View a video of Williamstown resident, Williams College alumnus, and good friend of the WHM, Dustin Griffin, who spoke on topics covered in his new book Williamstown and Williams College: Explorations in Local History at the WHM on October 20, 2018.
Williamstown and Williams College Book Event VideoIn this engrossing and entertaining book Griffin offers 14 vignettes that detail the local history of Williamstown and Williams College. Well researched and written in an accessible style, each chapter focuses on the stories behind a single feature — the historical plaque marking the site of the West Hoosuck Blockhouse, town-wide celebrations past and present, a hiking trails to Williamstown history in Treadwell Hollow, Flora’s Glen, and McMaster’s Cave, stained-glass windows in the college chapel and St. John’s, those songs Williams alumni sing at reunions, and more.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the WHM, with a portion of each sale going to support the Museum.
Dusty Griffin taught English literature at Berkeley and NYU for 40 years before retiring in 2009. A 1965 graduate of Williams College, he has published a number of scholarly books on 17th- and 18th-century English poetry. He has also written on topics in Williams College history, and on the local history of Williamstown, frequently giving talks on local history in the Williamstown Historical Museum lecture series. Griffin curated exhibitions at the Museum on “Williamstown in the Civil War” (2012) and on “Big Days in a Small Town” (2014).