WHS History
The History of the Washington Historical Society
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In the Fall of 1982, desiring to ensure the preservation of the town’s past, Phil Barker hand delivered 100 copies of an invitation to an organizational meeting for the purpose of establishing the Washington Historical Society.
That first meeting, held in October of 1982, led to the creation of bylaws and the writing of our Organizational Charter. Then, on December 13, 1982, the 206th anniversary of the date when Washington was incorporated in honor of General George Washington, 55 people headed by Phil met and signed the charter, which was registered by the State on January 7th, 1983. Phil Barker became our first president.
From that day to this, the Washington Historical Society has worked hard to fulfill its mission of bringing together people interested in the collection & preservation of all material related to the history of Washington & East Washington and undertaking activities to foster and promote public knowledge of the history of these communities.
For more about the founding of the Washington Historical Society, please see these articles from the Winter 2002 and Spring 2007 editions of our Newsletter Archives.
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