As we celebrate Chatham’s 300th birthday, the Atwood House Museum invites you to honor and be inspired by those who came before us. The Summer ofCenturies reconnects us with Chatham’s dynamic and diverse past, through the eyes of the real people who lived here and made history in the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
Official press release
Living History Weekends
Special Exhibit: Visions of Chatham Past
Voices: Our Village in Perspective
Chatham 300 Book Release
Chatham in Art: An Anniversary Exhibition
Engaging All Five Senses: Living History Weekends
Four weekends: June – September 2012
History has never been so alive! Step back into the past as you experience key moments from Chatham’s pre-colonial Native American roots all the way up to the influential changes experienced during the 20th century.
Schedule of Events – Living History Weekends
20th Century: June 9-10
World War II (Founders Weekend)
Rediscover the exceptional era of the Second World War as you witness powerful reenactments, costumed interpreters, authentic gear and artifacts.
19th Century: July 14-15
The Civil War
Experience 19th century battle life on the front lines with artillery demonstrations, live period music and presentations on topics ranging from Civil War medicine to warships.
18th Century: August 18-19
Colonial Chatham
Visitors are part of the action in this journey back to the 1700‘s. The period’s daily activities come to life as you are greeted by livestock, smells of hearth cooking fill the air and artisans work busily at their crafts.
17th Century: September 15-16
Before the Pilgrims
Learn about our Native American ancestry, early European settlers and the village we then called “Monomoyick.” Take part in demonstrations and discussions with members of the Wampanoag community.
Connecting Our Communities: An Exhibit of Personal Stories
June 8 – October 2012
The Atwood House Museum’s new 2012 exhibit — Visions of Chatham Past — honors the living memories of four Chatham citizens throughout the centuries. Visitors will connect directly and personally with the compelling stories of their forbearers, complete with restored photographs and period artifacts.
Voices: Our Village in Perspective
Select Sundays in 2012
With an impressive roster of speakers from the community, the 2012 lecture series will feature a variety of historical discussions pertaining to Chatham and its surrounding areas. All lectures are also listed on the 2012 Events & Programs Schedule page.
January 8, Sunday, 2 pm
Voices: Our Village in Perspective Lecture Series
A Photographic Trip Through 20th Century Chatham
Speaker: Spencer Grey, Former President, Chatham Historical Society
Location: Chatham Community Center
Admission Free - Donations Welcome
Spencer Grey will present a photographic overview of the life and times of people in Chatham from 1860 to the early years of the present century. About 300 pictures will be culled from the vast collection of photographs and postcards in the archives of the Atwood House Museum.
February 12, Sunday, 2 pm
Voices: Our Village in Perspective Lecture Series
A Most Contemptible Passion: Marriage and Divorce in 18th Century New England
Speaker: Judy Reed
Location: Chatham Community Center
Admission Free - Donations Welcome
Judy Reed will discuss the memoirs of her great-great-great grandmother, Abigail Abbot Bailey (1746-1815), involving her long and frustrating attempt to divorce her abusive and incestuous husband, Asa Bailey, and to protect her 15 children. The memoirs were originally edited and published by her minister, Ethan Smith, shortly after her death in 1815. This very personal document is an important addition to today’s understanding of the history of marriage in New England.
Judy Reed is a graduate of Radcliffe College and has a degree in painting from the Hartford Art School at the University of Hartford. An educator for many age levels, she was active in community activities and served as president of the Hartford League of Women Voters Over the years, Judy has presented Abigail Bailey’s story with great acclaim to private groups.
March 11, Sunday, 1 - 3 pm. Special starting time: 1 pm
Voices: Our Village in Perspective Lecture Series
Film screening and lecture: “We Still Live Here”
Speaker: Linda Coombs, past director of the Wampanoag Indigenous Program at Plimoth Plantation.
Location: Chatham Community Center
Admission Free - Donations Welcome
A sharing of the film “We Still Live Here”, about the revitalization of the Wampanoag language followed by a brief talk and discussion led by Linda Coombs, past director of the Wampanoag Indigenous Program at Plimoth Plantation. Coombs is a member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe on Martha’s Vineyard. This lecture is co-sponsored by the Chatham Historical Society and the Chatham Wampanoag Committee.
