How to Do House History

“Owning an old  house is both a privilege and a responsibility.”

Those of us who own an old house, and simply support Historic Preservation in all its forms truly believe this.

Our speaker this month will present the process for researching the history of one’s own home, or office building – no matter how old it is.  Michele Pagán, and her husband, John, have bought and restored 7 homes during their marriage and during John’s career as a submarine officer for the US Navy. Michele will present information, based on her personal experience of researching their most recent and present home here in Vermont, using all the primary documents which she was able to find. She will share information from the State of Vermont, which allows private home owners to get their home registered with the State, even if it is not within a designated State historic district. All are welcome to attend and bring their questions.

About the Presenter

Michele Pagán is a recently-returned native Vermonter, who spent her childhood in Bennington. Bennington Museum was her first exposure to the work of museums. Today she is a textile conservator in private practice who likes to say that she is saving history one piece of fabric at a time. A practicing conservator since 1984, her previous clients and employers include the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, The Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History, the U.S. Department of State, Mount Vernon, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, the State of Vermont, and the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, HI, among others. She holds a certificate in Museum Education from Tufts University, and she just completed the Smithsonian Institution’s online certificate for the C3 Framework for Teaching Social Studies. She presently works out of her studio in East Dorset.