From the Executive Director's Desk

When you walk through the Millyard and downtown Amesbury, you can see that it was meant to be filled with people and activities. Take a minute to imagine the hustle and bustle - the sound of carriage wheels on the road, the stamp of horse hooves, and the chatter of busy people on the street. Take a look at this late 19th century postcard image of Market Square. It is abuzz with life.

Like many other mill towns in New England, when the mills no longer operated and the workers ceased to come and go with the chiming of the factory whistle, Amesbury lost a bit of its sense of place. But what does remain is the historic landscape - the mill buildings, the storefronts, and the river. In fact, that is one of the core philosophies of the ACM - that history is all around us, if you just look hard enough.

As the weather warms up, and we turn the calendar page to June (already!) we are excited for our upcoming programs and events. We hope they will help to bring back some of that sense of place, by looking at the history around us.

Starting on June 9th, the Industrial History Center will be open later in the evenings. We will be open all summer for Thursdays in the Millyard, from 2:00 to 6:00 PM. We hope to see you as you enjoy an evening in Amesbury’s downtown, perhaps for the Chamber of Commerce’s Summer Music Series at the Amphitheater. What better way to get a sense of the purpose of a space like the Upper Millyard, than to see it filled with life?

Have you ever wanted to get a peek at our antique carriages up close? We will be bringing them out for the annual Chamber of Commerce Block Party on Thursday, June 23rd from 5:30 to 8:30 PM. Anytime we can show carriages out and about in Amesbury, we help to bolster that understanding of life in the past.

Also, in that spirit of looking to the past for inspiration - we invite you to experience Aperture on Amesbury: Then and Now, on June 25th from 10:00 AM to noon. This program, for all level of photographers, gives you the opportunity look at historic photos of Amesbury and to use them as a catalyst for capturing that same place with your own unique lens. REGISTER HERE before it fills up!

The Amesbury Carriage Museum strives to be your window into the past and we welcome you join us for a peek through that window and at all that we have to offer.

Most sincerely,

Kelly Daniell, Executive Director
kdaniell@amesburycarriagemuseum.org
978.834.5058