A TRADITION OF SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

In the year 2000, Chester Historical Society celebrated 30 years of service to the community that included leadership roles in restoring the Chester Meeting House, encouraging local historic preservation, creating the Robbie Collimore Music Series; enabling The Meeting House Players, and inspiring other town wide activities, such as the annual Craft Works. Until 1986, when the lower level of the Chester Meeting House was renovated to store the Society's holdings, the organization had no home to call its own. Rather than form collections it could not exhibit or adequately house, members turned their hands to publishing well researched and valuable books on Chester history.

Today in 2001, with the purchase of the factory, built in 1850 on the South Branch of the Pattaconk by Charles Griswold, The Chester Historical Society will have a building to house its growing collections and they can add the words "interpret" and "exhibitions" to their Mission Statement. Preliminary plans call for both changing and long-term exhibition spaces, in this historic building, on a site that has served as a mill for almost 200 years.

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT

The organization is well positioned to undertake this exciting and challenging project. Not saddled with many extraneous objects in its well-focused collections, the Society has an opportunity to enhance its collections within a narrow scope that best serves its present goals. There is every reason to believe that Chester residents, not only own many relevant objects, but that they will donate them to the Society once the value of the project has been demonstrated. Plans for the new museum building recognize the special needs of collections in terms of security and storage, and conservation and environmental control.

INTEGRATED PROGRAM SPACES

The museum plan also recognizes the potential for education programs, for community participation, and for a variety of interpretive strategies that may develop as the project matures. The opportunity to retain a flexible first floor where school groups, visitors, and families could receive an orientation to the site; where temporary exhibits from within and on loan could be shown; where family inter-active learning activities could take place; and where receptions, demonstrations, lectures and the many other Historical Society programs can take place, make this a valuable and attractive place to integrate a host of programs.

COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT

The collections of The Chester Historical Society include photographs, textiles, objects, manuscripts, account books, local business advertising, trade catalogs and cards, posters, programs, Town Annual Reports, newspapers, postcards and other related material. The collections are stored in the lower level of the Chester Meeting House, except for 24 objects, including large framed pieces, and 29 chairs, 26 of them are Old Meeting House Chairs. These items are in off-site storage and some may remain there.

The current volunteer staff of the organization is creating a collection data base using Past Perfect software and has adopted many professional standards in caring for the collections. The holdings are very well inventoried and, for the most part, easily located. Volunteer staff and Board members have attended workshops in several aspects of collections management and are prepared to accession new objects as they are donated.

THE FACTORY & HISTORIC CHESTER VILLAGE

The 1850 Griswold factory building the Society's largest artifact and its location next to the mill dam make it an ideal site to interpret the enterprise and the changing nature of work that made Chester what it is today. The town itself can be considered a "learning laboratory". The surviving homes represent domestic architecture for both mill owners, middle management and workers over several periods. The rush of the Pattaconck, the amazing number of surviving mill dams; other intact factory buildings and documented sites; and the lack of infill housing make a tour of the town a lesson in economic geography. The 19th century scale of the village; the open space that suggests the town's rural antecedents; and the Connecticut River, the vital artery that made production possible and profitable work together to make Chester the ideal location to tell the changing story of enterprise and work in the lower Connecticut Valley. The Chester Museum could be emblematic for many dozens of mills villages throughout rural Connecticut in the nineteenth century.

A REVIEW OF THE COLLECTIONS (A CHRONOLOGICAL APPROACH)

Chester was The North Quarter of Saybrook and first settled by enterprising farmers from there in 1692. Also known as the Pattaconk section, there were enough inhabitants to petitioned to form Saybrook's Fourth Parish in 1740, and the town was incorporated as Chester in 1836. The topography of the area with steep hills and abundant water in both north and south branches of the Pattaconk Brook made it an ideal area for even early industrial enterprise.

The word Pattaconk is derived from the River Indians (Wongunks) who were the first people to call the area home. The Society owns a nice mounted collection of quartz projectile points from the Late Woodland Period and a similar case of tools that include drills, scrapers, blades and points from the earlier Archaic periods.

