Historic New England Powder Houses: Arsenals of American Independence

Discover the fascinating story of New England powder houses and the role they played in establishing and preserving American independence in a talk by Matthew E. Thomas, author of “Historic Powder Houses of New England.”   Forgotten and little known, these historic landmarks housed barrels of gunpowder, ammunition and military supplies for the militia.  There were over 200 powder houses scattered around New England of which only 54 still exist, including the Harwich building, now located on the grounds of Brooks Academy Museum. The talk will be followed by a tour of the Harwich Powder House.