Category Archives: Staff Topics

Blog posts that are staff favorites, chosen topics, or updates abut what goes on behind-the-scenes.

Preservation Week

 

 

 

Preservation Week, April 24-30 2011 is a partnership between the Society of American Archivists, the American Library Association, the Library of Congress, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and many other cultural heritage organizations.  It is a national campaign to help raise awareness about collecting and preservation, to connect the general public to preservation information and expertise, and to emphasize the close relationships among personal, family, community, and public collections and their preservation.

The Society’s staff is participating in Preservation Week by getting dirty.  Julie Leone, Curator of Collections, and Linda Hocking, Curator of Library & Archives, are attending a two-day disaster planning workshop offered by Conservation ConneCTion and run by the Northeast Document Conservation Center.  This workshop is a follow up to one held last summer which helped the curators begin working on a formal disaster plan for the Society.

The first day of this session involved a variety of disaster scenarios to begin thinking about appropriate responses. Tomorrow, they will get wet and dirty to learn the proper things to do when faced with damaged collections and facilities. Upon completion, they will return to Litchfield and put the finishing touches on the Disaster Plan.  They will also complete the assembly of disaster kits which include things like caution tape, gloves, masks, and other supplies.  The two will also share their new knowledge with other staff, weekend staff, and board members.

Update:  Today, day two of the workshop, a simulated disaster provided the curator with an opportunity to see how time consuming even the smallest disaster with minimal damage can be to address.  Thinking about potential hazards and making sure the location is safe to be in must come before addressing collections concerns, many of which are time sensitive. At the same time, informing the public of what has happened and how its being addressed is also critical.  We are now invigorated to return and put the final touches on our “d-plan” and to share our experience with the rest of the staff.  We are grateful to the Institute of Museum and Library Services for providing funding for this series, to Conservation ConneCTion for all the work done to secure the funding and put on the workshops, and to NEDCC for providing great information in an accessible manner.  We’ve even started an Amazon wish list which includes things we would like to add to our disaster kits (as well as a few things the education department would like, and some reference works.)

Future of Tallmadge House still uncertain

This past Saturday (March 6) the historic Tallmadge House was placed up for auction.  The opening bid was $332,500 but among the dozen or so individuals who attended the auction,  no bidder stepped forward to purchase the property.

The staff of the Historical Society was given a unique opportunity to walk through the house two summers ago in July of 2009.   The Winterthur graduate program in Early American Decorative Arts was visiting Litchfield as part of their fall field trip and the real estate office managing the property allowed the staff of the museum to walk the students through this amazing 18th century structure.

Tallmadge house exterior front 2

Tallmadge house exterior front 5

Tallmadge house exterior back 3

Dining Room - First Floor

Dining Room – First Floor

First Floor - southeast facing room

First Floor – southeast facing room

First Floor - southwest facing room

First Floor – southwest facing room

Front stairs of the house

Front stairs of the house

Ballroom - second floor of house

Ballroom – second floor of house

The house was built in 1773 for Thomas Sheldon.  It is believed Sheldon hired local builder Giles Kilbourn to construct the home.   In 1782, Benjamin Tallmadge purchased the home, after completing his tour as an officer in the Colonial Army during the Revolutionary War, and brought his family from Long Island to settle in Litchfield.   Tallmadge had been through Litchfield while serving in the Army and was immediately attracted to the community.

Tallmadge improved the home by adding the two story covered porches with oversized columns to the front of the house, it is believed, after a visit to Mt. Vernon to visit his friend George Washington.  Impressed with the columned facade of Washington’s home, Tallmadge retrofited his home to copy the design.

The house today retains its original wide floor boards and paneled walls.  There is a fireplace is every room of the original house, several of them stylishly angled in the corner.    It was considered in Tallmadge’s time and still is today one of the finest homes in Litchfield.

After Tallmadge died in 1835, the house was put up for sale.  An ad in the local paper described the property as “2 stories besides gambrel roof – a large back kitchen on 4 acres plus a large barn, carriage house, cow house and other necessary buildings.”  The property changed hands several times for brief intervals before being purchased by New York City attorney William Curtis Noyes in 1857.  Noyes’ wife was Julia Tallmadge Noyes, granddaughter of Benjamin Tallmadge.  When Noyes died he left the house to his only daughter Emily Noyes Vanderpoel.

Vanderpoel used the home as a summer residence for the duration of her lifetime.  An active member of the Litchfield Historical Society, Vanderpoel cherished her family’s connection with Litchfield and actively worked to document and preserve this legacy.   When she died in 1939, the house again left the family and was bought and sold several times during the 20th century.

The house has been on the market for over two years now.  It has been suggested by some that the Historical Society purchase the property.  While the museum actively seeks to preserve the history of this community, purchasing and rehabilitating an 18th century building is too cost prohibitive for the organization at this time.  It is our sincere wish, however, that an owner be found for the property.

Shaping Our Future

The Historical Society has recently undertaken to create a new five year Strategic Plan for the organization.  This exercise is done every five years and the document produced creates a overarching vision for the organization and guides the Historical Society through future public and educational programming, allocation of financial resources, interactions with the larger community and collections decisions.

