Buckland Historical Society




​​What makes us unique?

  • Home
  • About
  • Conserve
    • Save the Barn
    • Hilltown Legacy Tree Project
  • Discover
    • Oral Histories
    • Weaving From 1945- 1972
    • The Shoe Maker's Shop
    • BHS Creation
    • Avery's Oxen
  • Education
  • Hilltown History Trail
  • Join Us
    • Colonial Day
  • In the News
  • Gallery
  • Calendars

Discover some of our fascinating residents and stories


Robert strong woodward (1885-1957)

Coming Soon!!!

The History of the Shoe Maker's Shop

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​There’s a story behind the little red building that sits on the land of the Wilder Homestead on Route 112.
It’s a shoemaker’s shop and it always wasn’t there.  It has been moved twice in its lifetime.
     The little building was built sometime before 1820, at the fork of the road just north of Buckland Center where Upper St. and Route 112 intersect.  Dan Colton Townsley, born in 1824, was a shoemaker there.  Townsley was a man who always took an active part in town affairs, although not as an office holder.  On June 1, 1848, he married Eliza Williams.  They had seven children, family enough to help keep a shoemaker busy.  See more...


Weaving from 1945-1972- A Buckland Tradition

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​Eleanor Clark & the Post Office weaving center
Many an ancient attic still harbors parts of looms, spinning wheels, winders, and a box or two of shuttles!  So it seemed only natural for Eleanor Clark to find an interest in weaving when she came to live in Buckland after her uncle, Edmund Wilder, died in 1944.  Eleanor gave up a teaching career to make her home at the Wilder Homestead with her Aunt Bertha.  She was named Post-mistress at the Buckland Post Office, and there found time for other interests.  It wasn’t long before she transformed two rooms at the Post Office building into an informal weaving center.  See more... 


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​The World's Largest Oxen- Property of J.D. Avery

Have you heard of Jerry, Mack, or Joe?  Find out more...

Mary Lyon

Coming Soon...

Caged man of buckland and the spaulding family

Coming Soon...

The Wilder Family and the war

Coming Soon...

The Murder of Hattie McCloud

Coming soon...

Lamson Sharp

Coming Soon.

​Shelburne Falls Trolleys

Coming Soon...

Buckland Historical Society — Box 88 — Buckland, Massachusetts 01338 — (413) 625-9763 — Copyright © 2019
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  • Home
  • About
  • Conserve
    • Save the Barn
    • Hilltown Legacy Tree Project
  • Discover
    • Oral Histories
    • Weaving From 1945- 1972
    • The Shoe Maker's Shop
    • BHS Creation
    • Avery's Oxen
  • Education
  • Hilltown History Trail
  • Join Us
    • Colonial Day
  • In the News
  • Gallery
  • Calendars