Bartlett Center
For residents and visitors alike, there is finally a destination to learn about New Canaan’s fascinating history. On June 4, 2024, doors opened on the long-awaited Jim and Dede Bartlett Center for New Canaan History, a permanent exhibition located within the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society.
Through colorful graphics and signage, the Bartlett Center documents New Canaan’s evolution from its years as Canaan Parish to its incorporation in 1801, to the present day. Organized around the theme of “Making a Difference,” it tells the story of artists, architects, captains of industry, and religious leaders, pioneers such as Eliot Noyes, the father of industrial design; Alice King, who single-handedly built the first black neighborhood in New Canaan; and Mary Louise King, who was the first to organize and document New Canaan’s history. The section on businesses highlights the shoe industry, which dominated New Canaan’s industry for more than a century, with original tools and a cobbler’s bench on display; the fabulous Gray Brothers Bottling Works, which manufactured an array of soda products; and Norman Dairy, one of the largest dairy farms that dotted New Canaan’s landscape and the site of a major Teamsters strike in 1948. l
Through the innovation of Metcalfe Design Group in Philadelphia and Richard Lewis Media Group in Cambridge, this exhibition includes an animated video on the evolution of downtown sponsored by Doug and Diane Dooley, media consoles highlighting the visionaries and leaders in New Canaan past and present, favorites from the Museum’s permanent collections of clothing, tools, and decorative arts, and photographs, relics, and curiosities from the archives. Mannequins model some of the most exquisite dresses from the Museum’s collection of more than 6000 pieces of clothing and textiles. And an illustrated book on Forces of Change: Enslaved and Free Blacks in New Canaan documents that 2023 exhibition for those who missed it.
Finally, the exhibition includes a section on the work that the Museum does in telling stories through objects. A curation table contains a prompt and 50 different objects pictured on easy-to-handle cards, allowing visitors to experiment with putting together their own exhibition.
The exhibition took more than two years to put together, and is the core of the Museum’s “Campus Reimagined Project,” a $2 million campaign to revitalize the campus. It is a must-visit to any history buff or anyone who wants to learn about the history of the town they call home.
Visit Us
It is open Tuesday-Saturdays 10 am – 4 pm, is free to members, and charges a $10 fee to all others.
For further information, please call
Nancy Geary at 203-966-1776 ext. 1,
or stop by the office.