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Welcome.  Housed in the 1823 Abigail Hooper Trask House, the Museum invites you to experience Manchester-by-the-Sea’s fascinating past through restored period rooms, paintings and sculptures by master artists, collections from the town's furniture era and maritime history, educational programs, speakers, and exhibits.

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Hours:  

Wednesday through Friday, 10 AM to 3 PM; Saturday, 11 AM to 4 PM.

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2024 Speaker Series

Thomas (Spirit Tree) Green

 

The Museum will continue its popular speaker series this fall with a lecture by Thomas (Spirit Tree) Green.  Thomas is a descendant of the Neponset band of Massachuset who gathered at the praying town of Ponkapoag.  He is a Tribal Council Member and Chairman of the tribe’s History Preservation Committee, and an Indigenous Culture Steward/Educator/Consultant and Cultural interpreter specializing in the indigenous history of Massachusetts and indigenous land acknowledgments.

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Thomas will discuss the interaction between the Indigenous people of the Massachuset Nation and European traders, and the pivotal roles of Nanepashemet and his wife Squaw Sac’hem.

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Indigenous artists focused on quahog shell, seed bead jewelry and traditional indigenous regalia.  Thomas will show some of his exquisite seed and beadwork.

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Location: First Parish Community Hall, 1 Chapel Lane, MBTS

Date: Thursday, October 24

Time: 6:30 PM

Doors open at 6 PM for socializing and refreshments​​​​

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Children's Art & History Workshops

 

The Museum will hold a series of free children's workshops this coming winter on Saturday mornings, 10 AM to 12 Noon, facilitated by artist Martha Chapman and generously made available by The Hooper Fund.

 

On January 11, participants will learn about Manchester's Fishery heritage and draw and paint a sea creature. On January 25, we will look at the museum's collection of Charles Hopkinson's portraits, and then will draw and color a portrait. On February 8, we will learn about the Cape Ann Sea serpent, a sensation in the earlier part of the 1800s, and then put together a sea creature assemblage. On February 22, we will look at paintings of Singing Beach, and then adapt our own version of beach activities.

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Saturday workshops are geared toward ages 5 to 12.

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All of the children's workshops will be held at the Manchester-by-the-Sea Museum, 10 Union St., Manchester-by-the-Sea.​​

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'Summers by the Sea' Exhibit Extended

 

If you haven't seen "Summers by the Sea," you still have time.  The popular exhibit, examining Manchester-by-the-Sea's transformation from a furniture-making mill town to an international summer-resort destination, is extended through Fall.

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Image from the cover of Masconomo House Hotel's Dinner Menu of August 31, 1881.

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Celebrating a Year of Success

 

The Museum celebrated a year of success with its annual meeting on Thursday, September 26, starting at 5:45 PM with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to commemorate the restoration of the Museum’s front-entrance portico.  The portico, which was part of the house during Abigail Hooper Trask's ownership, was removed in the 1930s and restored this year through the generous contributions of Capital Campaign donors and Community Preservation Committee funds.  

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Following a reception accross the street at Chapel Hall, the Museum held its business meeting, welcomed new officers and thanked departing Museum trustees for their hard work and dedication over the past year.

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Last, but not least, Matthew Swindell (Associate Director) closed the evening with his well-received lecture, "Manchester vs. the Trolley," delving into the issues and battle lines of a fascinating period, "one of the most trying periods of the town's history," during the late 19th and early 20th centuries when it was electrified by the controversial proposed trolley.​

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Don't Miss 'Summers by the Sea' Exhibit 

 

The exhibit, which will run until the end of September, examines Manchester-by-the-Sea's transformation from a furniture-making mill town to an international summer-resort destination.

 

A sold-out audience of more than 100 people attended the "Summers by the Sea: Masconomo House Hotel & the Resort Era" exhibit opening and lecture on May 30.  Since its opening, the exhibit has been seen by visitors from as far away as Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

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Image from the cover of Masconomo House Hotel's Dinner Menu of August 31, 1881.

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The Fire Engines Inside Seaside No. 1 

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Thanks to all who stopped by our Open House at Seaside No. 1 during Festival by the Sea.  

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More than 200 visitors came to learn about the town’s two antique fire engines — the Torrent, a hand pumper built in 1832, and Seaside No. 2, a horse-drawn steam pumper acquired in 1902.  Check back here for future open house dates.

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New Name, New Sign 

The Museum has a new sign with our new name — Manchester-by-the-Sea Museum, which is only the third name to grace the front of the Museum in the past 99 years*. The sign is based on a logo designed by Becca Campbell, Museum Vice President.  Like all good creative ideas, it started with a sketch on a napkin. Becca then worked with Jerry DeFazio of Daily Printing to finalize the logo, which has a crisp and clean design, ideal for visibility.  We would like to give a shout out to both Becca and Jerry!     Our thanks go out to Alison Anholt-White, Museum Trustee — who spearheaded the sign production; from sign creation to mockup testing to installation, and the many steps in between.  We also would like to acknowledge Gary Jernegan of Cape Ann Sign, who manufactured and installed the sign.  The logo expresses the Museum's brand goals: Welcoming — We invite all to enjoy our town's history and celebrate our community. Coastal DNA — The ocean is woven throughout our town's history and in the stories showcased in the Museum (Merchant Sea Captains, Salt Cod Fish Yards, Summer Seaside Resort era, hydro-powered Cabinetmaking Mills, and even Sea Serpents). *  In 1925, the Abigail Hooper Trask House — at 10 Union Street — became the home of the Manchester Historical Society, which was founded in 1886.  In 2012, the organization changed its name to Manchester Historical Museum, and at the September 2023 Annual Meeting, Museum members voted to change the name to Manchester-by-the-Sea Museum.

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Winslow Homer's Answer to Controversy

 

Thanks to a gift from Christine Virden of MBTS, the Museum has added to its permanent Collection a wood engraving of Winslow Homer’s iconic “Eagle Head, Manchester, Massachusetts (High Tide),” depicting three young women emerging from a swim in the ocean at Singing Beach.  It was published in the August 6, 1870 edition of Boston's periodical Every Saturday.

 

A few months earlier, at a New York show, Homer first exhibited his oil painting* of the same name and subject matter.  The painting was panned by critics.  They were disturbed that, as one wrote, the figures were “exceedingly red-legged and ungainly...”  So, Homer edited the image for Every Saturday.  In this version (shown at left), the young women's bare legs were covered with leggings, and the dog was replaced with a swim cap.

 

Homer (1836–1910) began his career as an illustrator, creating images of current events for newspapers and other periodicals in Boston and New York. Homer sometimes adapted his illustrations into watercolors and oil paintings.  He also reused the imagery of his paintings — such as “Eagle Head” — in his engravings.  
 

The more than 150-year-old engraving of Winslow Homer's “Eagle Head” is part of our summer exhibit -- “Summers by the Sea: Masconomo House Hotel & the Resort Era.”

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* Winslow Homer's oil painting is in The Met's Collection.

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