Museum - The Gardner Museum in Gardner, Massachusetts

Show us how YOU celebrate National Hat Day!

Did you know that today in 1841, Herman Melville boarded the whaleship Acushnet and sailed out of New Bedford, the whaling capital of the world. As he later wrote about his character Ishmael, that ship would be "my Yale College and my Harvard." After five years at sea, Melville returned to Boston and began writing novels about his adventures. He published five books in five yearsall of them commercially successful sea tales. In 1850, he moved to a farm in the Berkshires. There he wrote Moby-Dick. A critical and commercial failure, the book marked the end of Melville's career as a successful novelist. Moby-Dick was not rediscovered until the 1920s. It has been considered one of the single greatest American novels ever since. (MassMoments)

The season for giving does not end with Christmas! A heartfelt thank-you to all our members and visitors who generously donated much needed brand new items for the less fortunate in Gardner. Our museum coordinator brought all donations to the Gardner CAC today where they were gratefully received by the staff and will soon be given out.

And, it’s a wrap! Today was our last day open to the public until we will resume our regular opening hours in March. Thank you all for your support! 2020 has been a challenging year for everyone and without our beloved members, and many visitors we just couldn't still be here doing what we do. We were overwhelmed by your support! Now it is time to slow down, breathe, and remember all of the great things in our lives. For us here, that truly means you, our wonderful members, and visitors. We wish you and yours a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Bright New Year! Stay safe & healthy! See you in 2021! (Of course, our museum coordinator will be at the museum, taking care of all behind-the-scenes matters, so feel free to send an email anytime during the closures.)

Did you know that today in 1833, religious and social reformer Abner Kneeland printed a letter deemed so blasphemous by a Massachusetts court that it landed the former clergyman in jail. Kneeland capped 30 years of increasingly liberal religious preaching by declaring, "Universalists believe in a god . . . that . . . is nothing more than a chimera of their own imagination." He was tried, convicted of having libeled God, and sentenced to 60 days in jail. Freethinkers such as E...merson, Garrison, and Alcott rallied, unsuccessfully, to defend his freedom of speech. Massachusetts authorities were so embarrassed by the case that, even though the law against blasphemy remains on the books, no one in the state has ever again been convicted of that offense. (MassMoments) Gardner born Abner Kneeland was included in our Fall/Winter exhibit "Women's Rights & Abolition" for his advocacy for Women's Rights. See more

The museum is seeking a reliable person (or youth group) for shoveling our front steps, the front sidewalk, and the side door access this season. We offer Community Service Hours (for students), or an annual museum membership (for adults). Please contact us at [email protected]

Like the mayor points out, we still have many offerings in our gift shop (at about 9:30 minutes). Support your city’s non-profit museum when you are out and about on any of the following small business Saturdays! Or at any other time during our opening hours Wednesday-Sunday, 1-4 pm

We were about to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. But there is an unfortunate dark shadow over the holiday which we, as a historical institution, cannot and should not overlook. Many Wampanoag and other Native Americans were captured and sold into slavery by European sea captains. The Puritans’ first autumn harvest celebration in 1621 lead to an epidemic of leptospirosis and the deaths of 90 percent of some Native American populations, followed by the genocide as our nation... expanded westward about 200 years later. Add the modern day Black Friday behavior (and even related injuries) to the atrocities done to the Native Americans and it really is not a holiday! BUT we CAN focus on celebrating a Thanksgiving that is kind of just something independent of its history, and cherish its positive aspects: nature’s bountiful harvest this season, and community members helping each other (volunteering time or resources to people who aren’t lucky enough to be able to go get or cook food) and their cultural/community institutions! We are very thankful for all the support which our non-profit city museum received this season! The membership contributions, and many donations (monetary, volunteer time, and items to be sold in our gift shop) will ensure our survival in these hard and crazy times. The attached article refers to the latest acts of generosity. And we can still be cozy in the cold weather, eat delicious food, spend time with family (whatever that means to you) and afterwards get ready for the holiday season So, today’s statement of well-wishing is simply: Here’s to hoping you have a great Turkey Day!

