(860) 364-5688

Sharon Historical Society & Museum

Illustrators in the Northwest Corner

Wendell Minor
Cat, What Is That?
18 x 20 “ framed
Gouache and watercolor on paper

The Life of Charcoal Annie

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The Sharon Historical Society & Museum collects, preserves, and shares Sharon’s stories.

OPEN Wednesday through Friday 12-4pm and Saturday 10am-2pm

18 Main St, P.O. Box 511
Sharon, CT 06069
Telephone (860) 364-5688

sharonhistoricalsociety

The Sharon Historical Society is a community museum dedicated to connecting people to the town of Sharon, its history, and its culture.

Found: One "Sharon Inn" pamphlet from the 1920s.

Found: One "Sharon Inn" pamphlet from the 1920s.

Needed: The guest book from the "Sharon Inn" or any documentation or furniture related to the "Sharon Inn."

Today, in our continued delving into the history of the "Sharon Inn," we bring you an image we recovered from an informational pamphlet put out by the "Sharon Inn." While the opulence is not to par with the fanciest Pullman Sleeper Cars, it has its glamour that came with gilded age inns and hotels of the 1920s. We would love to know what everyone thinks of these photos and if you had any memories associated with this historic inn. Enjoy the weekend and stay warm out there folks. #sharonct #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmusem #connecticut

Sharon Voices is back for the 2023 season! Join us

Sharon Voices is back for the 2023 season! Join us this Saturday (Feb. 4th) at 4pm for interviews with two long-time members of the Sharon community. Brian Ross will talk with Betsy Hall and Jano Fairservis about their experiences living in Sharon and serving the community in a variety of ways through arts, theater, civic initiatives, and emergency services. The interviews will be followed by a reception from 5-5:30pm. The event is open to the public, but please note that if you do arrive late that this event is being recorded and silence is key for recording purposes. If you can't make it to the museum that evening, we will have a recording of the experience for future viewing and listening.

Snow? What's that? Today we bring you an image of

Snow? What's that? Today we bring you an image of Sharon from years past, showing a snowy northward-looking view of Sharon's sidewalks from 67 Main St. While we haven't quite had a snowy winter this year, images like this give us a peek into the lives of people in the early 1900s. Identifying the location and context of photographs (like this one) is a great help that our volunteers provide. If you are interested in volunteering remotely or in-person, please get in touch with the museum at curator@sharonhist.org or message us on Facebook or Instagram. Until next time, stay warm out there!

Four dust rags, three volunteers, two rooms, and o

Four dust rags, three volunteers, two rooms, and only one hour. We are extremely thankful to (from left to right) Mia Coats, Mary Graf, and Marel Rogers, who helped organize the oversized pieces in our collection. This was Mary's first-day volunteering, and we cannot wait to have her back at the museum.
If you know someone who wants to volunteer their time and energy towards the preservation of Sharon's History, join a supportive family of individuals who love history, or want to have a hands-on experience with local heritage then email the museum at curator@sharonhist.org or message us on Facebook or Instagram.

Did anyone see that the Casino caught fire yesterd

Did anyone see that the Casino caught fire yesterday morning? There's a 99.9% chance no one alive did, as it occurred 98 years ago. At half past 3 in the morning on Sunday, January 25th, "an auto load of men from Pittsfield" rode past the burning building. Upon discovering the blaze, the Sharon Chemical Company responded but found on its own it could not put out the blaze. Calling upon other fire companies in the surrounding towns, the fire was eventually subdued, but not before it was reduced to rubble. Contrary to modern terminology, early casinos were places of theatrical performances and motion pictures. I guess it's safe to say that the last piece performed at the Casino got some searing reviews.

Board games galore! We have two board game-based e

Board games galore! We have two board game-based events this week. On Wednesday, we have Backgammon at 2pm here at the museum. Then on Thursday, we have our bi-monthly After-Hours Board game night at 6pm here at the museum. As with last time, we will have a raffle for two miniature figures (one for members and one for general attendees) at the After-Hours event. Come play some games and visit the museum.

We're back! After a week of radio silence, we are

We're back! After a week of radio silence, we are back with a request for the community here in and around Sharon. Does anyone out there have any images of the inside of the Sharon Inn (torn down in 1954)? We have a large collection of the outside but lack images of the inside. Any help would be appreciated!

Welcome one and all to the first exhibit opening o

Welcome one and all to the first exhibit opening of 2023! Tonight, from 5 to 7 pm, we have three exhibits opening on the same night: Illustrators of the Northwest, Family Ties, and Two Area Illustrators: Eric Sloane and Arthur Getz. Come and learn about how much a bushel of potatoes cost in 1844, see illustrations of dogs and detectives, and enjoy paintings that portray childhood wonder.

Illustrators in the Northwest Corner. #sharonhist

Illustrators in the Northwest Corner. #sharonhistoricalsocietyand museum #galleryshs

Pass Go and Collect One Ticket to the Sharon Histo

Pass Go and Collect One Ticket to the Sharon Historical Society and Museums After Hours Board Game Night. This is a reminder that this Thursday, the 12th, from 6 to 8:30pm, we will be hosting a board game night that's open to all. Bring your own game or come to learn a new one. We hope to see you there. Yahtzee!!

