Mission
The mission of the Auburn Historical Society is to preserve and share the history of our town and surrounding area. Through the collection, preservation, and exhibition of historical materials, artifacts, and stories, we strive to engage the community and promote a deeper appreciation of our local history for current and future generations.
About the Society
The Auburn Historical Society was founded in 1967 by a group of citizens with a shared goal of preserving and sharing town history. For over 50 years, the Society has been working on preserving Auburnās history and holding public meetings and events to share this history with the community.
The Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, run entirely by volunteers. We receive no funds from the Town of Auburn, and rely on membership dues, donations, grants, and fundraisers to operate and fulfill our mission.
About 41 South Street
Originally a one-room schoolhouse built in the 1700s, the former Auburn Center School was picked up from its foundation and moved to Coolidge Street and converted to a private residence in the early 1920s. In 1922 a two-room school was built upon the foundation. It was dedicated in honor of Chester P. Tuttle, Auburnās first World War I casualty. For many years the building served the Auburn School Department, from a standalone school to administration offices, and overflow classrooms from other schools.
In 1942, during World War II, the building served as the ARP Hospital with Dr. Gordon C. Milne as the chief medical officer. The Emergency Base Hospital was established in the case of an air raid and saw the building being equipped with blackout shutters.
After the war, the building was returned to the School Department. The South Street Annex, as it became known as, served as one of the departmentās administration buildings, along with the Merriam Building and the former Stoneville School until the 1980s when the Randall Elementary School was closed and the School Departmentās offices consolidated into one building.
The Auburn District Nursing Association moved into the building in June 1982 and used 41 South Street as their headquarters until 1997 when they purchased the former Pakachoag Church at 191 Pakachoag Street.
The Auburn Historical Society was able to negotiate a lease with the Town of Auburn for 41 South Street and began a multi-year renovation to restore the building to show its original use as a school. With the aid of many donations and several grants, including a $100,000 grant from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, we were able to create Auburnās first historical museum.
About the Museum
On May 22, 2004, the grand opening celebration of the new Auburn Historical Museum took place after several years of planning and renovations to the historic Tuttle Square School.
The former two-room schoolhouse became a two-room museum, with the Alex M. Pappas Museum Room dedicated to showing thematic displays of Auburnās history. Here visitors will find exhibits on Native Americans in Auburn, Auburnās Mills, businesses and restaurants in town, Joel Proutyās Civil War uniform jacket, and many more.
In the John E. and Ethel E. Riley Meeting Room, visitors will find our collection of Auburn High School and Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School yearbooks, historic Auburn records, along with several exhibits and displays honoring Auburnās men and women who served in the military. This room also contains rotating exhibit space, some of which include exhibits on āAuburns of America,ā āAuburn Through Time,ā a display of vintage Valentines, and images of post-war America from the Winfried P. Sommerfeld Collection.
Over the years, students from Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School have built display cases, drawers under the display cases for safe storage of artifacts and upgraded exhibit lighting.
The building is still owned by the Town of Auburn and leased to the Auburn Historical Society for the purpose of a museum of Auburnās history.
Auburn Historical Society & Museum 