The Waterville Historical Society will host its monthly open house on Saturday August 28th from 9 am to noon. Featured this year in the Robbins House upstairs will be an exhibition titled “The Good Old Days’ and features almost a dozen different displays stations showcasing various items commonplace in area homes and businesses from the mid-1800s to 1930s and 40s. The Children’s Bedroom is where you will experience life for youngsters living in the late 1800s and early 1900s. On display are vintage dolls, toys and clothing designed and used by kids . Early paper dolls in the 1800s featured boys and stories that told of their heroic adventures accompanied by various changes of costumes. The Education Corner which contains books, lessons and materials used in area classrooms. Of special interest is a Chautauqua Industrial Art Desk, a revolutionary new invention of the late 19th Century that encouraged home schooling, and emphasis on preparing children for vocations in the arts, and emphasis on self-expression including the idea that learning could be fun!

There will also be a downtown walking tour featuring houses and buildings along River Road and Second Street beginning at 9 am on the front porch of the Robbins House. An uptown walking tour featuring 3rd Street begins at noon and meets on the porch of the Wakeman Building  on Farnsworth Road.

The Wakeman Archives is also open from 10 am to 2 pm for historical and genealogical research on this same day as well as they are open every Wednesday from 10 am to 2 pm. Look for the red, white and blue OPEN flag on the porch.