128 DIRECTORY OF AMERICAN MUSEUMS 



ture, occupying about 1836 square feet of floor space in a building 

 valued at $3500. The museum is in charge of Joel W. Giles, curator, 

 and is open free to the public on the third Thursday of every month 

 from 2.30 to 7.30. The average attendance is 20. 



MEDFORD: 



MEDFORD HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 



This society, organized in 1896, possesses antiquarian collections 

 of local interest, including rare books and manuscripts, prints, por- 

 traits, articles connected with Medford's ship-building industry, the 

 Brooks collection of Indian relics, the Chandler collection of civil war 

 relics and others. These are housed in the home of the society, the old 

 Francis Home, built about 1780, and are in charge of the curator, 

 Agnes W. Lincoln. The society also has a library of about 1000 vol- 

 umes, and publishes a quarterly, the "Medford Historical Register. " 



METHUEN: 



METHUEN HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 



The society has a small collection of local historical material. 



NANTUCKET: 



NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 



This association was organized in 1894 and occupies two buildings, 

 one of which is a fireproof concrete structure, affording a floor space 

 of about 1500 square feet for the display of a large collection of objects 

 of local historical interest. The museum includes a large collection 

 of furniture and household effects, some of which are about 200 years 

 old; a large collection of portraits; a very fine collection of articles 

 relating to the whale fishery, which was an important industry of the 

 island from 1690 to 1865; and a large collection of old manuscripts 

 and deeds, some of which were executed by the Indians and given to 

 the early settlers the first deed on record bearing the date October 

 13, 1641. The whaling ships frequently visited the Pacific and Indian 

 oceans and the museum contains many relics of these cruises. 



The association has a membership of 320 and owns property, 

 aside from its exhibits, to the value of $17,000. Its income is about 

 $1200 a year, derived from interest on invested funds, admission fees, 

 membership dues, and donations. The museum is in charge of Susan 

 E. Brock, curator and librarian, and is open to visitors from June 15 to 

 September 15. The attendance is 2000-3000 annually. 



