Kemp-McCarthy Museum: Historic Museum in the Hilltown Highlandss

Families can learn all about the history of life in the Hilltowns at the Kemp-McCarthy Museum, the town of Rowe’s fantastic resource for learning about local history! The Museum with be celebrating its 50th anniversary on Sunday, June 30th from 2-4pm!

A typical weeknight in a modern day Hilltown household might include driving to sports practice, using the internet to complete homework assignments, cooking dinner together on an electric stove in a well-lit kitchen, and searching for constellations in the night sky using a cell phone app.  Nothing unusual – just some typical childhood activities and family downtime in a modern day society…

Rewind a full century.  What would this typical weeknight have looked like during the early 20th century?  Or what about fifty years earlier than that, even?  Families in the Hilltowns during generations past similarly spent their evenings together at home, but their time was filled with very different activities.  Instead of electricity- and technology-dependent pastimes, they played musical instruments together, did laborious household chores, and relied on woodstoves in order to do their cooking…

One of the Kemp-McCarthy Museum’s permanent exhibits includes an antique store filled with goods that were really for sale!

Families can learn all about the history of life in the Hilltown Highlands at the Kemp-McCarthy Museum, the town of Rowe’s fantastic resource for learning about local history!  The Kemp-McCarthy Museum celebrates its 50th anniversary on Sunday, June 30th from 2-4 pm, and families are invited to attend!  The Kemp-McCarthy Museum is not just any museum of local history – its permanent exhibits include an antique store filled with goods that were really for sale, an early 1900’s schoolroom, a collection of clothing worn by both children and adults, and a music room filled with antique instruments including pianos, organs, and various string instruments.  In addition, the museum will unveil two new exhibits during the celebration, both of which focus on the material culture and pastimes of early 20th century Hilltowners.

“Childhood Memories: Toys, Games, and Clothing from Years Gone By,” offers young students an opportunity to learn by comparing their own experiences to those of children long ago – they will be surprised to find many similarities, as well as the expected differences.  Those interested in learning about more recent history can study items included in, “The Way We Were: Artifacts from 1963,” an exhibit created to commemorate the year during which the museum opened.

Can’t make it on the 30th?  The Kemp-McCarthy Museum , located at 282 Zoar Road in Rowe, MA, will be open on Sundays, June 30th to mid-October from 2-4pm. For more information, visit them online at www.rowehistoricalsociety.org.

[Submitted Photos]