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CONTENTS
Historical Society Homepage What We Do Our Officers How To Join To Contact Us SNET 2000 Mil Grant Newsletters Programs History Online East Hartford Refs Research CT Updates Recent Updates Sponsors |
References to historical programs are listed on this page in one of the following 2 sections: or "Other Historical Programs & Societies of Interest" Please feel free to suggest programs. Email webmaster@hseh.org; include HSEH in the subject line. Use Adobe Acrobat Reader to view pdf files from this page. If you need this Reader, you can download a free copy and install it. 1/10/19 - "16th Century Eyewitness Testimonies of Spanish Expeditions in the United States" with Steven Strange Wednesday Jan 16, 2019 6:30pm Short Business Meeting Followed by Program Raymond Library, Rm #1 Public Welcome Steven Strange, an Associate Member of the North American Academy of the Spanish Language, and Vice-president of the Historical Society of East Hartford, will give a presentation on eyewitness testimonies from 16th century Spanish expeditions and voyages in what is currently the United States. His presentation will stress the first descriptions of the terrain, physical features, flora and fauna, and Native Americans as perceived by the Spaniards. Be prepared to be transported to the North America of almost five hundred years ago, and almost a hundred years before the founding of Jamestown in 1607. And as Walter Cronkite would say... "you are there!' While Steven will be dressed in 16th century attire, he will give the presentation in English. This January 16, 2019 meeting will begin at 6:30pm in the Raymond Library, 740 Main Street, in Room #1 on the lower level. A short business meeting, followed by refreshments, will precede the program. The meeting and the presentation are free and open to the public. All are welcome! Steven Strange, Vice President, HSEH 12/9/18 - INVITATION TO THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OPEN HOUSE ALL ARE WELCOME Sunday December 16, 2018 12:00pm - 3:00pm Brewer House, 167 Main St 
The Historical Society is having a Holiday Social on Sunday, December 16th 2018 between 12 Noon and 3:00 p.m.
at the Selden Brewer House, 167 Main Street, East Hartford. This is a free event and all are invited
to stop by and share some holiday cheer with us and see our decorations. Light refreshments will be served.
Two new hardcover books are being offered for sale: the “Connecticut 169 Club” by Marty Podskoch that has the history and attractions of all Connecticut’s towns and “Greater Hartford Memories: A Photographic History of the 1800s through the 1930s” presented by the Hartford Courant. These books would make nice Christmas gifts. You can avoid shipping and handling charges in buying the books from the Historical Society at the Brewer House. Proceeds above our cost for the books will go toward the Huguenot House roof replacement. 10/19/18 -"They Called Her Reckless - A True Story of War and One Extraordinary Horse" with Janet Barrett Wednesday Oct 24, 2018 6:00pm Coffee and Snacks 6:30pm Program Raymond Library Public, and Especially Veterans, Welcome 9/10/18 - HSEH ANNUAL DINNER & PROGRAM The Historical Society of East Hartford will hold its annual meeting on Wednesday, September 19th at the First Congregational Church, 837 Main Street, East Hartford. For Society members and guests, a buffet dinner (reservations required) starts at 6:30 p.m. followed by the installation of officers for the 2018-2019 year. After a short business meeting, there will be a program on Connecticut Civilian Conservation Corps Camps by historian Martin Podskoch. The public is welcome to attend. Walk-ins to see the program can arrive after 7:30 p.m. Check the September Newsletter of the HSEH for detailed information on the Annual Dinner program pgs 1&2, the Annual Dinner Menu pg 2, and the Dinner Registration pg 3. For any questions, please call Craig Johnson at 860-568-2884. 9/10/18 - Historical Society of East Hartford Museums in Martin Park Closed for the Winter Closed are the18c Makens Bemont House, 19c Goodwin Schoolhouse & 19c Burnham Blacksmith Shop Martin Park, 307 Burnside Ave 5/10/18 -"From Flood Plain to Constitution Plaza" with Jason Scappaticci Wednesday May 16, 2018 7:00pm Raymond Library, Rm #1 Public Welcome 3/21/18 - Marty Podskoch to Speak on His Book "CT Civilian Conservation Corps Camps" * * * * * *CANCELLED* * * * * * Program open to the public Wednesday, March 21, 7:00pm Raymond Library, 740 Main St, Room 1 lower level 3/7/18 - Commemorate the 73rd Anniversary of the WWII Battle of Iwo Jima Program is open to the public; no fee Saturday March 10, 2018 1:00pm - 3:00pm Raymond Library 1/9/18 - Marty Podskoch to Speak on His Book "CT Civilian Conservation Corps Camps" * * * * * *CANCELLED* * * * * * Program open to the public Wednesday, January 17, 7:00pm Raymond Library, 740 Main