Easton’s Historical Society is participating in this year’s Fairfield County Day of Giving in order to highlight two of our current preservation projects. With assistance from CT Preservation and donations in honor of Patricia Hubbell Hornstein, we are restoring her beloved playhouse at the Bradley-Hubbell Homestead. Built by her father Franklin Hubbell in the early 1920’s, this structure will undergo lead abatement and carpentry repair. Missing elements, including its front porch, will be restored with the help of historic photos graciously shared by her family. Benches will also be installed for visitors to appreciate the beautiful historic garden that has been tended by the Easton Garden Club for over 20 years.

Patricia Hubbell as a young girl on the slide ladder with playmates, circa 1933. The playhouse can be seen on the right. Photo courtesy of the Hubbell Hornstein family.

As we continue to digitize our archive, we are also caring for our collection of historic flags. This year we are restoring a 35-star Civil War flag that was used at our schoolhouse and donated by Grace B. Wheeler Robertson. Grace was a graduate of the Danbury Normal School in 1915. (Now known as Western Connecticut State University.) She taught in both our one-room schoolhouse and in our town’s first elementary school.  She played an active role in shaping Easton’s early educational curricula, and she was a longstanding member of the local Red Cross. In honor of Grace’s community service, this textile conservation project will be framed and dedicated for public display.

This 35-star flag flew over our town 160 years ago. The number of stars tells us that it was produced sometime between July 4th, 1863, when West Virginia became a state and before July 4th, 1865, when Nevada was added.

Please click the following link to learn more and support our conservation projects:

https://www.fcgives.org/organizations/historical-society-of-easton-connnecticut

Grace B. Wheeler Robertson circa 1970’s. Photo courtesy of Princie Falkenhagen.

The Historical Society of Easton is a certified non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and 100% of your contributions will go directly towards preserving Easton’s history for future generations.

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