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Commission Members:
- Madeline Gwozdz 508-995-6214
- Joyce A. Reynolds, Acting Secretary
- Pauline Teixeira, Chairperson 508-961-7843
- Robert Hall
- TBD, Alternate
- TBD, Alternate
The Commission has no staff, phones, or business hours.
Meetings:
Monthly, the third Tuesday evening of the month at 6:30 pm in the meeting room
of the Town Hall.
General:
Among the primary activities of the Commission are:
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Researching historical homes and other buildings in
Acushnet, and providing plaques, where appropriate. Organizing and
maintaining the records of historical buildings and sites into a permanent
inventory
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Installing markers, such as those at Howard’s Neck and
Peak Rock, highlighting points of historical interest
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Supervising the Town's two principal historical
treasures, the Long Plain Museum at 1203 Main Street and the Long Plain
Friends Meetinghouse and Quaker Museum, at 1341 Main Street. Both these
attractions are located in the far north of the Town in what was once the
rural village of Long Plain.
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The Long Plain Museum, in the former Long Plain
Schoolhouse (1875), is operated under the Commission by the Acushnet
Historical Society, a private, non-profit organization. The Meetinghouse
(1759), the oldest Friends (Quaker) house of worship in the SouthCoast is
the only building in Acushnet listed on the National Register of Historic
Places and is no longer used for religious purposes.
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The Long Plain Museum is open on certain Sunday's with
different programs. The Long Plain Meetinghouse is open for visitors
Sunday afternoons during the summer 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
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The Long Plain Museum is a fascinating local history
museum, with many interesting features: a life-size diorama depicting a
blacksmith shop that was once located across the street, a 'Whaling Wall' of
portraits of Acushnet whaling captains and their homes, an 1875 school room
kept just as it looked over 125 years ago, a room of 19th Century fashions,
and a 4-room apartment with authentic 19th century furniture and utensils.
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The Meetinghouse, situated in a leafy 2.7 acre park, also
has the help of a private, non-profit organization called the Friends of the
Friends Meetinghouse, who among other activities, have organized the popular
"Music at the Meetinghouse" series of free summer concerts. Attractions
include a small Quaker Museum, a burial ground dating to the early 18th
century and a dressed stone wall encircling the entire property.
Commission Projects:
A $15,000 "Community-wide Survey-Phase I", was completed in mid-2001 with the
help of a professional consultant, an appropriation from Town Meeting, and a
grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission. The eventual goal will be to
complete the comprehensive survey of the Town's cultural resources and to obtain
the listing of two National Register Historic Districts (Head-of-the-River and
Long Plain) as well as several individual sites.
Eventual filming of a "Historical Acushnet" video.
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