When did it all begin? The
founding of the Farmington Historical Society
Almost Seventy years ago, on November
11, 1949 the Farmington Historical Society was created. Well, it actually
started as a combined effort of two towns, Farmington and New Durham, and thus
the organization was called the Farmington-New Durham Historical Society.
 |
| Eugene Nute |
Above Photo Back Row: Ned Parker,
Delores Bridges, Mary Cloutman
Above Photo Front Row: Iola Sabine,
Lilian Emerson, Henry Johnson
The founders of the organization
were: Mary Cloutman, Edna Berry, Eva Blanchard, Kenneth Davis, Kathleen Dolliver, Ellen Jennings, Violet Jones, Eileen Souter, Irene
Wentworth, Stanley Nute and Eugene Nute, who was elected the first president of
the society. The first meeting of the society was held in the lower level of the Goodwin Library.
Though this was a collaborative
effort, make no mistake the person behind gathering support for, planning, and
organizing the society, was Mary Cloutman. Within the society she is known as
the founder and a photo of her, honoring that merit, hangs above my desk, in
the museum, to this day.
The goal was of the nascent
organization was to explore and document the history of the two towns. To “seek out the oldest homes and burying
grounds and whatever else pertained to the history of the area,” to borrow a
phrase from the November 1999 issue of the Puddledock Press, covering the fifty
year anniversary of the society.
Farmington had already lost most
of the early recorded history of the town and early donated effects, when the
Opera House, containing the library, burned to the ground in 1928. Large
collections of records also perished in floods in the early twentieth century. There
was a real need to find, collect, organize, restore, and prepare for long-term
care of Farmington history and artifacts relating to life in Farmington.
The joint society chaired many
events together and hosted more speakers than anyone cares to count. They
invited historical writers, restoration artists, and amateur historians to add
to the knowledge of the organization. Eventually, after several decades of
working together, they separated into two successful town societies, to focus
exclusively on their own towns.
The Farmington Historical Society
continues to have a meeting, and often a program, speaker, or featured author
or historian, the first Friday of each month, from October to June. The
November meeting is usually an anniversary celebration for us; sometimes it
takes the form of a potluck, sometimes it is a catered meal.
The mission of the
society is to collect, preserve, and protect the stories, records, and artifacts
relating to the Town of Farmington in order to discover, document, and record
the history and evolution of our Town. The society believes that by showcasing
our past, and providing opportunities to share and learn from those
experiences, we can help develop community and belonging for our members and
fellow citizens of the Town of Farmington.
Please join us on November 22ndfor our 70th Anniversary celebration!
Kyle Leach, Curator
Farmington NH Historical Society
Museum of Farmington History
http://farmingtonnhhistory.omeka.net
Farmington NH Historical Society
Museum of Farmington History
http://farmingtonnhhistory.omeka.net
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