What's New

This section updates both members and visitors of what is new with the Society, as well as its website and activities. Feedback is appreciated!

On Monday, November 22, the Historical Society’s Annual Appeal will culminate with a Reception at Grassy Hill Lodge on 77 Sodom Lane at 5 PM . The guest will be David V. Herlihy, author of the books The Lost Cyclist and Bicycle: The History. Mr. Herlihy will speak of Pierre Lallement, a 19^th century Ansonia resident who was a pioneer in the design of the modern bicycle as we know it today, and famously took the prototype for its first ride between Ansonia and Derby in 1865. Also at the November 22 Reception, the John I. Howe award will be given to Roseland Apizza. Considered one of Connecticut ’s best pizzas, Roseland was started by John Scatolini. Seventy-five years later, this local institution is still carried on by his daughter, Lena Lucarelli. Tickets for the Annual Reception event, which is a major fundraiser for the Derby Historical Society, cost $40 per person, and can be obtained by calling (203) 735-1908.

Our in-school third grade program, A Visit from 1759, was recently featured in the New Haven Register. Click here for the story and a great video! Thanks to Elsie and Linda, who we are lucky to have as part of our great team of docents and educators, as well as Seymour's Bungay School for allowing the Register to do the article there.

It is with deep regret that we mark the passing of former Derby Historical Society Treasurer Edward G. Brickett, Jr.

BRICKETT Edward G. Brickett, age 80, of Derby entered into rest on Monday, September 27, 2010 in Griffin Hospital. He was the devoted husband to Mary (Duggan) Brickett. Edward was born in Shelton, CT on January 6, 1930 son of the late Edward B. and Mary (Wyka) Brickett and was a Derby resident for 58 years. Edward was a U. S. Army veteran of the Korean Conflict, where he received the Service Medal. He was educated at St. Joseph School in Shelton and Shelton High School, where he was a football athlete. He graduated from the University of Bridgeport, cum laude evening division with a bachelor of science in business administration. He received his MBA from the University of New Haven. He attended Stornier School of Banking at Rutgers University and banking school at Williams College. Edward also attended classes at Housatonic Community College and American Institute of Banking. He was the finance director for the town of Southington for ten years, retiring in 1995. He started his career in banking in 1947 at the Birmingham National Bank and continued until his retirement as branch manager/vice president in 1985 from the Bank of Boston. Edward was elected treasurer for the city of Derby 13 times under 7 different mayors, where he worked on two revaluations and an overhaul of the accounting system and pension plans. He arranged the financing of the Derby Court House and was the treasurer and chairman of the Board of Revenue and Retirement Board. He served as treasurer of the Memorial Day Parade Association beginning in 1951 and was a trustee and member of the parish council at St. Jude's Church. He was a corporator at Griffin Hospital and the Boys and Girls Club. He was chairman of the Derby Senior Citizen Commission, member of the Government Finance Association, VFW, Catholic War Veterans, US Army 17th Infantry Association, Derby and Shelton Senior Center, Knights of Columbus and the Ancient Order of the Hibernians. Edward was a former member of the Democratic Town Committee, Valley Mental Health and Chamber of Commerce, prior treasurer of the Derby Historical Society and Derby/Shelton YMCA, prior chairman of the Local Chapter of the American Institute of Banking, past general chairman and past president of the Valley United Way and past member of the Derby/ Shelton Rotary. He was an adult altar server for St. Mary's Church and he received the St. Joseph Medal of Appreciation from the Archdiocese of Hartford for his service to St. Jude's Church. He received the Gold Seal from the Valley Chamber of Commerce and a plaque from the Purple Heart Veterans. Edward helped manage the financing for St. Jude's Church and received an award for all his service. He was a fast pitch softball pitcher, having pitched a no hitter and swam 5 miles a week for the past 25 years. Edward was an avid UConn Basketball and Red Sox fan. Edward is the beloved father of Edward J. Brickett, M. Patricia Brickett and her husband, James McVerry and Kathleen A. Brickett. He also leaves his grandchildren, Michael A. and Patrick E. McVerry, a brother, John Brickett and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by a brother, William F. Brickett and a sister, Barbara Brickett. Friends may call on Tuesday evening from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Edward F. Adzima Funeral Home, 253 Elizabeth St., Derby. His funeral will leave the funeral home on Wednesday at 9 a.m. for a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m. at St. Jude's Church. His entombment with full military honors will follow at Mt. St. Peter's Cemetery. The family requests that memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude's Church, Derby CT 06418. Friends may leave condolences at www.adzimafh.com.

