Historical Society of Easton, CT

We have a wonderful slate of events coming up in the next months.  Visit the page Upcoming Events to see a full slate of scheduled events and a brief write up on each one, and stay tuned to the website for more announcements of events sponsored by The Historical Society of Easton, CT.

Next up:

• Thursday, May 9^th, 11 AM; Easton Public Library Community Room

“The Life and Legacy of P. T. Barnum”

by Kathy Maher, Executive Director/Curator of the Barnum Museum

 Step back in time with the Historical Society of Easton who is delighted to host Kathy Maher, the Executive Director and Curator of the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport for a special program, “The Life and Legacy of P.T. Barnum” on Thursday, May 9^th at 11 AM in the Community Room at the Easton Public Library.

Ms. Maher’s presentation will explore the multi-faceted P.T. Barnum – businessman, entertainer, philanthropist and politician – and bring his spirit back to life. His name alone conjures up the imagination with ideas both spectacular and extravagant. Known world-wide as the “Great American Showman”, Barnum accomplished far more than create shows of curiosities and oddities. P.T. Barnum served the Bridgeport community as Mayor, was instrumental in founding Bridgeport Hospital working as its first president plus contributing as an urban developer, educator, philanthropist and benefactor. He embraced the idea of a truly democratic nation and in doing so inspired a place of opportunity, knowledge, and wonder.

So learn more about this Connecticut showman and join the Historical Society of Easton for Kathy Maher’s insightful lecture on Thursday, May 9^th at 11 AM at the Easton Public Library, 691 Morehouse Road, Easton.

 Free Lecture

• March 16 – Civil War Lecture next Saturday, at The Easton Public Library ( 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm).

• March 27 – April 30.  Meteorite Exhibit in Easton Public Library

On the morning of February 15, 2013 residents of Chelyabinsk, Russia and neighboring towns were startled by a meteor  which streaked overhead, then exploded spectacularly, shattering windows, damaging buildings, injuring hundreds, and raining down celestial debris.  In an age of cellphone cameras and the internet, news of this remarkable event spread around the world within minutes.

A little over two hundred years earlier, and halfway around the world, a similar event took place in the skies above New England.  In the early morning hours of December 14, 1807 the peaceful rural quiet was shattered by a passing meteor exploding over the eastern part of Weston, Connecticut, an area which would in 1845 become Easton.  There were several eyewitnesses, but at a time when news travelled by horse and foot their story took days and weeks to reach the outside world.  Over the next two centuries, despite its importance as the first recorded fall of a meteorite in North America, the Weston Meteorite’s location became lost in confusion and rumor.

The Historical Society of Easton will present an exhibit at the Easton Public Library (691 Morehouse Road, Easton, CT) from March 27-April 30, during library hours, describing the results of research to re-discover the actual fall sites of the Weston Meteorite and ultimately correct its location in the scientific literature.

• April 6 - In celebration of 150th Anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and a tribute to Black History Month, the Historical Society of Easton will host a lecture about the rocky path to emancipation. Event to be held at The Community Room of the Easton Public Library, 691 Morehouse Rd., 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm.

• July 13^th (rain date July 20^th)

Vintage Baseball Game at Veteran’s Park

(366 Sport Hill Rd, Easton, CT – behind The Easton Community Center on the grounds of Helen Keller Middle School. – Use the HKMS drive entrance, directly across from Sherwood Farm, about 2 miles north of Merritt Pkwy exit 46 on Sport Hill Road aka Ct Rt. 59.)

The Friends of Vintage Baseball, a reenactment group, will hold two exhibition games in Easton on the field behind the Easton Community Center for all to enjoy. Between the games, children will be invited onto the field to learn the rules of the 19^thCentury baseball game.

The first game starts at 11:00 AM and the second will follow at 12:30 PM.

Admission fees:  Adults and Children over 5 years old: $ 5.00, Families of 4 or more: $20.00, Children under 5: Free.

There are concessions, rest rooms, and handicapped parking available.

This event is made possible by the generous support of Easton Parks and Recreation.

Civil War historian Carolyn Ivanhoff will deliver a lecture on Connecticut’s role in the civil war on Saturday, March 16, 2:00pm – 3:30pm at the Community Room of the Easton Public Library, 691 Morehouse Road, Easton, Connecticut.

The lecture is sponsored by The Historical Society of Easton.  There is no charge and reservations are not required.

Four close friends from Connecticut marched down to Gettysburg, but only three returned.

To hear the story of these men, the Historical Society of Easton is sponsoring a lecture by Carolyn Ivanoff, a Civil War historian who is an assistant principal at Shelton Intermediate School.

The four men enlisted in the 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, Company D and “they marched, tented, survived the elements and disease and fought every day on the hard road to Gettysburg” where “one of them would be killed, two wounded and only one left standing,” according to a press release sent by Emlyn Duemmler.

Ivanoff will follow their stories with letters, primary documents, period-sourced documents and more.

“She has created an insightful story of friendship and hardship,” Duemmler said. “The program is illustrated with contemporary and period images and was awarded a 2011 CT League of History Organizations Award of Merit in June 2011.”

For more information, visit the Historical Society of Easton on the web. The lecture is free, but donations are always appreciated.

For more information call 203 581 0850.

We look forward to seeing you there.

This site contains excerpts from a 17 page history of Easton that was written for the site. It also contains a link to the full story under the menu heading “A Brief History of Our Town of Easton, CT.”

Currently The Easton Courier is running a serial version of that history.  Watch the Courier each week for the latest chapter.  It will take about 15 weeks for the entire story to play out.

http://www.eastoncourier.com/

We have just posted a history of our town to this website.  You’ll find it on the menu at the top of this page.  There you will find excerpts from the full document, some images, and a link to the full document PDF, just over 17 pages in length.   It’s an interesting story, probably more interesting than you might have thought.  Take a look.

If you have anything to contribute, stories, photos, artifacts, you can contact us as indicated in the right margin of the home page to the website.

The “About” tab on the menu bar above describes the basics about The Historical Society of Easton and provides contact information.  This site will continue to grow and improve with more events posted, copies of our quarterly newsletter, more photos, and more historic information.  Follow the progress of the barn restoration at The Bradley-Hubbell House.

You can sign up to follow the site and you will then be notified each time the site is updated.  Just go to the “Follow” button in the sidebar to the right.

Come back and see us.

The Historical Society of Easton, CT