The Local History Archives contain a variety of historical materials related to the localities where the Kendall family members of several past generations lived and worked, the properties they owned, their roles in the communities, and the projects they undertook there. These include archives of the Kendall Whaling Museum, founded by Henry P. Kendall in Sharon, Massachusetts; also of Moose Hill Farm, the longtime family home in Sharon. There are significant historical materials about the Kendall and Plimpton family ‘home towns’ of Sharon and Walpole, Massachusetts. In addition, the archives contain images and records of other family places of residence and business in New England and the South, including Boston and Marion, Massachusetts and Camden, South Carolina.
The Kendall Whaling Museum Archive includes documents, publications and photographs of the Kendall Whaling Museum in Sharon, Massachusetts. The museum was founded in 1955 by Henry P. Kendall, who purchased and renovated the property of the former Sharon Sanatorium. The museum featured a fine international collection of whaling-related art, artifacts, tools and logbooks. It sponsored educational and cultural events and drew visitors and scholars from around the world. It closed in November 2001 and transferred its whaling collections to the New Bedford Whaling Museum. This archive also includes photographs and some records of the Sharon Sanatorium (originally the Sharon Sanitarium), whose buildings and grounds the museum occupied.
The Moose Hill Farm Archive documents the property and activities of Moose Hill Farm, the primary residence of the Henry P. Kendall family, which operated as a working dairy farm during much of the 20th century. It includes photographs, land and building plans from various periods, business records, and information about crops and livestock. The farm was given by the family to The Trustees of Reservations and is now open to the public.
The Sharon and Walpole History Archive contains materials of general historical interest concerning the towns of Sharon and Walpole, Massachusetts, many but not all of them related to family-owned properties. This archive includes numerous photographs, building and plot plans, and maps of Sharon and Walpole locations from various periods.
The New England and Southern Archive contains photographs and documents related to other Kendall family sites and Kendall Company mill locations. Most are in New England, including family homes in Boston and Marion, Massachusetts. Some relate to South Carolina, where Henry and Evelyn Kendall lived parts of the year at the Sycamores, in Camden, South Carolina, and where the Kendall Company had some of its major mills.
Sharon, ca. 1920
Boston, ca. 1920
nct-archive.org 