About The Stamford Historical Society
Stamford, Connecticut
Mission Statement
The Stamford Historical Society, Inc., the municipal historian of Stamford,
is an educational and research institution, whose primary functions are to collect, preserve,
conserve, interpret, and exhibit materials relating to Stamford, Connecticut, and our region
in order to engage citizens in the telling of their stories. Established in 1901 and incorporated in 1909, the society has just celebrated is 100th anniversary with an exhibit, 100 Years in the Making:
Highlights from the Society's Collections.
The Society is dedicated to preserving local history and providing opportunities
for the community to understand and to experience the past through the presentation of exhibits
and displays, lectures, demonstrations, special events and participatory programs.
In particular, we preserve and offer tours of the unique Hoyt Barnum House, built in 1699.
As the city of Stamford's history center, we have a responsibility to all citizens of our community
to preserve the varied experiences that reflect our cultural heritage.
History
The Stamford Historical Society was
founded in 1901 and incorporated in 1909. Like most historical societies, organized at the
beginning of the twentieth century, the then world of Stamford
smokestack industries and immigrant labor was ignored. The Society's
founders looked for inspiration to an earlier, pre-smokestack time,
and focused on collecting artifacts and objects from the 17th and
18th centuries.
As with many Americans of the era,
the founders viewed the past as largely immutable, and their 17th and
18th century forebears as largely rooted in one spot. Today it is
recognized that the constant movement of settlers has been an
American trait since the first generation arrived, built their
meeting houses, and excluded later arrivals from them.
The early Stamford Historical Society
collections ignored Long Island Sound, and the town's access to the
sea, despite the evidence that Stamford was built where it is because
of its access to the water.
The Society's collections prior to
1979 concentrated on objects thought to have been made before
machines, such as wooden implements, early furniture, ironware,
earthenware, pewter and silver. The focus was also directed toward
the interior agrarian economy and the American farmer. The fact that
many of the forms that were part of the collection were made by
industrial processes (lathes, molds etc.) and used division of labor
(joiners and turners) was for the most part overlooked.
The 1699
Hoyt-Barnum House depicts
Stamford's colonial Puritan past through the inventory of Samuel
Hoyt, blacksmith, who died in 1738. David Barnum's 1838 inventory is
also interpreted to reflect the farming, cottage industry era of
Stamford before the canal and railroad transformed Stamford into a
bustling, industrial town.
1979 was a turning point for the
Society. It was in 1979 that The Society was named principal
beneficiary of the Cruikshank Collection. The Collection is composed
of objects without a tradition of Stamford ownership of manufacture.
We now recognize that Stamford was a port town, connected to the
world by water for much of its history, and that goods used in
Stamford may not have been made locally. This present recognition
brings us in line with modern scholarship, which recognizes the
importance of constant movement and change in American
history.
With the Society's move to its present headquarters
in 1984, the mission and purpose became more clearly defined. As an exhibits
oriented and educational institution which collects, preserves, conserves and
interprets materials relating to the history of Stamford and Connecticut between
the 17th and 20th centuries, The Society reflects the diversity and change that
this region has experienced.
We are the history center for the City of Stamford.
What has happened and what is happening is being retained for future generations
by The Stamford Historical Society.
A Center for History, Culture and Tradition: A Case for History
- preserving the past
- defining the present
- connecting with the future
Why Do We Need A Historical Society?
The Stamford Historical Society
helps people know about, experience and value their own and the region's
history, culture and traditions so that this understanding may enhance their
experience of the present and the future. The lessons of the past offer much
to solve the problems of the present and prepare for challenges to come.
For children to grow up whole, and
ready to take their places in the world, they must have assets: not stock certificates,
but the personal assets of healthy self-esteem, appreciation for their origins,
feelings of connectedness, belonging, and responsibility to a larger community.
These inner resources help them withstand the pitfalls of growing up, expand
their understanding of what they might accomplish, and strengthen them to pursue
a future full of promise. It is precisely because we must address society's
urgent problems of today that we look to our history, culture and traditions.
To understand the importance of
cultural tradition, one need only compare the experience of religious groups
who came to this country to exercise their traditions freely with that of people
indigenous to North America and people brought to this continent against their
will, both of whose cultural traditions were broken down by outside forces.
As technology depersonalizes the
way we live, work, communicate and relate to one another, it expands the importance
of being able to see in the flesh the wonders of what used to be. Research on
the Internet can never produce the awe of seeing the real life diaries of a
Civil War veteran or the relics of how ancestors experienced defining moments
in their lives. As corporations move us from place to place around the country
and the world, the connection of history brings us closer to community and to
home. It is the role of History and of this organization to give our children,
and their elders, a sense of being part of a continuum that began with the dawn
of civilization and will continue with their own progeny; we help them recognize
the value of their own and others' ancient cultures: we encourage them
to find and cross a bridge between the past and the present and use this understanding
to construct their own bridges to the future; we give them a sense of family
and societal traditions; and a feeling of being an integral part of the human
community.
A Community Partnership
As an independent nonprofit organization,
The Stamford Historical Society depends on the commitment, involvement and contributions
of the generous community it serves. Its remarkably rich array of programs and
services is supported by a modest annual budget. Program-related income – membership
dues, admissions, special events, seminars and Thrift Shop sales – provides
about half the funds needed to sustain the current level of programming. The
other half must be raised each year in contributions from individuals, businesses,
foundations and community organizations.
The City of Stamford provides the
location for The Society's Center for History, Culture, and Tradition in
the 1914 building
that was first the Willard School and later the Martha Hoyt School at 1508 High
Ridge Road.
A number dedicated and knowledgeable
volunteers give countless hours of their time each year to make programs and
facilities fascinating and easy-to-use. They are rigorously trained as professionals
to offer assistance with research, conduct tours, present programs, and work
to conserve the permanent collection. They organize community events that draw
hundreds of children and adults into first-hand experiences of moments in times
past.
The society's operation depends mainly on volunteers – become involved!
The society's website is the primary gateway for public access to the tremendous wealth of our historical
resources:
The Marcus Research Library and Archives is a specialized collection dealing in depth
with the history of Stamford, from pre-settlement to the present.
Its holdings consists of books, pamphlets, periodicals, and boxed manuscript materials
dating back as far as the 17th century. A number of its material or lists thereof are available online (put anchor into related sitemap section).
A work in progress is adding our book holdings to the online catalog of the Ferguson Library.
The Photographic Archives hold over 10,000 images, dating back to Civil War times, in a wide variety of formats; a regular web feature is the Photo Selection of the Month.
The society mounts at least one exhibit per year, frequently complemented by online versions. More.
We ask you to join in partnership
with The Society by becoming a member, by volunteering your time and talent,
by actively participating in programs, and by offering your financial support
to assure that this first century of achievement will provide the foundation
in history, culture and tradition for the people of Stamford in the next century.
 |
Pam Coleman, Chair
Dr. Thomas Zoubek,
Executive Director |