Happy Labor Day! The David Humphreys House has resumed its regular schedule, from 1 PM to 4 PM Monday through Friday. Our offices are now located in the gray house directly behind the David Humphreys House.

The David Humphreys House will be open all third Saturdays of the month from this time forward.

Thank you to all who helped make the Derby Historical Society's Annual Meeting a success today. The 2010-2011 slate of officers and directors is here. Congratulations to longtime Board Member Atty. Timothy Dillon for winning this year's Dorothy Larson Service Award.

Thank you to all who volunteered or participated at our memorable Twelfth Night program today.

In the Valley History Archive - 1909, 1934, and 1959 join the growing list of years with complete local chronologies. We are now starting 1910, 1935, and 1960. For a complete list of years we have done, see the Valley History Archive.

Churches by Lantern - Ansonia was a great success. Thank you to all who helped or participated in this and all of our Programs we have had since October!

The David Humphreys House will remain open at its regular hours through the Season - the Gift Shop is still fully stocked and ready to help you with that last minute Christmas gift! We'll be restarting our programs with our popular Twelfth Night on January 10, but in the meantime...

Don't forget the Christmas Gift Shop tomorrow from 10 to 4 at the Humphreys House.

On December 11 the Historical Society will host its first-ever Churches by Lantern - Ansonia. This will follow the same format as our popular Churches by Lantern program in Derby. We will start at Christ Church on 56 South Cliff Street (across from Ansonia Library), and after visiting there will proceed to First Congregational Church of Ansonia next door. After that, we'll trek to Assumption Church on North Cliff Street, pointing out some very interesting features along the way. The Program is here. We've been hoping to do this for years, and we're very happy to inaugurate it now!

Churches by Lantern was a great success in Derby. We'll be holding a similar program along North and South Cliff Streets in Ansonia on December 11.

In the meantime, we'll have our Christmas Gift Shop at the Humphreys House on Saturday, December 5, from 10 AM to 4 PM. There will be unique, one-of-a-kind gifts, books, toys, prints, and a new feature - locally made American Girl sized clothing from all eras!

For the first time ever, the Derby Historical Society is hosting an auction for an Open Hearth Dinner at the David Humphreys House early next year. Winners will be announced at Twelfth Night on January 10, 2010. Click here for details.

If the Derby Tree Lighting is postponed due to weather, we will postpone Churches By Lantern to the evening to which the Tree lighting reschedules. Check our website for details.

Don't forget Churches By Lantern the day after Thanksgiving, Friday November 27.

Check out the new American Girl size doll clothes we are selling at the gift shop. Don't forget the Humphreys House will be specially opened for Christmas shopping from 10 AM to 4 PM on Saturday, December 5.

On behalf of the Derby Historical Society, we wish you a happy and blessed Thanksgiving.

Our Annual Reception, Dinner with David Humphreys, will start at 5 PM at Grassy Hill Lodge on Monday the 23rd. Our special guest will be Col. David Humphreys, as portrayed by historical re-enactor David Loda, and his horse, Huckleberry. This promises to be an unforgettable event! If you have purchased your tickets already, we'll see you there! If not, we will also be selling them at the door for a minimal donation of $40 per person. Refreshments will be served.

On Friday the 27th, the Historical Society will host its popular Churches by Lantern Tour. Seating will start at Immanuel-St. James Church on Derby Green (the stone church with the red door), and by the light of punched tin lanterns we will visit Derby Methodist, St. Mary's, and Second Congregational Church, ending with the tree lighting on Derby Green. Tickets are $10.

First of all, thank you to everyone who participated or helped with this year's Legends by Lantern Tour. Last Friday night, the Humphreys House was open to the public after dark for the first time ever. Attendance defied all expectations, hundreds came out to visit the Humphreys House that special night, and the cemetery across the street under the stars. It was a night to remember, and the challenge now is how to match that next year! Saturday was a washout, unfortunately, but even on the rescheduled date on Sunday, we had a respectable attendance (despite competing with the Yankees playing the final game of the AL Championship). Again, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT TOOK PART!

Fall is also the time of our Annual Appeal. Please consider the non-profit Derby Historical Society a worthy cause for your donation so we can continue the good work we have been doing for the Naugatuck Valley for over 60 years. Our campaign literature is attached here and here. One of the highlights of the campaign will be the appearance of a young Col. David Humphreys at our Annual Reception at Grassy Hill Lodge. Those who attended our Legends by Lantern Tour will note that Col. Humphreys bears a striking resemblance to the 'Colonial Dragoon' who guarded the front door of the Humphreys House those two nights

. The event promises to be a fun, memorable time for all.

