WHHM Holiday Conversation: “The Wondrous Mrs. Claus”
2025-11-28 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Woods Hole Public Library, 581 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, 02543
Get into the holiday spirit with a Woods Hole Historical Museum Conversation by author Pamela McColl about her new book, “Wondrous Mrs. Claus.”
The wife of Santa made her literary debut in 1849. Sleuthing through books, journal articles and poems, McColl discovered Mrs. Claus played a role in larger discussions about women’s roles in 19th century—even used by advocates for and against women’s suffrage. McColl’s talk will include a poem by Falmouth’s own Katharine Lee Bates, featured in the book.
Holiday refreshments will be served.

WHHM Conversation: Joseph Story Fay, Thomas Simms, and a Nation on the Brink
2026-02-12 12:00 - 13:00 | Woods Hole Public Library, 581 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, 02543
Join the Woods Hole Historical Museum for a conversation with scholar Brandon McGrath-Neely entitled “Joseph Story Fay, Thomas Simms, and a Nation on the Brink” on Thursday, February 12 at noon at the Woods Hole Public Library.
In his work, McGrath-Neely examines the “inverted lives” of Joseph Story Fay, a prominent landowner and “the first summer resident” of Woods Hole, and Thomas Simms, a man who escaped slavery, both of whom utilized geographic mobility to enhance their circumstances. Fay relocated from Boston to Savannah to capitalize on opportunities in the cotton trade and improve his financial standing. Conversely, Sims escaped enslavement in Savannah and stowed away on a Boston-bound vessel.
Both men’s endeavors collided with the crisis between North and South epitomized by the Compromise of 1850, particularly the Fugitive Slave Act. This compelled Simms’s return to slavery and complicated Fay’s business relationships in Savannah due to escalating distrust in a nation increasingly divided by region.
Their intersecting narratives reveal how individual ambition was constrained by the machinations of the slave economy within a nation teetering on the brink of civil war.

WHHM Conversation: Discovering Woods Hole: Exploring the Museum’s Collection Online
2026-03-12 12:00 - 13:00 | Woods Hole Public Library, 581 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, 02543
Join our Archivist Colleen Hurter and our Executive Director Mark Long as they demonstrate how to search for materials in our archive, using the Pacific Guano Company as an example.
We will ask for audience questions about search topics, so bring your own Woods Hole history questions to the session!

WHHM Conversation: Unruly Stories of a Boy and His Trains on the Woods Hole Branch
2026-05-14 12:00 - 13:00 | Woods Hole Public Library, 581 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, 02543
Join us for a talk with Stephen Ellis as he shares stories of riding the trains to Woods Hole as a child.
The conversation is free to attend and will be held downstairs at the Woods Hole Public Library. Entry is through the downstairs side entrance.

History Lives Here: A Conversation on our Golden Jubilee
2026-07-09 12:00 - 13:00 | Woods Hole Community Hall
Join us on July 9th at noon in Community Hall for a Conversation in recognition of the Museum’s Golden Jubilee. Former Executive Directors Jennifer Gaines and Debbie Scanlon and longtime Community Boat Shop volunteer Bob Leary will have a conversation moderated by Executive Director Mark Long about the founding and evolution of the Woods Hole Historical Museum — from the Archive that is its backbone to fifty years of exhibits, publications, and the Community Boat Shop.
This is not a lecture. We are aiming for a genuine conversation with you, our members and patrons. Bring your memories of the museum’s early days and anything you have tucked away that might spark a story: old photos, letters, newspaper clippings, records. Think of it as a community Show and Tell. Some of the best history in Woods Hole is still in your attics — we want to hear it.
