Museum Annual Meeting and Salley Mavor Talk
2025-08-07 17:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Church of the Messiah Parish and Community Center, 16 Church St, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, United States
REGISTRATION CLOSED!
Members are invited to vote on the museum’s 2025-26 fiscal year budget and slate of Steering Committee members.
Following the business meeting, Woods Hole artist Salley Mavor will present a talk on “Enchanting Threads and Woods Hole Roots” about her career creating magical embroidered worlds. She will also share a bit about her family’s 100-year-old history in Woods Hole. This talk reflects the museum’s 2025 focus on women artists of Woods Hole.
Salley’s presentation will cover a wide range of artistic endeavors, from children’s book illustration to stop-motion animation, demonstrating that there are no limits to what can be expressed with a needle and thread. More information can be found at https://weefolkstudio.com/
The meeting will be held at the Church of the Messiah Parish and Community Center, which is next door to the main Church of the Messiah building. The address is 16 Church St., Woods Hole.
Members and the general public are invited to attend, and registration is required.
All attendees are invited to join us for refreshments.

Oyster Talk and Tasting
2025-08-21 17:00 - 19:00 | Woods Hole Historical Museum, 579 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, 02543
Join us for this annual summer fundraiser – an annual sellout! The first part of the evening will be a talk by local oyster growers Pete Chase, Eric Matzen and Mary Murphy of Falmouth Shellfish Cooperative. The cooperative sells its oysters through Coonamessett Farm.
After the talk, which will include a demonstration of oyster shucking, guests will proceed to the tasting tables to sample the oysters. Wine and beer will be available, as well as light snacks and specialty sauces.
The event costs $55 for museum members and $65 for non-members.
Location: Museum/Library Courtyard
Register

Good Neighbor Day Block Party
2025-09-27 16:00 - 17:00 | Woods Hole Historical Museum Courtyard, 579 Woods Hole Rd, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, United States
The Woods Hole Public Library and the Woods Hole Historical Museum invite all members of the community to a Good Neighbor Day Block Party!
This joyful gathering marks the second annual celebration of Massachusetts Good Neighbor Day, a statewide initiative dedicated to strengthening connections, spreading kindness, and building a deeper sense of belonging across the Commonwealth. And what better way to celebrate here in Woods Hole than by coming together in the Library/Museum courtyard for a lively, heartwarming afternoon with friends and neighbors?
Expect good cheer, great company, and the spirit of community at its best. We’ll have music, games, and a warm welcome for all ages. Guests are encouraged to bring friends, family members, neighbors, and a snack to share if you can!
Let’s toast the end of a busy summer season and celebrate what makes Woods Hole special: each other. We can’t wait to see you there!

WHHM Holiday Conversation: “The Wondrous Mrs. Claus”
2025-11-28 19:00 - 20:00 | 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!

Maritime Yard Sale
2026-04-25 10:00 - 14:00 | Woods Hole Historical Museum, 579 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, 02543
Join us for a maritime yard sale to benefit the Woods Hole Historical Museum and Community Boat Shop!
What’s in your garage? Do you have too many boats or other marine-related items collecting dust?

The Museum is ACCEPTING ITEMS NOW for this fundraiser. Drop your donations off any Saturday between 10 am and 2 pm through April 18 at the Boat Shop (back right side of the campus).

Examples of acceptable items include but are not limited to:
Boats and trailers 15 ft or less, engines that run, boat models, nautical antiques and art, rigging, hardware, oars, paddles, anchors, and fishing tackle.
* Nothing broken unless it’s bronze or copper.
* NO project boats, paints, solvents, or expired safety equipment or electronics.

Email whhmboatshop@gmail.com with any questions about donations or picking up large/multiple items.

We had lots of happy buyers last year, loading up on deals galore. Join us this year to have fun discovering your treasures while enjoying complimentary refreshments!

Please share and help us spread the word among our friends and neighbors.

UPDATED: Woods Hole Trad Stroll 2026
2026-05-02 12:00 - 17:30 | Old Woods Hole Fire Station, 72 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, United States
The Trad Stroll is a beloved, free community event held this year on Saturday, May 2 from noon to 5:30 PM, followed by the Woods Hole Contra Dance from 7:30 to 10 PM with the Woods Hole Folk Orchestra. The dance is $10 for adults and $5 for teens.
Because of the rain forecast, the band The Familiars will no longer perform on our Museum grounds and will instead perform in the Old Woods Hole Firehouse from 4PM to 5PM.