We have a lot more planned, including one of our most popular Open Houses, featuring Colonial cooking, as well as a pair of upcoming Lantern Tours in Derby and Ansonia. Click here for more information. As stated before, October through the Holidays is the busiest time of the year for the Derby Historical Society. Be sure to visit our site frequently to stay informed of coming events!

The leaves are turning, the temperature is falling, autumn is definitely in the air. This is the busiest time of the year for Derby Historical Society, be sure to check our website for frequent updates.

Lets start by one of our newest, most popular events - Legends by Lanterns returns October 23 and 24. Last year, we held it on four nights, and held 8 tours. This year, we're having it only 2 nights, but will have 10 tours, and it will involve both the David Humphreys House and Elm Street Cemetery. Click here for details.

Our regular office hours, Monday through Friday, 1 PM to 4 PM, at the Gen. David Humphreys House are back in effect.

We are currently accepting applications for Day in 1762 Teachers. Candidates must fill out an application as well as pass a background check. This is a great educational program, which has been conducted by professional staff for nearly 30 years. Call or e-mail us if you are interested.

We're now linked to the new City of Ansonia webpage. All old links have been replaced with the new one. Thanks to the City's webmaster for pointing the change out to us, and for the great job on the new site.

This week's column in the Valley Independent Sentinel covers a very tragic railroad accident which occurred in Shelton 75 years ago, July 26, 1934. The Huntington Herald also has an article about it this week. Normally we don't cover topics this dark, but the sudden, needless deaths of 8 children, as sad as it still is today, is very much a part of our associated communities' history, which should not be forgotten.

Following up on our June 26 update - thanks go out to Board Members Elaine Brandon and Anita Dugatto for continuing to raise funds to keep the Day in 1762 Program program operating, even in these financially troubled times, as well as Jerry Vartelas, who also has provided invaluable assistance to their committee. Thanks also to the Valley Independent Sentinel for covering the story.

Thanks to all who participated in our Silver Tea at John J. Sullivan's last week.

The David Humphreys House has reverted to its Summer Hours. In July and August, we will be open from Monday through Friday, from 9 AM to 12 Noon. We will be closed Friday, July 3. Our regular hours will resume on September 1.

Take some time to reflect on those who put everything on the line to create our beloved country this Fourth of July weekend. There are giants like George Washington, of course, but he and the other Founding Fathers could not have won our independence without countless "ordinary folks", like our own David Humphreys, who shared his dream for freedom. David Humphreys, Roger Sherman, and the Spirit of '76 that they and so many others shared will be honored by the David Humphreys Branch No. 1 of the Sons of the American Revolution at New Haven's Grove Street Cemetery at 9 AM on Independence Day. This wonderful program is a great way of starting the Fourth of July off right!

We don't need reminding that times our tough nowadays. Like many non-profits, donations to the Derby Historical Society are understandably down this year, while requests for our services are up. We're doing our best to do more with less, but one thing hopefully all can agree upon is the importance of our Day in 1762 Program, which will start its 30th year in 2010. We have started a sponsorship campaign - see our brochure here. Sponsor one child, or more, every bit helps to keep this great program going. And we are a 501(c)(3), so the donation is tax-deductible. Think about it.

Welcome to the Naugatuck Valley's newest newspaper! With a nod towards our region's journalistic past, while embracing the future, the new online Valley Independent Sentinel has launched! There is a great article on our recent Open House, as well as the US flag and uniform display, as well as video, in its inaugural edition here.

Thank you to all who visited us on Connecticut Open House Day! The US Flag and Military Uniform display at the Humphreys House was such a big hit, we'll be retaining it through the Fourth of July. If you missed it on June 13, now is your chance to see flags and uniforms from the Civil War all the way to today's conflicts.

Seventy-five years ago this month, President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed through Derby, Seymour, and Oxford along what is now Route 34. The entire route was lined with spectators. Although he never got out of his car, the President's visit seemed to deeply affect a large segment of the population, so much so that part of Route 34 was renamed Roosevelt Drive. You can read all about it here, in the Valley History Archive.

National Register of Historic Places. National Historic District. State Historic District. Scenic Road. Ever consider buying a property with one of these designations? Or assigning such a designation to your property? Or wonder what these designations means, and how they differ from one another? You are not alone. Connecticut Historical Designations has been added to our General Links & Resources Page. The new link takes you to a page on the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation website, where you will find an overview of the various local, state, and federal designations for historic structures and districts, and what they entail. More information on each designation is available on the left side of the page.

WEB DESIGNER WANTED! The Derby Historical Society is seeking a designer to help redesign the content of this website. Contact us at info@derbyhistorical.org.

