Mill Town Messenger | April 2025

Overview

The newsletter reports Newport Historical Society activities, exhibits, and community programs for spring–summer 2025. Featured items include the Dorr needlework exhibit, museum hours, board roster, and upcoming presentations about Lafayette’s 1825 visit.

Community heritage and local history are highlighted through articles on the new LaValley Recreation Center, the Rowell–Caplan Little League field history, and a centennial overview of the former National Guard Armory’s civic uses.

You can read the online version of the newsletter here.

This quarterly newsletter is generally published in January, April, July and October.

Main Points

• Needlework Exhibit: The Newport Historical Society Museum is displaying a new exhibit featuring the needlework of Mrs. Helen Dorr, including needlepoint and crewel embroidery, donated by her family, along with a biography and explanations of her techniques.
• Museum Hours: The Newport Historical Society Museum is open Sundays from 10AM–2PM and by appointment.
• Little League Field History: The current recreation center site was originally pasture land, later donated and combined with land from Abe Caplan to create Rowell Caplan Field for Newport’s Little League in 1961, thanks to community effort and donations.
• Community Involvement: The creation of the Little League field involved significant community support, including land donations, volunteer labor, and funding from a trust set up by Josh Young.
• Recreation Center Legacy: The new LaValley Family Community Center continues the tradition of providing safe recreational space for Newport’s children, building on the legacy of past community benefactors.
• Lafayette Bicentennial Events: Newport will commemorate the 200th anniversary of General Lafayette’s 1825 visit with presentations, a reenactment, and craft activities in May and June 2025.
• National Guard Armory Use: The former National Guard Armory on Belknap Avenue has served Newport for nearly a century as a military facility and later as a community recreation center, hosting diverse activities and eventually being donated to the town in 1978.
• Historical Society Membership: Membership to the Newport Historical Society is available with various payment options, including online methods, and offers family and individual rates as well as life membership.

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Check out our Events Calendar to keep informed of upcoming events!