Did you know that today in 1888, one of the most ferocious storms of the nineteenth century battered the New England coast. In the seas off Hull, "Storm Warriors," as the men of the United States Life-Saving Service were known, saved 29 lives. One crew rowed 6 miles out to a wrecked vessel and rescued seven sailors. For almost a century, Massachusetts Humane Society volunteers had been helping to rescue mariners in distress. When the federal government formally organized the United States Life-Saving Service in 1878, paid surfmen took over most of the work. The record of human lives they saved was impressive: 99% of the people they tried to rescue survived. In 1915 the USLSS became part of the United States Coast Guard. (MassMoments)

Final weeks of the special Gift Shoppe - everything on sale now! For a limited time: fresh holly!!!! And your shopping for decorations and gifts (with supporting the city‘s non-profit museum) does not have to stop there: the regular gift shop features many interesting items. Also don’t forget: a very affordable gift membership can bring joy to a person or family for a whole year! The museum is a safe place to shop. Wednesday-Sunday, 1-4 pm. Wear your mask

We made it into this week’s mayoral update! (About minute 12:30) See you all soon! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tmVNIXzvZyE

With our fall/winter exhibit we honor the anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920 which gave American women the right to vote. The exhibit can be viewed during regular opening hours Wednesday- Sunday, 1-4 pm. We adhere to all mandated safety measures and ask you to please wear a mask. Admission for non-members is $3

No, it is not too early to think about Christmas gifts! We have a very good selection of local history related books and items in the museum gift shop! And don’t forget: you can always get an annual membership as a gift as well!

You may have heard that cash is out and digital payments are in as people shop from home and embrace "contactless payments" which has become the new pandemic normal. Although Covid-19 is driving a massive shift to "contactless" digital payments as germ-wary consumers remain on infection alert, at our museum, we still take your dirty cash to collect revenue. Be it for admission payments, annual contributions by museum members, or payments for gift ship items - we (only) accept cash or check. This also applies to our current special fall/winter Gift Shoppe with which our non-profit museum is trying to compensate at least partially for the financial loss from having to cancel the annual Festival of Trees.

Need a face mask? We’ve got you covered (all to benefit our non-profit museum)

For just $30 you could make a whole family (!) happy with an annual (!) membership to our non-profit history museum! (Other membership levels are available)

Did you know that today in 1847, 29-year-old Maria Mitchell stood on the roof of her parent's Nantucket home, focusing her telescope on what she believed to be a faraway star. Suddenly she realized that the blurry light was not a star at all, but a comet. The first woman to record a "telescopic" comet sighting, she immediately captured the imagination of America and of the world. In 1865 she was appointed the first professor, male or female, at the newly founded Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. She would live, study, and teach there for the next 23 years. Aware of her status as a pioneer woman scientist, Maria Mitchell became an active supporter of the woman's rights movement. She continued her astronomical research until her death in 1889. (MassMoments)

Tell us, what is your personal story about the museum building?

Happy Birthday to the Beals Memorial Library! We are 107 years old today!!

We are very grateful to be part of this supportive community! Visit the Gift Shoppe soon, the donated items surely will not be available for long. We are open Wednesday-Sunday, 1-4 pm

We even have special furniture pieces in our Gift Shoppe! Don’t delay your visit, they surely will not be available for long. Wednesday-Sunday, 1-4 pm

Our Gift Shoppe is open during regular museum hours, Wednesday-Sunday, 1-4 pm. Stop by for some high quality gifts (even to yourself!), and support our non-profit museum

Did you know that today in 1847, Charles and George Merriam of Springfield published the first edition of The American Dictionary of the English Language. Four years earlier, the brothers had decided to take a major risk. The great lexicographer Noah Webster had just died, leaving behind a large stock of expensive, unsold dictionaries. They purchased the books and the right to publish any revisions. Priced at $6.00, the new, shorter edition was an immediate success. Massachusetts ordered a copy for every school in the state. Building on Noah Webster's original idea that the American nation needed a dictionary that reflected its distinctive use of the English language, Merriam-Webster's has been setting the standards for American English for the past 150 years.

And new donations for the Gift Shoppe are still coming in!

A few words from our museum coordinator