Wistariahurst.org
Title
Wistariahurst Front Page
Description
Wistariahurst Museum seeks to preserve the home, landscape and material culture of the Skinner family and promote an appreciation of history and culture through educational programs, exhibits and special events.
Holyoke's first museum was originally housed at the Holyoke Public Library. In 1953, the Library was running out of room and wanted a new building. However, it was not until the Wistariahurst Mansion was donated to the City of Holyoke in 1959 that the city had a new museum. This original museum housed art, paintings, sculptures, Native American artifacts and other natural history specimen. Throughout the 1960s, the museum served as both a Fine Arts Museum and a Natural History Museum. In the more recent decades, however, the house has acquired period furniture and decorative arts, and now serves as a historic house museum.
Wistariahurst Museum, originally the home of prominent silk manufacturer, William Skinner and his family, has stood as an example of elegance and fine architecture since 1874. The buildings and grounds were owned continually by the Skinner family until 1959, when Katharine Skinner Kilborne, the youngest child of William and Sarah Skinner, and her heirs gave Wistariahurst to the City of Holyoke for cultural and educational purposes.
