hatfield historical society

Welcome to the Hatfield Historical Society website in Hatfield, Massachusetts. Check out upcoming and past Events, virtual exhibits (see below), featured items from the Town of Hatfield's Collections (also below), items to purchase in our museum shop (under the Contact Us tab) and our blog, "bird by bird." We look forward to seeing you!
(If you're looking for the Hatfield Museum & History Society in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, that's not us!)

Dickinson Memorial Hall, built in 1894 to house items important to Hatfield history, now holds the public library on the 1st floor and the museum on the 2nd floor.

Hatfield Historical Museum (2nd floor)
39 Main St., Hatfield, MA 01038
Open Tuesdays (1-2:30 pm);
the last Saturday of the month (9:30-11:00 am); and by appointment.
Closed in December and January and on holidays, including Thanksgiving weekend.

Curator: Meg Baker
Collections Assistant: Susan Donnelly

Current Exhibits:
Booze, Schmooze and News: Remembering Hatfield Taverns and Clubs
Through Marian's Eyes: A Red Cross Canteen Worker Recounts World War I
Out of the Darkness: A History of Illumination in Hatfield
Some Things Never Change: Kitchen tools through time

Virtual Exhibits:
1) The Lost Slides of L.H. Kingsley
2) Nothing But Net - Smith Academy Falcons in 1960 and 1961
3) Fifty Years Later -- Hatfield Vietnam War Veterans Share Their Stories.
The last two are ongoing projects, and we'd like to add your stories!:
4) Hatfield Tobacco Stories
5) and the Hatfield Covid-19 Collection

Check out our newest virtual exhibit, Celebrating Multi-generational Family Farms!

The Farm Museum is housed in a restored tobacco shed between the elementary school and the cemetery, behind Memorial Hall

Hatfield Farm Museum
7 Billings Way (off Main St.), Hatfield, MA
Open Saturdays Memorial Day - Columbus Day (12- 2 pm)
and by appointment, in season.

Curator: George Ashley
For queries, click on "Contact Us" link above.

Current Exhibits:
Farm Tools and Agricultural Work

Our six fall 2021 virtual programs, covering transcribing handwritten documents and doing historical research on families and houses, can now be viewed on our YouTube channel. You can also watch our Veterans Day program there -- sharing stories from some of Hatfield's Vietnam War veterans. Check our Events and/or our Volunteers pages for descriptions and how to sign up as a volunteer..

Support the Hatfield Historical Society by voting for us in Florence Bank's Customers' Choice Community Grants. You don't need to wait until year-end, you can vote right now, type in Hatfield Historical Society, and be done with it! For more info or to vote, click HERE.

To help us continue saving and sharing Hatfield history, please consider a donation or adding the Historical Society to your estate plans.

For Membership, please note which level, under Special Instructions, and for all transactions, make sure to check the box to forward your address to the Society. Thank you!

Thank You Local Businesses and Groups!

Many thanks to the following supporters for their generous donations, which will make 2022's programs, exhibits, social media and more, possible.
Please thank them with your patronage and let them know you appreciate it!
Companies who donated at a higher level are also listed on our Partners page,
where you can directly link to their business websites.

Leadership Circle
Szawlowski Farms Agricultural Foundation
USA Waste & Recycling
Szawlowski Potato Farms
Dave Wickles Trucking

Benefactors
All States Materials Group Charitable Fund at Community Foundation of Western MA
Hatfield Lions Club
Czelusniak Funeral Home
Thayer Excavating, In Memory of
Joan A. Thayer

Patrons
Prestige Plumbing & Heating
Raynor Door Sales, In Memory of Elaine Paniczko
Shea Landscaping
Marketing Doctor
All Seasons Heating/AC
Amherst Insurance
Paciorek Electric
Center School LLC
UMassFive College Federal Credit Union
Clean Air Lawn Care

Advocates
Acme Automotive Center
Webber & Grinnell Insurance
Richardson's Candy Kitchen
Wohl Family Dentistry
Chestnut Mountain Tree Farm
Hatfield Pub
Lincoln Real Estate
Mark Carmien, Maple & Main Realty
The Lisa Ekus Group

“As a small business owner, I recognize the importance of preserving history – many of our famous recipes were passed down from the former owners, the Richardsons. Our families are also deeply entrenched in the history of Hatfield, with my family having been here for well over 100 years, and my husband’s family farming here since 1661! The entire valley is so rich with history and we are fortunate to be able to enjoy it all – thanks to the efforts of organizations like the Hatfield Historical Society.

-- Kathie Woodward Williams,
Richardson’s Candy Kitchen, Deerfield, MA

To visit one of Hatfield's two museums on a day not normally open (see opening info below), please contact us a week or more in advance, and we will do our best to accommodate you. Also, if you are researching a particular family, site or topic, it would be helpful to know that ahead of time. Thank you. We look forward to seeing you!

The Hatfield Historical Society gratefully acknowledges and thanks Hatfield residents for their past support through our town's Community Preservation Act. CPA funding has allowed us to inventory the collection of the Hatfield Historical Museum, rehouse artifacts in archival enclosures, preserve or restore historically significant at-risk items, apply for and administer grants and share the collection with the community in multiple ways.