Programs

Over its nearly 200 years, the G. William Pitt House has been home to many, including, among others, three generations of Pitts and our own Ken Noyes.  That history was presented by Prentice Crosier, who also once made the Pitt House his home.

You bet. From 1947 until 1970, the Pioneer Valley Dude Ranch at the end of Cal Coombs Road hosted dudes from New York City to Boston. Off-season, it provided bunks to deer hunters and skiers. And it offered locals a congenial Saturday night watering hole and restaurant with live music for dancing. 

A program after the 7 p.m. meeting of the Colrain Historical Society Thursday, July 14, 2022 at the former dude ranch explored this colorful chapter of Colrain history. 

Almira Edson (1803-1886) was a stepdaughter of Edward Adams of the busy village of Adamsville in Colrain. She developed a style of family registers combining calligraphy and watercolor, much sought after by collectors of folk art today. After years of teaching at the Halifax Academy, she joined a utopian community in Putney, Vermont which combined spiritual purity and “complex marriage” only to find herself in conflict with the movement’s leaders. 

Edson was the subject of a presentation by Prentice Crosier in the Stacy Barn behind the Colrain Historical Society’s Pitt House on Thursday, June 9, 2022 following the Society’s business meeting at 7:00 p.m. 

Sarah and Harry Hollister presented a lively reading of a New England short story from the “local colorist” period (1860-1900). The story by Alice Brown provides a window into the lives of our ancestors, using local dialects, phrases and a fair amount of humor. The speakers gave a little background on the “local colorist” writers, most of whom were women.

* During the late 1800’s “local color”, as defined as the characteristics and traits that make a location unique, was popular in literature.