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.

Museum Members' Opening Party
2026-06-12 17:00 - 19:00 | Woods Hole Historical Museum Courtyard, 579 Woods Hole Rd, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, United States
Welcome the summer season with food and drink in the Museum courtyard! Members will have a preview of our summer 2026 exhibit “ReTERN to Sea: A History of Collecting Boats in Woods Hole.”

Museum Re-Opening Day!
2026-06-13 11:00 - 15:00 | Woods Hole Historical Museum, 579 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, 02543
Come kick off the summer season by visiting the museum on our opening day of summer 2026!
The museum will be open this season Thursday-Saturday 11AM – 3PM and Sunday 12PM-3PM from June 13th to September 26th.

Walsh Rose Walking Tour
2026-07-02 10:00 - 12:00 | Woods Hole Historical Museum, 579 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, 02543
Woods Hole’s beautiful Walsh Roses are bursting into bloom throughout the village. We invite you to join expert Gretchen Ward Warren for a walking tour to view these internationally renowned roses in full flower and to learn about how they were hybridized and cultivated right here in Woods Hole in the early 1900s!
Starting location is the Woods Hole Historical Museum Courtyard and the tour will continue on foot around the village.
The walking tour is free, but a $5 donation to support the museum’s programs would be very much appreciated.

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.

Museum Annual Meeting & Talk on the Revolutionary War in Woods Hole
2026-08-06 17:00 - 19:00 | Church of the Messiah Parish and Community Center, 16 Church St, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, United States
Members are invited to vote on the museum’s 2026-27 fiscal year budget and slate of Steering Committee members.
Following the conclusion of the business meeting, author David Martin will present a talk about Woods Hole’s role in the American Revolution, in honor of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
David Martin is Professor Emeritus from Gallaudet University in Washington, DC and author of The Revolution on Cape Cod and the Islands: The Antecedents, the War, and Its Aftermath. He is the past President of the Marstons Mills Historical Society, past President of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society, and has chaired the Cape and Islands Historians Committee. He has deep family roots in Woods Hole and Falmouth.
The meeting will be held at the Church of the Messiah Parish and Community Center, which is next door to the main Church of the Messiah building. The address is 16 Church St., Woods Hole.
Members and the general public are invited to attend. All attendees are invited to join us for refreshments.

Oyster Talk and Tasting
2026-08-20 17:00 - 19:00 | Woods Hole Historical Museum Courtyard, 579 Woods Hole Rd, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, United States
Join us for this annual summer fundraiser – an annual sellout! The first part of the evening will be a talk by local oyster growers Pete Chase, Eric Matzen and Mary Murphy of Falmouth Shellfish Cooperative. The cooperative sells its oysters through Coonamessett Farm.
After the talk, which will include a demonstration of oyster shucking, guests will proceed to the tasting tables to sample the oysters. Wine and beer will be available, as well as light snacks and specialty sauces.
The event costs $55 for museum members and $65 for non-members.
Location: Museum/Library Courtyard

Oyster Talk & Tasting 2026

Step 1 of 3

33%

URLThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.Primary Registrant Name(Required)

First

Last

Email(Required)

Phone

List Additional Attendees:NameEmailNameEmailNameEmailNameEmail

TicketsSelect the number of member/non-member tickets you are purchasing.Member Tickets ($55) Quantity

Price:
$55.00

Quantity
Non-member Tickets ($65) Quantity

Price:
$65.00

Quantity
Total

Payment Method(Required)Credit Card
MasterCardVisaSupported Credit Cards: MasterCard, Visa
Card Number

Expiration Date

Security Code

Cardholder Name

50th Anniversary Jubilee Gala
2026-09-26 16:00 - 18:30
Join us for an elegant waterfront evening at a historic Woods Hole home to celebrate 50 years of preserving and sharing our community’s history and stories.
Tickets and more information are available here!
Details regarding the location and parking will be shared after your ticket purchase is complete.
