" To enhance undergraduate learning in the liberal arts by promoting use of library special collections"

Participating Institutions

LITCHFIELD HISTORICAL SOCIETY
7 South Street, P.O. Box 385
Litchfield, CT 06759
Phone: (860) 567-4501
Fax: (860) 567-3565
E-mail: See contacts
Web site: http://www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/

Contact #1: Linda Hocking, Curator of Library & Archives (lhocking@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org)

Contact #2: Julie Frey, Curator of Collections (jfrey@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org)

Access hours: Ingraham Memorial Research Library: Tues.-Fri. 10-12 and 1-4.

Museum Collections (not on display): by appointment with Curator.

Museum Collections on display: Tues-Sat 11-5, Sun 1-5 from mid-April to end November or by appointment.

Access restrictions: A few restrictions.

Reproduction fees: 25 cents per page (8 ½ x 11). Photographs of artifacts can be provided upon request and for a predetermined fee. A list of fees is available by contacting the Curator or visiting the Web site.

Other provisions: Lockers are provided for researchers personal effects.

Other information: Researching the topic of interest in secondary sources first is likely to yield better results when searching for primary sources. The more a researcher knows about the topic, the more likely it is that they will be able to locate pertinent collections.

There is an item-level card catalog finding aid in the repository.

Collection Description: Litchfield Historical Society collection, 1674-(ongoing). The collection includes diaries, journals, personal papers, business papers, record books, court documents, pension records, account books, photographs, architectural plans, and other materials, created or used by Litchfield residents.

Specific topics include the Litchfield Law School student notebooks; papers pertaining to the Litchfield Female Academy of Sarah Pierce (1767-1852) including student diaries, commonplace books, music books, and diplomas; collections of Elihu Harrison (1797-1855), Benjamin Tallmadge, Frederick Wolcott, and the Beckwith, Woodruff, and Phelps families; collections of early lending libraries; and the records of local architectural changes and historical commissions. Subjects also include the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and World War II.

The museum collection includes a substantial amount of materials relating to the Litchfield Law School and Litchfield Female Academy. This includes schoolgirl needle works, paintings and drawing, clothing, mourning jewelry, portrait miniatures and personal artifacts such as trunks, eyeglasses and quilts.

A significant portion of the museum’s collection centers between the years 1790-1840, however the Historical Society retains artifacts relating to life in Litchfield from the early 18 th century through the present. The collection includes clothing, personal artifacts, household goods, furniture, painting and sculpture, craftsmen and tradesmen tools and goods, business signs, military artifacts and uniforms from the Revolutionary War through WWII, quilts and textiles, and portrait miniatures.

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