PRE-INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY

Pre-industrial technology is characterized by individual or few crafters working in small shops or in home production using hand tools or simple machines. Water wheels, that have European antecedents? are some of these simple machines. Chester industries from this early period include mills for grinding meal, bolting flour, and fulling cloth, also tanneries, quarries, forges, some early foundries and shipbuilding. There are no objects associated with these early enterprises, however, a visitor's introduction to the various types of water power used in varying functions might be useful at this juncture. The selection of a site, creation of the mill seat, the construction of the dam, the wheel, its housing; the sluice way, the flood gates and the flooding of the fields can be explained with graphics, models, or diorama and the site itself can assist in explaining the variety of ways in which water is harnessed to power machines. This was the most costly investment for mill owners and one of the reasons that the mill sites along the Pattaconk were used over such a long period of time.

There are two early documentary artifacts of note: a large framed (1819) copy of a 1769 survey of Cedar Swamp indicating the allotments given to various residents; and the 1764 account book for Benjamin Holt's store. The store ledger is an important resource for understanding all types of work and enterprise in the pre-Revolutionary North Quarter.

The large wool spinning wheels, a painting of the blacksmith shop, Caroline Russell's small painting of the "Tan Bark Mill" provide examples of pre-industrial work and could provide a contrast for the later industrial period. Jonathan Warner, the entrepreneur, is a wonderful example of this early period. During his varied and well documented career he was farmer, merchant in the West Indies trade, ship owner, militiamen, owner of several other enterprises, and is perhaps best known as keeper of the Chester ferry. The Society owns a small collection of Warner papers and Jonathan's very fine hat, and that of his wife, which is in fair condition. There are no agricultural objects in the collection, but a few go a long way. A review of Warner's account books could point to the appropriate tools and his farming experience could serve to represent many. The sea captain's red painted chart box, in the off-site storage, could help tell the story of Warner's captains and the other enterprising Chester men who went to sea.

EARLY INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES

There is some irony in the story of Ezra L'Hommedieu moving his shop from Essex to an industrial site on the Pattaconck in 1815, the year that shipbuilding along the Connecticut River began to decline. This would make a fine departure point for looking at the changes that were taking place in America at the end of the War of 1812. L'Hommedieu 's invention and subsequent production of the double twist ship's auger indicates that the shipbuilding industry was alive and well in many parts of the new nation, but along the Connecticut enterprise was moving from the wharf to the waterfall. A framed copy of the large patent drawing for the L'Hommedieu is in off- site storage and 4 examples of both double and single twist augers were donated by Robert Carlson of Deep River. One of those is stamped Geo. Griswold & Co. and was presumably made at the factory and one is from Turner & Day.

Patents are important to this early period and patents held by Chester residents can be searched through a data base at the Museum of Connecticut History at the State Library. This may yield additional patent drawings which may serve as graphics or research tools for various products.

Hardware from the shops of Charles Daniels, of L. & D. Augur, of James Ferguson, or of F.N. Perry & Co. may or may not bear a manufacturers stamp and do not appear in the collection at this time. Many pieces of hardware are marked and they can be identified by collectors and even located over the internet. Further research would be required to amplify the above product lines if that was thought necessary and or desirable. In the later period Russell Jennings sold their sets of bits in wooden boxes with labels, but individual bits were not necessarily stamped. There are four boxes of bit sets from this company in the collection that appear to be from the same period.. They are supported by trade catalogs with illustrations, descriptions, and prices of this large and important firm that employed people in Chester from 1865 through it's sale to Stanley Works in 1944. Because this is such a well known brand name, this part of the collection might easily be enhanced. There are also wholesale boxes, the type sold to hardware stores for individual sales, with two gimlets made by Deuse & Co. Hardware is adequately represented in the collection and there is good supporting documentation for research and illustration. Tools are readily available in the marketplace if research or exhibit demands found them lacking. The development of the bit industry, as opposed to augers, was in response to the increasingly widespread use of the wood screw made by Chester Manufacturing Company, by far the Town's largest employer in 1845 with 24 men and 28 women on the payroll. This firm is represented in trade cards only.

Looking at tool production by various firms in the early 19th century is one way of suggesting the broader theme of the building of America that created a market for the products made at the Chester mills. American life truly changed during the Industrial Revolution when the earlier barter system, that organized work for goods across the community, gave way to a cash system. Being able to save money and make choices with it led to some real freedom for workers.