We are very saddened to learn of the passing of Board Emeritus Helen I. Brady. Her obituary is here.

Thanks to all who attended our Annual Meeting, especially those who helped make it the success that it was! Congratulations to this year's award winners - Margaret Gibbs, Jack Brady, and Barbara Jean Garofalo.

The Awards Page, and Board & Staff have been updated. The 2008 Calendar will be changed to to 2009 soon.

The Derby Historical Society's Annual Meeting will be Sunday, February 8, 2009, at 2 PM at Christ Church on South Cliff Street in Ansonia. We have a great program to look forward to, as well as displays and refreshments.

1908, 1933, and 1958 are now complete in the Valley History Archive, and we've started new pages for 1909, 1934, and 1959. This is great for researchers, or just catching up if you missed some of the weekly installments of This Week in History.

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Board Emeritus Charlotte McLean, who served on our Board of Directors for many years. Our condolences go out to her family, she was a wonderful woman.

With the Holiday Season approaching, consider the David Humphreys House gift shop for that unique gift for that special someone. A complete inventory list is presented. Whether it be books, artwork, or wall maps of local subjects, or good old-fashioned toys (none of which require batteries!), the gift shop has it all!

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Board Emeritus Arthur Tidmash. Art served on our Board for many years, and was a longtime treasurer of the Derby Historical Society. Our condolences go out to his daughter Nancy and his family. He will be missed.

The Derby Historical Society will conduct its “Churches by Lantern” program on Friday, November 28, at 5:00 PM. Using its signature punched-tin lanterns, participants will start at St. Mary’s of the Immaculate Conception, then visit the Second Congregational, Derby United Methodist, and Immanuel-St. James Episcopal churches. A history of the churches will be given at each stop, and Christmas carols will be played on each church’s unique organ. The event will end on Derby Green, coinciding with the City’s Annual Christmas Tree Lighting event.

Thank you to all who helped make our Annual Reception a success on Monday, November 24!

We're very excited about our upcoming Annual Reception. The event, the culmination of our Annual Appeal, will be Monday, November 24, at Grassy Hill Lodge in Derby. Our theme will be the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Click here for more details.

Our first Open House of the season will be this Sunday, from 1 PM to 4 PM, at the David Humphreys House on 37 Elm Street, Ansonia. Costumed docents will be on hand. Tours will be available. Admission is free.

The David Humphreys House resumes its normal schedule, open Mon-Fri 1 PM to 4 PM, on Tuesday September 2. Onto our "busy season". Check the website frequently to see what's going on.

This Week in History began 3 years ago this week. A sample of the page now appears in the Valley Times, and the page counter recorded its 16,000 hit this week. This says a lot of the interest people have, both in our area and outside, of the Valley's History. The Society's Executive Director Robert Novak will be giving at talk on this section of the website at the Derby Public Library, on Tuesday September 23 at the Library.

We are pleased to announce that samples of This Week in History will appear in the weekly Valley Times newspaper, along with a link to our website, which will be called This Week in Valley History. Much, much more will be available on the website. The Valley Times covers the entire operating area of the Derby Historical Society, and is published Fridays.

In the month of July - one piano adopted from, and another added to the Sterling Piano Exchange. Also clarified the product lines related to Sterling, all of which may be added.

Tickets are selling fast for the Silver Tea (see below). We'll keep selling them until we run out, but if you're thinking of going you should probably order sooner rather than later.

The Derby Historical Society's 18^th Annual Silver Tea will be held Monday, July 14, 2008 from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at John J. Sullivan's in Ansonia. Our entertainment will be “Susan B. Anthony – The Invincible!” performed by Sally Matson. Susan B. Anthony was monumental in the fight for women’s suffrage, and an early American Civil Rights leader. The floral arrangements will be provided by the Ansonia and Derby Garden Clubs. Tickets are $20.00 each. There will be door prizes and a raffle. For information, call 734-5765 or 735-1908, or visit us at the David Humphreys House. Ms. Matson’s website is http://www.susanbanthonytheinvincible.com/.

Lastly, for the third year in a row, the David Humphreys House will be operating on a Summer Schedule, beginning Tuesday, July 1. The historic museum on 37 Elm Street, Ansonia, will be open from 9 AM to noon, Monday through Friday, and by special appointment.

Thank you to all who attended our Flag Day Open House, in conjunction with Connecticut Open House Day.

New page to this site, the Sterling Piano Exchange, where historic Derby-made Sterling Pianos can be "adopted".

Thank you to all who attended our Lilac Tea on May 4, and a hearty thanks to the volunteers and docents who made it possible.

