Interpretation & Education

The Leicester Historical Commission has established as one of its goals, to educate townspeople on the history of their community and to make every effort to draw people from outside of Leicester to the community so that Leicester’s history can be discovered by people throughout the Commonwealth and beyond.  

This is done through three main venues:

A. Walking Tours- Two members of the commission serve as uniformed rangers, who conduct walking tours in the various villages and locations in Leicester. (both hold masters degrees in Education and are certified history teachers by the Massachusetts Department of Education. One has also attended the National Park Service’s Interpretive Training Institute). These tours discuss the highlights of the history of each of the villages of Leicester and their overall contribution to the growth of the town and the area.

B. Signage- Through various grants obtained from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and the National Park Service, the commission has begun a program of creating interpretational signage in various locations around town. Each of the four main villages has a sign with a brief history of the village, and a wayside sign has been placed in Towtaid Park.

C. Brochures- A “Driving Tour” brochure was produced by the commission through a tourism grant from the Massachusetts turnpike Authority. This brochure allows tourists to the area to drive around Leicester and view some if its historic sights.  

Furthermore, rangers teach small group classes/tours on specific topics as requested and have worked with local Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and church groups. One of our rangers also guest lectures on Leicester History in a few graduate courses at Worcester State College.