THE IMPORTANT SILLIMAN COLLECTION

One of the most evocative and therefore important objects in the collection is the large Silliman factory bell donated by C. J. Bates. The long lived Silliman firm made inkstands or inkwells along with other wooden objects including rulers and desk accoutrements of various types. There is a portable writing desk that is not identified as a Silliman product but it has two ink stands and may have been made by someone else that used Silliman product. The business appeared on the cusp of the education reform movement of the 1 830's and continued to change its product line in response to market changes through the Civil War and into the late 19th century. Although a plain product, the inkstands and pen holders were faux "rained and then stenciled, often with an eagle. Many used stencils are included in the collection ledger book. The accompanying advertising piece identifies the products line and the original wrappings and boxes make this an excellent set of artifacts. Retaining quantities of the product may prove useful in interpreting packing and shipping from the factory to stationers and schools. In 1845, the firm produced 3,51 1 dozen inkstands and employed 5 men and 3 women. The role of women in small factories, their compensation, and their various positions, whether as painters, finishers, inspectors, wrappers, or secretaries is an under- researched topic. Since most museum visitors are women, and a museum of industry might not be initially attractive to this audience, a special attempt to interpret their role could give this site an interesting advantage

The three ballot boxes in the collection were probably used over a long period of time and their date was not determined for this report. They might have been in use when Abraham Lincoln narrowly carried Connecticut in 1860. The Society has a nice framed copy of the List of Qualified Electors for the Presidential Election, October 1860. The Civil War certainly produced labor shortages when men enlisted to help Chester fulfill its quota. Silliman produced a special pocket inkstand sold during the war, and these are well represented in the collection. The Society has two coated "rubberized" bags, small knapsacks, from the War period, a leather pouch, perhaps for maps, and a very fine small round box identified as a "Navy kit". Made in a similar manner as the Silliman products, except decorated in relief instead of stenciled. Service in Union regiments is easily documented and learning the impact of the Civil War on local industries would be an interesting study.

TEXTILE COLLECTIONS

The changing nature of the workplace and the introduction of women into both the office and the assembly line can be interpreted with the Silliman artifacts and through clothing. Although the textile collection, that includes signed Friendship quilts, has lots of children's clothing, it also has shirtwaists and a work dress complete with ink stains! Some of these items are in fragile condition, but for the most part they could be carefully exhibited. The lovely two piece black ball gown with applied pink flowers associated with the Brooks family from the 1 880's could provide an obvious contrast in lifestyle with the factory worker dress from about the same period. The under garments, maternity dress, bustles and corset covers, along with some items for evening wear, could be instructive in temporary exhibits. For conservation reasons they should be exhibited for only short periods of time.

Two shoddy mills, and two satinet mills existed over time on the South Branch of the Pattaconck. None of these products are represented in the collection but examples of each could be collected. Both are wool fabrics and both were used primarily for men's coats. Satinet is slightly rough in texture and in some places was used for uniform coats during the Civil War. Shoddy is a yarn made by reprocessing wool clothing, and the shoddy mill would have used machines to tear the clothing to fiber. This mostly mechanized process probably had few employees. In one year a Chester satinet factory produced 2,100 yards of fabric and employed 3 men and 1 woman. Low output may be an indication the seasonal nature of some of the mill operations. High water and access to raw materials were aspects of life that even the new mill owner could not control.

As crafters became piece workers, people often found expression for their own individual talents in activities outside of the workplace. By the late 19th century the Coronet Band, Chester Drum Corps and the baseball team were three of many organizations that gave definition to a life beyond work. These three activities are represented with uniforms in the textile collection. In off-site storage is a 100 year old drum from the Chester Corps, it's condition could not be determined for this study. Surely the people of Chester, and the good support available from the Company of Fifers and Drummers Museum in Ivoryton can enhance these objects with additional pieces. Early 20th century two-piece men's bathing suit(s) might suggest the importance of Cedar Lake as a watering spot suggesting the shortened work week that accompanied industrialization . There is a wonderful ribbon pin for membership in the Cedar Lake Pleasure Club but no other objects suggesting the leisure activities that lent interest to workers' lives, except in the photo, poster, and program collections.

PARTS OF A WHOLE

The expansion of the middle class that accompanied industrialization is reflected in the increased production of consumer goods. Some Chester mills, like those of Deep River, contributed parts to a larger product. Clark's key pins, piano and organ keys, do not appear in the collection, but these items did not bear a brand name and like or similar products are available in both public and private collections. The use of ivory scraps from the bigger factories for collar or shirt studs is interesting. The Russell & Beach foundry is represented by a marked well wheel and a cast stove/furnace door, but their stoves, fireplace furnishings, and consumer goods shown in their catalogs are not represented. A C .B. Rogers carriage jack is in the collection but none of the carriage springs made by Shipman or Wilcox . Clearly some objects are more evocative as artifacts than others and no suggestion is made that one of everything produced in Chester should be collected.

