HistoryBegins
About Us - Our History
The Massasoit Historical Association was incorporated in 1907 as the Massasoit Monument Association for the purpose of marking and maintaining the Massasoit Spring at the foot of Baker Street.
Massasoit statue by sculptor Cyrus Edwin Dallin. It is currently located atop the hill overlooking Plymouth Harbor and Plymouth Rock. It was completed in 1921 to mark the three hundredth anniversary of the Pilgrims' landing. The sculpture is meant to represent the Pokanoket leader Massasoit welcoming the Pilgrims on the occasion of the first Thanksgiving.
The Massasoit Spring Monument
The Dedication of the Massasoit Spring Monument October 19th 1907
The Monument Committee and Guests
October 19th 1907
To raise money for the committee's undertakings, it sponsored a series of plays at the Town Hall Auditorium by Sock and Buskin of Brown University, and sponsored a series of New Year’s Balls, also held at the Town Hall.
The Association became inactive in the 1920s and remained so until the early 1950s when it changed its name to the Massasoit Historical Association.
During the 1950s, it made arrangements for sheep to graze in the North Burial Grounds. Later, it ran the Museum of the George Hail Free Library.
The Committee was also involved in marking the Soldiers and Sailors Monument located on the Town Common since 1908
The George Hail Free Library
The Warren Town Hall
Soldier and Sailors Monument
Inside the George Hail Free Library
During the 1970s, the Association conducted two walking tours of Warren, ran a series of architectural lectures, helped to mark several historical sites, and published two books, the Massasoit Historical Association Cookbook and Fixing Up– a bilingual handbook for the restoration and renovation of older homes.
In 1975, it purchased the Maxwell House and began research toward its restoration.
The 1980s found the Association giving financial support for marker repair in the South Cemetery, contributing to several local charities, and donating toward Water Street’s Christmas lights. It co-sponsored a concert by folk singer Jean Redpath. Profits went toward document conservation. Christmas at the Maxwell House is an annual event attended by many local residents.
In 2014 the Association became the owner of 242 and 246 Water Street, located diagonally across from the Maxwell House. Lombard John Pozzi, local architect and preservationist, had willed the property to the Association entrusting us with the care of his "baby", as he referred to the Haile Collins House.
The Association charges itself with the collection and preservation of historical data and relics pertaining to the town of Warren and its history; to care for and preserve the Maxwell House, to preserve and mark landmarks and other objects of historic or architectural interest; to conduct events and activities, to educate, and to stimulate an interest in local history.
Meetings, held monthly, are open to the public. Membership is available to any interested individual upon payment of a nominal fee for dues.
We invite you to join us and become a member of the Association