The Connecticut Historical Society (CHS) is the official state historical society of Connecticut. Established in Hartford in 1825, the CHS is one of the oldest historical societies in the nation.[1]
The Connecticut Historical Society is a non-profit museum, library, archive and education center. Its mission is to inspire and foster a lifelong interest in history through exhibitions, programs and Connecticut-related collections. The CHS houses a research center containing 270,000 artifacts and graphics and over 100,000 books and pamphlets.[2] It has one of the largest costume and textile collections in New England.[3]
History
In 1825, the Connecticut General Assembly was presented a petition signed by Connecticut citizens including Thomas Robbins, John Trumbull, Thomas Day, and William W. Ellsworth stating the importance of creating a society for preserving historical materials.[4]
After approval from the General Assembly, the Connecticut Historical Society was created to collect objects related to the history of the United States, specifically Connecticut.[5] The first elected officers were Trumbull, Day, Robbins, Thomas Church Brownell and Walter Mitchell.[5]
With the rise in prominence of Hartford in the 1820s, the Society's committee decided to house its first meetings in the city.[6] Yet despite a flurry of activity, the Society became inactive after 1825 and it was not until 1839 when new interest regained.[7] The first official quarters for the CHS was over a store at 124 Main Street in Hartford.[8]
The CHS' new ideals and direction were spearheaded by educationalist Henry Barnard, who recommended that the Society enroll members from around the state, encouraged a history and genealogymagazine and retrieved speakers for lectures who could address groups throughout Connecticut.[9]
With its growing collection of books, pamphlets and objects, the CHS moved its home to a room in the newly built Wadsworth Athenaeum in 1843.[10] By 1844, the collection of Society grew to 6,000 pamphlets, 250 bound volumes of newspapers, manuscripts, coins, portraits and furniture.[11] New officers were elected including David D. Field.[12] The CHS appointed Thomas Robbins as its first librarian because of his extensive book collection and antiquarian expertise.[13]
Under Robbins' tenure, the new quarters were open six days a week and interpretive tours of objects were given.[14] Some early objects in the collection were a chest of William Brewster, a tavern sign of General Israel Putnam and a bloodstained vest worn by Colonel William Ledyard at the Battle of Groton Heights.[14] After the death of Robbins in 1856, Connecticut historians James Hammond Trumbull and Charles J. Hoadly contributed to the CHS through various published research and lectures.[15] The first woman elected in the organization was Ellen D. Larned in 1870.[16]
In 1893, the Society hired Albert Carlos Bates as a full-time librarian and it was under his tenure that membership doubled, the annual income increased five-fold and the collection grew.[17] To accommodate the growth, the CHS purchased the house of inventor Curtis Veeder at Elizabeth Street in the West End of Hartford.[18] Alterations to the building in the 1950s-1970s included the addition of book stacks, auditorium, exhibition galleries and reading room.[19]
In the early 2000s, the CHS hired Bruce Mau[20] and Frank Gehry to design a new museum near Trinity College, but lack of funds prevented the project from happening.[21] From 2003 to 2007, CHS operated the Old State House and created a permanent exhibit "History Is All Around Us".[22][23]
Exhibits
Permanent exhibits include "Making Connecticut", about the history of Connecticut,[1] and "Inn & Tavern Signs".[24] There are also galleries for temporary exhibitions.
Recent exhibit topics include women and needlework,[25] the Kellogg brothers lithography firm, women's basketball,[26] the Amistad,[27] a history of cleanliness,[28] the Civil War[29] and Eliphalet Chapin, an 18th century furniture maker.[30]
References
^ a b c Catlin, Roger (May 22, 2011). "'Making Connecticut' Explores State's History". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
^ Condon, Tom (12 July 2001). "Our History Needs a Home". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
^ Eiseman, Alberta (29 October 2000). "Exploring History's Closet: They Were What They Wore". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
^ Bickford, Christopher P. (1975). The Connecticut Historical Society, 1975 : a brief illustrated history. Hartford: Connecticut Historical Society. pp. 7–85.
^ Bickford 1975, p. 12.
^ Bickford 1975, p. 19,23.
^ Bickford 1975, p. 27.
^ Bickford 1975, p. 25.
^ Bickford 1975, p. 33.
^ Bickford 1975, p. 32.
^ Bickford 1975, p. 26.
^ Wilkie Jr., Everett C.. "Rev. Thomas Robbins, Connecticut Historical Society". utexas.edu. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
^ Bickford 1975, p. 50.
^ Bickford 1975, p. 54.
^ Bickford 1975, p. 69.
^ Bickford 1975, p. 71.
^ Bickford 1975, p. 85.
^ "Society To Mix Sparkle and Scholarship". The Record Journal. 28 April 2002. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
^ Puleo, Tom (9 June 2003). "Museum Project Fades Away; Historical Society Rethinking Future". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
^ Condon, Tom (17 Sept 2006). "Hartford's New Time Machine". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
^ Bloom, Larry (18 March 2007). "In Saving A Heritage, The Past Calls". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
^ Liebenson, Bess (21 January 2001). "For Tavern Signs, A Fitting Tribute". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
^ Catlin, Roger (8 October 2010). "Two Exhibitions Highlight Historic Connecticut Needlework". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
^ Valin, Jeff (2 April 2009). "She Shoots ... She Scores!". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
^ Eiseman, Alberta (22 March 1998). "The Amistad, in Multimedia Rendering". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
^ Cohen, Jeffrey B. (28 February 2005). "Big East Tourney a Tryout for City". Hartford Courant.
^ Libenson, Bess (9 September 2001). "Civil War Unfolds Item by Item". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
^ Stevenson, R.W. (31 July 2005). "Cultural History Found in a Cabinet". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
