By E. Ashley Rooney
Lexington Historical Society
Executive Director Erica Dumont
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF LEXINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPOINT ERICA DUMONT THE NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Erica Dumont brings enthusiasm, nonprofit leadership experience, and passion to her new position. She sees the future of the Lexington Historical Society (LHS) as being vibrant, relevant in the community, and a center of learning both for families in town and beyond.
One of the opportunities she sees is that the town of Lexington is significant on both a local and national stage. “Where some historical societies struggle to find relevance in their community, the Society has the advantage of operating in the town where the first battle of the American Revolution took place, so there is national and global interest in the town, and an opportunity for the LHS to capture that interest,” Dumont says. Moreover, given that there are over 300 years of history in Lexington aside from the historic battle, Lexington Historical Society also has lots of options for local programming and exhibits to attract visitors.
One avenue of growth, Dumont sees, is more extensive family programming. What about a spinning bee she asks, (adding that this idea came from our programming director), a farming program focusing on Lexington’s agricultural past, an instructional program on colonial clothing and food, or perhaps a program on life in Lexington during WWII? With new families moving to town every day, the opportunity to educate, engage and inform newcomers and the community as a whole about the many facets of Lexington history should be an ongoing project.
Dumont has been the Executive Director of the Wellesley Historical Society since 2013. She says that LHS differs from Wellesley in that it is larger, has a broader reach, and has a focus on historical interpretation.
Her first position after graduating from Salem State University was working at Old North Church. Since then, she has been fascinated with early Revolution history, and LHS fit right in. Currently, she is completing her MA in History at the University of Massachusetts in Boston.
Dumont looks forward to partnering with other organizations in Lexington and beyond to have a broader community impact. “I feel that partnering with organizations in Boston would allow us to capture the attention of tourists and museum goers and. hopefully, increase visitation to Lexington’s historic sites.”
