Gunn Historical Museum
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Gunn Historical Museum 5 Wykeham Road P.O. Box 1273 Washington, CT 06793
Telephone: 860-868-7756 |
Museum Hours: Thursday - Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sunday 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. Other times by appointment.
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Current Exhibits & Programs
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June 1, 2007 - May 18, 2008
The Shepaug Valley Middle School’s Abner Mitchell Project will be featured on Diane Smith’s Positively Connecticut show on CPTV on Thursday April 10th at 8:00 p.m. It will repeat on Saturday April 12th at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday April 13th at 10:30 p.m. Diane Smith filmed scenes at the Shepaug Middle School, the Gunn Memorial Museum and around the town of Washington. CPTV is the PBS station for Connecticut, and for those of you with Charter cable, it is channel 23.
The Shepaug Valley Middle School eighth graders, under the guidance of their history teacher Michael Croft, are the guest curators of the new exhibit, Abner Mitchell: Letters of a Civil War Soldier. Visit the Civil War era through the letters of a local Union soldier.
Abner Mitchell, a Washington resident, was drafted into the Civil War in August of 1863 with family tragedy mounting. Despite town pleas to send a substitute, he left "Baby Mary" in the hands of relatives and answered the call of duty, entering into Company B of the 6th Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers. Abner met his fate at the battle of Deep Run, Virginia, in 1864.
Shepaug Middle School eighth graders had the opportunity to piece together Abner Mitchell's life through the letters that he sent from the battlefront to his family in Washington. Michael Croft's history classes transcribed 49 Mitchell letters this year, "a discovery that usually gets sent to a college professor," Croft said. Together the class has created a book and exhibit that will be showcased at the Gunn Historical Museum.
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Join us for our coffee hour readings from the archives of the Gunn Historical Museum on the first Monday of every month at 10:00 a.m. at the Washington Senior Center. Stephen Bartkus, curator of the Gunn Historical Museum, reads a research paper from the museum's archives, shares photos and stories and reminisces about Washington's past. View our event calendar for the monthly topics.
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In January of 2006, the Gunn Memorial Library & Museum acquired the "Cogswell Family Papers," a large volume of family papers -- totaling hundreds of documents, correspondence, deeds, account books, as well as newspapers, maps, publications and photos filling 26 cartons of various sizes -- from the Cogswell Family of New Preston, Connecticut. Until recently, this private collection had been stored in the attic of the Cogswell Tavern (now a residence) in New Preston. The collection was donated to the Gunn Memorial Library & Museum by descendents and current owners of the homestead.
Beginning more than 200 years ago, the Cogswell Family, from one generation to another has created and kept records, mementos, and evidence of everyday life from the time of their settlement of New Preston in 1746 through the present day, preserving information about their history, their community and its people. The collection is remarkable for its size, its age, and its condition and will be invaluable in providing helpful insights about the town’s history.
The Cogswell Family had a hand in practically every important aspect of community life -- commerce, industry, law, education. They were active citizens, business owners, schoolmasters, sheriffs, church deacons, judges, lawyers and tavern keepers. It was at "Squire Cogswell's" that General George Washington recorded a stop at the Tavern for breakfast, in his diary on May 25, 1781.
To reinforce its mission to collect, preserve, interpret and make available records that would otherwise be lost, the museum almost immediately accepted the challenge and the responsibility to preserve and protect this fragile collection in a way that is consistent with professional archival practice. As we continue to sort and organize these historical papers, the museum will be showcasing representative examples that offer insight into the history of New Preston and our town of Washington over the last 250 years!
Gift Shop
Give the spirit of historic Washington!- Vintage scenes of Washington; 50¢ per postcard.
Click on images to enlarge.
- Return to Arcadia: Ehrick Rossiter's Washington, The Architect, His Clients and Their Houses, 1999 edition by Alison Gilchrist, $15
- Rossiter: Country Houses of Washington, Connecticut, 2006 by Stephen Ketterer, Photographs by Miki Duisterhof, $75. All proceeeds from the sale of this book benefit the Gunn Memorial Library and Museum. Copies are available at the library's main circulation desk (860-868-7586) and at the Hickory Stick Bookshop (860-868-0525).
- Chairs: A History, 2006 by Florence de Dampierre, $65
- Washington, Pride of Place postcards of a watercolor by Wendell Minor, $1 each.
- 1854 Map of Washington with key to illustrated buildings,
35" x 40 1/2" unframed, $20 - Botanical Tapestry: An Herb Booklet, 1979 by Barrie Kavasch, $1
- Frozen in Time, 1998 by Hope McLeod. Cassette Tape: $10, CD: $16. Washington native Hope McLeod's latest CD features the song "Goin' Back Home" about visiting Washington and the Shepaug River. "Goin' back home to lay beneath a maple tree and to rest my weary bones on the banks of a quiet stream, Goin' back home so I can bathe in those memories of lazy days by the Shepaug River when my time was oh so free."
All items are available at the Museum and Library, and can be mailed to those who live out of the area for an additional fee. For more information, call 860-868-7756.
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