Wellesley Historical Society Evolves with the Town
Now that the mortgage for the Stanwood House, at 323 Washington Street, has been paid off, the Historical Society will work on installing an HVAC system suitable for housing its historical archives, continuing to make public exhibit space accessible, outfitting office space, and waterproofing the basement.
By Judith Dorato O’Gara
Since 1975, the Wellesley Historical Society has been located at the Dadnum-McNamara house at 229 Washington Street in Wellesley.
“Our mission is to be a historical resource for the town, and what that means is always evolving,” says Taylor Kalloch, Executive Director of the Wellesley Historical Society, who began as an intern with the organization 11 ½ years ago. In its endeavor, the Wellesley Historical Society provides education programs, collects and preserves historical materials that tell the story of the town’s people, and partners with schools and other organizations to be an active member of the community. “We want to inspire people to appreciate the heritage and culture and history of the town they live in,” says Kalloch, “History is one part of what forms the collective identity of a place.”
Toward that mission, the Wellesley Historical Society raises funds through its volunteer-run Tollhouse shop, a small nook at its headquarters that sells gently used, glassware, and small home décor
“We like to say smaller than a bread box,” laughs Kalloch,” and we’re open for in-person shopping Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m.-12 p.m., and we also have an online shopping component.” All items sold at the Tollhouse Shop, are donated to the society. To shop online and later pick-up in person, visit https://wellesley-historical-society.square.site/shop/tollhouse-shop/2. You can also check out the Tollhouse Shop’s offerings on Instagram, at https://www.instagram.com/tollhouse229/.
“All of the sales go back into funding the Society,” says Kalloch, “It’s a great way, as a donor or as a shopper, to support the Society in a fun way, and it fits the reduce, reuse, recycle concept.”
With the current location “bursting at the seams” with collection items, as Kalloch puts it, progress in readying its second building continues at full speed.
“We purchased 323 Washington Street, the Stanwood House, named for the original owner, Dr. Stanwood, at the very end of 2012,” says Kalloch, “It took us seven years, but we’ve paid off the mortgage, and that was step one. We’ve sort of entered phase 2 of the capital campaign, transforming it into archival storage and space for the public. There’s significant work that needs to be done.”
On the first floor of the Stanwood House, door frames and the bathroom have been made accessible, but the Society is facing a $150,000 cost for HVAC in the building, as climate control for archival collections is integral to housing the historic collection. “We need to keep temperatures 50-60 degrees and 40-60% humidity year-round,” says Kalloch.
Another big project for the future home of the Wellesley Historical Society -- waterproofing in the basement. “It’s fine if you’re going to put your household possessions down there,” says Kalloch, but again, the area will house a large portion of the Society’s collection. “The first floor will be completely public space, with exhibits and dedicated research space, and the second floor will be office space for staff and collection storage for textiles and photographs.”
Those interested in contributing to the capital campaign can visit https://wellesleyhistoricalsociety.org/capital for more information.
Kalloch, who serves as Archivist and Collection Manager as well as Executive Director, notes that the Wellesley Historical Society’s collection tells “not just the history of the building, but of everything and everyday life in Wellesley and also the history of how Wellesley fit into the wider world as well.” In fact, The Society offers two self-guided “Child’s Life in the 1880’s” toolkit, available to visitors to borrow for two weeks on a first come/first serve basis. If you’re interested in borrowing a toolkit, make sure to contact Kalloch at [email protected] at least a week ahead of time.
As time moves on, the Society is always “thinking forward in how we’re collecting,” says Kalloch. “Our collections range from objects, everything from a sewing needle to farm equipment. We have a significant textile collection, archival collection, and part that includes an entomology collection, by the Denton Brothers; circa 1900, they were creating their specimens – there’s over 3,000 of them,” says Kalloch. In fact, each year since 2016 (outside the past two pandemic years), Wellesley’s third graders have been introduced to 24 specimens from the collection.
