Part of the Summer 2023 Maritime Lecture Series!

Historian and author Catherine Shannon will present a talk on the tragic wreck of the Brig St. John, carrying over 100 Irish immigrants, which ran aground on the shores off the coast of Cohasset during a storm in 1849.

Catherine B. Shannon is Professor Emerita of History at Westfield State University, where she taught Irish, British, and European history. She also taught Irish history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her publications include studies of the roles of British politicians Arthur J. Balfour and Lord Randolph Churchill in Anglo-Irish affairs between 1878 to 1923. She has documented the role of women in the Northern Irish conflict and peace process in numerous articles and book chapters. Her recent publications focus on the relief that Boston’s Irish and non-Irish citizens provided to Ireland during the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s and subsequent food emergencies in the later nineteenth century.

Professor Shannon has served as president of the Charitable Irish Society of Boston and the Eire Society of Boston. She has been the recipient of various awards and honors, including an honorary doctorate of sacred letters from St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto, the Gold Medal of the Eire Society, and the Trailblazer Award from the South Shore Irish Heritage Trail.

**Due to unforeseen circumstances, this event will be changing. Contact us for further details.**

Part of the Summer 2023 Maritime Lecture Series!

Local historian Arthur Milmore will discuss the loss of the steamer ship Portland, a palatial side-wheel which left Boston in November of 1898 for Portland, Maine, and never arrived. It was caught in 100 MPH winds, and all 192 passengers, along with the crew of 65, perished. The wreck would not be found for 91 years and over 30 miles from where it was thought to have sunk.

Included in the four-lecture series package.

Part of the Summer 2023 Maritime Lecture Series!

Join us for a talk by local historian Joe Lebherz on the short life of the First Minot’s Ledge Lighthouse and how on a harrowing night in April 1851, the new lighthouse was struck by a major storm that caused severe damage throughout the Boston area. The following morning, Cohasset residents rose to discover that all that remained of the lighthouse (and its keepers) was a few bent pilings on the rock. 

Included in the four-lecture series package.

Part of the Summer 2023 Maritime Lecture Series!

During the 19th century, over forty sea captains' wives from the small community of Duxbury, Massachusetts, traveled aboard ships with their husbands, often with their children in tow. Join Historian Carolyn Ravenscroft as she shares her research and some of the fascinating, and sometimes harrowing, stories of these adventurous women.

Carolyn Ravenscroft received her BA in History from Northeastern University and both her Masters in History and in Library Science from Simmons University. She has been the Historian and Archivist at the Duxbury Rural & Historical Society for fourteen years. During that time, she has researched the town's vibrant history, from its colonial days to the present. 

Included in the four-lecture series package.

Join us at the Beechwood Meetinghouse and Museum on Saturday, March 11th at 3:00 PM for a talk on "Lincoln's New England Connections" by local historian, Tom Turner. Dr. Turner will discuss the deep and lasting connections Abraham Lincoln had to New England, including local ties to Hingham and Cohasset. 

Thomas R. Turner received his BA, MA, and Ph.D. from Boston University. He taught for 39 years in the History Department at Bridgewater State University, retiring in 2010, and continued teaching part-time until the spring of 2019. He is the author of 5 books and numerous articles about Lincoln, focusing particularly on Lincoln’s assassination. His book, Beware the People Weeping: Public Opinion and the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, was the first book about the assassination written by an academic historian.

Sold out!

Learn about fashion history from 1800-1970 through examples from Cohasset Historical Society’s incredible Historic Costume and Textile Collection. Some notable Cohasset families included are the Towers, Barron-Bancrofts, and Lows.

Fabrics, workmanship, and style will come into play as the Society’s Textile Collection Manager and textile conservator, Marie Schlag, shares insights into the economic, political, and cultural effects of history on fashion.

Talk followed by light refreshments.

Seating is limited!

Sold Out!

BY POPULAR DEMAND: SECOND PRESENTATION ADDED!

Learn about fashion history from 1800-1970 through examples from Cohasset Historical Society’s incredible Historic Costume and Textile Collection. Some notable Cohasset families included are the Towers, Barron-Bancrofts, and Lows.

Fabrics, workmanship, and style will come into play as the Society’s Textile Collection Manager and textile conservator, Marie Schlag, shares insights into the economic, political, and cultural effects of history on fashion.

Talk followed by light refreshments.

Seating is limited!

Join us for a presentation by Cohasset Historical Society Research Assistant Brendan Hart, on the history of Surfmen, The Humane Society, and nautical lifesaving in Cohasset. These individuals and their organizations were precursors to our modern Coast Guard. We will discuss their bravery, innovation, and commitment and the long-lasting impact that they had.

The event is free to all, but please register in advance.

Join us for a presentation from local historian Bob Jackman on the history of Brown’s General Store. Originally established by the Pratts prior to the Civil War, and later purchased and expanded by the Browns, the store remained a center of the Beechwood and West End communities until 1980. Part of the Beechwood Heritage Series.

Join the Cohasset Historical Society for a cemetery walking tour with local historian, Bob Jackman. Visit the gravestones of prominent Beechwood residents and learn more about their lives and contributions to the community.

Enter off of Doane Street and park on the loop. The tour will meet at the top of the loop. Please wear appropriate shoes for walking on rough terrain.

Local historian Bob Jackman will present a lecture on the displacement of Beechwood residents during the creation of the Naval Ammunition Depot Annex in 1941. He will discuss the early residents, farms, and businesses that thrived in what is today part of Wampatuck State Park and examine the protests, armed confrontations, and delayed payments that resulted from the displacement.