The meetings have only begun and it will be several months before the Historical Society has a completed document to send to the Board of Directors for approval.  Recently, while searching through the institutional records I came across another moment in the Historical Society’s own history in which the organization did some internal reflection and determined the future path of the museum.

It was September 1966 and then Board of Trustee President Henry L. Shepard had just presented a self-authored “Philosophy of Our Museum” to the entire Board.   The Historical Society had just been through some big changes.  Five years before the museum had been offered and accepted the gift of the Oliver Wolcott, Jr. house.   At that time, the museum continued to share the Noyes Memorial Building (present day Litchfield History Museum) with the Litchfield Circulating & Wolcott Libraries.  Both organization were overcrowded and unable to expand under the current arrangement.  The Historical Society had been looking for another property in town to purchase but until the Wolcott, Jr. house was offered nothing had worked out.

The Historical Society spent the next three and a half years renovating the house and engaging in serious debates over how to the use the new space.   The organization already managed the Tapping Reeve House and Litchfield Law School buildings at great expense.  Several board members expressed anxiety at maintaining another historic house.  While the institutional records are spotty and not every conversation well recorded, by June of 1964 a deal was struck and the Historical Society turned over the Oliver Wolcott, Jr. house to the Library in exchange for full use and sole ownership of the Noyes Memorial Building.   The deal gave each organization its own space and the much desired room to expand.

Shepard saw this as a pivotal moment for the Historical Society.  As the board discussed how to use the Library’s old rooms in the Noyes Memorial Building, Shepard had a larger vision.   He saw this as a moment for the organization to define itself.    He said in his Philosophy of Our Museum:

We have six immediate and long-run objectives: (1) To interest the general public in coming to an attractive, exciting museum.  (2) To eliminate clutter.  (3) To catalog and classify our collections.  (4) To foster the education of young people.  (5) To prepare a valid presentation of our legitimate needs, in compelling fashion, to the Ford Foundation or some similar grantor of funds.  (6) To operate as a community institution in Litchfield for all of its people.

Objective (6) is probably the most important.

Our Museum should concentrate on Litchfield, to the end that we may acquaint everyone in our township – – not only the boro, but also Bantam, Morris, Warren and Northfield – – with its history, in the various aspects of that word.  The young people, growing up here, as well as their parents, will be given the opportunity to feel the spirit vibrations that underlay the creation and development of the United States of America.  Moreover, the young will be enabled to perceive that ‘the dream’ may be realized here at home.  Much of the current restlessness stems from lack of intellectual nourishment.  I cannot think of a happier outcome of our work than to overhear a boy outside of Crutch & MacDonald’s say to another, ‘Hey, let’s go over to the Museum and see what’s new.’

It is necessary to expand the community philosophy further at this time.  I trust that all who read this memorandum will communicate with me or Committee chairmen to express their ideas and suggestions.  Bear in mind that our aim is to collaborate, not complete, with other organizations and institutions in Litchfield.

For me, as for you, the Litchfield Historical Society is a labor of love.  We possess a jewel, whose rays, through our concerted, intelligently generous efforts, can brighten our superb community. 

Present day Liggett Gallery prior to 1966 interior renovation.

Present day Liggett Gallery prior to 1966 interior renovation.

Present day Liggett Gallery after the renovations

Present day Liggett Gallery after the renovations

Under Shepard’s leadership the museum transformed from a 19th century cabinet of curiosities to a contemporary museum.  Overly cluttered galleries were replaced with open, brightly lit rooms containing thematic exhibits.  The museum and archival collections were divided and cared for by separate curators, a specialization of labor that the Society continues to this day.

As Shepard outlined:

At this stage, let us concentrate on open space, mainly that acquired from the Wolcott Library and secondarily what we can free from clutter.

Let us think in terms of white paint for the walls and woodwork.  Our collections will give all the accents that are needed to interest the eye.  Let us eliminate frills and furbelows wherever possible and block off unnecessary or over-decorated windows. . . Let us make our museum an inviting, spacious place. 

Shepard achieved many of these goals and today, the Litchfield Historical Society continues to be an inviting, spacious place.  As our current Strategic Planning progresses, these voices from our past can provide moments for reflection and guidance moving forward.

My Country Society

The My Country Society, Inc. was founded in 1967 with the purpose of publishing a journal, My Country, related to American history which many of you likely remember. Initially, the journal was distributed throughout Litchfield County to schools, historical societies, libraries, town halls, banks, and other places. Later, it became available by subscription. The publication schedule varied, but typically several issues were produced each year. New and established authors were encouraged to submit manuscripts. The Society also awarded  scholarships to Litchfield High School students. In 2008, the Society ceased its operation and merged its assets with the Litchfield Historical Society. The Society agreed to publish articles of historical interest in the spirit of My Country on its Web site.  Since that time, staff have brainstormed several ideas for items of interest to include.  We expect to launch the site with a few such articles in the next month or two.  If you have suggestions for articles please let us know!  We will be sure to post the direct URL here when the page is up and running.

Meanwhile, the Records of the My Country Society have been processed with the support of an NHPRC processing grant.  You can see the record of our holdings in Archon or stop by during library hours to peruse back issues of My Country.