Upgrades to Continue for Falmouth’s Historic Wicks House

Courtesy of the Falmouth Historical Society.

FALMOUTH – Work will continue this fall to upgrade the historic Dr. Francis Wicks House at the Falmouth Museums on the Green.

A new roof will be installed on the structure which was built in 1790 and new gallery and exhibition space will be created in the rear section of the home.

The new exhibition space will allow the Falmouth Historical Society to feature more items from its archives and private collections.

The work will be conducted by M. Duffany Builders of Falmouth.

In the spring, a leaky chimney was repaired by Steve Kady Construction of North Falmouth.

“We expect and plan for ongoing repairs to historical structures,” said Mark Schmidt, executive director of the Museums on the Green.

“However, this project also gives us the opportunity to create a dynamic new exhibition space inside the house.”

The rear of the home had only been used for storage.

Falmouth artist Karen Rinaldo will be among the first to exhibit in the Museums’ new gallery, which should be completed in early 2020.

Her work, “The First Thanksgiving/1621,” is currently on loan to the Museums on the Green from The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches through 2021 to celebrate the 400^th anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims in the New World.

The oil on canvas depicts the 52 Pilgrims and 91 Wampanoag who gathered at Plimoth Plantation in 1621 for what would become known as the first Thanksgiving.

Earlier this year, the historical society received $125,000 from the Falmouth Community Preservation Committee to support the project.

The state also earmarked funds and awarded the society a Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund grant of $75,000.

Part of the grant has enabled the society to hire Building Conservation Associates from Newton to conduct a Historic Structures Report on the Wicks House.

“The report should give us a better idea how the house looked and was utilized in the 18^th and 19^th centuries and will serve as a guideline for necessary restoration work in the future,” Schmidt said.

The Falmouth Historical Society was founded in 1900 and is the oldest historical society on Cape Cod. Its mission is to preserve, share and celebrate the history and culture of Falmouth through archives, exhibitions, educational programs and community events. The Society operates the Museums on the Green.