Marshfield Historical Society

by Nancy Braithwaite

On September 23, 1913, a group of people gathered together, as the record of the meeting states “At the call of Lysander S. Richards to form a Marshfield Historical Society, those interested in the formulation met at Mr. Richards’ on Thursday afternoon”. An so began the Marshfield Historical Society. Starting on that day in 1913 and continuing over the years, the Society has been collecting and preserving records of events and incidents that occurred in Marshfield from the time of its settlement.

Since its inception, the Marshfield Historical Society has acquired numerous artifacts, as well as several pieces of historic property. In 1925, the Winslow Schoolhouse, on the east corner of Webster and Careswell Streets, was deeded to the Society, and eventually became the Headquarters of the Marshfield Historical Society in 1968. Each year groups of school children from Marshfield spend a day at the Winslow Schoolhouse learning what it was like to be a student in olden times.

The present Headquarters of the Marshfield Historical Society is the Marcia Thomas House, located at 65 Webster Street. The Marcia Thomas House was originally located on Ocean Street in what is now Marshfield Center. In 1996 when the parent company of Osco Drug Stores wanted to build a new store on the site of the Marcia Thomas House, they very generously sold the house to the Marshfield Historical Society for one dollar, plus contributed $10,000 toward the cost of moving the house to its current location. Some may remember in the Spring of 1997, the sight of the Marcia Thomas House hoisted up on steel girders, slowly being towed down Route 139, through Ocean Bluff, through Brant Rock, through Green Harbor, eventually coming to rest on Webster Street near the Winslow House and the Schoolhouse. Click here to see a video of the moving of the house.

The Marshfield Historical Society is only one of three historical groups in town. There is also the Historic Winslow House Association, headquartered in the Winslow House at the west corner of Webster and Careswell Streets, and the Marshfield Historic Commission, which operates the Daniel Webster Estate, located off Webster Street. Each of these three historical groups has much to offer the residents of Marshfield, who live in a town abundantly rich in history dating back to Colonial times.