(860) 364-5688

Sharon Historical Society & Museum

Northlight Art Center 12th Annual Student Show

Opening reception: Saturday, March 11, 2023, from 5-7pm

Historic Illustrators: Arthur Getz and Eric Sloane

Arthur Getz (1913-1996)
New York Block Party c.1950

Eric Sloane (1905-1986)
P47 n.d.

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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.

Happy World Theatre Day! Today we highlight a grea

Happy World Theatre Day! Today we highlight a great non-profit here in Sharon, The Sharon Playhouse. Back in the early years of the playhouse, circa the 1920s, performances were put on in the Stables of the Sharon Inn. Over the years, the playhouse would change its name and build onto the stables, eventually being renamed the Sharon Playhouse back in 2015. This is a super condensed version of their history, so if you'd like to know more, please visit their website for more info. Regardless, their presence has lasted and will continue to do so as long as there are people to be entertained, actors to perform, and stories to tell. They have a couple of performances coming up this season, so get your tickets now and make your way down to the Sharon Playhouse.

#sharonplayhouse #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #sharonct #Connecticut #WorldTheatreDay

Today is Connecticut History Day! Through project-

Today is Connecticut History Day! Through project-based learning, CHD engages thousands of middle- and high-school students in historical research, interpretation, and creative expression. A few of our staff and volunteers are helping out this year as judges at the Torrington competition. We here at the Sharon Historical Society and Museum would like to wish all the students good luck and look forward to the historical discourse that comes from this and future events. #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #cthistoryday #sharonct #connecticut

Thanks to our weekly volunteers, Mia Coats, Marel

Thanks to our weekly volunteers, Mia Coats, Marel Rogers, Eileen Tedesco, and BZ Cords. This week, the group looked through a bunch of old newspapers, inventoried a flag from before the US had 50 states, and solved a record conundrum. If you would like to be a part of our weekly volunteer, interact with our artifacts, and support a local non-profit, then consider volunteering at the Sharon Historical Society and Museum. Contact us by calling us at 860-364-5688. emailing our curator at curator@sharonhist.org or messaging us on Facebook or Instagram. #volunteer #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #sharonct #connecticut

Keeping with this Barn theme, we have a special pe

Keeping with this Barn theme, we have a special peek at some of the photos in our Kelsey Collection. The Kelsey Collection is a massive collection of photos from the Sharon Town Photographer Francis Kelsey. Enjoy these photos of barns and farms through the lens of Francis Kelsey. #sharonct #connecticut #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum

Here are two barn paintings from the newly opened

Here are two barn paintings from the newly opened gallery exhibit here at the museum. Dairy farms are a significant part of Sharon’s history, so we applaud both of these artists on their beautiful depictions of Sharon's heritage. #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #connecticut #sharonct

Who doesn't like a good puppet show? With Televisi

Who doesn't like a good puppet show? With Television being the predominant means of entertainment in the United States, we sometimes forget older methods of getting our jollies. Today is World Puppetry Day, and we have just an artifact to share with you. This fella is a harlequin marionette. He comes with no strings attached (literally and figuratively), as we don't know where he came from or where his strings are. Though not as popular as it once was, Theatrical Puppetry is still around in theatres and on television. The Lion King (Broadway), The Muppets, and Sesame Street are all forms of puppetry in modern media. Maybe someday, our puppet friend here will be part of an exhibit on puppetry, but until then, we can at least appreciate its contribution to entertainment. #sharonct #connecticut #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #worldpuppetryday

Get out your sewing needles and fabric because tod

Get out your sewing needles and fabric because today is National Quilting Day! Whether you, your parents, grandparents, or friends quilt, it is hard not to appreciate the craftsmanship being a nice handmade quilt or blanket. We have quite a collection of blankets and quilts at the museum, so we can't show you all of them in one go, but here are a few of our curator's favorites. Oh, fun fact, the term quilt is derived from the Latin word "Culcita," or to bolster or cushion. I can’t remember any sewing jokes for this post; guess that means I’m running out of material.
#sharonct #connecticut #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #quiltingday

