Inside the CHS

  If you guessed that the item was a coffin, you’re close….but not quite correct. It’s a corpse preserver, used in the days before embalming to preserve a body during the mourning period.   This item came to CHS in 1994 from a donor in Middletown who owned a funeral parlor. According to the donor, dad found…
Read More »

1919 and 1920 saw a flurry of activity leading up to the ratification on August 18, 1920 of the 19th Amendment, which prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex. On that date, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment and…
Read More »

  Pop Quiz: why is Connecticut’s nickname “the Constitution State”? In 1639, a group of colonists in the newly established Connecticut colony wrote and adopted a governing document known as the “Fundamental Orders.” This document was inspired by a 1638 sermon delivered by Reverend Thomas Hooker, wherein Hooker preached that leaders should be chosen by the…
Read More »

George Thayer was a longtime member of the Hartford YMCA. During WWI, he went to France as a volunteer, staffing the recreation ‘huts’ that the YMCA ran there. Thayer was scandalized by what he found there, and wrote a series of letters back home – some published in the Hartford Courant – exposing the “deplorable”…
Read More »

During World War I, soldiers were issued mess kits for preparing and eating their meals. Mess kits usually consisted of a pan for cooking food, a set of cutlery, and a lid which also served as a plate. This mess kit was owned by George W. Cheney of Manchester who served during World War I. George…
Read More »

As the weather gets nicer, Connecticans throughout history have taken this opportunity to work outside and garden. This photograph, taken in Hartford’s Riverside Park Children’s Garden in 1905 shows a group of boys getting ready to plant in the garden.   Recently, CHS CEO Jody Blankenship appeared on Better Connecticut to share other garden-related items from…
Read More »

Baseball has been a family pastime for generations of Connecticans. Hartford has hosted teams from the 19th century Dark Blues to today’s Yard Goats. The CHS will be at the Hartford Yard Goats’ Baseball in Education Days on May 9th, 16th, and 31st with fun activities for kids and adults to do before and during…
Read More »

The Shakers are a religious group that got their name from the vigorous shaking movements made while worshiping. With roots in England, the first Shakers, led by Mother Ann Lee, came to America in 1774. The Enfield, CT Shaker Community (not to be confused with the Enfield Shaker Community in New Hampshire) was established in…
Read More »

From 1959 to 1961, West Hartford native Tom Vater hosted a television program on Hartford’s Channel 18 called Teensville. Similar to American Bandstand, Vater played the hit songs of the day and hosted musical acts such as teen heartthrob Bobby Rydell, all while teens from the Greater Hartford area danced along to the music.

This past April, the CHS was pleased to acquire from Nathan Liverant & Sons a delightful folk art landscape view of Middletown, CT by an unknown artist. This c. 1870-1890 landscape, done in colored pencil, gouache and ink on paper provides a detailed visual depiction of this important river town. From the south, looking north…
Read More »

The CHS has accepted a beautiful piece of furniture with an interesting story into our collections. Crafted in 2009 by expert furniture maker Romulo Chanduví in his East Hartford studio, this 18th-century Spanish colonial style chair was designed as one of a pair for a long-time collector of Chanduví’s work.

With Tax Day just around the corner and everyone scrambling to submit their income tax returns by April 18th this year, what better time is there to talk about currency?

The month of March may be known for basketball’s Big Dance, but it also commemorates special anniversaries in dance. This Friday commemorates the 94th observation of Dance Marathon Day, and March marks the 35th anniversary of the Connecticut Ballet, among other special dates in the coming months. Connecticut Historical Society’s collection includes a variety of dance cards, performance programs, photographs, and manuscript materials surrounding this art form.

Did you know that the pay telephone was invented here in Connecticut?

By Ilene J. Frank, Chief Curator Did you carry a lunch box to school? I did. I remember I had a Ziggy one in first grade that I just loved. Lunchboxes, especially those we carried to school, are a link to our childhoods. In 2001, Elizabeth Triplett Blakelock donated to the CHS her Peanuts lunchbox, which she carried…
Read More »

A very recent addition to the CHS collection is a Revolutionary War era document related to Newgate Prison. Documents like these don’t come around very often.

On March 11, 1936, heavy rains fell over New England. For the next two weeks, as rivers rose from melting snow and as a second rain storm hit, the residents of Connecticut and up to half of the Eastern United States prepared for historic floods. In Hartford, the Connecticut River rose to 38 feet. Smaller…
Read More »

By Lynne Williamson and Jody Blankenship In June, the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CHAP) became a part of the Connecticut Historical Society. Originally developed by and based at the Institute for Community Research in Hartford since 1991, CHAP is a wonderful program that works with communities across the state to document and share all…
Read More »

By Barbara Austen What goes through the minds of those who murder groups of people, often our youngest and most vulnerable, for no apparent reason? While these horrible actions continue to haunt our nation, they are not new in our history. Did you know that the first documented mass murder-suicide in North America occurred in…
Read More »

By Ilene Frank Ilene Frank recently joined the Connecticut Historical Society as chief curator. From time to time, she’ll write about what’s new with the collection, educational programs and exhibitions. Why do museums keep collecting objects? In this day of digital imagery, can’t a picture be enough? What does a diary, or a skirt, or…
Read More »

Callie Prince and Melissa Traub are this year’s Dangremond Museum Studies Interns at the Connecticut Historical Society. Through this ten-week internship, they are gaining exposure to different aspects of the museum field. Melissa and Callie’s first assignment was in developing and setting up a new display, Trends in the Tides: Connecticut’s Beaches that opened July…
Read More »

Houston, we really have a problem, due to inclement weather, tonight’s showing of Apollo 13 has been cancelled, and rescheduled to next week, July 22, at 8:15 pm, doors open at 7:00 for access to the Connecticut 50 Objects/50 Stories exhibit.

