Historical society temporarily suspends accepting donated items

Jan. 6, 2022  |  By Waterbury Roundabout

The Waterbury Historical Society’s collection is located at the Waterbury History Center in what originally was the home of Civil War surgeon and local benefactor Dr. Henry Janes. Photo courtesy Waterbury Historical Society

In its most recent newsletter, the Waterbury Historical Society announced that it has suspended accepting donated items for its collection until it can process donations received in recent months. 

“We currently face both significant space restrictions and a large amount of unprocessed donations that still need to be addressed by our volunteers,” the announcement explains. 

Group members say that in recent years, local residents have been generous with their donations, but historical society members who are volunteers have not been able to keep up with sorting through them to determine what gets added to the organization’s collection.

The announcement advises people that the moratorium on accepting new items is temporary. “This does not mean we do not want to add your belongings and history to our collection!” it states. “If you have something valuable that you believe would be beneficial in telling the story of Waterbury’s history, please hold on to it until we begin accepting new donations.”

The message also asks interested community members to consider volunteering to assist with the task to “help curate the history of our community.”

The organization offers guidelines for people to consider when putting together materials to donate to the society. “We are primarily looking for materials that have origins in Waterbury or tell the story of the people of Waterbury,” it explains. “The more personal and connected to our town’s history the better!”

The front section of the Waterbury municipal offices is the Waterbury History Center. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti

Items the society is most interested in adding to the collection in the future would include: photographs; handwritten notes, letters, or diaries; and objects that were made in Waterbury by members of the community. 

Perhaps more importantly, is the list of items the society is not looking to collect and which should be directed to other organizations. Such items don’t have strong or direct connections to Waterbury or people who have lived and worked here such as mass-produced materials; antiques, furniture, tools, or dishware not made by industry in Waterbury; book collections that could be found in libraries. 

Anyone with questions can email the historical society’s collections manager Mike Maloney at  WaterburyCollectionsManager@gmail.com. 

The historical society’s collection is based at the Waterbury History Center at the municipal complex in what originally was the home of Civil War surgeon and local benefactor Dr. Henry Janes.

More information about the Waterbury Historical Society is online at waterburyhistoricalsociety.org including its newsletters.