Congratulations to Michael McMahon, a member of Boy Scout Troop 3 and Venture Crew 1762, for obtaining the rank of Eagle Scout on May 4.

The night of April 30 - May 1 was the 120th anniversary of the first electric trolley car run in New England. The secret trial run was made under the cover of night, between Derby and Ansonia. Ride along in this rare account from the Evening Sentinel, published later the evening of May 1, 1888.

May 1 is the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Samuel H. Brush dry goods store, which would eventually become the Howard & Barber Department Store. Read how the Evening Sentinel covered the 100th anniversary of the event here.

Thank you to all who attended the Annual Meeting on Sunday, as well as those who have supported us in the past year. The Awards page has been updated. This year's Dorothy Larson Award went to Venture Crew 1762, while the David Humphreys Award was bestowed upon Edward Brickett Jr., and Jeremiah "Jerry" Vartelas. Congratulations to this year's award recipients!

The Board & Staff page has also been updated. We should note that we now have a new President - Jack Walsh, as well as Vice President - Judy Augusta, and Treasurer - Cynthia Poppa. We wish them luck as they steer the Historical Society into 2008 and beyond, and extend our thanks to outgoing President Randy Ritter, Vice President Joy Donini, and Treasurer Edward Brickett Jr. We also extend our thanks to outgoing Board Members Mary Mycek, Marian O'Keefe, and Ceil Rafalowski for their years of service, and welcome new Board Members Peter Petrino, Dina Weismann, and Cathy Williams!

We also have a new Evening Sentinel article - the obituary of Bruce N. Griffing of Shelton. The history of the Griffin Button Company is interesting enough in its own right, but it should also be noted that the Griffing family contributed much to the Valley. Griffin Hospital is named after Mr. Griffing's brother, and countless students from Derby and Shelton have attended the Day in 1762 at the Humphreys House thanks to the Bruce N. Griffing Trust.

We are saddened to learn of the death of William Coffey, a Life Member and the Historical Society's first John Howe Award recipient in 2001. As his obituary indicates, Bill was a true gentleman, a friend to many in the Valley and the Derby Historical Society, and will be sincerely missed by many.

A letter from Santa Claus to the girls of the St. James' Sewing School, dated December 21, 1907, has been reproduced here.

Thank you to all who participated in the Legends by Lantern tour. Despite being rained out for three out of the four scheduled nights, the one night we did have it, combined with the rain date, were very successful!

We are saddened to announce the passing of Jeanette Way LaMacchia, who served as our President for 13 years, on June 1, 2007. Read her obituary. Jeanette was a personal friend to many of us, and an inspiration to us all. She was active in the conversion of the David Humphreys House into a museum, which opened in 1980, and the Day in 1762 Program. She was also very active with the Shelton Historical Society, and served as Shelton's Town Historian. She will be missed.

The This Week in History archives have been greatly simplified. Rather than have a separate page for each month, the pages will be divided by year. Monthly pages seemed like a good idea when we started doing it in August 2005, but by April '07 we were up to 61 pages, and it was getting too complicated and confusing. We reduced that to 9 pages.

A new Sentinel article has been reproduced, from April 23, 1957, giving the history of the Ansonia Tail Race, and how it tied into the Ansonia Canal and the city's early history, as well as its status in 1957.

The Society's Newsletter will now be published quarterly, and is now offered online in PDF format. Society members will receive advance copies in their mail. This newsletter was a group effort on the part of members, staff, and Venture Crew 1762. Much thanks goes out to Board Member Mary Mycek for her years of producing the Society's newsletter prior to this issue.

One mistake did slip past the editors that needs to be noted. Our PO Box is 331, not 313. Oops.

From now on, any internal link within the website will be green. Any external link will be blue. Old internal links will be gradually changed.

Two new articles in the Valley History Archive. The first is the obituary of Maj. Wilbur Osborne, the namesake for Osbornedale Farms, now Osbornedale State Park, prominent industrialist in Ansonia, Derby, and Shelton, and founder of Derby Neck Library. Maj. Osborne was the father of Frances Kellogg.

The second article is an interesting history of the Seymour Fire Alarm, from 1882 to 1996. It was written by James Morgan, who we'd like to welcome to the small but growing list of contributors for the website.

Two new articles reproduced from the Evening Sentinel. One describes an 1847 school that was razed in Seymour in 1932. The other goes into great detail on the interior of the Bassett House hotel, next to the Sterling Opera House in Derby, which was newly remodeled in 1907.

