About Us:
Newtown is a lovely old town that celebrated its Tercentennial in 2005. While a lot of effort has been made by various organizations and individuals to keep Newtown a friendly and up-to-date community, it is also important to cherish and preserve its history.
The Newtown Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, receives no local, state or federal government support. We rely on financial support from individuals' donations and bequests, annual fund raisers such as our antiques show, house and garden tour and appraisals day as well as publication sales to generate the income needed to fund our activities and maintain the Matthew Curtiss house museum.
The Society is dedicated to the discovery and preservation of documents, artifacts and historical images of Newtown's evolution into the community it has become today. Our focus is to grow collections of photographs, postcards, genealogies, stories and other materials which document our town's past, and to preserve artifacts relating to the culture of Newtown for the education and enjoyment of current and future residents. We are also dedicated to educating the public about the information collected and archived. Much of our collection is housed in the C.H. Booth Library.
From September through June we present regular programs on varied historical subjects. These lectures are free to the public but donations are welcomed. Members receive our bi-monthly newsletter, "The Rooster's Crow", which covers all our events and includes articles written by our town historian, Dan Cruson. Please visit our online store which lists our books and publications.
We also sponsor other events such as living history demonstrations and colonial life workshops for children. In July we offer a one week summer history camp to give Newtown children the opportunity to explore 1750s colonial life through games, discussions and demonstrations.