The Old Meeting House Museum Home of 

The Atheneum Society of Wilbraham

About the Atheneum Society of Wilbraham

The Society was incorporated in 1963 as a non-profit organization by a group of concerned townspeople.   Their purpose was to form a permanent local group to preserve artifacts and memorabilia relating to the people and history of Wilbraham.

The operation of our organization is funded entirely by the dues, gifts, and activities of our membership, which is open to all interested persons from Wilbraham and other communities.

Mission Statement: The Atheneum Society of Wilbraham exists to preserve local history and culture within the context of the town’s historical Old Meeting House and Hearse House museums to share knowledge, educate and involve our local community.

Value Statement: We value the camaraderie of community and our accomplishments as preservationists and historical property caretakers by interpreting historical collections and artifacts through meaningful exhibits and maintaining our historical structures. We engage in educational, social and interactive programs to preserve the organization and ensure that local history is conserved for future generations.

We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

PROGRAMS FOR 2024

Free and open to the public.(Please take note of locations.)

SATURDAY MAY 11    2-4 PM  OLD MEETING HOUSE

Museum will be open during Hill Climb and antique card activities in the center of Wilbraham

SATURDAY JUNE 8    2-4 PM  WILBRAHAM LIBRARY

Dave Bourcier, author of Wilbraham Historical Tidbits website, will present an illustrated presentation highlighting fascinating facts and photos about town historical sites.

SATURDAY JULY 13    2-4 PM  OLD MEETING HOUSE

Ice Cream Social in the Museum Garden

SATURDAY AUGUST 3   2-4 PM   WILBRAHAM LIBRARY

Well-known entertaining storyteller Dennis Picard reveals that several whalers came from Wilbraham and what their roles were in the whaling industry.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 7   2-4 PM  OLD MEETING HOUSE

TBD

SATURDAY OCTOBER 5   2-4 PM    WILBRAHAM LIBRARY

N. Y. Times best-selling author Michael Tougias will give a slide presentation on the war between the Colonists and Native Americans in 1675-76. Tougias is the author of the acclaimed Until I Have No Country (A novel of King Philip's War), and co-author with Eric Schultz of 

King Philip's War: The History and Legacy of America's Forgotten Conflict. 

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 2   2-4 PM    WILBRAHAM LIBRARY

Three days before the National Election, expert Glen Clark will display and explain the relevance of his historical political memorabilia collection

SATURDAY DECEMBER 1   2-5 PM   OLD MEETING HOUSE

Christmas Tree Festival features mulled cider, ice carving display

Kids activities and holiday cookies

Museum complex

Hearse Acquisition
Early in the 2000's, the Atheneum Society of Wilbraham acquired this circa 1870’s horse drawn hearse.  

 Bell from second Baptist Church - Circa 1800

Butler Hill, Boston Road Wilbraham - Gift of Jesse Rice

GET INVOLVED

Membership & Monetary Donations

If you, your family or business would like to join with other concerned persons to help preserve the Wilbraham of the past for future generations, please become a member.  Gain access to historical resources, support the preservation of documents, artifacts, and the The Old Meeting House and Hearse House for future generations.  Support our development of educational programs for children. Members receive the Society's Newsletter, The Peppercorn.  

Membership contact: membership@wilbrahamatheneum.org

Annual membership $20.00
Business membership $50.00

New members click here for mail-in Membership Form

Please make checks payable to: 

The Atheneum Society of Wilbraham
Old Meeting House
450 Main Street
Wilbraham  MA 01095

Financial donations are always appreciated.   

Make a PayPal donation or renew your membership by scanning the QR code below. If renewing membership via PayPal, please send an email to membership@wilbrahamatheneum.org with your full name and preferred email address, along with any updates, such as name, address, or telephone number.

Volunteer

How can you support The Old Meeting House Museum and the Wilbraham Atheneum Society?  Your volunteer support can help make the Atheneum Society a success. We need your ideas and your input to help us develop the best programs possible.  Please consider helping in one of the following areas:Publicity
Exhibition Assistants
Grounds care
Gardening
Help with special events
Oral HistoryContact: volunteer@wilbrahamatheneum.org

Artifact Donations 

The Atheneum Society of Wilbraham is always happy to consider donations that will enhance the breadth and depth of its collections. The society’s primary focus is on items of historical significance to Wilbraham but will consider items of historical significance to a larger geographic area. The museum accepts artifacts from prehistoric times to the present day for our collection.  We collect a wide variety of artifacts from those used historically by well-known Wilbraham people to everyday objects of today.  Each potential donation is reviewed by the curatorial staff members to evaluate its appropriateness for the permanent collection. 
 
Artifacts accepted into the collection should meet the following basic criteria:
1.   The artifact has a Wilbraham (or local area) connection and a known history (who made the item, who used the item, where was it acquired, when was it used, etc.).
2.   The artifact is in stable physical condition.
3.   The artifact is not already overrepresented in the collection.
4.   The artifact can be acquired without restrictions, such as requirements for a long-term loan or permanent exhibition of the artifact.

If you have item(s) you think would be of interest to us please contact us by phone at 596-4097 or through email at curator@wilbrahamatheneum.org. Please do not drop off or mail objects without first contacting the museum; we want to make sure that your potential gift is properly identified and cared for. Thank you for considering the donation of artifacts to our museum exhibits. Please contact our curator to discuss the donation of historical artifacts for the Museum Collection.
Email: curator@wilbrahamatheneum.org

Thanks to memberships and donations, the ASW volunteers and members are able to: 

  • Maintain historic museums at the Old Meeting House and Hearse House on Main St. 

  • Create long term and short term exhibits that explore Wilbraham history 

  • Bring programs of historic interest to our community 


All of this is accomplished at no cost to the museum visitor.


VISITING US

Open House 
The Old Meeting House is open to the public once a month, May through December. Please keep an eye on our Programs page for event information.

Photography and Videotaping 
Photography in the museum buildings is permitted for personal use only.  Commercial and press photography, commercial artwork resulting from the creation of images, and the sale of photographic images taken in The Old Meeting House and Hearse House are prohibited without prior authorization from the Atheneum Society of Wilbraham. No tripods are permitted without prior authorization.   

450 Main Street
Wilbraham, MA 01095

413.596.4097

We are open to the public once a month. Please see our program schedule for details.  

Our board of trustees

President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Corresponding Secretary

Curatorial
Education
Hospitality
Building/Grounds
Publicity
Programs
Membership
Web Admin/Social Media 
Peppercorn 
Development
Research

David Bourcier
Karen Geaghan
Nick DeCondio
JoAnne DeGray
Patricia O'Brien

Lucy Peltier
(Open Position)
Patricia O'Brien, Marty Lyman
David Bourcier
Charlie Bennett
Charlie Bennett
Karen Geaghan
Lucy Peltier, Nick DeCondio, Dave Bourcier
Marty Lyman
(Open Position)
David Bourcier