Photographs, letters, maps, deeds, and account books collected in the Lyme Historical Society Archives connect art with history and bring the past vividly to life.
Civil defense efforts in Old Lyme during World War II included preparations for a possible enemy air raid. At the Town Hall volunteers and rescue vehicles responded to a hypothetical attack on March 29, 1942.
Read More civil defense, World War II
Elsie Ferguson, a celebrated Broadway actress and star of the silent screen during the World War I era, settled in Old Lyme in 1955. The gabled front addition to an historic tavern became her final home.
Read More Bee & Thistle Inn, Charles H. Ludington, Daniel R. Noyes, Elsie Ferguson, Evelyn McCurdy Salisbury, Florence Griswold Museum, Judge William Noyes, Parsons Tavern, Phoebe Griffin Noyes, silent films, White Gate Farms
Daniel Chadwick (1795–1855), Lyme’s most celebrated sea captain, was known as the “admiral of the fleet.” When he relinquished command of the Sir Robert Peel in 1853, he had served with distinction as a trans-Atlantic packet ship commander for almost thirty years. Today his stately home with its rooftop captain’s walk recalls his illustrious maritime career. The shocking circumstances of his death are long forgotten.
Read More Capt. Robert H. Griswold, Captain Daniel Chadwick, deaths, Evelyn McCurdy, Marquis de Lafayette, ship captains, shipping
A Negro slave named Arabella, of unknown origin, served in Lyme’s first parsonage. There she attended Rev. Moses Noyes (1643–1729) and his family until she passed by will to his daughter Sarah. The original Noyes homestead has been demolished, but Arabella’s dwelling place can still be imagined from a sketch drawn by artist Ellen Noyes Chadwick (1824–1900), based on her father’s descriptions.
Read More Black Hall, Edward DeWolfe, Florence Griswold Museum, Governor John Winthrop, Matthew Griswold, Rev. Moses Noyes, Richard Ely, rum, ship Arabella, slavery, West Indies trade
Valentines exchanged and collected in Old Lyme express romantic yearning, enduring friendship, and marital devotion. The earliest Valentine greetings in the Archives’ collection date from the 1850s. By the 1910s the elaborately decorated hand-made Valentines popular during the Victorian era had been replaced by smaller and less ornate printed cards and postcards.
Read More Charles Noyes Chadwick, Ernestina Fisher Coult, postcards, Tantummaheag, Valentines
The identity of the “firebugs” responsible for burning the Old Lyme Meetinghouse remained a mystery throughout the summer of 1907. Then an attempt to ignite the village schoolhouse in November brought two suspected arsonists to trial.
Read More disasters, First Congregational Church, Katharine Ludington, Lyme Street
A letter from Woodrow Wilson to Robert Vonnoh reveals the Wilson family’s close ties to the Lyme Art Colony.
Read More Bessie Potter Vonnoh, Ellen Axson Wilson, Robert Vonnoh, Woodrow Wilson
In winters past when rivers froze and heavy snowfalls made roads impassable for carriages and wagons, sleighs provided transportation for Lyme’s wealthier residents. Local families used sleighs for travel to church on Sundays, for business and farm work, and for winter outings and journeys. But not everyone had access to sleigh rides. Less affluent townfolk had to walk through the bitter cold when they ventured outside.
Read More Phoebe Griffin Noyes, sleighing, Tantummaheag, travel, William E. Coult, winter
Personalized Christmas cards showcase the creative talent of Old Lyme’s artists, many of whom painted, drew, or printed original designs each year to convey messages of holiday cheer.
Read More Caro Ely, christmas cards, Harry Hoffman, Mary Roberts Ebert, William Chadwick, William S. Robinson, Winfield Scott Clime, woodcut
Old Lyme’s prominent families traditionally used marriage ties to extend their property, wealth, and status. William Ely Coult (1797–1877) ignored that precedent when at age 65 he married the young German woman who worked as his household servant.
Read More Black Hall School, Evelyn McCurdy, farming, German immigration, Griswold Home School, Isaac Allerton, Lyme Academy, New England out-migration, village schools, William Ely Coult