“(The children) learn about butterflies and their defense mechanisms. It gives children a chance to learn and it’s a great way to blend science and history together,” says Kalloch, who admits children have a lot of questions about how butterfly specimens were killed to be added to the collection. “They think that’s mean, which it is, but today, if you want to study a butterfly, you can just use your smart phone. In 1900, you’re looking at a long boat ride, there’s photography, but not as we know it today. If you had to study the natural world, you had to kill it. It’s a history of science and history as well, a blended program.”
With fall approaching, the Society is also gearing up for its 5th Annual Craft Beer event.
“It’s a craft beer event, usually with 5-6 local craft brewers. Attendees get to have a tasting, and it’s a great introduction to the Society,” says Kalloch, “Wellesley tends to empty out in the summer, but everyone’s back in the fall. This sort of launches our fall programs.”
On Sunday, September 18th at 2 p.m. the Society will offer a lecture by Dr. Robert Savage about Isaac Sprague IV, and on Sunday, November 13th, at 2 p.m., Jessa Piaia will speak about Susan B. Anthony. Both lectures will take place at the Wellesley Free Library. To find out more information about the talks, visit https://wellesleyhistoricalsociety.org/programs .
This fall, the Wellesley Historical Society also plans to post a Historical Scavenger Hunt of Wellesley Square up on its website. This project was developed by two Wellesley Girl Scouts, Elizabeth McDonnell and Thea Fischmann, from Girl Scout Troop 73505, as work toward their Silver Award. The project, supported by the Wellesley Historical Commission and Wellesley Historical Society, was introduced this year at Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend, which takes place each May.
Currently, the Wellesley Historical Society’s Board of Directors number 10 positions, although that number can change from year to year, and the organization has a core group of about 15-20 volunteers.
To stay apprised of current happenings at the Wellesley Historical Society, you can check them out on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/wellesleyhistoricalsociety) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/wellesleyhistorical/)
You can join the group’s email list by emailing [email protected] or consider becoming a member to be the first to learn about and get early access to upcoming programming. Membership information is available:
https://wellesleyhistoricalsociety.org/membership.
Since 1975, the Wellesley Historical Society has been located at the Dadnum-McNamara house at 229 Washington Street in Wellesley.
“Our mission is to be a historical resource for the town, and what that means is always evolving,” says Taylor Kalloch, Executive Director of the Wellesley Historical Society, who began as an intern with the organization 11 ½ years ago. In its endeavor, the Wellesley Historical Society provides education programs, collects and preserves historical materials that tell the story of the town’s people, and partners with schools and other organizations to be an active member of the community. “We want to inspire people to appreciate the heritage and culture and history of the town they live in,” says Kalloch, “History is one part of what forms the collective identity of a place.”
Toward that mission, the Wellesley Historical Society raises funds through its volunteer-run Tollhouse shop, a small nook at its headquarters that sells gently used, glassware, and small home décor
“We like to say smaller than a bread box,” laughs Kalloch,” and we’re open for in-person shopping Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m.-12 p.m., and we also have an online shopping component.” All items sold at the Tollhouse Shop, are donated to the society. To shop online and later pick-up in person, visit https://wellesley-historical-society.square.site/shop/tollhouse-shop/2. You can also check out the Tollhouse Shop’s offerings on Instagram, at https://www.instagram.com/tollhouse229/.
“All of the sales go back into funding the Society,” says Kalloch, “It’s a great way, as a donor or as a shopper, to support the Society in a fun way, and it fits the reduce, reuse, recycle concept.”
With the current location “bursting at the seams” with collection items, as Kalloch puts it, progress in readying its second building continues at full speed.
“We purchased 323 Washington Street, the Stanwood House, named for the original owner, Dr. Stanwood, at the very end of 2012,” says Kalloch, “It took us seven years, but we’ve paid off the mortgage, and that was step one. We’ve sort of entered phase 2 of the capital campaign, transforming it into archival storage and space for the public. There’s significant work that needs to be done.”
