Above: At the Southborough Historical Museum, you can see an old timey hand pumped fire engine in action. It’s one of the ways the Historical Society is revisiting the past on Heritage Day (image from SHS website)
The Southborough Historical Society will be holding special events at an open house on Heritage Day. Not surprisingly, their focus is our town’s heritage.
At noon, the society will entertain with a demo using the fire engine used by the Town over 120 years ago. From 12:00 to 2:00 pm, the museum will be open with two special exhibits highlighting special historical documents.
Here are the details:
Southborough Historical Society Brings a Little Heritage Back to Heritage Day
More than a century ago, Southborough’s fires were fought by a handtub named the Falcon. A handtub is a hand pumped fire engine that shoots water over 200 feet — a major improvement over water tossed from a bucket! The Falcon was built in 1868, and purchased by the town of Southborough for $150 in 1896 after a series of deadly fires.
This coming Heritage Day, October 9th, residents will be able to see the Falcon in the parade, as well as watch a live demonstration — thanks to our firefighters — in front of the Southborough Historical Society Museum at noon. The Museum, which is half-way through its renewal process, will be open until 2, displaying its first two new exhibits in a decade: The Printed Word in Southborough: 1847 – the Present; and the 17th Century Sawin Family Papers.
Michael Weishan, current President of the Society, is working with board members to expand the Society’s mission and promote the educational and cultural value of the museum’s collection. “We have one of the most spectacular collections in the area, and it’s high time we put it to work showcasing the almost 4000 years of habitation in the place we now call Southborough.”
The Society invites all residents to stop by and watch the Falcon demonstration and learn something new about our town.
Find out more about Southborough’s history at www.southboroughhistory.org.
(Click here for links to all my Heritage Day weekend coverage.)
