The Rocks Village historians are looking for descendants of families who lived here in earlier times. We would like to borrow any old photos, maps, deeds, stories, newspaper articles, or other documents that you might have in your family archives and that you would be willing to share with us. In addition, with your permission, a local photographer would like to capture your portrait for inclusion in an artist book to be published at a later date.
Contact Lydia@rocksvillage.org
Please join us at the Hand Tub House at 4:00 pm on Sunday May 7th for our Annual RVMA meeting.
Learn about:
Settees from 1895
Bylaws
Projects for FY 2017
Interested in being part of the Board of Directors, contact: cindy at Rocksvillage dot org.
For a great write up of our walking tour, please check out this blog.
by Alison Colby-Campbell
Discover the riverfront neighborhood of Rocks Village, once a bustling community of stores, taverns, and wharfs, settled in the late seventeenth century. Hear tales of merchants, shipbuilders, a purported witch, and more.
Explore local landmarks such as the Rocks Village Bridge and 1840 Hand Tub House (fire station), and learn the stories of those who lived, loved, and worked here.
Presented in partnership Historic New England is the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive regional heritage organization in the nation. HNE shares the region’s history through vast collections, publications, programs, historic proper- ties, archives, and family stories that document more than 400 years of life in New England.
$10
Registration recommended. Please call 617-994-5970 for more information or register online. Two times to chose from: 10:30 -11:30am or 1:00 – 2:00pm
The Rocks Village Memorial Association received a grant for 2017 from the Festival of Trees.
This money will be used to re plaster the interior that has water damage from when our roof leaked.
You will also see work being done on the exterior of the building this year as we will be re glazing the windows and repairing and painting the trim. Also with Festival of Trees money.
The Methuen Festival of Trees organization has invested over $1,500,000 in funds to preserve our area’s historic treasures.
Please join us for the next RVMA meeting scheduled for March 19th
Location: 28 River Road
Time: 4:00 – 5:30pm
Topics:
Toll House Historical Display
Memorial Day Brunch
Earth Day: April 22nd
Walking Tour: April 22nd
The RVMA donated a tree to the Methuen Festival of Trees this year with the team of Through the Ages. The tree included original art from Susan Bailey, Wimberley Burton, and Bill King. Dee Rowlands, Jennifer Rowland Clapp, Dee’s daughter, and Lydia Harris contributed decorations to the tree.
We would like to thank Home Depot for the donation of the tree and Historic New England for the beautiful books they donated to go along with the tree raffle.
The RVMA would like to heartily thank everyone who joined in helping during the yard sale, clean-up, and walking tour. Thanks to the many customers, generosity of donors, and walking tour participants, we are closer to our goal of glazing the windows and painting the trim of the HTH.
Clap Your Hands for the Hand Tub House
Kudos to the Rocks Village Memorial Association and their preservation of the Hand Tub House! Essex Heritage Trustee and Haverhill City Councilor Tom Sullivan invited Essex Heritage CEO Annie Harris to visit the restoration project last Friday where she was impressed to see how much has been accomplished by this entirely volunteer organization. They raised over $80,000 to restore the historic tub house and meeting hall dating from the 1830s, but there is more to be done. The goal is to create a museum on the first floor of the property and restore the meeting room on the second floor.
Save the Date: Big Doings in the Village on Saturday, October 15, 2016
8:30-3:00 Yard Sale – all sales go towards restoring and preserving the Hand Tub House. Contact Cindy@rocksvillage.org.
9:00-2:00 Fall Clean-Up – Get your hands dirty with preparing Hand Tub House Park for Winter. Contact Christine@rocksvillage.org
10:30-11:30 and 1:00-2:00 Historic Walking Tour – Register Here
6:30 -8:30 Annual Fall Feast – Enjoy a festive pot luck in one of the Village Houses. Contact Cindy@rocksvillage.org.
September 18th. The annual meeting of the RVMA will be held at 3:30 PM at The Hand Tub House. Exciting things are happening in the village, the HTH landscaping has made great strides, and an electrical upgrade has been done to the HTH. Peek in and see the new lighting. Upcoming projects for the HTH will be discussed as well as events for the coming year. This is your village, please join us.