On a drive around Walpole you’ll see signs on some older houses, stating the date and a name for the house. Many of those signs were part of a project for Walpole’s 250^th Anniversary in 1974. The Walpole Historical Society and Historical Commission are collaborating on a new project for Walpole’s 300^th anniversary, which will be celebrated all year in 2024.

If you have a house 100 years or older and you would like to have an historic sign for your house, please come to the Walpole Historical Society and fill out an application. We are open on Saturdays 1-4. Or contact Betsey Dyer at [email protected]

We are offering to research the date and names for your house! (Or confirm the names and date you believe are correct.)

And then you have a choice of just a date on a 6 X 12 inch enameled aluminum sign for $50 or both a name and date on a 12 X 12 inch sign for $70.

The money beyond the cost of the sign (about $10) will go to “Roger Turner Signage Fund” for more historical signs around town.

We’ll have your sign made up and delivered to you! For elderly or unable owners we could also arrange for a volunteer from the Historical Commission to install it: that means driving in two screws, included with the sign.

If a date for your house is approximate we’ll use “circa.”

Otherwise it will be worded “Built in ____”

If a home owner would like a name as well as date, we will discuss which name to choose; there are several strategies and no firm rules:

First family to live there as owners (i.e. maybe not renters)

Most interesting (or famous) person to have lived there but not necessarily the first (like a major mill owner)

The architect and builder (in some circumstances)

The use for the house (maybe formerly a store or other business)

And other possibilities

And with your sign you get a free membership to the Walpole Historical Society for the year you install your sign.

Some people will certainly ask “Just because my house is 150 years old, does it really mean it is historic?” We believe the answer is yes. It wasn’t just the Birds and Lewises who built this town. It was all the hard working people who farmed, kept shops, had trades, and worked in the mills who built it. Your older house is part of Walpole’s 300 year history. Your older house can have a sign–

Betsey Dexter Dyer Professor Emerita, Wheaton College, Department of Biology

[email protected]

19 Lewis Avenue Walpole Massachusetts 0208