Hidden treasures in peril: Middleborough Historical Association

Hidden treasures in peril
Many small museums are struggling in a down economy, while others survive, even thrive, thanks to dedicated volunteers
By Emily Sweeney

... volunteers at the Middleborough Historical Association have been working diligently to preserve the one-of-a-kind antiques that are on display at the Middleborough Historical Museum.

It’s known to many as the “Tom Thumb Museum,’’ because the collections include the child-sized clothing and tiny personal items of Charles Sherwood Stratton, the 19th-century celebrity dwarf whose stage name was General Tom Thumb. The artifacts are housed in a cluster of historic buildings on Jackson Street. The museum closes every winter because it has no heat.

“If we could heat those front two buildings, it would make such a difference,’’ said Cynthia McNair, president of the historical association. She worries about the lack of climate control at the museum, and hopes the extreme temperatures don’t deteriorate the precious antiques.

Because the museum is only open seasonally, it isn’t eligible to apply for many grants, said McNair. “It’s a Catch-22.’’

McNair said the museum fell into dire straits a few years ago when one of the ceilings caved in. Repairs needed to be made immediately, but the association wasn’t sure how to pay for them.

“Three summers ago, we met and we’re going, ‘Which building should we save?’ ’’ she said. “That’s how bad things were.’’

Luckily, the museum inherited some money from a local estate, just in the nick of time, which enabled the association to fix the roof and make repairs. Volunteers are now reorganizing the museum and arranging the displays. Their goal is to raise the museum’s profile and draw more visitors over the next couple of years.

“Our attendance was definitely lower this year,’’ said McNair.

In an effort to attract bigger crowds, they’re planning to revamp the exhibits and commemorate the 150th anniversary of Tom Thumb’s marriage on Feb. 10, 1863, to Middleborough native Lavinia Warren.

“We made it this far,’’ she said. “The potential is here. We have a lot of work to do.’’

Similar efforts are underway at the Robbins Museum of Archaeology, which is located across the street from the Middleborough Historical Museum. It’s maintained by the nonprofit Massachusetts Archaeological Society and houses thousands of Native American artifacts, some of them more than 10,000 years old. The museum’s hours of operation were recently scaled back from three days to two.

“All of the little museums and societies have had a tough time in the recession,’’ said Suanna Crowley, a geoarcheologist who regularly leads tours there and is known to schoolchildren as “Dr. Dirt.’’

Despite the reduced hours, Crowley said, everything else is going pretty well at the museum, which she calls “a hidden gem.’’

The Robbins Museum is trying to expand its educational programming and interpretive gallery offerings, and its collection keeps growing, she said.

“We’re actually seeing an uptick in programming and foot traffic at the museum,’’ Crowley said. “We feel kind of lucky.’’