Happy Saint Patty's Day, everyone! For today's jou

Happy Saint Patty's Day, everyone! For today's journey into the stacks, we bring you a bill that fits right in with the season. This document is a freight bill to Mr. William G. Ringler from New York Central & Hudson River Railroad Company, dated 9/16/1909, for the transportation of beer. What type of beer was it? One can only imagine how it might have been used, who drank it, and where it was sold once delivered. We hope everyone stays safe out there and warm, considering the storm we just recovered from. #sharonct #connecticut #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #stpatricksday

Ding, Ding, Ding! We recently had this beautiful g

Ding, Ding, Ding! We recently had this beautiful grandfather clock repaired by Walter K. Rick. The clock itself was crafted back around 1811 and lived in the home of Reverend Ebenezer Knibloe. He acted as the pastor of the Church at Oblong Community in South Amenia, NY. Fast forward to 1993, and the "Knibloe Clock" was donated to the Sharon Historical Society by Ralph Knibloe a descendant of the late Reverend. It currently stands prominently at the top of the second-floor landing at the Sharon Historical Society and Museum. One of the coolest features of this grandfather clock is that it also tells what day of the month it is. Maybe someday we can do an exhibit on clocks, and the public can get up close and personal with this beauty. If you cannot wait until then, consider volunteering at the museum to see and interact with these pieces of Sharon's history on a regular basis. Contact us by calling us at 860-364-5688. emailing our curator at curator@sharonhist.org or messaging us on Facebook or Instagram. #sharonct #Connecticut #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #FromTheArchives

"We're going to need a bigger shovel!" or at least

"We're going to need a bigger shovel!" or at least that's what Sharon residents might have said back in 1888. From March 11th to 13th in 1888, a blizzard crept up and dumped up to 20ft of snow on the roads, rails, and residents of Salisbury, Sharon, Kent, and a large portion of Litchfield County. This snowstorm would go down as the worst snowstorm in the recorded history of Sharon, CT. While we don't have any pictures (that we know) of the blizzard in our archives, we do have photographs that give you a sense of the enormity of the situation people in the region felt that March. Stay warm out there and keep your shovel at hand...ya know, just in case. #sharonct #connecticut #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #thisdayinhistory

Locally sourced, organic, artisanal, and free-rang

Locally sourced, organic, artisanal, and free-range artwork is coming to the Sharon Historical Society Gallery this weekend! So come on down and see what this year's Northlight Art Center Student Show has in store for you. #sharonct #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #connecticut #northlightartcenter

Equality for all, today is International Women's D

Equality for all, today is International Women's Day! To celebrate, we would like to highlight a few women who make our museum run smoothly:
Christine Beer
Marel Rogers
Eileen Tedesco
BZ Cords
Anne Cameron
Mary Graf
Carol Seaman
Rhonda Schwartz
Mia Coats
Judith Chatfield
Linda Neiberg
Charlene Whitney
Roz Roney Dougal
Wendy Anderson
Cherise Hutchings
Thank you to all these women for supporting the museum with your time and dedication.

#sharonct #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #connecticut #womenshistorymonth

Patented! On March 7th, 1876, Alexander Graham Bel

Patented! On March 7th, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell's patent for the telephone was approved. It is hard to imagine the modern world without the telephone, with its ability to connect people across the world. Inventors and innovators are wizards, mages, and magicians of change. Here in Sharon, we cannot speak about inventing without mentioning Benjamin B. Hotchkiss. He is well known for his innovations in machine guns, chairs, mouse traps, curry combs, and much more. Additionally, Hotchkiss is attached to the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon, the Hotchkiss Company of automotive fame, and the Hotchkiss School in Salisbury, CT. More can be said about this inventor and innovator, but for now, we can just appreciate his ingenuity in an age of rapid technological development.
#sharonct #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #connecticut #thisdayinhistory

Happy Saturday, we hope everyone is unburying them

Happy Saturday, we hope everyone is unburying themselves from the snow we got last night. We're currently changing out our contemporary illustrator's gallery with the work of first-time artists from Northlight Art Center. Come by next Saturday to see all the new pieces on display at the museum. We would like to thank all the illustrators who allowed us to showcase their work and hope to see your work presented here in the future. Stay warm out there, folks, and have a great weekend. #sharonct #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #connecticut

