Templeton 100 years ago was quite different from the town we see today.

“[There were] farms, and more factories than our neighboring towns, with trains buzzing on a regular schedule, the Templeton Street railway carrying people from neighboring towns, and the ‘Pines’ run by the Baker family offering clam bakes, music, movies and more,” said Brian Tanguay, president of the Narragansett Historical Society, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. “It was a very busy place, and with the Templeton Inn on the common, cars and horse-drawn carriages came to town to enjoy the most elegant inn in New England.”

The Templeton Museum, which had been created around 1880 by Hosea Lane, was reorganized in 1924 as the Narragansett Historical Society by Helen Parkhurst at her home. The Historical Society was later incorporated in 1934, with her daughter Mrs. Henry Kirke White serving as the society’s first president.

The Historical Society was originally located on the second floor of the Boynton Library. Society meetings were being held in private homes. With the purchase of 1 Boynton Road and the revitalization of the building with a donation from the estate of Mrs. Adelaide B. Howland, the society finally had a place to call home, bringing together its vast collection that was stored all over town. The current society has a growing membership of just over 550 members.

“From photo albums to records, the collection is vast and varied. We have artworks dating back to 1820 and furniture that once filled the rooms of many charter members,” Tanguay said. “The oldest item in the society’s collection is from Grace Blodgett, who donated her hope chest given to her by her grandfather, which came from overseas and dates back to 1620s.”

As for new items in the society’s collection, Tanguay said, “Every month something ‘new’ to us arrives via mail or is hand-delivered.”

One of the society’s more recent projects has been the restoration of Grange Hall.

“The Grange project has been going on for 20 years, starting with the outside work, foundation, roof and siding, all new windows and doors, and recently the inside, which was gutted and wired, insulated, sheetrocked [and] painted,” Tanguay said. The interior also has new lights and newly refinished floors. “The last restoration work [that was] done a few weeks ago were the two stage curtains, an advertising curtain and a painted scene on a grand drape measuring 12 feet tall and 22 feet wide. The Grange Hall is being done at an amazing rate with workers coming and going.”

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Among the items on display are a lighted stained glass window standing 15 feet tall, two Civil War memorial frames with four marble plaques inserted, various Civil War artifacts and documents, a Templeton Inn display with a scale model, many original artifacts from the inn, and an original weights and measures scale from 1858 that measures around 7 feet tall and 8 feet wide in its original wooden cabinet.

“The Grange Hall is being fitted with some of the newer items like the stained glass window and the Civil War memorial frames. These are newly displayed from storage of up to 70 years ago, so we are the first to see them as they were originally shown over 100 years ago,” he noted.

The Historical Society documents significant events, both good and bad, throughout the town’s history.

“The good events that come to mind would be that of our townspeople who made a difference in our town and for our country,” Tanguay said. “Templeton has a rich history of people who started here either at birth or in business and went on to make a huge difference in the world, so much so that we can write a book, which may happen in the near future.”

Some of the worst events, Tanguay added, have been related to fires that have destroyed homes, businesses, hotels and factories.

“Many lives were lost, as well as farm animals, which devastated many families,” he said. “The hurricanes of 1936 and 1938 flooded the town in most precincts, taking out anything in the path as the rivers crested.”

Tanguay said the dedication of the Historical Society’s volunteers has been essential to completing many projects.

“The society’s project list is constantly growing. The most wonderful part is the dedication of our volunteers who have amassed thousands of hours completing the list of things that need to be worked on,” Tanguay said. “It’s amazing to me that now we can check them off as quickly as we write them down. I must have created a dozen lists just in the past few years, and all are checked off.

“I usually spend time in the Grange Hall creating new projects on a weekly basis,” Tanguay continued. “We are a very lucky historical society to have so many members and friends willing to get dirty and make this an amazing place for our town to enjoy for the next 100 years.”

Upcoming events sponsored by the Narragansett Historical Society include Motorpalooza on the common on Sept. 22 and the tree lighting on the first Sunday in December. More information about the society can be found at narragansetthistoricalsociety.org.

Carla Charter is a freelance writer from Phillipston. Her writing focuses on the history of the North Quabbin area. Contact her at cjfreelancewriter@earthlink.net.