Webster Dudley Historical Society

Here is some information pertaining to the historical and current name of this river.

• 1811 map: French River

• 1831 map: French River

• 1855 map: French River

• The Huguenots in the Nipmuck Country or Oxford prior to 1713, by George F. Daniels, 1880

p. 49: "While on the subject of names we would not that there is an obvious impropriety in calling the river running west of the village, the "French river." The tradition al...

See this trailer about "Samuel Slater: traitor or hero" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_p2syMs7j4&feature=youtu.be.

There will be other suggested videos to look at as well.

Several months ago while investigating surplus furnishings of the Corbin Library, pending its demolition, I learned of the contents of a file cabinet which contained the collection of the old Webster Music Club. An article in the Webster Times May 8, 1958 reported on the Golden Anniversary of the club which had been organized May 1, 1908.   The club has long since ceased to exist and its collection - consisting of music books and scores, along with a few whis...

At it's December 2016 Christmas/Holiday party/meeting member Addie Healy (also DAR and Southbridge Historical Society) displayed one of several plaques obtained to commemorate the burial place of Dudley Revolutionary War veterans, as member Sylvia Gamache looks on. (photo by Greg Vasale)

Malser Trust Grant approved.

The Janet Malser Hunanities Trust approved a grant in April 2016 for continued repairs to the WDHS museum housed at the Little Red Schoolhouse, aka Fenner School, at 451 School St. in Webster.  We are extremely grateful for their ongoing support.

Here is a running list of past WDHS-sponsored programs:

2016 - Mar 31 - Mulicultural night at Park Ave. Elementary School

2015 - Sep 24 - Railroad Program, Corbin Library

2015 - Oct 22 - 1955 Flood, Crawford Library

2014 - Nov 6 - Gilded Age, Corbin Library (Paul Macek)

2014 - Oct 24 - Civl War, Crawford Library (Mike Braniff)

2013 - Oct 10 - Old Dudley, Crawford Library (Mike Braniff)

June 2014

WDHS agreed to sponsor Mark & Raianne Richards application for a Malser Trust Grant for a 10-15 minute local history video.  See their site on our "Links" page.

November 6 2014

The Gilded Age in Webster and Dudley

6:30 PM at the Corbin Library

Come learn about the Gilded Age in Webster and Dudley from Paul Macek.

Webster from about 1870-1900 was experiencing dramatic growth in industry, leading to economic growth throughout town. Come learn about the changes and differences between Webster and Dudley from Paul Macek

Many thanks going out to  Pauline Dziembowski and the Duval family for their very generous donation of the printing press. We were able to find a buyer, so it now has a new home and we have a few more dollars to help fix the museum. Definitely a win-win!

Thanks also to members John Mrazik, Ron Bannister, and Ron Heroux for their help in loading it onto the truck for transport to its new home in Rhode Island.

It's beca...