Windsor Historical Society Inspires Curiosity

When anthropologist Margaret Mead said, “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” she could have been talking about the Windsor Historical Society.

In 1921, a small group of people gathered together with a mission to "...inspire public awareness and appreciation of the diverse people, places, and events that contribute to Windsor’s evolving history.” Their first mission was to save what was then known as the 1640 Lt. Walter Fyler House from being razed and turned into a gas station.

They were successful and the building now known as the 1758 John and Sarah Strong House became the museum and the repository for donated photographs, maps, books, documents and artifacts about life in Windsor. The small, wood-frame house with corncob insulation was relieved of its storage duties in 1962 when a fireproof brick building was constructed as a more proper museum. The "new" building has exhibit areas, meeting rooms, a gift shop and an extensive historical research library.

Executive Director Christine Ermenc said that it is common in the fall to see leaf peepers drop in from their foliage tours and cluster around the library table to uncover their family trees. Occasionally they'll find that the stranger across from them is actually a distant relative with knowledge of a family branch that they are willing to share.

In addition to the main building, the Strong House is open for public view, as is the 1767 Chaffee Home. This impressive brick mansion is just across Palisado Green and was home to a pre-revolutionary doctor, Hezekiah Chaffee. Only 10 years newer than the simple, wooden Strong House, the Chaffee House is on the other end of the economic scale. The home includes the doctor's office with his medical instruments, and the first floor is open for tours so you can see how well-off families lived. 

Ermenc said, "It all begins with curiosity about the history."

Children are naturally curious and the most willing participants in historical role playing. At the museum, the children can compare their daily lives to a youngster's life in colonial times by trying on reproductions of period clothing while pondering ancient chores and responsibilities, such as milking, water fetching and fire tending.

The museum reaches out to the curious of all ages with a variety of programs. Traveling trunk shows can bring the history of Windsor to your group or club. The program, "Land, Rivers and Early Settlement" is about the America's native peoples and the early English settlers, the challenges they encountered, and how they built a life here at the confluence of the Farmington and Connecticut Rivers.

The Windsor Historical Society incorporates many areas of town into their presentations. They even host bus, bike and walking tours of Windsor to help people really experience all the history of the town.

The next exhibit,  Windsor: Bridging Centuries, Bridging Cultures, will tell Windsor’s story over the past 400 years, display treasures from the Windsor Historical Society’s collections and link the exhibit to additional learning experiences at the society and other institutions. The display will open in September.

This month, the Society is offering "Lunch & Learn: Victorian Valentines" on Feb. 14 from noon - 1 p.m. and "Winter Break Activities" on Feb. 21-25. On Feb. 26 from 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. storyteller Gwendolyn Quezaire-Presutti describes 19-year-old Sara Harris' trials of attempting to open a school for African-American girls in 1834 in "Stories of Survival". Contact the historical society to reserve your spot.

If you are interested in volunteering with the Windsor Historical Society they are always in need of gardeners to help with the grounds, folks who would like to assist with getting out the society newsletter and board members who will be willing to work on a development campaign for the Strong House. There is a volunteer application on their Web site, or you can call 860-688-3813 for more information.