Museum Overview
About the Museum
Our house was built in 1869 by John Smith, an officer of the Cambridge Valley Bank. In 1881, it was sold to William McKie whose daughter, Katherine, inherited it in 1901. She was a graduate of the Emma Willard School in Troy, NY, a Chapter of DAR, Director of the Mary McClellan Hospital and founder of the hospital's Women's Auxiliary. The house was sold in 1929 to the McFarland family who deeded it to the Cambridge Historical Society.
The house is a splendid example of period architecture, featuring a mansard roof, wrap around verandah and ornate exterior moldings. The front door contains leaded glass windows and opens into a spacious hallway, which features both a beautifully curved stairway leading to the upper floors and a period, framed, floor-to-ceiling mirror with a marble shelf.
Rooms in the museum include displays of 19th century Cambridge-made Barton Furniture, Revolutionary and Civil War memorabilia, fire fighting exhibits, as well as early china, pewter, glassware and antique kitchen utensils. In period examples of 19th century textiles: quilts, homespun coverlets and bedding, period clothing and accessories. Upstairs rooms include a beautiful period master bedroom, a children's room and a resource room.
The Rooms
Rooms in the museum include displays of 19th century Cambridge-made Barton Furniture, Revolutionary and Civil War memorabilia, fire fighting exhibits, as well as early china, pewter, glassware and antique kitchen utensils. In period examples of 19th century textiles: quilts, homespun coverlets and bedding, period clothing and accessories. Upstairs rooms include a beautiful period master bedroom, a children's room and a resource room.
The Board
Board of Directors
President: Kathy Grant
Vice President & Treasurer: Beverly Collamer
Financial Secretary: Shirley Huntington
Secretary: Dan Perlman
Committee Chairs
Program Committee Chair: Sandra Davis
Building Committee Chair: Anna Dickson
Publicity Committee Chair: Mary Fassett
Financial Secretary: Shirley, Huntington
Collection Committee Chair: Joanna Lederer-Barnes
Archivist: Allison Wheeler
Secretary: Dan Perlman
Curator: Susanna White
Board Members (non voting)
Fundraising Committee chair: Lois Sheaff
Garden Committee chair: Lois Sheaff
Membership Committee chair: Paul Walker
Non Board Staff
Volunteer Coordinator: Hannah Stevens
Auditor: Bob Wright
Our museum’s goals:
The Museum's goals are to preserve and protect the great Cambridge area's history, both in physical and written form. We are dependent on families offering items for short-term exhibit or permanent display to be used for educational insight and saved for posterity.
Historical reference deals with a range of genealogy from the past to current events and can be found in letters, written articles, stories remembered and objects.
The Historical Society is provisionally chartered by the State Department of Education and follows the guidelines set forth for Museums and Archives, hereby protecting items in our custody.
Every person, family or activity shapes the history of life. There are no insignificant events. Please become a part of the Historical Society's Showcase of History!