Ever wonder who O'Sullivan Island is named after? Mr. O'Sullivan died 75 years ago this week. Check out his obituary here, and see This Week in History to see what else was going on in 1907, 1932, and 1957.

Today is Valentine's Day, and its a snow day, so its a good time to update the website!

New Gift Shop page added. Books page has been taken off the navigation toolbar, but it is still accessible through the Gift Shop page. Several other items were taken off the navigation toolbar, as it was getting too "busy", including This Week in History (still accessible on the index page and History Archive, not to mention other websites that link to it), and Maps (accessible via History Archive).

We are saddened to announce the passing of the longtime Humphreys House secretary Lorraine Axon, on January 18, 2007.

Twelfth Night was another resounding success - hundreds of people visited the Humphreys House. Pictures of the event are on the Derby website here.

As 2006 draws to a close, the Derby Historical Society has much to be thankful for.

We continue to offer the same services to the Lower Naugatuck Valley, while expanding in exciting new directions, such as the Legends By Lantern tour on Derby Green. It looks like we found quite a niche with the lantern tours, and we'll be exploring ways of expanding them in 2007. The Tour was made possible by a grant from the Katharine Matthies Foundation. The remainder of the same grant will be applied to educational outreach programs, designed to bring local history back into the classrooms.

Another bright spot is Venture Crew 1762. Jointly sponsored by the Housatonic Council, BSA, and the Derby Historical Society, this coed group is open to all youth ages 14 through 21 with an interest in the Valley's history and the Derby Historical Society. The Crew assisted us immensely with the Legends By Lantern tours and other activities. This year the Crew can look forward to a trip to Yorktown, Virginia (thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven), and other trips and activities. One of this website's early New Year's resolutions is to give the Crew its own webpage.

Speaking of the website, it has grown immensely. The index page previously noted only updates which occur on this page, which is a bit misleading since This Week in History is updated every week, so a separate notation will be made every time that is updated. Thanks to the weekly "This Week" updates, the archives will as of next week cover the entire years 1906, 1931, and 1956. We look forward to covering 1907 (even though a recession will hit later in the year), 1932 (where a ray of hope will arrive during the Great Depression with the election of FDR as president), and the classic 1957.

The website is updated constantly, even if our "What's New" section is not updated as often.

We have launched a new map section, which we scanned from Derby Historical Society material. We tried to correspond to the time periods from This Week in History.

We've been trying to update the extensive Link sections - putting in new links, eliminating dead ones. If you run into a dead link, or feel there is one that should be included, please let us know.

And lastly - some said it couldn't be done. The odds were overwhelmingly stacked against them. But those people didn't know how determined the Oxford Historical Society was to preserve the Twitchell-Rowland homestead! Congratulations to the Oxford Historical Society moving a historic piece of local and Connecticut history out of harm's way. We look forward to visiting our new neighbors in their new headquarters! The house's historic move has been in the local newspapers and television, but to get the whole story, the best source of information is their own website here.

We continue to periodically update throughout the website. In particular the Links section, This Week in History, Valley History Definitions, and the History Archives are constantly updated. We would like to note in particular we have started the occasional reproduction of old articles from the Evening Sentinel in the History Archive section.

Our website, like the rest of the Electronic Valley, has been moved to new servers that offer some enhancements we did not have before. We'll be exploring these in the weeks and months ahead.

HUGE update. First of all, you probably notice right away the Society home page has been completely redesigned. It's less "busy" - some of the items that were there for years like Homes and Books have been taken off the main page and given their own pages. But the big change is the permanent navigation bar on the left. It stays with you, wherever you go on the website, and even if you follow one of our off-links. This website is growing beyond anyone's expectations - thanks to our own growth and various contributions, we now have over 600 of pages of material with over 1450 internal links, and nearly 450 external hyperlinks! And we're adding more every month. We've been increasingly concerned that its getting harder to find your way around the site, and we're hoping the permanent navigation bar will make it much easier. Let us know what you think!

Some older items have outlived their usefulness and been removed or changed. For instance, the "Historic Essays" has been merged with the "This Week in History Archive". Material from both of these pages can be found at a new page called History Archive.

One feature that we want to add, which for some strange reason we're having a hard time with, is an internal website search engine to aid researchers. Eventually we'll figure it out, but in the meantime Google is doing a fairly good job keeping up with us!

The Awards page has been updated. The Kosciuszko Historical Society received the David Humphreys Award for their decades of service in promoting the Valley's Polish culture, history, and heritage. Dorothy DeBisschop (pictured below, left), and her sister Karen Bauer received the Dorothy Larson Award for their many years of promoting Oxford, Derby, and the rest of the Valley's history. Their accomplishments are numerous, but check out their websites at Our Oxford Info and Oxford Past, as well as the Derby Records on our own site for examples of their great work.