We've been working on our collections space and wa

We've been working on our collections space and wanted to share it with everyone. We now have a large-scale photo studio where we can easily photograph large framed paintings and posters, rifles, scrapbooks, and clothing. We'd like to thank Walter K. Rick, who provided us with a plywood board for the table, and our dedicated members whose annual membership helped pay for the equipment. Thanks again, and we cannot wait to digitize more material for our online database. If you'd like to peruse our online collection of photos, objects, and oral histories, you can find the link on our website under collections, or you can follow this link: https://ctcollections.org/index.php/Browse/objects/facet/source_facet/id/1070/view/images/key/e7ea7a9363bf62768d1a37a4a0c78efa

#sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #connecticut #sharonct

New Photography Studio!! #connecticut #sharonhisto

New Photography Studio!! #connecticut #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #sharonct

With spring just around the corner (hopefully) com

With spring just around the corner (hopefully) comes a time of the long-awaited spring cleaning. Today is National Old Stuff Day, and here at the museum, we've been busy cleaning out our backrooms. We also have quite a lot of this "old stuff", though it should be noted that this "old stuff" isn't just stuff; it's historical photos, violins, scrapbooks, and so much more. Museum professionals use these objects to narrate the history of Sharon to the public. Everyone has a story, so if you would like to be involved in telling those stories, think about applying to be a volunteer at the Sharon Historical Society and Museum by emailing our curator at curator@sharonhist.org or messaging us on Facebook or Instagram. #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #connecticut #sharonct #volunteer #oldstuffday

The people have spoken! Today we share with you th

The people have spoken! Today we share with you the videos from our Sharon Voices event held almost a month ago. Brian Ross is featured interviewing Betsy Hall and Jano Fairservis about various aspects of their life and of Sharon in years gone by. We've uploaded these videos to YouTube so that anyone can see them, but to make it easier for all of you, the links have been attached below. Stay tuned to our YouTube and social media channels as we share Sharon's past, present, and unfolding future. If you'd like to be a part of our efforts to share Sharon's history, think about applying to be a volunteer at the Sharon Historical Society and Museum by emailing our curator at curator@sharonhist.org or messaging us on Facebook or Instagram.
#sharonct #connecticut #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #SharonVoices

Betsy Hall Interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TOcvKvmPnY

Jano Fairservis Interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldKi4KRXNUY

Good Morning Sharon, today we highlight an event f

Good Morning Sharon, today we highlight an event from this past weekend, On Saturday evening Linus Barnes, our current High School intern, gave a presentation at Troutbeck in Amenia, NY. His presentation was well received, with staff from the Sharon Historical Society and Museum, Housatonic Regional High School faculty, and local community members in attendance. It was a pleasure to see the community come out and support Linus, who will be attending Vassar College in the Fall. We cannot wait to see what other presentations have in store for the us as the Troubeck Symposium kicks off their 2023 season. For more information on the symposium go to the Troutbeck website or follow the link below.
https://troutbeck.com/troutbeck-symposium/
#sharonct #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #connecticut #VolunteerHighlight #troutbecksymposium

What does Andrew Carnegie have to do with the slow

What does Andrew Carnegie have to do with the slowing down of the iron industry here in Sharon? The United States Steel Corporation (USSC). On February 25th, 1901, the USSC was founded, with Carnegie at its helm. Eighteen years later, the iron industry in Sharon would slow, with the last furnace closing in 1919. Steel, in brief, has less carbon, making it stronger, more durable, better for building, and more resistant to rust and corrosion. As companies like the USSC ramped up production of steel, the demand for pig iron decreased. While the iron industry is no longer active in Sharon, the Sharon Historical Society and Museum seek to preserve the heritage of Sharon's past, present, and future. #sharonct #sharonhistoricalsocietyandmuseum #connecticut #ThisDayInHistory

Images:
1. The Board of directors of the USSC circa. 1901.
2. Salisbury Iron Works Diagram.

Images retrieved from:
The Baker Library-Harvard Business School.
Salisbury Historical Society.

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