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The Norfolk Charitable Trust Archive

The NCT Archive houses and maintains archives, artworks and artifacts of historical and cultural interest.

Spring 2013 NCT Archive, Sharon, MA

The NCT Archive houses and maintains paper archives, artworks, photographs and artifacts of historical interest and cultural significance. Its holdings are primarily but not exclusively related to the history of the Kendall family of Massachusetts and its members’ collections, careers and other pursuits. Sponsored by the Norfolk Charitable Trust and located in Sharon, Massachusetts, it serves the scholarly community of researchers in history and the arts. NCT Archive holdings include:

  • The Henry P Kendall Archive: This archive covers the life and work of prominent industrialist and philanthropist Henry Plimpton Kendall (1878–1959). Born in Walpole,  MA, he began with a small family textile mill in Walpole to create the Kendall Company, a leading international company whose large network of plants produced Curity medical products and a variety of domestic and industrial textile products. He was a pioneer in scientific management and cooperative labor relations, and chaired the Business Advisory Council under President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s. The Henry P. Kendall archive includes published and unpublished writings, correspondence, photographs, press coverage, scrapbooks and memorabilia related to Henry P. Kendall’s life, work, public service and avocations.
  • The Henry W. Kendall Archive: Dr. Henry W. Kendall (1926–1999) was a prominent physicist, a founder and leader of the Union of Concerned Scientists, and an active advocate for scientific responsibility and environmental preservation. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1990 for his pioneering work on subatomic particles. He was Stratton Professor of Physics at MIT, wrote and lectured on a variety of subjects, and received numerous honors in both physics and public service. He was also a distinguished mountain climber, diver and nature photographer, among his multiple avocations. The archive of the papers of Henry W. Kendall is an extensive collection of his scientific and public interest writings, awards and honors, professional correspondence, records of his research and teaching career and other pursuits, biographical materials, press coverage and memorabilia. The Henry W. Kendall Nobel Prize archive focuses on activities surrounding his receipt of the Nobel Prize in 1990 and participation in the Nobel Jubilee in 1991.
  • The Evelyn Way Kendall Archive: This archive deals with the family history and activities of Evelyn Louise Way Kendall (1893–1979). Born in Ontario and trained as a nurse, she married Henry P. Kendall in 1926, and the couple had three children. Evelyn Kendall was an active artist and art and history collector. She created the Kendall Ballooning and Early Aviation Collection, established the Kendall Doll Museum, and played a substantial role in assembling the collections of the Kendall Whaling Museum. The archive includes correspondence, documents, photographs, memorabilia, and some samples of her collecting activities, as well as genealogical and historical information about her ancestry and family of origin.
  • The Kendall Company Archive: Documents of the Kendall Company, a leading nationwide textile manufacturing company founded by Henry P. Kendall, from its establishment in the early 20th century through its merger with Colgate-Palmolive in 1972. The Kendall Company Archive includes company histories, company publications and advertisements, annual reports, financial statements, records of directors’ meetings, photographs, press releases and news coverage.
  • The Henry P. Kendall Foundation Archive: An archive of documents related to the founding, history and mission of the Henry P. Kendall Foundation of Boston, a charitable foundation with an emphasis on environmental issues. Originally established by the Kendall family as the Norfolk Charitable Trust in 1957, it was renamed the Henry P. Kendall Foundation in 1959 by Henry W. Kendall and John P. Kendall to honor their father, Henry P. Kendall (1878-1959), in the wake of his death. The archive includes founding documents, early correspondence, histories of the Foundation, annual reports and other publications.
  • The Kendall Maritime Collections: The Kendall Maritime Collections contain a variety of artworks, photographs, documents and artifacts related to marine research and exploration; maritime art, history and archaeology; sailing, diving and underwater photography.  The Research and Exploration archive documents the work of  research vessels owned by the family company Spice Island Traders, including voyages for scientific research and exploration purposes to far corners of the world.  It also includes diving gear and extensive underwater photography by Henry W. Kendall.  The Maritime Art and History collection consists primarily of the work of American/Canadian maritime artist and historian William Gilkerson (b. 1936), along with records and artifacts of marine archaeology expeditions.  The Yachts and Sailing archive documents the sailing vessels owned by the Kendall family, including several yachts designed by L. Francis Herreshoff and a replica 19th-century whaleboat.
  • The Henry W. Kendall Photographic Collection: The Henry W. Kendall photographic collection consists of over 30,000 first generation images — negatives and slides — in various formats, and prints and high resolution electronic scans of the original images. A major part of the collection consists of photographs taken on world-wide mountain climbing expeditions in which Henry W. Kendall was an active participant; a third consists of photographs documenting Henry Kendall’s activities in maritime environments — sailing, scientific cruising, and especially scuba and deep sea diving, and underwater archeology. The balance of the collection includes scientific, environmental and astronomical images and photographs of a variety of people and places.
  • Local History Archives: These local history archives include records, plans and photographs of Moose Hill Farm, the Kendall family home and farm in Sharon, Massachusetts, and of the Kendall Whaling Museum, founded in Sharon by the Kendall family in 1955. Also included are materials related to other Kendall family properties and neighborhoods in Sharon, Walpole, Boston and Marion, Massachusetts and Camden, South Carolina, and a variety of historical records and images, primarily of the towns of Sharon and Walpole, Massachusetts.
  • The Kendall and Plimpton Family History Archives: These archives provide information on the history and genealogy of the Kendall and Plimpton families of Massachusetts, the paternal and maternal ancestors and relatives of Henry P. Kendall. The Kendall and Plimpton family history archives include genealogical records, documents, correspondence, biographical information, publications, photographs, scrapbooks, artifacts and memorabilia spanning two centuries.