Society prepares for town’s 300th anniversary Society prepares for town’s 300th Anniversary

LITCHFIELD >>The town of Litchfield, Connecticut will be celebrating its 300th Anniversary in 2019. Litchfield encompasses the center village, Bantam, Northfield, Milton, East Litchfield, and Morris (pre1856), and the Litchfield Historical Society seeks to document all areas of town. A Common Heritage grant awarded to the Society by the National Endowment for the Humanities will fund these projects held to prepare for the anniversary.

A series of Community Conversations will be held to discuss aspects of Litchfield’s history. On Thursday, May 11 at 6:30 p.m. the Historical Society is hosting the first conversation to address the topic of “Growing up in Litchfield.” The program will be facilitated by historian Rachel Carley, and the Historical Society invites local residents to participate. This larger discussion will focus on what it was like growing up in all areas of Litchfield and explore how the town has changed over the years. This event is free and open to the public. R.S.V.P.s must be made by Tuesday, May 9 by calling 860-567-4501 or registration@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org.

On Sunday, June 4 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. the Historical Society is organizing a townwide Digitization Day where residents can bring in material for digitization. Staff from The Connecticut State Library will help digitize your photos, documents, textiles, and other Litchfield-related artifacts to further our research and understanding of the town. The Society will retain a copy of the digital file of the items brought in, for use in research, publicity, exhibits, and programming and inclusion in the Connecticut Digital Archive. Most items will be returned to everyone in the same day and participants will receive a copy of the digital file. This event is free and open to the public.

Have questions about the events or unable to attend the digitization day? Want to check if your item(s) can be digitized?

Call the Historical Society at (860) 567-4501. Additional programming will be held throughout the next two years to prepare for the anniversary celebration in 2019. Please visit www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org to learn more about these and future programs and events. The Litchfield Historical Society is located at 7 South St., Litchfield. Free admission sponsored by Ericson Insurance Advisors.

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at: www.neh.gov.