On the first floor of the Stanwood House, door frames and the bathroom have been made accessible, but the Society is facing a $150,000 cost for HVAC in the building, as climate control for archival collections is integral to housing the historic collection. “We need to keep temperatures 50-60 degrees and 40-60% humidity year-round,” says Kalloch.
Another big project for the future home of the Wellesley Historical Society -- waterproofing in the basement. “It’s fine if you’re going to put your household possessions down there,” says Kalloch, but again, the area will house a large portion of the Society’s collection. “The first floor will be completely public space, with exhibits and dedicated research space, and the second floor will be office space for staff and collection storage for textiles and photographs.”
Those interested in contributing to the capital campaign can visit https://wellesleyhistoricalsociety.org/capital for more information.
Kalloch, who serves as Archivist and Collection Manager as well as Executive Director, notes that the Wellesley Historical Society’s collection tells “not just the history of the building, but of everything and everyday life in Wellesley and also the history of how Wellesley fit into the wider world as well.” In fact, The Society offers two self-guided “Child’s Life in the 1880’s” toolkit, available to visitors to borrow for two weeks on a first come/first serve basis. If you’re interested in borrowing a toolkit, make sure to contact Kalloch at [email protected] at least a week ahead of time.
As time moves on, the Society is always “thinking forward in how we’re collecting,” says Kalloch. “Our collections range from objects, everything from a sewing needle to farm equipment. We have a significant textile collection, archival collection, and part that includes an entomology collection, by the Denton Brothers; circa 1900, they were creating their specimens – there’s over 3,000 of them,” says Kalloch. In fact, each year since 2016 (outside the past two pandemic years), Wellesley’s third graders have been introduced to 24 specimens from the collection.
“(The children) learn about butterflies and their defense mechanisms. It gives children a chance to learn and it’s a great way to blend science and history together,” says Kalloch, who admits children have a lot of questions about how butterfly specimens were killed to be added to the collection. “They think that’s mean, which it is, but today, if you want to study a butterfly, you can just use your smart phone. In 1900, you’re looking at a long boat ride, there’s photography, but not as we know it today. If you had to study the natural world, you had to kill it. It’s a history of science and history as well, a blended program.”
With fall approaching, the Society is also gearing up for its 5th Annual Craft Beer event.
“It’s a craft beer event, usually with 5-6 local craft brewers. Attendees get to have a tasting, and it’s a great introduction to the Society,” says Kalloch, “Wellesley tends to empty out in the summer, but everyone’s back in the fall. This sort of launches our fall programs.”
On Sunday, September 18th at 2 p.m. the Society will offer a lecture by Dr. Robert Savage about Isaac Sprague IV, and on Sunday, November 13th, at 2 p.m., Jessa Piaia will speak about Susan B. Anthony. Both lectures will take place at the Wellesley Free Library. To find out more information about the talks, visit https://wellesleyhistoricalsociety.org/programs .
This fall, the Wellesley Historical Society also plans to post a Historical Scavenger Hunt of Wellesley Square up on its website. This project was developed by two Wellesley Girl Scouts, Elizabeth McDonnell and Thea Fischmann, from Girl Scout Troop 73505, as work toward their Silver Award. The project, supported by the Wellesley Historical Commission and Wellesley Historical Society, was introduced this year at Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend, which takes place each May.
The Wellesley Historical Society has been operating out of the Dadnum-McNamara building at 229 Washington Street since 1975, the location of its Tollhouse Shop.
All photos used courtesy of the
Wellesley Historical Society
Currently, the Wellesley Historical Society’s Board of Directors number 10 positions, although that number can change from year to year, and the organization has a core group of about 15-20 volunteers.
To stay apprised of current happenings at the Wellesley Historical Society, you can check them out on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/wellesleyhistoricalsociety) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/wellesleyhistorical/)
You can join the group’s email list by emailing [email protected] or consider becoming a member to be the first to learn about and get early access to upcoming programming. Membership information is available:
https://wellesleyhistoricalsociety.org/membership.