A collection of deeds and miscellany handed down from the Pickett Family which owned land in Danbury, CT among other places. The collection also contains a letter that descibes the 1906 San Fransisco earthquake.
This collection contains historic printed miscellanea of Connecticut with primary focus on Danbury. Commercial businesses, schools, municipal boards and commissions, and other clubs and organizations produced the material that is in this collection.
The Danbury Industrial Corporation was established between 1916-1918 to promote the City of Danbury as an attractive location for business and industry initially through the purchase of land for industrial development. The collection includes the D.I.C. records, clippings, correspondence, legal documents and most notably a three volume Danbury Industrial Survey which contains comprehensive descriptions and statistical analyses of Danbury's business and industrial community from 1918.
Davida Blakeslee was a 1929 graduate of the Danbury Normal School. She documented her time at DNS in a scrapbook which includes photographs, programs, a Student Newspaper, bus and train timetables, invitations, and cocktail napkins.
The records of the Office of Finance and Administration contain records from the following departments under the V.P. for Finance & Administration: Fiscal Affairs, Institutional Services, and the Division of Public Safety. Also incuded are University Events' invitations and programs from commencements, convocations and events from 1906-2007.
This is a small collection of 60 tapes and supporting materials of interviews conducted through by Greater Danbury Intercultural Association to document the contituent groups that make up the greater Danbury area.
The Herbert F. Janick, Jr. Papers spans the years 1889-2002 and consists mainly of Janick’s research for his book on the centennial history of Western Connecticut State University.
Purdy and wife Gussie lived in Danbury, CT where they owned a house with tenants and were active members of the church. In 1860, Purdy began keeping a diary. His political leanings appear to have been Republican but there was much political activity among both parties in the run-up to the local elections of 1860. Purdy reports on the activities of the Wide Awakes and it appears likely that he belonged to the group but he did not explicitly state that he was a member. He was in the Wooster Light Guards militia company and appeared to have been the secretary. Gussie and Horace socialize frequently with Gussie's parents, Mrs. and Father Griswold who was prominent in the regional church [Methodist?]. Purdy works in a hat shop and is busiest in the Winter and frequently suffers from headaches. He also works in his vegetable garden in the spring growing strawberries, lima beans, etc. In 1860, his father-in-law who travels to Ohio for the "General Conference."
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Purdy joined the 1st Connecticut which was a 3-month enlistment regiment and was organized at Hartford in 1861. It served in the defenses of Washington, D.C. until it was used in an advance on Vienna and Falls Church, VA from June until July 1861. It saw action in the Battle of Bull Run on July 21 and was mustered out of service on July 31, 1861.
After his term of service, Purdy returns to Danbury where he eventually transitions from being a hat finisher to selling insurance. Purdy reports on the minutia of his day, the weather and reports on political machinations with occasional editorial embellishments.
John Mihelic was from Kansas City, Missouri and was a member of the Socialist Party. He was also involved with the Communist Party of America. The collection includes some correspondence and leftist/socialist publications from the early 20th century.
The June Goodman Collection documents her local activism in the 1960s. She received a master's degree in education from WestConn in 1970. The collection focuses on Goodman's commitment to education, specifically her work with the Committee of 1,000 and its fight to improve and expand the Danbury school system in the 1960s. Much of the collection chronicles the bitter nature of the debate.
Ruth Alice Haas (1903-1986) arrived the Danbury Normal School in 1931 to serve as Dean of Women. For fifteen years, she lived in Fairfield Hall as the primary mentor and supervisor for boarding students. Over the years, she assumed more responsibility. In 1946, after President Jenkins’ death, she was the unanimous choice for president. She served as president for twenty-eight years, through times of significant growth and change for the school. These papers contain a cross section of her administrative records and her personal papers.
Warner spent 37 years as a teacher and administrator and was also a board member and former president of the Scott-Fanton Museum, now known as the Danbury Museum and Historical Society. During his tenure, he supervised and contributed to numerous museum exhibits. The Warner Collection consists of writings, photographs, miscellanea, research notes and papers documenting Warner’s life as a World War II medic, author, historian and historical researcher. The bulk of the collection contains an extensive series of newspaper clippings and printed materials relating to local and state history, several boxes of personal papers, and several boxes that contain information on Western’s faculty, administration, and events concerning the school’s history beginning in the 1940s and continuing through to the late 1990s.
This is a small collection of objects from Asia, Africa, the Americas and New Guinea collected presumably from the 1960s and 1980s by Truman Warner to be used in class and for his personal collection. The collection is predominantly made up of musical instruments and masks.
This is a collection of photographs and realia spanning the history of Western Connecticut State University. The collection includes images and objects that document the growth, evolution and public profile of the institution.
James Edmund Dyer, graduate of Western Connecticut State College and politician, was born in Danbury, Connecticut, on September 20, 1946. His papers span the years 1900 to 2008, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1970 to 1990, primarily documenting his work as Mayor of Danbury, Connecticut. Information regarding his activities at Western Connecticut State College, his two terms as Trustee of the Connecticut State Colleges, and State Representative for the 110th District is also included. The collection consists of biographical materials, legislative and trustee files, citations, correspondence, fliers, greeting cards, membership cards, newsletters, news clippings, scrapbooks, petitions, photographs, posters, postcards, press releases, printed materials, proclamations, resolutions, writings and campaign materials such as bumper stickers, campaign pins, sample ballots, and mailing lists.
Of interest is the final May 1936 issue of Dee N Ess that contains a foreword written by the school's president, Ralph C. Jenkins, entitled "What's In a Name?" In the piece, President Jenkins discussed the meaning of the word "normal" in the school's title and its implications for the school's mission. It was at this time that the school's name changed to Danbury Teachers' College. The newspaper reflected the changes taking place at the school by changing its name in the fall of 1936.
Volume and issue numbering is inconsistent throughout the first twenty-year-run of the newspapers. Volume numbers stop and start at random and the number of a particular issue is sometimes duplicated or left off all together.
As of the first publication of The Echo in 1955, issue and volume numbering is normalized, and the Archives holds a complete set. Issues after 2002 have not been processed but the Archives holds copies.
The Pinkerton Detective Agency was hired by the City of Danbury from January 9 to February 5, 1891 to help solve a string of arson cases. 18 written reports and statements from citizens, suspects, and politicians as to their general knowledge of the fires are included.
Lewis Zurlo spent 32 years designing buildings in and around the western Connecticut area and was a member of the Danbury Preservation Trust. The collection includes personal and architectural materials Zurlo collected over his professional career and significant architectural information on a number of buildings in and around Danbury for which Zurlo and his firm's services were retained.
The records in this collection contain materials regarding agreements between the University and: the Administrative and Residual Employee Union, Local 4200; American Association of University Professors; New England Regional Student Services; the State Board of Education; and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. It also includes materials regarding the Community Relations Program, Faculty Handbooks, and University Senate minutes.
![Academic Affairs Records, RG 6 [& includes legacy RG 6a]](https://archives.library.wcsu.edu/omeka-s/files/large/32b63b2f972ee9d9d92d113b8950dd284457a013.jpg)