An ice saw, ice skates, a small cross cut saw all might suggest winter life in the village when the mills might have been quiet . There is a collection of veterinary tools, mounted on presentation board, and horses were certainly important to mill owners who were transporting goods to and from the steamboat dock on the Connecticut River. The Chester Savings Bank was organized in 1871 and this sign along with ones for the Chester Hotel and the Chester Trust Company are part of a sign collection. Not all of them are readable, but weathered signs would have been repainted by owners on a regular basis. The famous Chester Fair is represented with a pair of trophies, but could easily be augmented once its place in the exhibition was determined. Views of preparations. floats. and the Fair Parade are well represented in the photo collection.

THE C. J. BATES COLLECTION

The recently contributed C. J. Bates Collection has not yet been fully processed, however, a general survey of the collection revealed excellent material in the form of both product samples, advertising, catalogs, point of purchase displays, premiums, product development tools, such as a knitting program for the schools, and photographs, including the factory floor. The change of the product line over time, from bone sewing implements and crochet hooks, to manicure sets, to aluminum knitting needles reflects the kinds of responses to the marketplace that small industries had to make to stay in business. There are two cases of mounted bone and ivory product samples from the early period and many samples of the changing product over time. The stand-up nail sets in brocade "purses" from the 1930"s & 40"s are wonderful period pieces. All ofthese objects appear in the accompanying catalogs where they can be dated and documented.

In a very thoughtful move, the Society donated 126 ledgers from the C. J. Bates Collection to the business archives at the University of Connecticut where they can be further researched by both the Society and outside scholars. The role of C. J. Bates in making aircraft fuel site gages and their work on the Pratt, Read gliders during World War II will make for an interesting chapter. If a fuel site was in the collection or the nature of the glider sub-contract work was not determined during this study. Perhaps the most important aspect of this collection is the opportunity to interview many of the people who worked there to learn about the changes in their lives as well as the product line.

BROOKS & THE BUSINESS ARCHIVE COLLECTION

Curator Shirley Bush has inventoried the M. S. Brooks business archive and the collection includes deeds, notes, letters of agreement and conveyance, inventories of product and equipment at various stages, catalogs, price lists, and account books useful in reconstructing suppliers and buyers, employees and changes in the bright wire goods industry. There is but one small sample board of Brooks products in the collection. Their towel racks, coat hangers, and hooks appear absent and may bear no brand.

Over the years, the Society or its generous members have collected trade paper related to Chester industries. There exist several scrapbooks that include both primary and secondary materials with trade cards, advertisements, examples of printing from the Standard Card Company, letter heads, and an 1857 Business Directory showing the North and South Branch. In addition there are day books, engravings of factories, price lists, many of them illustrated. Calling cards printed at Standard Card Company, their Rewards of Merit, and Youth's Companion evoke a series of themes that are supported by these paper objects.

The poster/broadside collection ranges from a framed 1895 Chester Fair poster to the 1920 Dramatic Society performance at the Town Hall (tickets sold at W. Bates Store.) A handsome collection of contemporary posters for Meeting House and Society events is in scrapbook form and should be continually added to, especially when the art is from the renowned Cummings and Good studio.

THE PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTION

The largest category and best component of the Society's holdings are in the photography collection. Some 2500 images are well-housed, marked, retrievable, and although this reviewer did not see all originals, the copies are of high quality. Over the years, the Society has wisely recorded changes in the landscape and in the built environment. The careful collection and recording of industrial sites, associated buildings, workers, and the village activities make this an important exhibition component going forward.

Fairs, parades, streetscapes with changing automobiles, businesses that came and went were all recorded. 19 th century photographers, such as Ella Pratt Fitch, provided period vignettes that have been preserved, in some cases as copies by Harry Orton-Jones. Several wonderful prints from glass negatives appear in the Society's excellent publication, Kate Silliman's Chester Scrapbook.

CONCLUSION

Chester Historical Society's small but well-focused collections, provide a good nucleus for an interpretive story line that addresses the changing nature of enterprise and work in this Connecticut village. The photographs and business papers provide both depth and breadth to the objects. The well researched publications make the history quite accessible and the scale of the proposed museum site suit both the story and the collections.