The Eli Deming House: A Continuing Saga
By Liz Shafer Period photos courtesy of Dorset Historical Society The historic narrative of many an old house is often broken—even lost—with the passage of time. People move out, circumstances change, and a different story begins and ends with each new household. But when several generations of the same family spend their lives...
Linda O’Leary—To Serve with Love
by Liz Shafer Linda O’Leary, pictured above with her faithful companion, Rosie, is perhaps one of Dorset’s most universally known denizens. Not from celebrity or notoriety, mind you, although she is recognized for acting as consultant by acclaimed author Anita Shreve in her novel ‘Rescue.’ And it’s not because she comes from a large, extended family with a long history in the...
The Big House — Love’s Legacy
by Liz Schafer Elizabeth Payson was an accomplished and industrious young woman who began a writing career at the age of 16. George Lewis Prentiss was the son of a prosperous shipmaster who became known as a forceful messenger of God’s Word. The two married in 1845, moving from their native Maine to Manhattan, New York, where George’s skill as...
Dorset Historical Society—Dorset Way Back When
By Liz Schafer. Above, The Bley House Museum, home of the Dorset Historical Society. When you ask Jon Mathewson about his job as curator for the DHS (Dorset Historical Society), he talks a lot about synergy. He credits a list of volunteers with running the show at the organization’s Bley House Museum. Folks of all ages, including local business people,...
Peter Davis – A Long and Varied Life
By Liz Schafer “I’ve lived a long life in three wildly different chapters,” says 95-year-old Peter Davis as he describes his pilgrimage from child actor in 1930s and 40s Hollywood working with such luminaries as Shirley Temple and Jack Benny, to a 33-year career with the US government working under nine presidents, to becoming deeply involved with conservation efforts in...
The Howe Farm – An Old Home with a New Life
By Liz Schafer Some older homes are dynamic archives to generations of one family. Others have more mysterious stories to tell; they’ve seen inhabitants come and go. One East Dorset couple on Mad Tom Road has encountered a few clues about the history of their circa 1800 homestead. But while they may not be able to chronicle a complete narrative...
East Dorset: A Mining Boom Town
By Liz Schafer. Photo courtesy of Dorset Historical Society. East Dorset (circa 1895) If you travel through East Dorset along today’s Route 7, there is little to indicate that it was once a thriving center of commerce. Old photographs from the mid-19th century show clusters of buildings - now gone - that were devoted to the quarrying, polishing and shipping of marble....
Dorset Hollow: A Storied Landscape
By Liz Schafer Dorset Hollow’s six-mile loop, formed by the Upper and Lower Hollow Roads, is one of the area’s most scenic drives, and a popular destination for walkers, who enjoy its beauty and solitude, and where well-kept historical homes and barns mingle with beautiful estates amidst a dramatic landscape formed by the steep, wooded mountainsides of Dorset Peak, Netop...
Alan Calfee – Seeing the Forest for the Trees
By Liz Schafer Alan Calfee grew up spending his summers at the Dorset home his parents purchased in the 1950s. To Alan, the best part of that home was what he fondly calls ‘the family woodlot.’ “I knew every corner of it,” he says. He and his siblings would spend hours “playing, exploring and camping,” encouraged by their mother’s joy...
Long Trail School – A Dorset Couple’s Living Legacy
By Liz Schafer Dave and Rene Wilson love to talk about their kids; there are hundreds of them. As founders of the Long Trail School, “We have stories upon stories upon stories which we love to reminisce about and share,” says Rene. “And the absolute joy of our retirement has been the continued connection with our alums.” Dave had been...
