While contemporary times do not feel like history, the present soon becomes the past, and those in the future will surely look back on the time of the Pandemic as a historically important period.  With that in mind, the Society is planning to establish a collection of documents, photos, recordings, and artifacts that will make the memory of the Pandemic and its impact on the Town vivid for those who come after us.  If you have anything along these lines to provide to the collection, please get in touch with an officer or a member of the board.

The Historical Society’s principal mission is gathering and sharing records and artifacts that illustrate the history of our Town and its residents.  Do you have an item related to Carlisle’s past or an item related to a Carlisle resident or family?  We are looking for such items (ordinary or extraordinary) to add to our collections.  If you have something to donate, please contact John Troast III, Curator email jtroast3@icloud.com

In December, The Carlisle Historical Society held its annual board meeting where the year’s projects and new developments were shared with members and Carlisle residents. Following the brief business meeting, John Adams reenactor, Jim Baker, presented a wonderful talk on the relationship between Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

John Adams reenactor, Jim Baker 

In October, Master Weaver Norman Kennedy of the Marshfield School of Weaving visited the Carlisle Historical Society to inspect our Acadian Loom and give a special talk on weaving. This event was organized by Nancy Kronenberg and the Weavers Guild of Boston.

Norman Kennedy  spinning raw flax into a thread for weaving

In October the Carlisle Historical Society hosted a talk on cemetery restoration led by Tom Giffen of the Vermont Old Cemetery Association. There was a brief lecture held in the Carlisle School Community Room followed by a walk to the Central Burying Ground. Here visitors had a chance to try dousing, cleaning tombstones, and repairing broken graves. The well-attended event was co-sponsored by the Carlisle Historical Commission and was open to both members and anyone in town who was interested.

Tom Giffen (center) of the Vermont Old Cemeteries Association addressing a crowd in the Central Burying Ground

David Jiang, is a Carlisle Boy Scout Troop 135 Eagle Scout candidate.  For his 2016 Eagle Project, David has created a interactive map of fifty historical Carlisle sites based on research done by the Bicentennial Commission in 1975.  The map’s interactive links provide historical background and photographs these historical treasures.

My hope for this map is to create a simple and accessible way for everyone to learn about the past that defined the town we live in. From colonial homesites of minutemen from centuries past, to the ancient foundations of what were once grist mills, mines, or schoolhouses, each one of these sites represented an important aspect of life in the past that molded who we are in the present. Even though many of these sites have long disappeared, I hope everyone: from longtime residents of Carlisle to newcomers, grade schoolers to the very old, will be able to learn something new or reconnect with our town’s extraordinarily rich yet overlooked past. I wish to ignite a renewal of appreciation and interest in our past, and encourage everyone seek out their own discoveries, as this project is only a beginning. 

David Jiang

Acknowledgements:

Family: Kathy Guo, Liang Yuan, Yiming Yang, Walter Yang

Carlisle Troop 135 Volunteers: Daniel Jiang, Rowan O’Connor, Aidan O’Connor, Jacob Burke, Matthew Roberts, Tanner Bucklew, William Chaffin, Matthew Li, Aaron Gao, Joshua Sun

Other Volunteers: Philip Drew, Nick Chase, Alejandro Cancio (Troop 132 Concord), Deb Burke, Blake Wesel, Caitlin O’Connor, Dawn Buckelew, Jic Davis

At the end of the summer in 2015, Pat Laskey, a Carlisle resident and former antique dealer, donated to the Historical Society a handmade rug loom, whose pieces had resided in her garage and attic for nearly 40 years.  It is an imposing piece, around six feet high with a footprint of five by six feet.  Pat had acquired it from a woman who had an antique shop across the street from what is now Fern’s, and her supposition was that it probably dated from the 18th Century and was made and used somewhere in New England.  Nancy Kronenberg, also a Carlisle resident, an avid professional weaver and member of the Weavers’ Guild of Boston, was greatly intrigued by the loom and launched her own investigation with friends and acquaintances from the Guild.  Their investigation concluded the loom’s design design is typical of the northern Acadia which includes Maine.  They call this French Canadian Acadia to distinguish from Lousiania Acadia.  It was built in the early part of the 19th Century, and that it was not primarily used for weaving rugs but also was used for weaving cloth.

 Nancy has undertaken the task of restoring the loom to working order.  Besides cleaning up the loom’s accumulation of grime and dust, which diminish its usefulness for new work, she has initiated construction of missing pieces, a project undertaken by Stephen Till, also a Carlisle resident, using old-growth pine to match the rest of the loom, and set about finding usable components that have survived from the presumable time that the loom was originally built.  A few parts must be replaced because the existing parts are warped or broken, but the old parts will be retained for display along with the restored loom.  Nancy has taken multiple photos and kept careful records of her conversations with other weaver, all of which are on display on her website, Rosepath Weaving.  You can access more information and photos by clicking this link. Carlisle Historical Society Antique Loom Project