Historical Society's Education Center Nearing Completion

Under construction since October of last year, the Falmouth Historical Society's new building, dubbed the Education Center, is finally nearing completion. Executive Director Mark Schmidt says the new space will provide the Historical Society with a much-needed expansion in size and scope.

“We're trying to be a little more forward moving and forward thinking, and making things a little better for those who come and visit,” Schmidt says. “It allows us a lot of options.”

The Education Center, which will likely be completed this fall, will offer the Historical Society a dedicated space for its many lectures and events. Instead of holding lectures at various nearby venues, the organization will be able to provide its members and visitors with a regular, predictable destination, complete with added parking space.

That should allow the Society to augment the services it provides to both Falmouth residents and summer visitors. “It makes us more of a 12-month institution,” Schmidt says.

The building's basement is set aside for archival storage, allowing the society to preserve its collection of historic artifacts and documents in a centralized, protected environment. “We'll do a better job of preserving the past with archival storage,” says Schmidt.

Begun shortly after Schmidt took over as executive director, the Education Center's progress has been piecemeal, by design. The shell was constructed without electrical, plumbing, and other fixtures, as the Society awaited funding for those components. That came this summer, in the form of a $100,000 grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund, a state agency that distributes money to worthy cultural organizations.

Once the second round of work began, Schmidt says, progress was surprisingly quick. Expecting a gradual transformation of the empty shell into a functioning building, Schmidt instead found himself saying, “Wow. The end really is in sight.”

Historical Society events are expected to begin taking place at the Education Center sometime this fall. Check the organization's website, and Falmouth Patch, for more information.