WHAT WE DO AS A SOCIETY AND FOR THE TOWN OF BETHEL
Bethel Historical Society
40 Main Street - Bethel, CT 06801
203-743-5893
WHAT WE DO AS A SOCIETY AND FOR THE TOWN OF BETHEL
As a nonprofit group, the Bethel Historical Society receives no local, state or federal government support.
We rely on financial support from individuals, fundraisers such as our Antique Appraisal Days, donations,
bequests and publication sales to generate the income needed to fund our activities and provide for the
upkeep of the 1842 Second Meeting House.
Donations of historic photographs, print materials, textiles and other Bethel memorabilia
are
appreciated.
For further information on donating please call 203-743-5893 or email us at
president@BethelHistoricalSociety.com
Executive Board
Patricia A. Rist
President
Mary Ferri
1st Vice President
Terry Letellier
2nd Vice President
Jeffrey Pagelson
Treasurer
Kitty Grant
Secretary
Seated Board Members
Krista Fiorini
Gil Letellier
David Gesauldi
Kevin L. Cleary
WebMaster
Robert Sauber
Town Historian Patrick T. Wild
WHAT WE DO AS A SOCIETY AND FOR THE TOWN OF BETHEL
Civil War Monument:
Dedicated: May 30, 1892
Type: Embellished gray granite stele
Designer, fabricator, supplier: Miller & Luce
Height: 14'
The monument weighs 17 tons
A public subscription raised the first money for SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, Bethel, but it was only a few hundred dollars. A town meeting appropriated $1,000. Total cost of the monument and preparing the grounds came to about $17,000. Source of the additional funds is not known. Henry A. Gilbert was chairman of the monument committee and marshal of the dedication parade.
A special train from Danbury helped bring in the crowd of several thousand people on Dedication Day. Houses along the parade's route were decorated with flags and bunting. Danbury's James E. Moore Post, No. 18, Grand Army of the Republic, 75 strong, was followed in the line of march by Sons of Veterans, Bethel Drum Corps, Pavia Council, Knights of Columbus (28 men), and firemen's units.
The Reverend Henry L. Slack and the Reverend George F. Waters made speeches. Their remarks praised the patriotism of those who fought, saying that the sons of Bethel were freemen compared to the slaves of Athens, the monument was dedicated to men and ideas rather than trade and barter, and the monument "shall suggest all that was best in the soldier's sacrifice, all that is prophetic in human liberty" (The [Danbury] Evening News, May 31, 1892).
The Monument Dedication Speech contained the following:
The stone was erected at the suggestion of surviving comrades, with the cooperation of the citizens of Bethel. It is intended that it shall commemorate the deeds of our men on land and sea. But the obverse face of the stone bears the names of thirteen men whose graves, so far as known, are unmarked, who were buried in the trench, in prison yards, or without camp. Bethel S. Barnum, Theodore Blackman and Richard B.Taylor fell at Gettysburg; Benedict at Petersburg; Grimm at Newport News; Lane, William Smith and Keeler died in service; Holly and Woodruff in Salesbury Prison. Individual tablets in this and other yards of the town perpetuate the names of Irarmus P. Woodman who fell at Chancellorsville; the gallant color-bearer Leonard D. Smith killed at Cedar Mountain; Dr. Lyon who died at Pt. Hudson, Louisiana; George Starr Ferry, who died while on furlough home; George Northrop mortally wounded on a skirmish line in Virginia.
WHAT WE DO AS A SOCIETY AND FOR THE TOWN OF BETHEL
Bethel Historical Society
40 Main Street - Bethel, CT 06801
203-743-5893
What do we do for the community -
Founded in 1960, The Bethel Historical Society (BHS) both catalogs and archives our town’s grand history while consistently providing events and opportunities to make certain that the past does not remain a distant and out-of-reach era, but a lively and integral part of our modern day.
Events
From the annual Children’s Victorian Christmas Tea Party and Laura Ingalls Wilder celebrations, Halloween events such as our Ghost Tour through Bethel,
CT Open House Day, which in 2019 was a Revolutionary War Living History Day complete with soldiers, horses and canons, a Colonial Kids Summer Camp including Revolutionary War Re-enactors, and unique events such as the opening of the 1912 Cornerstone and Time Capsule from the building once located at 84 Greenwood Avenue (Masonic Temple), we offer programming that educates and entertains both adults and children.
Films Produced
And the Swans Still Swim about the History of the Stony Hill Inn and Home Town Victory about the surviving WWII Veterans of Bethel
PT Barnum
In September 2010, working with Ringling Bros Barnum & Bailey Circus, we were pleased to present Bethel with a life-size bronze statue of P.T. Barnum created by Bethel’s own sculptor, David Gesualdi.
Working with Bethel’s Schools/Town
We have completed 27 years of our Annual Historic Walking Tour of Bethel for all Bethel 2nd graders. We also worked with Bethel 3rd graders to help them experience life in a one-room schoolhouse. We worked with the Town to complete the restoration work on our Spirit of the American Doughboy, located on P.T. Barnum Square, to protect him for another 88 years. We provide community service opportunities for Bethel students such as working with the JROTC. We were the recipient of an Eagle Scout Project, whereby we have four new display cabinets.
We want to make Bethel a destination spot and we need your support, as a member, to help in this effort. Membership dues support programs, collection preservation, general maintenance, and operating costs. As a private non-profit organization, we depend on volunteer support and your becoming a member of BHS is the best way to help us continue our mission. Membership is good for one calendar year.
Bethel Historical Society
40 Main Street - Bethel, CT 06801
NOTE: The Bethel Historical Society is a charitable organization under Section 501(C) (3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. Therefore, your contribution may be tax deductible.
Check with your tax advisor for further details.
REMEMBER if you belong to a corporation or organization with a matching gift program;
please submit a request form to us for that matching gift.
Thank you very much.
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Bethel Historical Society
40 Main Street - Bethel, CT 06801
NOTE: The Bethel Historical Society is a charitable organization under Section 501(C) (3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. Therefore, your contribution may be tax deductible.
Check with your tax advisor for further details.
REMEMBER if you belong to a corporation or organization with a matching gift program;
please submit a request form to us for that matching gift.
Thank you very much.
MEMBERSHIP/Individual $25
MEMBERSHIP/Family
$40
MEMBERSHIP/Senior
$20
MEMBERSHIP/Student
$10
MEMBERSHIP/Business
$200
© BETHEL HISTORICAL SOCIETY