The Newtown
Historical Society was founded on June 14, 1962, for the purpose of
preserving and interpreting the history of Newtown for future
generations. The Society consists entirely of volunteers who have
restored and maintain the Matthew Curtiss House on Newtown’s Main Street
as a museum of the town’s history. They also have restored and maintain
the Middle Gate one-room schoolhouse on the grounds of the modern Middle
Gate Elementary school where it is used as part of the local history
curriculum for the town’s elementary school children. In addition to
preserving the town’s structures and artifacts, the Society also maintains
an active publishing program which makes history readily available to its
citizens at a nominal cost. It recently co-sponsored the Newtown Oral
History Project and, as a natural extension of the oral histories, has
chosen to create the Newtown Historical Images Archive.
The Society also maintains a Web site and publishes a newsletter five
times a year which not only keeps members abreast of the Society’s
activities, but also disseminates the results of the latest research being
done on the town’s past.
The Newtown Historical Society is the
logical entity to oversee the Newtown Historical Images Archive because
the endeavor will help to fulfill the Society’s mission.
Ý
As calendars rolled to 1900, Kodak’s Brownie
camera was introduced at a price of one dollar and the photographic era
unleashed. The “common man” became obsessed with this new form of
expression and images of everyday life abounded. But this visual chronicle
of decades past is now fading and becoming scarce.
The purpose of the Newtown Historical Images Archive project is to rescue
and preserve photographs that document life in Newtown primarily between
1880 and 1980, make available copies of these images, and educate the
public about our local heritage. The short-term goal is to unify, catalog,
and offer for public use, three known and significant collections --
images currently held by the Newtown Historical Society; the
Mitchell/Goodrich photographic survey of historic homes in Newtown, and
pertinent images by The Newtown Bee. Currently only the Historical
Society’s collection is in any way preserved and catalogued, a portion of
which is only available to the public through purchase of The Images of
America; none of the three collections is easily accessible. The long-term
goal is to collect and preserve images that would otherwise be “lost” by
way of deterioration or abandonment -- photographs will be solicited from
older residents, local collectors, businesses, acquired from estates, and
purchased from ephemera dealers. The images will be carefully selected
based on the quality of the print, subject matter, rarity, potential use
and educational value, and “endangerment.”
During the fall and winter, sources of potential image acquisitions will
be contacted and their holdings/collections reviewed and assessed. Images
will be sought that document architecture, business, community life,
religious life, neighborhoods, townspeople, recreation, landscape, events,
and aspects of everyday life in Newtown during the specified 100-year
span. Collections and individual images will be borrowed, donated, or
purchased, with copyright transferred by Deed of Gift to the Historical
Society’s Newtown Photo Archive. Images will be systematically and
professionally acquired, recorded, scanned, archived, catalogued, and
presented to the public; the collection (copies of originals) will be
available at the Cyrenius Booth Library. A rotating exhibit of 10-30
images with captions will be posted on the Historical Society Web site;
and the library director has offered space for a large exhibition of
prints in the summer of the town’s tercentennial year 2005.
The end result of the initial phase will be that approximately 1600 images
representing the character, people, and events of Newtown’s past are
preserved, catalogued, accessible, and presented in various formats to
keep local history alive. After the archive is established, images that we
have copyright to will be offered for sale and the proceeds will serve to
maintain and expand the collection.
Ý
The Town of Newtown has changed significantly
in the past century; that is why we see particular value in preserving the
town’s visual history before it is lost or too deteriorated to salvage.
The town’s agrarian roots are but a shadow of history hinted at in the two
remaining dairy farms. Its manufacturing heyday of button and comb shops,
Woolen Mill, Plastic Mouldings, and Fabric Firehose is past. And almost
nothing exists to remind us of Newtown’s booming resort era of the 20s and
30s – the inns have burned or been torn down, the lake communities have
matured from summer-only cabins to winterized, year-round homes, and the
passenger rails that brought the city-folk to the thriving community no
longer operate.
Images of an era past are in high demand. Private collectors, such as Bill
Gates, are voraciously acquiring historic photographs. Fine historic
photos, such as those depicting Newtown’s past, are avidly sought by
private collectors and command higher and higher prices. By recent
example, an area ephemera dealer acquired a collection of 1890s
photographs of a local family. The town historian became aware of the
collection and brought “back” to Newtown 36 of the Betts family images for
public use. Bought as a lot, the historian paid $350; if the collection
had been dispersed and the photographs priced individually, it is
estimated that the same prints would have cost at least twice that. By
identifying and collecting historic photographs before they are acquired
by antique dealers or private collectors we will be able to preserve them
for posterity.