April 15, Sunday, 2 pm
Voices: Our Village in Perspective Lecture Series
Wild Chatham, Celebrating more than 3000 years; A Photographic Journey
Speaker: John King, Atwood House Museum Director
Location: Chatham Community Center
Admission Free - Donations Welcome
Chatham is blessed by its unique location on the elbow of Cape Cod surrounded by water and encompassing pristine barrier beaches both from the Cape Cod National Seashore and Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge areas. This special part of New England has been a yearly destination and stop over for migrating birds and marine mammals for millennia. Most visitors to Chatham are only vaguely aware of this diversity of wildlife that visits Chatham on these yearly migrations. The presentation will review some of the natural history of the region highlighted by a collection of photographic images that illustrate the wild landscapes and wild creatures found in some of Chatham’s little traveled places today.
May 6, Sunday, 2 pm
Voices: Our Village in Perspective Lecture Series
Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge
Speaker: Dana Eldridge
Location: Chatham Community Center
Admission Free - Donations Welcome
Dana Eldridge will give a lecture on of his favorite Monomoy Memories. Eldridge is a 13th generation Cape Codder on both sides of the family. He is a retired school teacher and now works part time as an interpretive ranger at the Cape Cod National Sea Shore. The lecture will be drawn from his regular Cape Codder column from past years and will be sprinkled liberally with Dana’s delightful sense of humor.
May 20, Sunday, 2 pm
Voices: Our Village in Perspective Lecture Series
Topic: The Acculturation of Cape Cod: Changes in the People, Culture, and Land
Speaker: Todd Kelley
Location: Chatham Community Center
Admission Free - Donations Welcome
Kelley’s talk begins with a quick overview of the glacial formation of Cape Cod and the lives of the First People at the height of their culture and at the time of European contact. He moves on to the twentieth century and investigates the effects of three centuries of deforestation along with the different attempts at a tourism economy up to 1980. Kelley ends with present day dramatic changes in the landscape and the social and cultural demographics on Cape Cod.
July 8, Sunday, 2 pm
Voices: Our Village in Perspective Lecture Series
War of 1812
Speaker: Jim Coogan.
Location: Chatham Community Center
Admission Free - Donations Welcome
Local historian, Jim Coogan, will explore a facet of Cape Cod’s history rarely taught in schools today; its severe impact on the war of 1812. This presentation will celebrate the war of 1812’s 200th anniversary utilizing slides and images.
August 12, Sunday, 2 pm
Voices: Our Village in Perspective Lecture Series
From Norwich to Chatham, the Nickerson Family Story from the 1600s to Today
Speaker: Mark, Ron & Brian Nickerson
Location: Chatham Community Center
Admission Free - Donations Welcome
The Nickersons will take the audience back to 17th century Norwich England , the home of William & Anne (Busby) Nickerson before they journeyed to the New World in 1637 and, ultimately, became the first English settlers of Chatham . The lecture covers William & Anne's early years in Yarmouth and the story about their purchase of land and relocating to Monomoyick in the 1660s. Information from the Nickerson Family Association will be used to describe Chatham’s early years. Wrapping the presentation up will be the history of the Nickerson Family Association from its start in the 1890s and then up to today, with its ownership of the homestead site of William & Anne and the relocation of our two buildings to the property, both over water.
October 14, Sunday, 2 pm
Voices: Our Village in Perspective Lecture Series
Haunted Cape Cod
Speaker: Mark Jasper, author of Haunted Cape Cod and the Islands
Location: Chatham Community Center
Admission Free - Donations Welcome
Based on his popular book, “Haunted Cape Cod and the Islands”, this lecture will be a blend of true ghost stories, history and folklore. A focus on haunted inns, restaurants and residential homes in the Cape Cod area.
November 11, Sunday, 2 pm
Voices: Our Village in Perspective Lecture Series
19th Century Medicine: When the Captain is the Doctor
Speaker: Mary Ann Gray, Archivist at The Chatham Historical Society's Atwood House Museum
Location: Chatham Community Center
Admission Free - Donations Welcome
The high seas were (and still are) a rough place! In the 19th century, the captain of a ship had a great many responsibilities, including substituting for a medical professional when there wasn’t one aboard. Join Mary Ann Gray to hear fascinating facts of the duties of a ship’s captain from the 1700’s to 1800’s.
Historically Speaking: Chatham 300 Book Release
Sponsored by the Atwood House Museum, 2012 also marks the release of Three Centuries in a Cape Cod Village: The Story of Chatham. The book will be available in June at the Museum and will be distributed regionally by Schiffer Publishing.
Chatham in Art: An Anniversary Exhibition
October 5 – 26, 2012
The Cape Cod Museum of Art, in conjunction with the Atwood House Museum and the Chatham Creative Arts Center, is planning an exhibition of paintings and prints by artists who have lived and visited in Chatham.