This project began as a federal Technology Literacy Challenge Adoption Grant funded by the Massachusetts Department of Education. The Opening Windows on the Past Grant was a partnership between the Amherst Public Schools, the Amherst History Museum at Strong House, and the Center for Computer-Based Instructional Technology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
About the Authors
The Angeline site was created by Ms. Bohan's sixth graders at Wildwood School in Amherst, Massachusetts. We began this study by reading the story of the Abduction of Angeline.
Then we went on field trips to the Railroad Street area. We found the Henry Jackson house and other houses of African American and Irish workers of the hat factories. As we walked up Dickinson Street we noticed that Pages Chevrolet dealership was a very old building. When we inquired, we found that the building was part of the hat factory. The hat factory imported palm leaves from Cuba and made palm leaf hats. Some of our class went up in the attic of the Pages Chevrolet building and saw the molds used to make the hats.
House of Dickinson Street
Pages Chevrolet (part of old hat factory)
Railroad Street Building
House on Railroad Street
We read books about Amherst history. We made a list of the important parts of the story that we wanted to learn about. Dr. Vicky Getis from the University of Massachusetts went through the records at the Jones Library Special Collection. She found the research about the people and places involved in the Angeline story and posted them to a web site so we could read them.
We then worked in groups of 2 or 3 and turned our research into this web site. We would love to hear your comments or questions about our site. Please email us.
Back to the Angeline Introduction
Abolition | The African American Experience in Amherst | Angeline | Events of the times | Life in Amherst | The Hills Hat Factory | Henry Jackson | The Town Poor Farm | Zion Chapel
