Colonial Revival Songs at the Litchfield Historical Society

In anticipation of the Litchfield Historical Society's upcoming exhibition on the Colonial Revival, musician Rick Spencer will be at the Litchfield History Museum on Sunday, March 30 at 3:00 pm to present a specially created program of songs from this fascinating period in U.S. history.

Fueled by sentimentality for days gone by and a romanticized view of America's earliest years, Colonial Revival composers wrote songs that expressed this feeling of nostalgia for the past. Songs like "The Days When We Were Young" (Henry Clay Work, 1863) hearkened back to simpler pre-Civil War times. "The Old Oaken Bucket" (Samuel Woodworth, 1818) and "Long, Long Ago" (Thomas Haynes Bayly, 1833) were very popular songs that remembered the past fondly and were very popular in America.

Rick Spencer worked for 20 years as a chanteyman and interpreter at Mystic Seaport, forming the internationally known sea music group Forebitter with his fellow Seaport musicians. He has performed throughout the country and the world and is known for his work as a historian and researcher in the realm of folk music. Spencer accompanies himself with several instruments, including guitar, dulcimer, concertina, and banjo.

Currently a full-time musician, Spencer has also served as the director of the Dr. Ashbel Woodward Museum in Franklin, CT, and the site administrator of the Hempstead House in New London, CT.

This program is free for members and $5 for non-members; registration is required. To register, please call the Litchfield Historical Society at (860) 567-4501 or email registration@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org.

The Litchfield History Museum is located at 7 South St, Litchfield, CT. For more information about this or other programs, please see this website at www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org.

Historical Society to Screen Three Films on Civil Rights

The Litchfield Historical Society, along with the Torrington Historical Society and the League of Women Voters of Litchfield County, are pleased to introduce three documentaries with riveting new footage illustrating the history of civil rights in America. These three organizations will offer a series of programs once a month from January–March in 2014.

Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities that uses the power of documentary films to encourage community discussion of America’s civil rights history. NEH has partnered with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History to develop programmatic and support materials for the sites.

The Litchfield Historical Society is one of 473 institutions across the country awarded a set of four films chronicling the history of the civil rights movement. Each film is available on the historical society’s website to view before each formal program led by local humanities scholar. The schedule of films is as follows:

Thursday, January 16, 2014 7:00 pm, Litchfield Historical Society: “Slavery by Another Name”

Join us as Stephen McGrath, Litchfield Historical Society board member and history professor at Central CT State University, kicks off the first film discussion in our series. Steve will feature clips from the to challenge the belief that slavery ended with Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. Thursday, February 20, 2014 7:00 pm, Torrington Historical Society: “The Loving Story” Our second civil rights film discussion will take place at the Torrington Historical Society. Led by Tom Hogan, former lawyer and legal history professor at UConn, we will take a look at a groundbreaking case that dealt with the legality of interracial marriages. The documentary brings to life the Lovings' marriage and the legal battle that followed through little-known filmed interviews and photographs shot for Life magazine. Participants will view film clips from the HBO documentary. Thursday, March 20, 2014  7:00 pm, Litchfield Historical Society: “Freedom Riders” Litchfield blogger and history professor Pete Vermilyea brings to light the activities of the freedom riders in the last of our film series. Freedom Riders tells the terrifying, moving, and suspenseful story of a time when white and black volunteers riding a bus into the Deep South risked being jailed, beaten, or killed, as white local and state authorities ignored or encouraged violent attacks. The film includes previously unseen amateur 8-mm footage of the burning bus on which some Freedom Riders were temporarily trapped, taken by a local twelve-year-old and held as evidence since 1961 by the FBI.

 

Each of the films was produced with NEH support, and each tells remarkable stories of individuals who challenged the social and legal status quo of deeply rooted institutions, from slavery to segregation. Created Equal programs bring communities together to revisit our shared history and help bridge deep racial and cultural divides in American civic life. Visit www.neh.gov/created-equalwww.neh.gov/created-equal for more information. 

The Created Equal film set is made possible through a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, as part of its Bridging Cultures initiative, in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

These programs are free and open to the public. Registration is required—please register by calling (860) 567-4501 or emailing registration@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org.

For more information on these programs, please check our website, www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/tours/createdequal.phpwww.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/tours/createdequal.php or call 860-567-4501.

Learn the Most Embarrassing Things about George Washington Through Improv

On a one dollar bill, George Washington may appear to be an imposing figure, but did you know that he, too, was embarrassing sometimes? Join the Litchfield Historical Society in welcoming Christina Frei on Wednesday, January 8 at 3:00 pm as we explore the Top 10 Most Embarrassing Things about George Washington!

No need to sit in front of a screen on this half-day—using games, magic, and comedy improvisation, participants will learn all about our first president. Through this funny and interactive program, your kids will learn all sorts of new and embarrassing historical facts to share at the dinner table. No stage experience is necessary!

Christina Frei is a motivational youth speaker and performer from Connecticut. She uses stories about the Founding Fathers and their “Revolutionary thinking” to turn children into confident leaders. A master at storytelling, Frei has also written a book, 5 Rockstars of the American Revolution: Surprising Stories and Big Life Lessons of the Founding Fathers. She has been featured on the History Channel, the Today Show, and NBC News.

This event is open to kids ages 9 and up, and is $10 for members and $15 for non-members. Registration is required—please register by Monday, January 6 for this event by calling (860) 567-4501.