Right now, there are few historic images of Newtown easily accessed by the
public. The photographs of The Newtown Bee are not chemically “fixed” for
long-term/archival purposes and are “endangered;” significant, older
images are not catalogued, nor are they available to the public. The
Historical Society’s prints are also not accessible. Private collections
of older residents are in danger of being lost or sold when those people
die.
Ý
The short term goals are to unify, catalog,
digitally archive and offer for public use three known and significant
collections – images currently held by the Newtown Historical Society, the
Mitchell/Goodrich Historic Homes Survey, and images by The Newtown Bee.
Using the latest technology archive workers will digitize, archive, and
print images that depict Newtown people, landmarks, buildings, recreation,
and other facets of daily life.
We do have a long view, however. The Newtown Historical Society believes
it is acting as steward of the town’s cultural and historical visual
heritage by rescuing and preserving photographs that document life in
Newtown, making copies of these images available to the community, and
educating the public about our local heritage. Few historic images of
Newtown were easily accessed before the archive was established. Through
the Newtown Historical Images Archive, all the known significant
collections in town will be brought together and digitally and physically
preserved for future generations. This includes the record of all major
events in town represented in photographs of The Newtown Bee which are not
chemically “fixed” for long-term/archival purposes and are “endangered.”
And by cataloging these images in a Web-based catalog, these images will
be searchable. Indeed, the long term benefits of our project go well
beyond the walls of our society to benefit the community at large.
Ý
Establishment of historical images archive
will benefit a cross-section of the population. Those conducting research
on local history, genealogy, and historic homes may make a “match” in the
archive. Newtown students have a perennial project to research historic
monuments and buildings; they can refer to the archive for illustration.
Newcomers to the community and anyone interested in local history will
find a gateway to the past, and, perhaps, develop an appreciation for
Newtown’s “emergence.” Authors would be invited to find documented
illustration for their books, newspaper, journal or magazine articles. The
Newtown Bee will have access to the archive to find illustration for
stories about local history. Images would also be available to the town
government and private industry to promote tourism, economic development,
or other endeavors. And older people in the community, from whom we seek
to collect photographs, will participate by giving us background on
photographs we include in the archive. The community, as a whole, will
benefit from documenting and preserving a visual history of Newtown
because our past is what defines us. Images can breathe life into a
subject when words can only whisper.
Because the Cyrenius H. Booth Library is opened daily (including four
evenings a week), the Newtown Historical Images Archive will be most
accessible to anyone who might want to access its images. An exhibition of
prints also will take place at the library. The Newtown Historical Society
Web site will help publicize the collection through its revolving
electronic exhibit. And The Newtown Bee is investigating the possibility
of providing space on its server to post an entire digital catalog of
images in the Newtown Historical Images Archive. All of these efforts will
contribute to establishing awareness and ease of access in the community
and beyond.
Ý
Newtown is the fifth largest town in
Connecticut, sprawling 60 sq miles; about 2,000 acres is state forest.
Newtown is home to approximately 26,300 people. It is a diverse community
where farmers, inventors, pilots, tradesmen, restaurateurs, artists,
corporate executives, and developers live as neighbors. Although the
majority of residents are upper-middle class, the economic profiles ranges
from affluent weekend residents from New York to struggling state-assisted
families.
The town has changed significantly in the past 85 years; that is why we
see particular value in chronicling the times through a historic images
archive. By the turn of the century, agriculture and manufacturing in
Newtown were on the decline. After World War I, Newtown began to gain in
popularity as a location for second homes and tourist facilities. During
the 1920s, various inns and hotels prospered. Even during the Great
Depression, property values in Newtown were stable due to the popularity
of the community as an inexpensive retreat. Summer homes and year-round
homes were built; vacation communities emerged along Lake Zoar.
The resort era declined when the railroad passenger service to Newtown was
discontinued in 1936. Those who purchased property in town began to stay
for longer periods and some became permanent residents.
In 1931, the Borough of Newtown passed its first zoning laws to control
the growth of commerce and industry. The Town as a whole initiated zoning
law in the 1950s. A period of rapid residential growth, which was
accompanied by new business and industry, continued into the 1980s.
Industry in town is now mostly service jobs, light manufacturing,
publishing, utilities, and research and development. Many residents
commute to jobs in Danbury, Bridgeport and Westchester County, N.Y.
Ý
