Updated: July 31, 2026
The Hardwick Historical Society Journal first appeared in 2008 as an eight-page way to share the work done by writer Tom Dunn and researcher Lorraine Hussey. They had created a series of presentations for the people of Hardwick, and Tom decided to put portions of it into a little journal for Hardwickians who had moved away. Businessman Dona Bessette provided the funds to publish it, and after the second year, advertisers covered the costs. Tom Dunn edited the Journal until his health failed, and after a lapse of about two years, Elizabeth H. Dow became the editor.
The HHS Journal features articles about Hardwick history. In every issue, the first article carries news of Society activity, but the rest of the Journal describes or analyzes something about historical people, places, or events in Hardwick. The editor assumes that the topics in the Journal may never attract serious research again, so she insists on as much documentation as possible to assure readers that they can rely on the accuracy of the facts in an article. She acknowledges that writing the Journal involves writing a lot of “fast history,” i.e., history written with accurate facts but insufficient consideration for a deep understanding/interpretation of their meaning and implication.
The Board of Directors has decided to publish issues of the Journal lagging behind the print publication a little. The Board has also included two Tables of Contents —Volumes 1-10 and Volumes 11-15. The reader can search any of these documents using the Control F (Intel) or Command F (Apple) function of a computer keyboard or the magnifying glass icon on a mobile device. To buy paper issues of the Journal, contact us – info@ hardwickvthistory.org.