Find the Perfect Gift for Mom at the Heritage Society

Come visit our newly updated gift shop! We have a beautiful selection of jewelry and unique items that Mom would truly love. While you’re here, take a moment to tour the museum and see the wonderful changes we’ve made to our local history exhibits. Join us this Saturday, April 11: Museum Opens: 11:00 AM Speaker … Read more

Pottery Farm

Sue Creek’s famous Pottery Farm By Jackie Nickel (2019) Perhaps the most famous resident of the Back River Neck Peninsula in the 1800s was Peter Hermann, a potter. An immigrant from Germany, he arrived in the United States in 1847 and became a U.S. citizen in 1851, according to research by Ballestone Preservation Society members. … Read more

Heritage Society of Essex & Middle River 2024 Year in Review

Heritage Society of Essex and Middle River 2024 Calendar of Events JANUARY January 15 – Annual Board Meeting. FEBRUARY February Membership Meeting Thursday, February 1, 2024 at 7 p.m. Speaker Series: “Henrietta Lacks” Thursday, February 15, 2024 at 7 p.m. Servant Courtney Speed, founder of the Henrietta Lacks Legacy Group, will discuss the impact of … Read more

Christmas in July at the Essex Museum

Sunday, July 18 from 1 to 4 pm The Museum will be hosting a free Christmas in July event! We’ll have our special guest Santa ready for photo opps, along with craft vendors, special activities for the kids and Museum tours! Interested vendors, please email us at essexmuseum@gmail.com. Vendor spots are $25 and you should … Read more

2020 Heritage Society Annual Holiday Tree Lighting

We are holding our annual Essex Tree Lighting on Saturday, December 5th, 2020 from 5 to 7 pm.  Please join us for this fun family outdoor event. It’s a great way to kick off the holidays! Special thanks to our premier “Santa” sponsors this year who have made our event possible: CLIFF’S HI-TECH AUTO BODY … Read more

Helen Baumgartner’s Beer Can Collecting Hobby (1976)

She Brews Up A Hobby: Collecting Beer Cans By Richard Irwin (News American, 10/24/1976) Some people collect stamps and others collect coins. Some squirrel away balls of silver paper and others collect keys. But Helen Baumgartner, 19, the librarian for the Heritage Society of Essex-Middle River, collects beer cans. Not a beer drinker, Helen became … Read more

Dosch Family exhibit

We are proud to host the Dosch Family exhibit as a new donation from our Essex community member, Mrs. Susan Carter. The Dosch Family lived in Essex since 1921 as part of the original Essex suburb. Mrs. Lottie Dosch lived on Taylor Ave. until her passing at age 96! These are the original wedding dresses … Read more