of the announcements.

Finally,announcements are also stored by month to make it easy for you to find dated material.

The links up top

While the announcements change frequently, the material in the links up top change infrequently, if at all. Here's where you'll find the records of all town meetings, for example - as well as informaiton about the Historical Society. Here's a quick guide to these links.

About the Society - Who, what, where, when and how to join are covered in this section about the society.

Town Records - The official minutes of town meetings from 1787 to 1846. But it won't end there. We'll be adding to these over the coming weeks to bring them right up to the present. Some really fascinating reading here and they are organized by decade and year and are searchable as well.

Historical Timeline - This is a brief, chornological overview of Westport history that includes the key dates from four centuries.

Purchase Books - The Society has copies of several books and related items of Westport history for sale. You can order by printing out this form and mailing it.

Westport Memories - A special collection of photographs and text first exhibited at the Bell School in September 2003 by the Westport Historical Society; the images come from postcards from the collection of Al Lees Jr. Bette and Jack DeVeuve composed the captions.

Lees Photo Gallery - More than 400 historical photos of Westport and surrounding communities can be found in this selection from the collection of Al Lees. (This link opens a new browser window with a page from the Lees Market web site. To return to this site, simply close the window.)

Contact information


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