Scope and Contents
Reports of Connecticut towns, gathered in the early 1800s. The originals are held by the Connecticut Historical Society. The HHC collection comprises a copy of the original query sent by the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences (1949); and the towns of East Windsor, Franklin, Goshen, Haddam, and Stratfield (1949); Union and Ridgefield (1954); Wallingford, Winchester-Winsted, Bethlem and Watertown, Preston and Lisbon (Hanover and Newent), and Windham, Tolland, Willington, and Pomfret (1961).
Dates
- 1949-1961
Access Restrictions
The records are stored in a restricted area and therefore may not be available on a same-day basis.
Use Restrictions
See Hartford History Center’s Collection Use policy. Permission to publish from the Collection must be obtained in writing from curator of the Hartford History Center, and a copy of the published work may be requested by the Hartford History Center. The Hartford History Center reserves the right to refuse permission to publish, etc. to those who have not complied with its policies. Use of the collections will normally not be permitted for the purpose of promotion of commercial products and services or political campaigns. Hartford History Center at Hartford Public Library reserves the right to limit the number of photographic prints/captures and to restrict the use or reproduction of rare, fragile, or valuable objects.
Historical Note
The Acorn Club was founded in 1899 by a group of young men interested in Connecticut history and the early books and manuscripts that reveal that history. Among the founders were librarians, book collectors, genealogists and a heraldic artist. Within two years, the membership had grown to 25, the prescribed limit, and included a lawyer, scholars and business leaders. Among them were businessman Lucius A. Barbour, who sponsored the Barbour collection of vital records at the State Archives and Yale scholar Hiram Bingham, the future governor of Connecticut. Librarians, college presidents and professors from Yale, Wesleyan, Trinity and the University of Connecticut have continued to play an important role in the club’s activities, along with publishers, collectors and the State Historian.
The first publication was a rare colonial imprint of Samuel Stone’s A Short Catechism, printed by Samuel Green in Boston in 1684 for John Wadsworth of Farmington. It had been written by Stone for the guidance of his First Church, Hartford congregation and was one of only two copies of the pamphlet known at the time. One hundred facsimile copies were produced, to be sold at two dollars per copy.
Appropriately for the Charter Oak State, the pamphlet bore a wood engraving of an acorn, created by William F. Hopson of New Haven, who was to become a club member in the first year.
In the following years, the club has produced 37 publications through the efforts of 150 members who have served over the course of the last century, gathering together and publishing significant primary source materials about the history of the state.
Mission Statement: Its purpose shall be to issue either as reprints or as original publications rare printed materials and unpublished manuscripts of antiquarian, historical, or literary interest relating to Connecticut either directly or indirectly.
(The Acorn Club History, retrieved November 14, 2022, http://www.acornclubct.org/p/history-of-acorn-club_1.html)
Extent
.25 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Reports of Connecticut towns, originally written in the early 1800s.
Arrangement
Arranged by year of publication by The Acorn Club.
Accruals
Collection is closed. Additional material is not expected.
- Title
- Acorn Club of Connecticut
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Hartford History Center Repository
Hartford History Center
Hartford Public Library
500 Main St
Hartford CT 06103 USA
860.695.6297
hhc@hplct.org