Now this place has become near and dear to me. Used as the headquarters of the Bolton Historical Society, I’ve been spending some time here each week. Handling 200 year-old documents, discussing how cookies could add to a fundraiser, and discovering a new link in Bolton’s history are all activities that I’ve participated in. So much happens inside the building, sometimes I forget about the story of the building itself. So it was a great experience to go on a tour given to my family and friend when they came to visit.
Ushered in by a chilling breeze, we stepped through the house’s old green door. Inside the entryway, a steep, wood staircase leads to the second floor, and several doorways sprout from the narrow hall. Turning into the room known as the ballroom, we made our introductions. Then our tour began.
To start, they began with Bolton’s earliest origins. Incorporated on its own in 1738, the tiny town of Bolton was originally part of Lancaster, Massachusetts. Though now you can zip from one small town to another in minutes, many people walked in those days. When Sunday meetings were held on the opposite side of town than where they lived, inhabitants soon tired of their arduous hike. So they applied to become their own town.
As I mentioned, we were standing in the ballroom. This room actually used to be a part of a different building! Serving as the ballroom for the Holman Tavern for many years, it was later brought down the street and reattached, as people were fond of doing back then. Though the space is not very large when it comes to ballrooms, we were told that it would hold the amount of passengers who came in on the coach and were looking for an activity to pass the night with before they slept.
When the ballroom was restored, picture molding was installed so that the walls would not be damaged if they needed to hang anything. Several portraits now lie against the walls, brief sights of the people who used to call Bolton home. Some of the figures are from the Nourse family. Back in 17th century Salem, one of the ‘witches’ that was hung was Rebekah Towne Nurse. After the Witch Trials, her family moved to Bolton and changed their name, trying to be rid of the association. Now her descendants have left their mark out here.
Across the hallway is another room used for exhibits. A working victrola stands in one corner, and we listened to its cheerful soundtrack for a few minutes. Hanging on an old, metal dress form is a World War II nurses’ uniform. Next to it, there are pictures of the woman who originally wore it, now very old!
At the end of the hallway is the kitchen where one of the house’s residents, Florence Sawyer, spent a lot of her time. Florence was the town’s 4H leader for several decades and taught many boys and girls how to sew and cook. Boltonites who are old enough to have spent time with her remember fondly stopping by her home on the way back from school for a freshly baked cookie.
Behind the kitchen, a less-finished room is tacked onto the main house. Called the Summer Kitchen, its purpose was to allow the hot activity of cooking to take place just outside of the main house during the year’s warmer months. That way, the house could stay a little cooler. An interesting feature of this room to note is the small space portioned off in one corner. Peek inside and you’ll see a two-holer privy. Let that sink in for a moment.
Next, we headed upstairs. The second level is where most of the work at the historical society happens. While the downstairs is set up with exhibits and such, the upstairs is filled with donations and collections that are not on display. Two rooms are filled to bursting with boxes containing various items, from 19th century underwear to an old key belonging to the powder house on the hill. (The powder house was where the town’s ammunition would be stored.)
Another room is walled with bookshelves: there are books about Bolton, newspaper clippings, over 2,000 photographs, and more. A work table is in the center, and a computer sits on the side. On the computer is stored a digitized version of Bolton’s first town book, in which is included all the town’s responses to the American Revolution!
The fourth room is where I spend a lot of time. Spread across the table are stacks of old documents and recent donations that are waiting to be catalogued. Yellowing folds of paper from the 1700’s are carefully recorded and put away in their designated spots. Sometimes the handwriting can be impossibly difficult to read, but it’s always a triumph when it can be deciphered. I’ve been trying to make sure my own writing’s in tip-top shape now. Just in case it’s important to someone one hundred years from now.
Up a final flight of stairs is the attic. It also holds mounds of historic artifacts. Two huge spinning wheels sit in the center, and there’s even a bust of Napoleon Bonaparte in one corner. Did you know that Napolean almost visited Bolton? He mentioned it in one of his writings, and was invited there after the war, but the offer didn’t come to fruition.
Outside, there are two other buildings on the property. One is a barn, where each year the society holds their annual wreath sale. The original barn was actually much smaller, but a subsequent resident added on.
A smaller building sits to the side, with faded wooden sides, locked up tight. A blacksmith shop sign usually sits above the doors, but it’s been brought in for repairs. Inside is a shop capable of being fully functional. A giant leather bellow hangs from the ceiling, and iron tools are hung all around. The tools are sometimes used by family who reconstructed an exact version of a blacksmith shop that used to stand in Bolton. Down to the very last detail of its former build, you might not be able to tell the difference. The story goes that this particular shop might have used to have been a chicken coop.
I really enjoy spending time here, and I would encourage anyone to stop by if they have the chance. And even though all the items here are very interesting, it’s the people who devote their time here, telling their intriguing stories and factoids about the town, that really make up the Bolton Historical Society.
