Historical Society reaches its own century milestone

SHARON — This month the  Sharon Historical Society marks the 100th anniversary of its first meeting, which was held on Jan. 20, 1911.

The society, originally named the Poconnuck Historical Society of Sharon after a Native American word that means “hamlet or small plantation,†was founded in 1911 with the goal of collecting and preserving historical information and artifacts from Sharon’s past.

At the time of its formation, the United States was in the midst of a Colonial revival that had been sparked at the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia, which was the first World’s Fair held in America.

Thanks to the exhibition, Americans first began to realize that the artifacts of their country’s past were important and valuable, and they began to seek out and display items from the Colonial era.

This revival led to the creation of historical societies across the country — including Sharon’s. These societies then began to amass large collections of artifacts.

“A historical society is basically a museum,†said Elizabeth Shapiro, who is executive director of the Sharon Historical Society.

In the beginning, the Historical Society met in the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon (the collections were stored in the upper rooms). Ruth Prindle was the organization’s first president, and served until 1935.

Anne Sherman Hoyt assumed presidency of the society in 1939, and served for 10 years. During that time, the library announced that it could no longer house the growing history collection, and the society members began searching for a new home.

Hoyt, who owned a home on Main Street that had originally been built in 1775 by Ebenezer Gay, ended up donating the property to the society in 1951. The Gay-Hoyt  house remains the home of the Sharon Historical Society to this day.

In 1987, the Gay-Hoyt house and the Historical Society were in danger of closing due to a lack of public interest. Peter and Sally Pettus, who were neighbors of the building, became very interested in it and gathered together more Sharon residents to help support it.

A grant of $13,000 was acquired from the Connecticut Humanities Council, and major changes began to take place. With Shapiro’s help, the organization began to rethink its place in the community.

A new and modern Sharon Historical Society has emerged in the years since, and it now acts as a community center and gallery for local artists, in addition to being the repository for the town’s history.

“Our mission is to forge connections within the town,†Shapiro explained. “You can’t be a good citizen without feeling connected.â€

The Gay-Hoyt house is now a center of activity in Sharon, and a place where workshops, talks and social events are held. Shapiro and volunteers at the Historical Society do their best to make children and their families feel comfortable stopping in. One room in the building is dedicated to hands-on activities, and is filled with historical items that children can touch and play with.

The Sharon Historical Society is currently working on building partnerships in the area, such as a pairing with the Housatonic Youth Service Bureau (HYSB), which recently held a marionette-building workshop there.

Other partnerships have been forged with local businesses such as Sharon Hospital, Prindle Insurance and Salisbury Bank.

The society has also begun a Community Curator program, which allows  Sharon residents to suggest and plan exhibits at the Gay-Hoyt house.

“Of course we still take care of artifacts and objects and focus on history,†Shapiro said. “We just approach it differently.â€

The Sharon Historical Society has embraced the digital age, using the Internet as a tool for communication.

In addition to a website that contains extensive information on Sharon’s history and information on past and present residents, the society also uses social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, to post historical tidbits and information on current events. The website is sharonhist.org.