The Upper Level of the Sawin Museum has long been home to an office for the Dover Historical Society, and it seemed like a good idea to downsize the administrative area into a corner and reclaim display space. 

While sliding heavy boxes of papers across the room I repeatedly bumped into a medium-sized leather trunk and it needed to be stored away.  The trunk was filled with office ephemera; nothing more exciting than a couple of desk accessories from the 1980s, an answering machine manual and old software installation discs.

The empty trunk is beautiful. The wallpaper lining is in great condition and there are elastic organizers inside the lid.  The story of this trunk began to unfold as we polished the brass plaque on the front and discovered the words Wm F. Shumway, Medfield M’s.  (William Frederick Shumway, 1828-1849). 

On October 12, 1893 Ben Sawin married William’s younger sister, Eudora.  The book Dover Days Gone By by Dick Vara shares a lighthearted journal entry by Ben regarding that day.  “…Went a-ridin’ to Chelmsford with Miss Eudora Shumway today and come home with Mrs. Eudora Sawin…”

I had come across a box of original pen and ink watercolor illustrations that Dick Vara had created for his book.  One of the illustrations depicts Ben Sawin helping his new bride into a carriage.

The museum has many objects donated from Ben Sawin’s home after his death, such as his desk, his wallet and many ledgers, but to our knowledge nothing has been directly donated from the Shumway family.  This led us to suspect that the trunk came from William’s sister, Eudora.  

We imagined Eudora packing her late brother’s trunk with her belongings to begin her life with Ben.  Suddenly our old leather trunk began to tell an interesting story, and I filled it with women’s clothing of the era, along with hair combs, hats, shoes and women’s magazines that she had donated to the museum.

Eudora was interested in women’s issues, the temperance movement and her community.  She was an active Grange member and a Sunday School teacher.  Like Ben, she was interested in local history.  She died in 1900, at the age of 58, five years after being instrumental in establishing the Dover Historical and Natural History Society.  Ben Sawin died five years later at 82.

We propped open the trunk beneath a sunny window and framed the watercolor image of the two newlyweds.

One can look out the window behind the trunk at land donated by Ben and Eudora to build this museum to honor the people of Dover and our collective history.

Many more pieces of this exhibit still need to come together, but it seems fitting that it begins with Ben and Eudora Sawin.  They are very much a part of the Dover story and the spirit of our small town.  That spirit has become the framework for our new exhibit on the Upper Level of the stately building that bears their name.

Lori Carbone