St, Rooms 2A&2B lower level Dec 17th Open House at the Brewer House Public is Welcome Sunday December 17, 2017 12:30pm - 3:30pm Brewer House, 167 Main St 11/07/17 - “Revolutionary War Captain Stephen Buckland” with Lance Kozikowski Program open to the public Wednesday, November 15, 7:00pm Veterans Memorial Clubhouse, 100 Sunset Ridge Road 09/06/17 - “The Sinking of the RMS Lusitania” with Jason Scappaticci Program open to the public Wednesday, September 20 7:30pm First Congregational Church, 837 Main St The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail (W3R-NHT), 2nd Anniversary Commemoration Ongoing Reminder News "Fourth of July look-back at East Hartford’s role in the Revolutionary War" Ongoing CT Gravestone Network on Facebook Ongoing CT Society of Genealogists Ongoing Friends of Center Cemetery Ongoing Letterboxing in East Hartford Ongoing Abraham Lincoln Remembered in New Sculpture Garden Ongoing Manchester Historical Society Events Ongoing Simsbury Historical Society 2nd in Genealogical Series Available "A Sense of Place" Ongoing 3/21/18 - Marty Podskoch to Speak on His Book "CT Civilian Conservation Corps Camps" * * * * * *CANCELLED* * * * * * Program open to the public Wednesday, March 21, 7:00pm Raymond Library, 740 Main St, Room 1 lower level On March 21, 2018 beginning at 7:30pm, local author and historian Marty Podskoch will give a Power Point presentation on his new book, Connecticut Civilian Conservation Corps Camps: History, Memories and Legacy at the Raymond Library, 740 Main Street, in Room #1 on the lower level. This program was ‘sleeted out’ in January and Marty has graciously agreed to rebook with us. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) began on March 31, 1933 under President Roosevelt’s “New Deal” to relieve the poverty and unemployment of the Depression. The US Army supervised the camps which had approx. 200 men each. The first year 13 camps were set up in these Connecticut towns’ state parks & forests: West Cornwall, Housatonic Meadows; Niantic, Military Reservation; Eastford, Natchaug; Haddam, Cockaponset; Union, Nipmuck; New Fairfield, Squantz Pond; Cobalt, Meshomasic; Voluntown, Pachaug; Thomaston, Black Rock; East Hartland, Tunxis; Clinton, Cockaponset; West Goshen, Mohawk; and Torrington, Paugnut (Burr Pond). The Army Government Dock in New London was the supply depot for all the CT camps. In the following years these eight camps were added: Barkhamsted, American Legion State Forest; East Hampton, Salmon River; Danbury, Wooster Mountain; Stafford Springs, Shenipsit; Portland, Meshomasic; Windsor (Poquonock), Experiment Station Land; Kent, Macedonia Brook, and Madison, Cockaponset. 
Men 18 - 25 (with fathers on relief) enrolled for 6 months, worked a 40hour week for $30/mo. The government sent $25 a month home
and the boys received $5 spending money. The boys got good food, uniforms, and medical care. At first they lived in tents; later
they lived in wooden buildings. Workers built trails, roads, campsites, dams, stocked fish, built & maintained fire towers,
observer’s cabins & telephone lines, fought fires, & planted millions of trees. The CCC disbanded in 1942 due to the need for men in WW II.
After the presentation Marty Podskoch will have his new CT CCC book available for sale and signing, and also his seven books on the Catskills & Adirondack Mountains. Pictured right is Marty's book. A short business meeting beginning at 7:00 pm will precede the program, followed by refreshments. The meeting and the presentation are free and open to the public. All are welcome! Bette Daraskevich, Vice President/Program 1/9/18 - Marty Podskoch to Speak on His Book "CT Civilian Conservation Corps Camps" * * * * * *CANCELLED* * * * * * Program open to the public Wednesday, January 17, 7:00pm Raymond Library, 740 Main St, Rooms 2A&2B lower level On January 17, 2018 beginning at 7:30pm, local author and historian Marty Podskoch will give a Power Point presentation on his new book, Connecticut Civilian Conservation Corps Camps: History, Memories and Legacy at the Raymond Library, 740 Main Street, in Rooms 2A/2B on the lower level. These two rooms have a dividing wall that collapses to expand the facility.
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) began on March 31, 1933 under President Roosevelt’s “New Deal” to relieve the poverty and unemployment
of the Depression. The US Army supervised the camps which had approx. 200 men each. The first year 13 camps were set up in these Connecticut
towns’ state parks & forests: West Cornwall, Housatonic Meadows; Niantic, Military Reservation; Eastford, Natchaug; Haddam, Cockaponset; Union,
Nipmuck; New Fairfield, Squantz Pond; Cobalt, Meshomasic; Voluntown, Pachaug; Thomaston, Black Rock; East Hartland, Tunxis; Clinton,
Cockaponset; West Goshen, Mohawk; and Torrington, Paugnut (Burr Pond). The Army Government Dock in New London was the supply depot for all the CT camps.
