historical society of santuit & cotuit
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History Uncorked 2022
Untold Stories from the HSSC Collection 
Thursday, July 14 | 6:00 PM
Thursday, August 11 | 6:00 PM

Can't make it to our museums on a weekend?  Come on a Thursday!
 
Back by popular demand , History Uncorked  is a fun and casual evening of friendship and community, celebrated with a glass of wine. 

As part of the evening, our Curator highlights some intriguing historical object from the Dottridge Homestead or Cotuit Museum. 
What a great way to see our Museums and visit our Gift Shop if your weekends are too busy!
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History Uncorked  is a complimentary event, where we provide the refreshments. No sign up required. Please bring a friend!

Our Gift Shop will be OPEN during this event.


Donations are greatly appreciated.
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​Objects Spotlighted During Previous 'Uncorked' Evenings

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The stereoscope: Virtual reality Victorian-style

 A precursor of the View-Master and 3D movies, the stereoscope thrilled Victorians with its capacity for making photographs look three-dimensional. Introduced at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London in 1851, the first hand-held stereoscope was greatly admired by Queen Victoria. Royal approval inspired an explosion of public interest, with 250,000 stereoscopes and more than a million stereographs (dual-image cards for viewing) sold within three months.. Stereoscope companies quickly began sending photographers to shoot pictures all over the world. Ten years later, Boston physician Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. developed a more streamlined, less expensive version.. As he chose not to patent his design, companies like Underwood & Underwood (which produced two stereoscopes in HSSC’s collection) were able to copy it, and it became the most popular model. Stereoscopy mimics our natural ability to discern depth by using side-by-side images shot from about the same distance apart as our eyes – or 2½ inches. The stereoscope is designed to keep the right eye focused on the right picture, the left eye on the left. As with real eyesight, the magic of merging the two images and creating depth perception happens in the brain. Today, historians are especially grateful for the stereographs, which sometimes provide our only photographic record of a certain place at a certain time. (Presented August 12, 2021)
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Trumpeting the late, great Cotuit Brass Band

,.A drumroll, please, for this surprisingly well-preserved band uniform jacket, once worn by a cornet player with the Cotuit Brass Band. Founded in 1882, the band periodically fell apart and regrouped until, in 1896, the members built their own hall for rehearsals on School Street. The jacket probably dates from that time. Until disbanding for good after 1905, they gave entertainments at Freedom Hall., played on the Fourth of July and for Cotuit High School graduations., and might even play for your private party, if you asked them. Once they accompanied the Odd Fellows on an excursion to Nantucket. When the Cotuit Federated Church building was dedicated in 1901, the band played for the laying of the cornerstone. It also led the entire town’s Memorial Day observances in Centerville. The musician who wore the jacket, A. Seabury Childs (1863-1948), also wore other uniforms on behalf of his village, serving with Cotuit’s fire department (including as chief) for 27 years and as constable for 51. (Presented July 8, 2021)
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Proudly manufactured in Cotuit

When Victor Nickerson started his plumbing company in the late 19th century, the village plumber’s job went way beyond fixing drippy faucets and overflowing toilets: Nickerson also sold equipment for accessing groundwater. Playing a crucial part in the process, the well point served for leading a pipe down to fairly shallow groundwater, receiving water and filtering out dirt particles.. After stainless steel was invented in 1913, Nickerson and his employee, Wampanoag Chief Len “Little Bear” Hammond, probably discussed how the metal might make a great material for well points because it wouldn’t rust or corrode. Hammond was actually the one who invented the Victor Well Point. Nickerson Plumbing was among the first to make well points from stainless steel, which remains the material of choice today. They'd begun marketing their product to plumbing supply companies by 1922. In 1930, they received orders for at least 625 well points and had enough of a reputation that Montgomery Ward reached out, expressing an interest in selling the Victor Well Point through their stores and catalog. We don’t know if this happened, but Nickerson’s grandson Merton kept producing it as needed as late as about 1982.  (Presented  September 12, 2019)
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historical society of santuit & cotuit
508-428-0461
  • SUPPORT
    • HSSC Capital Campaign
    • Annual Membership
    • Volunteer
    • Docent
    • Community Partners
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Did You Know?
  • MUSEUMS
    • Homestead
    • Cotuit Museum
    • Rothwell Ice House
    • Exhibits
  • PROGRAMS & EVENTS
    • Paint & Sip Night
    • Beach CleanUp
    • Cotuit Chronicles 2022
    • Historical Walking Tours
    • Scholarship Program
    • Historic Plaque Program
    • Historical Book Club 2022
    • Taste of Cotuit
    • History Uncorked
    • Strawberry Festival 2022
    • Annual Meeting
  • HISTORY & PRESERVATION
    • Cotuit Archives
    • Historic Homes of Cotuit
    • Preserving Cotuit's Heritage
    • Short History of Cotuit
    • 2020 Coronavirus Archive Project
  • Gift Shop
    • Online Shop
  • DONATE
    • Capital Campaign