Susan Glaspell Journal

History Found

                                                   
    In May of 2007, an old building in Provincetown, Massachusetts was being renovated to accommodate a new business. Part of the renovations included replacing a section of the old pine floor boards. As the boards were ripped up, an interesting discovery was made. Stashed underneath was an old, leather-bound notebook. It was in rough shape. The leather cover had been mostly chewed off by mice. Many of the pages had completely disintegrated. Most of what remained had been rendered illegible due to water damage. The workers put it in a pile to be thrown away. The job foreman happened to notice it and flipped it open. Despite the poor condition, he was able to recognize several written entries dated from the early 1900s. He decided to turn it over to the property owner, a man by the name of Thomas Mitchell.

    As luck would have it, Mr. Mitchell was a bit of a history buff. That evening he spent some time looking over the book. There were still some passages that could be read. It seemed to be a diary of sorts. Although he did not recognize the names or events being described, he thought the book might be of interest. If nothing else it was an interesting picture of life in Provincetown 100 years ago. Mr. Mitchell was a busy man; the notebook sat on a bookshelf in his office for nearly a year. Finally, in March of 2008, Mr. Mitchell loaned it to the Provincetown Historic Society to see if they could perhaps identify the author.

    Here the book was nearly lost again. It was given to the Historic Society Director, a man named Mike Barnum, for review. Unfortunately it was placed next to some old, leather bound tax records. Before Mr. Barnum was aware of it,  the notebook was mistaken for one of the tax books, and was placed into storage. There it might have stayed for another 100 years, if not for the curiosity of Thomas Mitchell. Returning from a business trip in the fall of 2008, Mr. Mitchell was admiring the view of Provincetown from the Boston Ferry when he remembered the old notebook. He contacted Mr. Barnum, who confessed to never having seen it. 

    As Mr. Mitchell described what he could remember, Mr. Barnum's fascination grew. He knew all about Susan Glaspell and her history with Provincetown. Could this notebook actually be her journal? A search was launched, and after three full days, the notebook was at last relocated. After consulting with experts, the discovery was confirmed: Susan Glaspell's long lost journal had been found.

    The excitement of the discovery was muted by the poor condition. At least 75% of the book was a complete loss. Much of the remainder was only partially legible. But what has been recovered is fascinating. What follows are several journal entries from August of 1916, at the time her famous play "Trifles" was first staged. In order to maintain authenticity, no grammar and spelling changes have been made. Illegible text has been indicated as such. Otherwise the text is intact, just as Mrs. Glaspell had written it in her own hand, over 100 years ago.