During May, Megan Percy began her collections management internship under the guidance of Valarie Kinkade and Mary Lentz of Museum and Collector Resource. Megan will inventory and catalogue objects from the attic of the Isaac Davenport Mansion with an emphasis on historic textiles. Her first “discovery” was a doll collection from the early 20th century, seen in these photos. Meghan […]
Archives Project Unearths Historic Treasures
Students from Simmons College involved in Phase II of our ongoing archives project recently unearthed a treasure trove of historic documents, including the original 1706 deed to the land acquired by John Davenport. Reading the closing sentence of the deed, “… and in the fifth year of the reign of Anne of England, Scotland, France and Ireland…,” one realizes how […]
WWII Jeep Restoration Project Underway at Blue Hills
What do you do with a WWII-era jeep? Turn it into an educational project! Students at the Blue Hills Regional Vocational Technical High School have been working on restoring our antique jeep CJ2A for a year now – one of several antique cars here at the Wakefield Estate slated for restoration.
Backyard Chicken Workshop A Big Hit!
If the attendance at our Backyard Chickens workshop, is any indication, lots of people are thinking about raising their own chickens! The program, the second session in our Backyard Homesteading series, drew a standing room only crowd of over twenty-five. The workshop covered the basics of starting a backyard chicken coop and how to grow healthy, productive chickens for years of enjoyment […]
Wakefield Archives Project Phase II
Graduate student interns from Simmons College sift and sort through three hundred years of documents to add to the growing archives at the Wakefield Estate. In these photos, the students examine ledgers, letters and photos from the mid-19th century. The Wakefield Estate provides graduate level fellowships and internships to provide valuable hands-on training for students from local universities.
Thacher Montessori Launches Egg Business
Off to Market! The Wakefield staff and students from Thacher Montessori school kick off a new micro-enterprise student-managed egg business! Sales on the first day were swift!
Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop launches Backyard Homesteading Series
On January 9, the Wakefield Estate kicked off the first session of our winter Homesteading series with a workshop on Backyard Fruit Trees. The course covered the four P’s of growing fruit trees: purchasing, planting, pruning and providing. Participants learned how to grow healthy, productive fruit trees and then braved the cold for a live pruning demo on some of […]
Wakefield Trust Hosts First Annual Holiday Open House
On December 17, the Wakefield Trust hosted its first annual open house in the Davenport Mansion here at the Wakefield Estate. Visitors stopped by for an informal gathering and some holiday cheer. Wakefield staff used greens collected from the property, strings of lights and antique bird decoys to make the mansion house look festive for the holidays.