Also, we would be remiss not to mention that our President for the last six years, Jeremiah "Jerry" Vartelas, stepped down at the Annual Meeting. Pictured above, right, new President Randal "Randy" Ritter awards Jerry a plaque for his years of service to the Society. We thank Jerry for his dedication (he will remain on our Board of Directors), and wish Randy luck in his new position!

Lastly, the Derby Quizzes are back on the Electronic Valley! As before, we will link to all quizzes on that site's archive, mostly in the Derby Links section. But why limit yourself just to Derby? Check out all our Links!

Still updating once a week. The Valley History Definitions is becoming an attraction in and of itself - it seems we're adding one or two forgotten names there once a week. From now on, links to the Definition page, which is about 90% of them, will be green. Links that take you anywhere else, including off-site, will remain the usual blue. This decision was made because it may be confusing that so many links go to the same page. Now that the only the regular links are blue, you may notice we've been using Wikipedia as a resource. All the history archives have been linked in this fashion as well.

The Derby Historical Society's Annual Meeting will be Sunday, March 5, at 2:00 PM at Christ Church Hall, on South Cliff Street, Ansonia, opposite the library. All are invited. After a brief meeting and our annual David Humphreys and Dorothy Larson awards, we shall feature our guest speaker, Roger Hart. A resident of Lenox, MA, Mr. Hart will bring his popular audio-visual program "Legends of New England". Among the Connecticut topics which shall be covered are The Leatherman, Holyland, the Curse of Dudleytown, and the Legend of the Black Dog. Hope to see you there!

This Week in History continues to be popular. As it grows, the need for a "definition page" became apparent. Rather than explaining every week where certain places were, or what certain terms meant, we're putting them all on one page. Although its meant to support the This Week in History page, it actually is interesting in its own right, and like the archive, it will continue to grow. Right now it defines terms related to those found in 1906, 1931, and 1956, though we'll catch up on the preceding years as time permits. If a word appears as a link - clicking on it will take you to the definition page, or in some rare cases to an off-site source that does a better job defining an historic event.

The Annual Appeal culminated with a reception at Grassy Hill Lodge on November 21. A good time was had by all. Five speakers kept us spellbound with their "Flood of Memories", relating to the 1955 Flood! Although the Appeal may be winding down, remember that we are a non-profit historical society. Just something to consider if you like what you see and hear about us, and are looking for a last minute tax deduction!

We are thrilled to announce two new features to the website. First of all, the Town of Oxford's Municipal Historian, Dorothy DeBisschop, who maintains Our Oxford Info and the Oxford Historical Society websites, and her sister Karen Bauer, who maintains the website Oxford Past, have performed a wonderful service for anyone researching the early history of Derby, Oxford, Ansonia, or Seymour! They have scanned the entire contents of an extremely rare book that was published by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1901 called Town Records of Derby, Connecticut 1655 - 1710. Only two hundred copies were printed, and everything that was recorded in the town records in that formulate period is included! Not only that, but the work also contains two Town Patents, as well as the records of Rev. Daniel Humphreys (David Humphreys' father) from 1736 to 1784 - mostly containing baptisms. But here's the best part! Not just content with scanning the century old book and making it available on the internet, they provided complete links in the index. If you look up a name (and the index covers the Town Records portion), you click directly to the pages containing it within the book. This was an immense undertaking, and Dorothy DeBisschop and Karen Bauer have performed an extraordinary and valuable service for genealogists, or anyone interested in the early history of Derby, Ansonia, Seymour, and Oxford, or genealogy!

Secondly, the Derby Historical Society has been the recipient of a number of Boy Scout Eagle Projects in the past few years. Earlier this year, Eagle Candidate Andrew Lavoie of Derby's Troop 3 compiled a database, complete with pictures, of a section of Oak Cliff Cemetery formally known as the "East Section", but informally as "The Amphitheater". While we provide links to a number of cemeteries, this is the first section of any cemetery hosted by the Derby Historical Society itself. Anyone familiar with Oak Cliff knows it is quite large, and we are hoping to add more sections of the cemetery to the database as time goes on. This was a great undertaking for Andy, who showed great leadership and ingenuity throughout the entire project, and we are certain this experience will help him attain his goal of Eagle Scout!

These two projects, combined with a chronology of the Adams Manufacturing Company almost a year ago by William Adams Hunter, represent three valuable contributions to our area's history that have been generously shared by individuals not on the Historical Society staff. We are always willing to consider adding new historic material of local significance to this website.