In the summer of 2014, the exhibit Katharine Hepburn: Dressed for Screen and Stage was on display at the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS). I had just begun to work at the welcome desk and was impressed by the droves of people who visited the exhibit every day.

By Kevin Hughes, Director of Administration at the CHS Summer is upon us and warm weather beckons us outdoors. In many respects, February is a distant memory. Or is it? February 2015 in Hartford was one for the record books. With an average daily temperature of 16 degrees, it eclipsed the old record of 16.5…
Read More »

By Corinne Swanson, Coordinator of Youth and Family Programs at the CHS Last week, the CHS education staff wrapped up our last school programs for the 2014-2015 school year, bringing a very busy year to a close. However, even after all the school buses left, we held our Home School Day: Summer Kick-Off on Monday,…
Read More »

Beer connoisseurs believe that the United States is currently in a craft-brewing renaissance. The number of microbreweries is at an all-time high and some American beers are considered to be the best in the world. But the history of brewing beer in Connecticut, like other states in America, has had its ups and downs. Beer,…
Read More »

By Sara Plante, Visitor Services Associate With the arrival of the glorious summer months, comes the desire to take advantage of the freedom the warm weather provides. As you find yourself out and about, don’t forget the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS)! Escape the heat, visit our new exhibit Connecticut 50 Objects/50 Stories, and of course,…
Read More »

By Tasha Caswell, Research & Collections Associate, the Connecticut Historical Society How often do you think about the buttons on your clothes? Unless you’re into fashion or design, you probably don’t think about them that much (unless one falls off). I know I don’t. Maybe you’ll be surprised at how much impact such small objects…
Read More »

By Corinne Swanson, Coordinator of Youth and Family Programs at the Connecticut Historical Society Do you have a childhood memory of visiting a museum with your class or family? During these visits, did you ever feel that if your voice rose above a whisper, or if you dared to try to touch something, that you…
Read More »

By Sierra Dixon, Research and Collections Associate, Connecticut Historical Society One of my favorites is a handmade wedding dress that was produced by the late Maisie Shenandoah, Clan Mother of the Oneida Indian Nation. The wedding dress was made for her relative Butch Laydem’s fiancée, Kay Kayser, of the Schaghticoke tribe, which spanned the area…
Read More »

By Jill Padelford, Development Services Associate for the CHS Those of us of a certain age may remember the outrageous hijinks of the POWs in the 1960s comedy Hogan’s Heroes. (Some interesting trivia: Waterbury, CT native Bob Crane portrayed Colonel Hogan in that popular show.) Working from within a German stalag, the heroes of the…
Read More »

By Jenny Steadman, Adult Programs Manager of the Connecticut Historical Society On May 21, CHS welcomed a group of Decorative Arts enthusiasts who spent the whole day literally turning things upside down under the expert guidance of Dr. Philip Zimmerman, a museum and decorative arts consultant, author, and nationally recognized authority on early American furniture. Focusing…
Read More »

By Richard Tuchman, Chief Development Officer, Connecticut Historical Society At noon on Tuesday, May 19 the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS) opened its first crowd-sourced exhibition, Connecticut: 50 Objects/50 Stories, at its museum in Hartford. It will run until October 24. The objects in the new exhibit and online gallery bridge centuries, locations, ethnicities and cultures…
Read More »

By Jody Blankenship, CHS Executive Director We’re pleased to welcome Bichop Nawrot as the CHS’s recently-elected president of the board. Bichop has served on our board for a decade, much of that time as treasurer and chair of the Finance Committee. He also worked on the strategic Planning Committee and the Executive Director Hiring Committee….
Read More »

By Jody Blankenship, CHS Executive Director On behalf of the Connecticut Historical Society’s board and staff, I want to thank three individuals who will be leaving or taking a new position on the Board of Trustees, Lynn Szwaja, Chief Charles Teale and Paul Beach. Lynn Szwaja is completing her second term as a CHS trustee….
Read More »

by Jody Blankenship, Executive Director, Connecticut Historical Society What’s your Connecticut story? At the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS), we’re highlighting 50 Connecticut-defining items in our new exhibit, Connecticut: 50 Objects/50 Stories. In parallel, the exhibit’s online gallery has 150 items and that number continues to grow! Earlier this week, more than 220 CHS members and…
Read More »

By Tasha Caswell, Research and Collections Associate at the CHS  Here at the Connecticut Historical Society, we do a lot of preservation work. Preservation is different from conservation – when an item is preserved, it is not altered; rather, steps are taken to protect it from deterioration. Conservation, on the other hand, involves physically treating the…
Read More »

On Saturday, May 16, the Connecticut Historical Society hosted 35 members of the Pewter Collector’s Club of America who have come from all over the U.S. to study the CHS’s remarkable pewter collection. Expert Wayne Hilt leads the discussion. For more information about the Pewter Collector’s Club of America, go to www.pewtercollectorsclub.org. About the Connecticut…
Read More »

by Jody Blankenship, executive director of the Connecticut Historical Society On May 30, 1825 thirty-one men from across the state of Connecticut met at the State House for the first meeting of the newly chartered Connecticut Historical Society. At this gathering The Rev. Thomas Robbins gave remarks on the “objects of the Society,” the members…
Read More »

El Museo Textil e Histórico de Windham Nos Enseña a Compartir La Historia de Connecticut en Dos Idiomas By Gerson Escobar-Arroyo, Member Relations Associate, Connecticut Historical Society Author’s Note: This blog is the first of what will be regular bilingual (English and Spanish) posts that share Connecticut’s diverse history with its Hispanic/Latino citizens. Is your…
Read More »