Welcome to the East Haddam Historical Society & Museum, illuminating local history since 1962!
Museum is currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please contact us via email or phone 860-873-3944 with any questions.
Please enjoy the new Saving Land, Saving History mini-documentaries online!
Please enjoy the new Saving Land, Saving History mini-documentaries online!
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50 years of Local History
The East Haddam Historical Society, founded over 50 years ago, has been at this Town Street location for 11 years; it's just around the corner from Gillette Castle, right on the Route 82 corridor. The museum has a fine collection of local and Lower Connecticut River Valley historical objects, and prides itself on its kid-friendliness.
Among the highlights of the museum are a photographic display of the rise and fall of the Industrial Age in Moodus Village, Native American artifacts dating to 1300 B.C., a photographic exhibit of the building of the East Haddam swing bridge, and a collection of changing fashions with period costumes on display. Museum is currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please contact us via email or phone 860-873-3944 with any questions. 
Connecticut Humanities grant supports the Saving Land, Saving History projectOn behalf of the East Haddam Historical Society and the East Haddam Land Trust, we extend our deepest appreciation to Connecticut Humanities for the generous support of our project, Saving Land Saving History. This collaborative project has united our two organizations and, in the process, has revealed to us a new model for maximizing finite organizational resources by identifying complimentary assets to achieve common goals. Our organizations adapted quickly to the pandemic by expanding our digital footprints and providing new content to our members and the public on our websites, social media platforms, and You Tube channels. The mini-documentaries produced with grant funding have received to date over 2800 views. The final two mini-documentaries will profile the East Haddam Land Trust and East Haddam Historical Society, and will be released in July. We plan to host a gala reception and exhibit at the Historical Society Museum once we re-open. We would be honored to have you attend.
None of this would have been possible without the support of Connecticut Humanities. Thank you for helping the East Haddam Historical Society and East Haddam Land Trust to preserve and interpret the history of our community through your support of Saving Land Saving History. We look forward to building upon this success by undertaking future projects in partnership with Connecticut Humanities. Sincerely, Bruce Sievers President East Haddam Historical Society Peter Govert President East Haddam Land Trust |
2021 Membership DriveAs a membership-driven organization, the East Haddam Historical Society relies upon your membership for income. The Society both wants and needs your continued support so we can continue to archive, research, and tell the stories of East Haddam’s past and present.
For your convenience, you can submit your membership online, or you may complete the downloadable membership form and mail it along with your check. ***Please renew your membership before December 31, 2020*** The Board of Trustees deeply appreciates the continued support of all our members! Saving Land, Saving HistoryWe are excited to announce the launch of our documentary series, SAVING LAND, SAVING HISTORY! If you love to hike the open space preserves or just want to know more about the history and nature of your town then you won’t want to miss these beautiful and informative films.
The "Saving Land, Saving History" display highlights the fascinating ties between the preservation of land and local history and commemorates the East Haddam Land Trust's 40 years of land conservation. Award-winning local producer/director Ken Simon draws on the knowledge of local historians and conservationists to enliven the history of three historical preserves, the history of the East Haddam Land Trust, and the history of the East Haddam Historical Society & Museum. The East Haddam Historical Society will be presenting a multi-media exhibit on “Saving Land, Saving History” at the Museum that will be available when the museum re-opens to the public. The “Saving Land, Saving History” project is a collaboration between the East Haddam Historical Society and the East Haddam Land Trust, supported by generous grants from Connecticut Humanities and the Eightmile River Wild and Scenic Watershed Coordinating Committee. East Haddam Land Trust
The East Haddam Land Trust was formed in 1979 as a non-profit all-volunteer organization with a mission to preserve the natural, historic, and scenic sites of East Haddam and neighboring towns and to raise public awareness of the value of land conservation. The trust manages about 700 acres, and maintains 10 miles of public hiking trails. The Twine Capital of America
From the early 1800s into the early 1900s, the modest Moodus River powered 12 mills that produced cotton duck, sail and netting with innovative processes and in such quantity and quality that the village of Moodus was known as the "Twine Capital of America." The Morning Bells of Moodus
In this bonus clip from the "Saving Land, Saving History" mini-docuseries, East Haddam Historical Society President Bruce Sievers shares what the last surviving Moodus mill owner Crary Brownell told him about how the workday started at the twelve 20th century cotton mills along the Moodus River. Hammond Hill Preserve
At the 12-acre Hammond Hill Preserve off Dolbia Hill Road West in East Haddam, you can touch remnants of a built-by-hand dam and stroll along the headrace that directed water from the Eightmile River to two former mill sites. Careful placement of boulders and stones dammed the flow of the Eightmile River to power mills 150-200 years ago. Imagine workers trudging each boulder and stone to the dam site that once powered a grist mill, a sawmill, a fulling mill, a blacksmith shop, and a flaxseed oil press into the early 1800s. Early in the 1900s, Edward C. Hammond took over and refurbished the dam and millpond and used the site as a Boy Scout survival skills training camp. While hiking here you can see the remnants of the mills and imagine their long history. Today the Preserve protects plant and animal life as part of the federally designated Eightmile River Wild and Scenic Watershed, one of only two such watersheds in Connecticut. Patrell Preserve/Chapal Farm
The Patrell Preserve/Chapal Farm is comprised of 109 acres of unspoiled beauty along the historic Eight-Mile River, a nationally recognized Wild and Scenic Waterway, and is renowned for its diversity of geologic sites and wildlife. Incorporating the Richard H. Goodwin trail, a 14-mile long hiking trail through East Haddam and East Lyme, the Patrell Preserve/Chapal Farm encompass ancient lands essential to preserving the lower Connecticut River estuary. Bernstein Preserve
This beautiful parcel of land along the Moodus River, accessed via Falls Road, was donated to the East Haddam Land Trust by East Haddam native Ron Bernstein and his wife Merle in 2007. It comprises 36 acres. The Preserve is most notable for the 80- foot high waterfall near where two 19th century cotton mills were located: Falls Mill (1865-1943) and Atlantic Mill (1857-1939). Remnants of these mills are visible today as reminders of the time when Moodus was known as “The Twine Capital of America.” Videos will also be added to our Saving Land, Saving History page as they are released. Videos will be released every two weeks.
2020 Upcoming EventsThe health of our community is our primary concern. As part of the effort to stop the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, we have made the difficult decision to postpone all 2020 programs. Contact us with any questions at museum@easthaddamhistory.org or 860-873-3944.
All events take place at the Museum unless otherwise stated. Events are open to the public and free to members and children under twelve, except as noted. Donations from non-members is $5 for regular events. 
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