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Old Colony History Museum | |
![]() Old Colony History Museum, building originally known as Bristol Academy | |
Location | Taunton, Massachusetts |
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Coordinates | 41°54′4″N71°5′13″W / 41.90111°N 71.08694°W |
Built | 1852 |
Architect | Richard Upjohn |
Architectural style | Italianate |
Part of | Church Green (ID77000168) |
Added to NRHP | December 16, 1977 |
The Old Colony History Museum (OCHM) is located at 66 Church Green in Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Since 1926, the museum has occupied the historic former Bristol Academy school building. The building was designed in 1852 by Richard Upjohn, architect of New York City's Trinity Church, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Church Green Historic District. The museum was previously located in the former Union Mission Chapel on Cedar Street.
The Old Colony History Museum is home to an extensive collection of regional objects and archives and a research library specializing in local history and genealogy. Its parent organization, the Old Colony Historical Society, was founded on May 4, 1853, making it one of New England's oldest historical societies.
The organization maintains a research library specializing in the genealogy of Southeastern Massachusetts and local history, a museum of objects associated with the history of the Taunton area, and educational programs that are open to the public.
The museum maintains an online archive of materials relating to Taunton manufacturer Reed & Barton. [1]
Each autumn, the Museum holds a Liberty and Union Festival to commemorate the events of October 1774, and to celebrate the Taunton Flag. [2] [3] The 250th anniversary of the flag raising was observed in October 2024. [4]
Freetown is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,206 at the 2020 census.
Rehoboth is a historic town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1643, Rehoboth is one of the oldest towns in Massachusetts. The population was 12,502 at the 2020 census. Rehoboth is a mostly rural community with many historic sites, including 53 historic cemeteries.
Taunton is a city and county seat of Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River, which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount Hope Bay, 10 miles (16 km) to the south. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 59,408, the third most populated municipality in Bristol County behind New Bedford and Fall River. Shaunna O'Connell is the mayor of Taunton.
Reed & Barton was a prominent American silversmith manufacturer based in the city of Taunton, Massachusetts, operating between 1824 and 2015. Its products include sterling silver and silverplate flatware. The company produced many varieties of britannia and silver products since Henry G. Reed and Charles E. Barton took over the failing works of Isaac Babbitt in Taunton. During the American Civil War, Reed & Barton produced a considerable quantity of weapons for Union Army soldiers and officers.
Francis Baylies was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, and brother of congressman William Baylies. His great-grandfather was Thomas Baylies, an ironmaster from Coalbrookdale, England, who immigrated to Boston in 1737.
Nathaniel Briggs Borden was a businessman and politician from Fall River, Massachusetts. He served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts's 10th congressional district from 1835 to 1839 and again from 1841 to 1843. He later served as a member of the Massachusetts General Court, first as a state Senator, and later a state representative. He also served as the third mayor of Fall River. His business career included interests textile mills, banking and railroads. He was the younger brother of noted land surveyor Simeon Borden.
Samuel Leonard Crocker was a businessman and U.S. Representative from Taunton, Massachusetts. Crocker graduated from Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, in 1822. Throughout his life, he engaged in various manufacturing and civic interests in his hometown of Taunton and throughout Massachusetts.
Samuel Lincoln was an Englishman and progenitor of many notable United States political figures, including his 4th-great-grandson, President Abraham Lincoln, Maine governor Enoch Lincoln, and Levi Lincoln Sr. and Levi Lincoln Jr., both of whom served as Massachusetts Representatives, Governor and Lieutenant Governor. Because of Samuel Lincoln's descendants, his fortuitous arrival in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the fact that his ancestry is known for several generations, he is considered the father of the most prominent branch of Lincolns in the United States.
Samuel Crocker Cobb was a businessman and politician who served on the city councils of the cities Roxbury, Massachusetts and Boston, Massachusetts and who served three consecutive terms as the mayor of Boston.
The Church Green is a town common in Taunton, Massachusetts. It is a triangular-shaped parcel of land located at the intersection of Summer Street and Dean Street. It has distinctive Veterans Memorials dedicated to both Vietnam Veterans and Global War on Terrorism Veterans. These memorials feature seven flags that are in a V shape, a fountain, a brick garden, reflection benches, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Global War on Terrorism Memorial.
The Taunton Green Historic District encompasses the core area of the historic 19th-century commercial downtown business district of Taunton, Massachusetts. It is centered on the town green, laid out in the 1740s, which now serves at the intersection between U.S. Route 44, Massachusetts Route 140, and Route 138. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
The Union Mission Chapel-Historical Hall is an historic building at 5 Cedar Street in Taunton, Massachusetts. Built as a chapel in 1867, it has also served as a mission hall and museum, and housed the local American Legion chapter for many years beginning in 1926. The building, one of the few stone structures in the city, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Whittenton Mills Complex is a historic textile mill site located on Whittenton Street in Taunton, Massachusetts, on the banks of the Mill River. The site has been used for industrial purposes since 1670, when James Leonard built an iron forge on the west bank of the river. The first textile mill was built in 1805 and expanded throughout the 19th century. The complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, and now contains various small businesses.
The H. H. Richardson Historic District of North Easton is a National Historic Landmark District in the village of North Easton in Easton, Massachusetts. It consists of five buildings designed by noted 19th-century architect Henry Hobson Richardson, and The Rockery, a war memorial designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.
Ebenezer Weaver Peirce, was a brigadier general in the Massachusetts militia, serving as 90–day volunteers in the Union Army in the opening months of the American Civil War, and a colonel of the 29th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment of the Union Army between December 1861 and July 1864. He later became a farmer, real estate speculator, historian and genealogist.
First Parish Church is a historic church located within the Church Green Historic District in Taunton, Massachusetts. It is the fourth meetinghouse since 1647 to be located on what was the original town common. The current church building was built in 1830, constructed of field stone in the Gothic Revival style.
Lieut. Joseph Judson was an early New England colonist best known for co-founding the town of Woodbury, Connecticut.
The Dedham Museum and Archive, is a historical society dedicated to preserving and establishing a greater sense of appreciation for the history of Dedham, Massachusetts. It consists of a museum and an archive. As of 2002, it had nearly 1,000 members.
The city flag of Taunton, Massachusetts, also known as the Taunton Flag and the Liberty and Union Flag, was first adopted in 1774 and has since been adopted as the flag of Taunton. It consists of the Red Ensign with the flag of Great Britain in canton, defaced with the words "Liberty and Union" across the lower portion.
The Pillar of Liberty is a monument in Dedham, Massachusetts commemorating the repeal of the Stamp Act. Erected by the Sons of Liberty, it originally had a pillar with a bust of William Pitt on top.