Chatham History Weekend Expands To History Month

 CHATHAM – Historic Chatham, an informal group of a dozen or so local museums and nonprofit organizations with a focus on history, has for a number of years sponsored History Weekend, which highlights the town’s many historic resources. This year, Chatham History Week is expanding to cover the entire month of June.

 Dozens of events are planned from June 1 to 30, from talks and presentations focusing on the town’s 300-plus-year history to special exhibits, tours and activities.

 Historic Chatham members decided to expand from a weekend to a month after assessing last year’s event, according to Amy Andreasson, director of the Eldredge Public Library, one of the group’s members.

 “With a full month dedicated to Chatham history, we are able to spread out the events and programs, giving people more opportunities to participate, attend more programs and visit more institutions,” she said. The expanded schedule also allows other organizations and groups to participate, she added; this year, for instance, the South Chatham Library is joining the festivities.

 “We hope that with a longer timeframe people will find it easier to take part in celebrating Chatham’s history,” Andreasson said.

On June 11, a ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at the Eldredge Public Library at which a proclamation signed by the select board last month declaring June Chatham History Month will be read. The 10 a.m. ceremony will also mark the official establishment of Chatham on June 11, 1712. 

 Many Historic Weekend events will return for History Month, including tours of Chatham Lighthouse, open houses at local museums and corn grinding at the Godfrey Windmill. 

A number of special events are also planned, including an historic barn raising at the Nickerson Family Association compound on June 14 and 15 and a presentation on Eldredge Library founder Marcellus Eldredge on June 26.

 The library will also offer a presentation on researching the history and genealogy of historic houses on June 12 and will hold a sale of second-hand genealogy books throughout the month. The story of the South Chatham Library, which is 150 years old, will be told on June 24 at the Eldredge Library.

 The Nickerson Family Association will host a number of programs on June 21, and the Atwood House Museum will sponsor a weekend of events, including Colonial gardening, on June 13 and 14. The Chatham Marconi Maritime Museum opens its newest exhibit on the Battle of the Atlantic and will host a live amateur radio event June 8. Miller Roald Lokken will give a talk on Col. Benjamin Godfrey, who built the grist mill named for him, at the Atwood Museum on June 10. The mill will be open to the public with corn grinding demonstrations June 21. The annual Chatham House Tour takes place June 22, and the Chatham Railroad Museum will run its model trains on June 27 and 28.

 Many more events are scheduled throughout Chatham History Month. For a full listing of events, times and locations, visit www.historic-chatham.org/.