A wonderful, 110-year old portrait of David Humphreys now on display at the Humphreys House. It was dedicated on December 4, at which time the 25th anniversary of the 1762 Program was also observed. Major contributors to the portrait's acquisition and restoration were the Sons of the American Revolution David Humphreys Branch No. 1, the Society of the Cincinnati, and a number of memorial donations in the name of Margaret Els. A retired 1762 teacher who was active on the Society's Board of Directors, Margaret passed away a year go this month.

A booklet containing a biography of David Humphreys, originally written by a local historian 40 years ago, was reproduced along with about two dozen new pictures, by the Society's Curator Marian O'Keefe, with the help of a grant from the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven. The booklets are available at the Humphreys House for a $5 donation to the Day in 1762 Scholarship Fund. More information on this and other Historical Society Publication in the updated Books page. It should be noted, by the way, that the picture on the Humphreys booklet is of the painting prior to restoration. Compare that to the image of the restored painting above it. What a difference!

2005 was a banner year for the Derby Historical Society, and the growth of this website was just a part of it. We plan to keep the momentum for the Society and the website going in 2006, so stay tuned. And of course - HAPPY HOLIDAYS from all of us at the Derby Historical Society!

We continue to update the website. Since a major goal always has been to serve as a portal to other websites pertaining to Valley history, we're happy to announce the Links section is now much more streamlined. We reduced everything to four general categories - People, Places, Cemeteries, and General. We maintained pages for each of the 5 cities and towns in the Valley, while eliminated some of the more obscure categories such as "Transportation". I think you'll agree that the section flows much smoother now. Remember that while these links will take you off-site, we have a page dedicated to our own original and contributed material that you might want to check out here.

The This Week in History section has proven to be a hit. It is the only page outside of the main index to have its own hit counter, and the numbers show its one of the most popular features of the entire website. We update on or around every Saturday night, so once a week you can see what was making news in the Valley 50, 75, and 100 years ago. Like the links section, we've made a few trial and error adjustments. While we dropped the "Last Week" portion that followed "This Week", we are archiving all past entries by month and year - you can check it out here. Again, it helps things flow smoother, and we hope this serves students, researchers, and Valley history buffs alike!

August 19, 2005, marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Flood of 1955. The New Haven Register has a collection of articles on the greatest disaster ever to strike the Lower Naugatuck Valley here.

Our link section now features its first video - a compilation of the excellent Then & Now series by Telemedia! It can be accessed here. We have provided an index section on our main link page. Other links have been added throughout the site as well, including an excellent history of the Town of Seymour, and the Flood of 1955.

Frequently we are asked about historic walks - we have conducted many of them over the years in Ansonia and Derby. The Historical Society is now making these walks or tours available for groups. We have opened a new page here.

We are starting an exciting new feature, called This Week in History. We will start by featuring local events from 50, 75, and 100 years ago, taken from the pages of the now discontinued local daily newspaper Evening Sentinel. We will shortly expand to 75 years ago as well. Our ambitious goal is to update every week. We encourage you to visit this website every week to follow the Valley near the height of its industrial age in 1905, copes with the Great Depression in 1930, and rebuilds after the disastrous flood in 1955.

A new history on the founding of Ansonia and its name has been posted in the Essays section. The links continue to be updated. We're going to start posting

next to our most recent material.

On Wednesday, April 27, a segment of the CBS Early Show was taped at the David Humphreys House, while students from Ansonia Mead School participated in the Day in 1762 Program. The segment aired Thursday, May 19, 2005, and is posted on the CBS website.

The Humphreys House page has been expanded and updated. The pages on the other two houses will be similarly updated soon.

Although this is the first "official" update of 2005, regular visitors will note changes have continued since the holidays. Since the last Update, a new Historic Essays page has been added. Like the Links page (which we continue to update), this was a major goal when we started rebuilding the website late last year. As you can see, there's a diverse set of historic topics. And please, if anyone would like to submit any original local historic material to the page, we'd be honored to host it on our website, providing it's appropriate and we have the bandwidth.

All 3 titles of the Derby Historical Society's books are now in stock. See the link for shipping arrangements. These books are part of the Arcadia Publishing Images of America and Then & Now series.

That's it for now, but come back often. We still haven't run out of ideas of what we'd like to see on the website, and the official and unofficial updates will continue!

A major goal of this website has been met with the completion of an extensive link section! You can get there by clicking "Links" on the Main Page, or clicking here. We have added well over 300 links, mostly to sites, or portions of sites, of historical interest to the Lower Naugatuck Valley.