A Little History, A Little Wine For A Cause In Arlington

ARLINGTON, MA — Have you been to Arlington's Jason Russell House recently? Now's your chance. It's a chance to learn a bit more about Arlington's history, while you're at it.

Friday evening between 5:30 p.m. and 8: 30 p.m. the Arlington Historical Society will be hosting its annual wine reception at the Jason Russell House. It's not just a neighborhood event. The group is working to raise funds for the Historical Society as it works to shed light on Arlington's history, preserve its antiquities, preserve and operate the Jason Russell House, the Smith Museum and its collections, according to its website.

Attendees will be able to sample four different types of wine, watch a slide show featuring 150 years of Arlington along with light refreshments. There will also be a silent auction.

(For more local Arlington stories sign up for the free Arlington Patch newsletter and breaking alerts)

As with many historical societies, the Arlington Historical Society was founded in 1897 in response to a growth Boston was seeing that was trickling out to the suburbs.The group's website says the once quiet agricultural town began a transformation and residents felt they needed to preserve local historical knowledge.

The first 25 years of the historical society were devoted to collecting historical manuscripts, images, and objects which were then placed in Robbins Library for safe keeping, according to the website.

In 1923 the group restored the Jason Russell House, which was built in the 1700s. A bequest in the will of former president of the historical society, Judge James Parmenter, helped bring financial stability to the organization, the group's website notes. George Abbott Smith and his daughter, Elizabeth, helped the group buy buildings that had had popped up blocking the Jason Russell House from view and remove them in the 1960s.

The website also says the historical society completed building the Smith Museum in 1980, providing an exhibition and meeting hall, along with fire-safe storage for the Society’s Collections.

In the last quarter-century the historical society have moved toward preservation, including creation of the Arlington Historical Commission and the Arlington Historic District Commissions in the 1970s.

Today the goal of the historical society is to continue discovering, interpreting and sharing Arlington's heritage, according to its website. And that's where donations come in.

Location:
Arlington Historical Society 7 Jason Street

Date/Time Information:
Friday, September 22, 20175:30-8:30 pm

Tickets are $30 for members and $35 for nonmembers, $40 and $45 the day of the event