In the following years these eight camps were added: Barkhamsted, American Legion State Forest; East Hampton, Salmon River; Danbury, Wooster Mountain; Stafford Springs, Shenipsit; Portland, Meshomasic; Windsor (Poquonock), Experiment Station Land; Kent, Macedonia Brook, and Madison, Cockaponset. Men 18 - 25 (with fathers on relief) enrolled for 6 months, worked a 40-hour week for $30/mo. The government sent $25 a month home and the boys received $5 spending money. The boys got good food, uniforms, and medical care. At first they lived in tents; later they lived in wooden buildings. Workers built trails, roads, campsites, dams, stocked fish, built & maintained fire towers, observer’s cabins & telephone lines, fought fires, & planted millions of trees. The CCC disbanded in 1942 due to the need for men in WW II. After the presentation Marty Podskoch will have his new CT CCC book available for sale and signing and also his seven books on the Catskills & Adirondack Mountains. A short business meeting beginning at 7:00 pm will precede the program, followed by refreshments. The meeting and the presentation are free and open to the public. All are welcome! Bette Daraskevich, Vice President/Program 11/07/17 - "Revolutionary War Captain Stephen Buckland"with Lance Kozikowski Program open to the public Wednesday, November 15, 7:00pm Veterans Memorial Clubhouse, 100 Sunset Ridge Road The Historical Society of East Hartford will hold its November business meeting at the Veteran’s Memorial Clubhouse, 100 Sunset Ridge Road, beginning at 7:00 p.m. on November 15th, 2017. Our speaker will be Lance Kozikowski, who will perform in the uniform of one Capt. Stephen Buckland. Mr. Kozikowski will present an interpretation of an Orford Parish blacksmith who went off to the Revolutionary War and came home to find his shop in ruins and with no money to pay his taxes. Captain Buckland was part of the family that gave its name to the area now best known as the Buckland Hills Mall in what became Manchester, CT. At the close of the Revolutionary War, he signed on as the captain of a privateer’s ship, and was captured by the British brig, Perseverance, in April, 1782. Along with his crew, he was placed in the prison ship, Jersey, where he died May 7 of the same year at the age of 39; a victim of starvation and torture. 
Lance has been a guest speaker for the Society in the past. His program as a Tinsmith mirrors his work as a Demonstrator at The Big ‘E”, the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, MA. He is also a Museum Assistant at the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.
There will be a short business meeting of the Society, followed by refreshments and the evening’s presentation. The program is open to the public; all are welcome. Bette Daraskevich, Vice President/Program 09/06/17 - “The Sinking of the RMS Lusitania” with Jason Scappaticci Program open to the public Wednesday, September 20 7:30pm First Congregational Church, 837 Main St 
Jason Scappaticci will be our guest speaker for the Historical Society’s next program. He will join us at the First Congregational Church
on the evening of Wednesday, September 20, 2017 and share another documentary/program with us.
Mr. Scappaticci will be remembered from his lecture last year about the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair. Jason is currently the Director of Transitional Programs at MCC and he serves on the Manchester Board of Education. We welcome him back for another informative evening. His PowerPoint Presentation this month will center upon a World War I event: “The Sinking of the RMS Lusitania”. This British-made cruise ship of the Cunard Line was torpedoed by a German U-Boat off the coast of Ireland on May 7, 1915 - more than 100 years ago. This incident outraged the American public. 128 United States citizens, including men, women and children who were sailing from New York City to England, lost their lives. This action on the part of the Imperial German Navy hastened President Woodrow Wilson’s decision to enter the conflict, known afterward as, “The Great War”. The public is welcome to join the Society at 7:30pm for Jason's program at no cost. There is ample free parking behind the church. Bette Daraskevich, Vice President/Program 9/10/18 - Historical Society of East Hartford Museums in Martin Park Closed for the Winter Closed are the18c Makens Bemont House, 19c Goodwin Schoolhouse & 19c Burnham Blacksmith Shop Martin Park, 307 Burnside Ave The Historical Society of East Hartford exhibits three historic buildings for preserving and presenting some of East Hartford's history - the National Register, 1761 Makens Bemont House (aka Huguenot House), the 1820s Goodwin Schoolhouse, and the ca 1850 Burnham Blacksmith Shop. All buildings were originally built at different locations throughout East Hartford and in recent years were moved to their present site in Martin Park. During the summer months we welcome you and will be delighted to show you these historic buildings.
