Holyoke Street Railway Online Exhibit
Holyoke Street Railway has an interesting history in Holyoke and beyond. This online exhibit, developed by Jeremy Smith, will take you through various decades of the railway’s history, from the 1880s to the 1980s. The exhibit includes vintage videos of the Holyoke Street Railway while it was active.
“Good Silk is Always Good Property”
William Skinner and Sons, Manufacturing began making silk in Holyoke, MA in 1874 and grew to become the largest silk cloth manufacturer in the world known for their fine quality fabrics. This exhibit is a brief introduction to the history of establishment of William Skinner and Sons in Holyoke, MA and uses photographs taken inside the mill in the 1920s to show the mill process of manufacturing silk cloth.
Skinner Servants
Maintaining Wistariahurst required the labor of up to ten or more hired staff. Yet these employees and their stories and relationships elude us. Some staff members devoted their entire working lives to the Skinner family. This exhibit shares some brief glimpses into these servants lives through clues researchers have found in letters, diaries and photographs.
I’ve Never Seen a Place So Fine: The Orchards Golf Course
This online exhibit tells a story through the eyes of former pro golfers members who cherish memories of knowing Elisabeth Skinner and golfing on a Donald Ross designed course in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
Fine Art and Instruments: Paintings of the Belle Skinner Collection
Paintings by David Barclay that capture a portion of some instruments in the Belle Skinner collection of antique musical instruments.
The Skinner Coffee House
This exhibit celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first opening of the William Skinner Coffee House. Sisters Belle and Katharine Skinner established this settlement house in Holyoke to provide educational and social opportunities for women who worked in the factories of Holyoke. The exhibit was created by graduate students of Public History from the University of Massachusettsand was funded in part by the Wistariahurst Museum Association and the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, which receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.