Archive Record

Metadata

Catalog Number

ORG 1976.01

Title

Winchester History Committee Collection

Collection

Organizations

Object Name

Records

Date

1935-1976

Scope & Content

This collection includes records of the Winchester History Committee which produced the two-volume History of Winchester, plus correspondence regarding the original publication of volume I in 1936, plus some original source materials used for the books. When donated to the Archival Center, the collection also contained the publishers' proof copy, proof-readers' copies of the chapters, and many duplicate copies of correspondence and minutes. After decades of never being consulted, the collection was weeded in 2017. Proof copies, duplicate reports, and handwritten research notes from sources readily available (e.g., Annual Reports, Winchester Star) were discarded.

Admin/Biographical History

The first volume of The History of Winchester, written by Henry S. Chapman, was published in 1936. After it had sold out, Town Meeting in 1972 authorized a Winchester History Committee to consider whether the book should be updated. The Committee considered options for republishing the first volume alone, adding a second volume, or updating it with more recent history within one volume. The committee recommended that the first volume be reprinted and that a second, supplementary volume be written and published to cover the years 1935-1974. Town Meeting approved the recommendation in 1973 and voted an appropriation. The committee selected Bruce Winchester Stone as the author, and Town Meeting provided the funding from the William P. Winchester Fund. The two volumes were published in 1976 as a boxed set "in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the independence of the United States of America on July 4, 1776." The committee was dissolved in that year.

Henry Smith Chapman (b. 1871, Maine, d. 1936, Swampscott) was a graduate of Bowdoin College (1891). An editor of Youth's Companion until 1929, he worked for Houghton Mifflin, did some newspaper work, and wrote two books. In 1906, he moved his family to Winchester, leaving town after the Winchester volume was published, only a few months prior to his death. In Winchester, he was active with the School Committee, Art Association, and other groups.

Bruce W. Stone (b c. 1972) earned a Ph.D. in 1974 from Boston University. His dissertation was titled "The Role of the Learned Societies in the Growth of Scientific. Boston, 1780- 1848."

The History Committee was composed of Bradford U. Eddy, Marie Began, James W. Blackham, Leonor M. Rich, Frances VerPlanck, Bradley C. Ross, and Berry L. Reece

Copyrights

Permission to publish material from this collection is subject to approval by the Town of Winchester.

Finding Aids

A finding aid with detailed information about the contents of the collection is available. Contact the Archives for a copy.

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