The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail (W3R-NHT),2nd Anniversary Commemoration On March 30, 2009 President Obama signed the Wilderness Protection / Omnibus Public Lands bill establishing a new national, historic trail. It is named the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail (W3R-NHT) and extends approximately 600 miles from Newport and Boston to Yorktown. In 1780 French General Rochambeau and his French army landed in Newport to help us in our Revolution. In 1781 this army left Newport and crossed Connecticut (marching through East Hartford) to join General Washington and his American army near White Plains, New York. From there the two armies marched south together along this route, fought side by side at Yorktown, and with the help of Admiral DeGrasse’s French fleet won the Battle of Yorktown. This victory effectively ended our Revolution and brought us independence. The following year the French army returned north on this route to Boston and then the Caribbean. The national recognition given this route commemorates the joint American and French efforts in winning our independence. Today we can follow this national, historic route from Massachusetts and Rhode Island through Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington D.C., and into Virginia. It is a living reminder - with relevant, historic buildings and sites and people who tell its stories - of what was done and, in part, how we came to be who we are. The Rochambeau boulder on the green near the overpass on Silver Lane is an early 20th century East Hartford site. This boulder has had plaques placed on it over the years to remind passers-by of the French army which camped nearby in 1781 and 1782 and of the various celebrations over the years in memory of that army. The latest plaque, the W3R plaque, was placed on the boulder in June 2006 for the 225th anniversary of the French arrival in America in 1780. Its dedication was attended by the small group of re-enactors who became the first to walk in the footsteps of the French army from Rhode Island to Yorktown; they were the 2006 America’s March to Yorktown. The marker in front of the Raymond Library is a new site. This marker, placed near the locations where Rochambeau's headquarters and his army hospital once stood, is one of twelve different W3R markers installed by Connecticut along its portion of the W3R in 2005-2006. They gratefully recall the French help we received. Follow them and read the local stories of the French army as it crossed our state to meet Washington's army. East Hartford's marker tells of the money carried in the wagons of the French army. To help commemorate the 2nd anniversary of this national historical route we offer the following: Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Page Click on link to "Tour the W3R Trail" to view the route to Yorktown. Follow the 12 W3R Markers across Connecticut installed by this state in 2005-2006 to commemorate the 225th anniversary of the aid the French army brought here. The East Hartford Marker of 2005 stands in front of the Raymond Library on Main Street. When the French Army Came to East HartfordThis booklet tells the story of Rochambeau and his army’s visits to East Hartford in 1781 and 1782. Brochure with more on Rochambeau and also a short history of East Hartford. French Army Monetary Support in the American RevolutionWhen the French army came to help Americans win their freedom it came with the understanding that France would pay for whatever the army needed. Read how the army transported its funds, sought help in getting hard cash to pay its troops, and used its money to help pay the American army.  Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA, DC Official National Park Service Website Ongoing - Friends of Center Cemetery (FCC) Center Cemetery was an 'east of the CT River' Hartford cemetery until 1783 when East Hartford separated from Hartford. Center Cemetery was the 2nd oldest cemetery in Hartford and is the oldest in East Hartford. It was founded in 1709. Today Friends of Center Cemetery, a dedicated group of cemetery historians, is protecting and preserving what it can in the cemetery and about the cemetery. Visit the Friends on their website and on face book. Ongoing - Letterboxing in East Hartford Search East Hartford for the 'elegant French officer' stamp and the freed slave stamp and more! Have some fun while learning about East Hartford's past, seeing some historic sites in town, and solving orienteering challenges! Go to Letterboxing North America, press 'Search for Boxes', enter 'Connecticut' for the state, 'East Hartford' for the city, and press 'Search Boxes' to bring up East Hartford letterboxing sites. Ongoing - Abraham Lincoln Remembered in New Sculpture Garden Check out the new Lincoln Sculpture Garden, fifteen sculptures depicting events in the life of Abraham Lincoln and his legacy: his early careers, his favorite horse "Old Bob", his work on the transcontinental railroad, his civil war legacy, and more. These sculptures have only recently been permanently installed on the Founders Bridge and in the parks along both the Hartford and East Hartford sides of the CT River, primarily between the Bulkeley and Founders Bridges. The area included makes this "one of the longest open-air sculpture galleries in New England" (E Htfd Gazette, June 5, 2008, pg 13). It was to celebrate its centennial anniversary in 2005 that the Lincoln Financial Group offered to fund this project. For more information visit the Riverfront website. Ongoing - Manchester Historical Society Events Interested in learning more about the famous and near famous people and events that shaped Manchester history? Visit the website of our neighbors in the MHS, http://www.manchesterhistory.org. Simsbury Historical Society The Simsbury Historical Society wishes to announce that it now has on sale the 2nd in its genealogical series A Sense of Place: First Church Records Simsbury, Connecticut 1682 - 1930. This new work offers information from the Historical Society's unpublished archives. For information about the Society visit the Simsbury Historical Society's website. |
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