What do planes, pumpkins, and Sharon's history all

What do planes, pumpkins, and Sharon's history all have in common? All three relate to the new exhibits coming to the Sharon Historical Society & Museum! This Saturday (the 14th), from 5-7pm, the museum will have an opening reception of three exhibits: Historic Illustrators, Contemporary Illustrators, and Family Ties. We welcome all to see the works of renowned artists Eric Sloane and Arthur Getz in our historic illustrator's exhibit, the intriguing and varied works of local artists in the contemporary illustrator's exhibit, and artifacts from the Gay Family.

A Civil Defense Room here in Sharon? While going t

A Civil Defense Room here in Sharon? While going through the stacks, we found these photographs of local Sharon citizens operating radio receivers in the Town Hall in the 1960s. It's just a bit surreal that only 60 years ago this was routine, if not completely normal for someone to volunteer their time making sure Sharon isn't attacked. We hope that a room like this isn't needed in the future. Stay tuned for more images and objects from the stacks here at the museum.

Merry Christmas to all! Seen here is a photo of th

Merry Christmas to all! Seen here is a photo of the elusive and jolly elf with one of our dolls. No word on if the staff at the museum were naughty or nice this year, but the presents of archival material under the tree is a good sign of the latter. Hope everyone is having a great holiday and we look forward to seeing everyone in 2023!

The Sharon Historical Society & Museum would like

The Sharon Historical Society & Museum would like to invite the public to the first Bi-Monthly After-Hours Board Game Night at the Sharon Historical Society and Museum’s Library Room. This free event will take place on the 12th of January 2023 from 6-8:30pm (weather dependent). All ages are welcome, and people can bring their own games to play, see what games others are playing, or just come to watch. Family-appropriate games are allowed, such as the classics of Monopoly, Risk, Uno, and Scrabble, to modern Tabletop Role Playing Games and party games. The first floor is wheelchair accessible. We ask that people bring their own food and/or beverages (we do have water), to be mindful of allergies, and to pick up after themselves. In addition, we will also be having a figurine raffle that is open to the public and members alike, though there will be a separate raffle for SHSM Members. If people would like to enter the Members-Only raffle, they can purchase a yearlong family membership for $ 35 and be included in all future After-Hours Board Game Night raffles, as well as all the other SHSM Family Membership events. If you have questions please feel free to call the museum at (860) 364-5688, email the curator at curator@sharonhist.org, or message us on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We hope to see you there and spread the word as this will be a bi-monthly event for the Sharon Community and beyond.

Good evening folks! On the docket for materials to

Good evening folks! On the docket for materials today, we have three military-related pieces; a WW2 US Army Officer Cap, Willson Pilot Goggles, and these cool "bandit goggles". We have a general idea about the cap and the pilot goggles, but the "bandit goggles"... not so much. Volunteer Marel Rogers helped accession these items into CT Collections while also keeping our new curator from trying on the artifacts (Honestly, they were really cool). Stay tuned for more from the collections, and until next time, history is closer and cooler thank you think.

Our staff and volunteers remember someone mentioni

Our staff and volunteers remember someone mentioning a needlework book cover in a comment in one of our latest posts. Well, as an early Christmas gift we present what might be that long misplaced needlework. This last Wednesday, volunteers BZ Coords, Marel Rogers, Carol Seaman, Eileen Tedesco, and Myra Plescia helped to locate and inventory this beautiful woolen book cover into our collection. Exciting stuff here at the museum, now we just need to make sure we don't misplace it again.

So we need some help... Volunteer Marel Rogers fou

So we need some help... Volunteer Marel Rogers found a ledger of sales from 1854 in our collections. We think it's talking about Iron sales, but we thought it would be fun to crowdsource this one. Let us know if you can read this, and if you can, feel free to post your transcriptions below. Thanks! -Curator.

Last night was a merry one indeed! We welcomed the

Last night was a merry one indeed! We welcomed the 20+ visitors to the Sharon Historical Society and Museum with cookies and copious amounts of hot and cold apple cider. The tree lighting ceremony was also a success despite the weather. You could easily hear the caroling from the archival space in the museum and it put everyone in a festive mood as we count down the days until Saint Nick arrives. Additional thanks goes out to our museum elves who set up the cookies and cider and cleaned up afterwards.

Inventory Wednesday here at the Sharon Historical

Inventory Wednesday here at the Sharon Historical Society and Museum. Volunteers Marel Rogers and BZ Coords help with a long time going task of conducting a comprehensive collections inventory. Today we reviewed 7 boxes of bonnets... and a single top hat. We thank them for their time and service to the museum and hope to see them back next Wednesday for another adventure into the collections.

On Display Now! POSTERING SHARON View the exhibit

On Display Now! POSTERING SHARON
View the exhibit of historical posters discovered only recently in the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon. On view until December 22. #sharonhistoricalsociety #sharonconnecticut #historicalposters #historicallibrary #vintageposters #lakeville #weekendevents #library

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