The Litchfield History Museum is located at 7 South Street, Litchfield, CT. For more information about this or other programs, please call (860) 567-4501 or www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org.  For area information www.litchfieldhills.com

The Art of Advertising to Open at the Litchfield History Museum

Taking a walk through Litchfield’s center you can’t help but notice the businesses lining West Street. Brightly colored window displays catch your eye. Perhaps you smell lunch being served in a nearby restaurant. To distinguish themselves from each other, each business has a sign hanging outside the door.

While many things have changed over the past two hundred years, one thing has remained the same: Litchfield is dotted with signs. Opening on Saturday, April 13, the Litchfield Historical Society’s new exhibition, The Art of Advertising: Signs around Town, will explore these symbols that mark the retailers, museums, schools, and establishments that make up the community. These beautifully crafted objects let us know what can be found behind each door, and each has something to reveal about the establishments that have helped create this charming community.

Visitors and residents alike will enjoy this new exhibit of 19th- and 20th- century signs from the museum collection while learning about the businesses that helped shape Litchfield’s past. This exhibit will be on view through the end of June, 2013.

The Litchfield History Museum is located at 7 South Street, Litchfield, CT. The History Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, and Sunday, 1:00 to 5:00 pm. For more information, please call (860) 567-4501 or see www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.orgwww.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org. 

For area information www.litchfieldhills.com.

Litchfield: The Making of a New England Town

On Saturday November 3, Historic New England and the Litchfield Historical Society host an event with local author Rachel Carley to award Litchfield: The Making of a New England Town Historic New England's eighteenth Book Prize.

The afternoon starts at 1:00 p.m. with a reception and remarks by the prize winner Rachel Carley, followed by a book signing. The award-winning book, published by the Litchfield Historical Society is available for purchase at the event.

To attend, please call 617-994-5934 or e-mail Events@HistoricNewEngland.org. The event is free, but space is limited. The Litchfield Historical Society is at 7 South Street, Litchfield, Connecticut.

Litchfield: The Making of a New England Town is a lively exploration of the town's history and architecture, not only during the colonial period but also during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The book is generously illustrated with maps, photographs, and paintings of this quintessential New England town, including many that are published for the first time. Carley is a preservation consultant and architectural historian. Her previous books include Building Greenwich, Architecture and Design, 1640 to the Present; The Visual Dictionary of American Domestic Architecture; Cuba: Four Hundred Years of Architectural Heritage; Cabin Fever; A Guide to Biltmore Estate; and Wilderness A to Z. She is a resident of Litchfield.

About Historic New England's Book Prize
The Historic New England Book Prize recognizes works that advance the understanding of the architecture, landscape, and material culture of New England and the United States from the seventeenth century to the present. This includes works in the decorative arts, archaeology, historic preservation, and the history of photography. To qualify, works need not deal exclusively with New England but must make a significant contribution to our understanding of New England and its relation to the wider world.

About Historic New England
Historic New England is the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive regional heritage organization in the nation. We bring history to life while preserving the past for everyone interested in exploring the authentic New England experience from the seventeenth century to today. Historic New England owns and operates thirty-six historic homes and landscapes spanning five states. The organization shares the region's history through vast collections, publications, public programs, museum properties, archives, and family stories that document more than 400 years of life in New England. For more information visit HistoricNewEngland.org.

For area information www.litchfieldhills.com

Litchfield Historical Society’s Civil War Exhibition, Opens in April 14 – Nov. 25

Litchfield History Museum

Opening April 14, 2012, the Litchfield Historical Society’s new exhibition The Hour of Conflict will examine the ways in which the American Civil War im­pacted the residents of Litchfield, Con­necticut in the 1860s. This fascinating exhibit will run through November 25th.

Although no battles occurred in Con­necticut, local Litchfield families were directly affected by the events of the Civil War. Men departed town to enlist in the Union army, leaving their families behind to worry and wonder, waiting for a letter to make its way from a campground or battlefield. Women spent their time sewing clothing, wrapping bandages, and sending packages to their loved ones on the front lines. How did Litch­field families deal with the anxiety of war? How did they mourn, celebrate and cope?

The Litchfield Historical Society in­vites visitors and families of all ages to examine these questions through let­ters, diaries, photographs, and artifacts from the Historical Society’s collec­tions. Articles carried by local soldiers, everyday objects used by Litchfield’s children, and items related to Dr. Josiah Gale Beckwith and the Litchfield Peace Movement are just some of the col­lection pieces that will be highlighted. Visitors will also have the chance to view Civil War uniforms thanks to the Museum of Connecticut History and the Cornwall Historical Society.

The exhibit will also incorporate hands-on activities and the opportunity to ex­perience camp life as Litchfield’s men did more than a century and a half ago. Students of the Litchfield Montessori School will act as Junior Curators to re­search, design, and create a special por­tion of the exhibition.

The Hour of Conflict will run through the 2012 and 2013 seasons at the Litchfield History Museum, located at 7 South Street in Litchfield. There will be a special exhibition opening for members on Friday, April 13 at 6:30 pm following this year’s Annual Meeting. The exhibition will open to the public on April 14. For more information visit www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org or call (860) 567-4501. The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday, 11 to 5 and Sunday 1-5. The admission costs are $5 for adults, $3 for seniors, students, and children over 14. Members, law students, and children under 14 are free. These prices include the cost of admission to the Tapping Reeve House and Law School.