For more than fifty years Norwich Historical Society has collected, preserved, and
made accessible photographs, books, and artifacts from Norwich’s past. Today NHS
is the custodian of over 1600 artifacts.
The treasures in this exhibit tell the stories of people, places, and moments span-
ning over 150 years—from the arrival of the first settlers from Connecticut to the
present day. The stories of the indigenous people who were here from the begin-
ning live on in a treasured oral tradition. Intertwined they form a rich tapestry.
An exhibit focused on objects brings the ordinary to life. We can sense the hard
work of haying in the fields, the joy of a baseball game, the experience of riding in a
Model T, and the love on a wedding day.
The objects are anything but ordinary. They are worn with decades of hard work,
inspirational in their painstaking creation, and surprising in their tinkered assem-
blage.
To treasure something is to keep it carefully. Every item in this exhibit was once
treasured, passed down through the generations until given to the historical society
as a touchstone to the past.
The mean something new to us today. Many of the items have notes about why they
are now our “favorite things,” and we ask you to share which speak to you.