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The Barrington Area Historical Society

The Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce is not the only organization that is celebrating a 40th anniversary this year. Having walked side by side with the community, the Barrington Area Historical Society has been the caretaker of the region’s history for the past 40 years. It has served the region well, and over time has built a strong network of volunteers. The organization has also enjoyed a partnership with the Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce and the support of a wide variety of businesses in the region.

Michael J. Harkins is the president of the Society, and he says, “The Barrington Area Historical Society is the collective memory of the Barrington communities. Our mission is to keep community history alive though preservation and education.” The historical society’s motto, “Lighting the way from the past to the future,” helps to describe the active nature of their involvement in the community.

Interestingly, the historical society has served out part of its mission by inviting people to participate directly in the creation of their own history, making choices that will be seen and remembered by future generations of Barrington area residents. One recent example of this is the painting of the Donlea-Kincaid house. This beautiful folk Victorian house was constructed in 1898, and when it was decided that the building was going to be repainted with authentic period colors, a unique plan was put into action—the public would vote on two choices and select what the final color scheme would be.

The historical society teamed up with various area businesses that were happy to be a part of the effort to help preserve such a wonderful historic landmark. The voting took place at six area businesses, including Insignia Kitchen and Bath on Barrington Road, which had recently joined the historical society as a member. “There was a lot of research and planning that went into the color selection choices,” says Michael Show, the showroom manager for the store. Show says, “It has really been a proactive event that helped to raise awareness of all the time and effort the historical society is putting into the community.”

Dick Resseguie is the regional president for Harris Barrington, and he says that the bank has been involved with several interesting projects with the historical society over the years. The Harris location on Hough Street was another one of the places people went to vote for the color selection, and Resseguie says, “We have a good, strong partnership with the historical society, and we were happy to be a part of this latest project with the Donlea-Kincaid House.”

Ed Pasquesi is the owner of Pasquesi Home and Gardens, another voting location, and he says that they got a very nice response from the public on the color selection. “I haven’t seen this type of community involvement anywhere else,” he comments, reflecting on the amount of people who participate in the historical society’s initiatives. Pasquesi says, “Barrington really has one of the best historical societies around, and Michael Harkins does such a phenomenal job with the programming there.”

As a volunteer himself, Harkins certainly goes above and beyond the call of duty, working alongside the active group of 70 to 80 other volunteers on a variety of projects. All of the effort has not gone unnoticed, as Old Barrington Center has become a very well recognized exhibit center, which has also served as the host to some impressive and important collections. Harkins says, “This outstanding facility provides us the opportunity to secure major traveling exhibits from the Smithsonian Institution as well as the National Endowment for the Humanities for the educational and cultural enrichment of our children and community.”

As the Donlea-Kincaid house begins to transform its look with a fresh color palette, the area residents who helped to decide its new look can say that their vote played a part in Barrington area history. By participating in this event, they have indeed helped the historical society to “light the way from the past to the future.”