The Acton Historical Society works to discover, preserve and share facts and artifacts from the rich history of Acton, Massachusetts with the hope of spreading enthusiasm for and knowledge of our town.  Come visit us or contact us to share your own stories of Acton and its people.  We look forward to hearing from you.

---

Special Jenks Library Hours

Jenks Library will be closed on Monday, January 20 in observance of Martin Luther King Day.  We will be open on Wednesday January 22 for our normal 9-11 am hours.

We have Parking!

After a summer of landscape renovation, we now have the use of an expanded parking lot at 300 Main Street, home of our Hosmer House Museum, Jenks Library and associated buildings.  Thanks are due to the voters of the town of Acton for their support of this project.

For a slideshow of the project in process as well as other work on the Hosmer House, click here.  For those curious about the wooden extensions to our stone wall, read our blog post.

Note that Jenks Library is open all winter during its normal Monday and Wednesday hours (9 am-11 am) except on federal holidays or in bad weather.

---

On Our Blog

Our recent blog post discusses Acton's "Old Chestnut Tree" that was apparently a favorite of Henry David Thoreau. 

Some of the earlier blog posts explored

• Aaron Woods, an Acton hermit and supposed miser who became the subject of national news interest twice in the 1870s.
• West Acton's barrel shop before and after the fire of 1913
• John Fletcher, his boot and shoe business, his advocacy for temperance and against slavery, and the large impact he had on Acton, particularly the town center.
• Henry Barker and his cider mill, a topic inspired by trying to identify a large portrait found in a South Acton barn. 
• Yacht Racing in Acton
• Francis Skinner (1797-1865) who grew up in Acton and went off to create a very different life in Boston for his descendants
• Sarah (Faulkner) Skinner who went blind in her later years.
• Dances in Acton
• The New England Sawmill Unit in WW1
• Acton baseball
• Schoolhouse construction and maintenance in the town's earlier days
• The house that sits where Isaac Davis's home once stood
• Ice harvesting
• Clara (Hapgood) Nash, early attorney, teacher, and poet
  
• Daniel Scarlett
  
• John Oliver, Soldier of the Revolution
• Rev. James T. Woodbury
• Acton Women's 1895 Vote
• Acton Industries - Vises & Morocco
• and much more
  

There's plenty to discover on the blog; check it out!

---

---