Oxford Homestead decked out for Christmas season

Oxford Historical Society member Marilyn Serus admires a collection of Santa figurines decorating the mantle at the Twitchell-Rowland Homestead Museum in Oxford. / Contributed photo


OXFORD -  Ruth Guedes and Mary Sullivan, members of the Oxford Garden Club, created panoramas of Christmas beauty throughout the 1755 saltbox Twitchell-Rowland Homestead Museum following the “Old St. Nick” theme.

In addition, a miniature holiday village featuring a working train, lamp-lit streets and hundreds of buildings, animals and people is on display.
The public is invited to visit the Homestead from 2-4 p.m. Dec. 15 and Jan, 5.
Docent led tours of the building at 60 Towner Lane are also available.
Admission is free and refreshments will be served.


This is a press release from the Oxford Historical Society.

Oxford Historical Society to take part in giving challenge

OXFORD - The Oxford Historical Society will participate in the Give Local Greater Waterbury and Litchfield Hills online giving program.

This event is sponsored by the Connecticut Community Foundation.

Twitchell-Rowland Homestead /Photo from website

The challenge seeks to inspire people to support local nonprofit organizations during a 36-hour online giving period between 7 a.m. Nov. 12 through 7 p.m.Nov. 13.

Historical Society Preservation Chair, Dorothy A. DeBisschop said the Society looks forward to participating in the challenge.
The Connecticut Community Foundation will amplify every penny of every dollar donated during the 36 hour campaign with matching funds and prizes.

"Our next major project will be the paving of the Twitchell-Rowland Homestead driveway," DeBisschop said.  Last winter, the Society had to cancel some scheduled open houses because the driveway was too muddy for parking.
Through public support of the Give Local Online Giving Challenge, funds will be raised so that the Museum is accessible in all weather.

The online donation challenge is important because the Connecticut Community Foundation will cover all the processing fees. Every penny donated will go directly to the Society.
Joining CCF in this effort are the Naugatuck Savings Bank as Presenting Sponsor, Crystal Rock as Website Sponsor and WATR as Media Sponsor.


This is a press release from the Oxford Historical Society.  

Oxford Historical Society to host art show

This drawing of Petticoat Farm on Barry Road, Oxford by H. Reinhardt Lewis will be featured in an exhibit this month at the Twitchell-Rowland Homestead Museum.  / Contributed photo


OXFORD - The Oxford Historical Society will host a show of the watercolors and drawings of H. Reinhardt Lewis from noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 19 and from 1-5 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Twitchell-Rowland Homestead Museum, 60 Towner Lane.

The event is co-sponsored by Lewis’ daughter and son-in-law, Bob and Peggy Hilton.
Admission is free and refreshments will be served.

Entitled “H. Reinhardt Lewis: An Exhibition of Art from Oxford’s Petticoat Farm,” the works showcased here were largely painted or drawn during the 1930’s when Lewis moved his family to the 18th Century farmhouse by that name, hoping to fulfill his lifelong dream of being an independent, self-supporting artist.  
While living in Oxford with his wife, Ella, and young son, William, he drew and painted the Depression era landscape of the dairy and chicken farms that made up this small New England town and the surrounding area of that time.  Given the economy, there was no market for his work, and he was forced to move on to employment elsewhere.

His legacy to the 21st Century is the collection of watercolors and drawings shared by Mr. and Mrs. Hilton that uniquely depict Oxford and its environs during the 1930s.
In addition, they have added a group of Christmas cards that Lewis drew to send to friends and family, one oil painting and a small trunk he decorated for his grandson.
  
Lewis was born in Somerville, N.J. in 1904 and attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago and the Grand Central School of Art in New York City. 
After leaving Oxford, he returned to commercial design and illustration, moving first to Wilton and then to nearby West Redding.  
The family stayed there from 1940-80. During World War II, Lewis was a draftsman for Vought Sikorsky Aircraft Co. in Stratford.  

After the war, he worked for many years as a package designer for Robert G. Neubauer Design, creating container illustrations for such well-known products as A & P brands, Scripto pencils, Prestone Anti-Freeze and Underwood Foods. The Lewises retired to Old Saybrook. 

Among the art will be pencil drawings including Farmhouse Study; Farm Landscape; Barry Farm,
Oxford; Long Ridge Library Print; Umpawaug Hill, print of the Lewis home in West Redding; several drawings of Petticoat Farm, and another Oxford farm. 
Watercolors will include: Sharon Church; Curve in the Road; Abandoned House; several Farmhouse Studies; Schoolhouse; Petticoat Farm 1936; Haystacks; Village Scene; The Red Barns; and A Red Connecticut Farmhouse.   

This is a press release from the historical society.
 

Children of Oxford photos to be on display at peach festival

This 1954 photo will be among featured exhibits at the Oxford Historical Society's Annual Peach Festival Aug. 24 from 4 to 7 p.m. at St. Peter's Episcopal Church Fellowship Hall. Pictured are Alice Nyberg, owner of Jack's Hill Donkey Farm, with her daughter Jessie (now King) mounted on the donkey held by Eleanor Nyberg (now Sturges). 
The photo is part of this year's theme, 'The Children of Oxford.'  More than 100 photos of Oxford children will be on display. The photos date from the late 1800s through the 1900s. / Contributed photo


OXFORD - The Oxford Historical Society will highlight vintage photos of local children and antique children's clothing.
The displays feature "The Children of Oxford" at the annual Peach Festival from 4 to 7 p.m. Aug. 24, at St. Peter's Church, 421 Oxford Road.

Homemade peach shortcake will be for sale. Admission is $1.

Those with formal or informal local children photos may contact Oxford Town Historian Dorothy DeBisschop at 203-910-4574. More recent sports team, school event and youth group snapshots will also be accepted for display.

Event proceeds will go toward continuing restoration and operation of the Twitchell-Rowland Homestead Museum.

For more information call Nancy Farnum, 203-888-0230.


This is a press release from the Oxford Historical Society.

Oxford Historical Society to present peach festival

OXFORD - The Oxford Historical Society will present its annual Peach Festival from 4-7 p.m. Aug. 24 in St. Peter's Church, 421 Oxford Road.
This year's theme is "The Children of Oxford."
Vintage photos of local children will be on display, as well as antique children's clothing.

Homemade peach shortcake with choices of fresh peaches and peach ice cream will be on sale.
Admission is $1.

Those who have formal or informal photographs of local children are asked to contact Dorothy DeBisschop, Oxford Town Historian, at 203 910-4574 to set up an appointment for scanning the pictures. 
Images of sports teams, school events, and youth groups of all kinds are sought as well as informal individual snapshots taken through the years to the present day.

Proceeds will go toward continuing restoration and operation of the Twitchell-Rowland Homestead Museum at 60 Towner Lane.

For information, call Nancy Farnum, 203 888-0230.

This is a press release from the Oxford Historical Society.

Oxford Historical Society to hold flea market

OXFORD - The Oxford Historical Society will hold its first Old Homestead Flea Market from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 22 on the grounds of the Twitchell-Rowland Homestead Museum.

The museum is off Route 67 at 60 Towner Lane. The rain date is June 29.

Twitchell-Rowland Homestead

A selection of 15 vendors will be selling a variety of items including antiques, Avon products and collectibles. In addition, water, coffee, tea and baked goods will be available.

The Twitchell-Rowland Homestead Museum will be open for docent-led tours during the Flea Market.  
Current exhibits include vintage photographs of Women of Oxford Through History. 

In addition, visitors can view a large 19th Century loom which once stood in the attic of the Jensen family farmhouse on Quaker Farms Road. The loom is waiting to be reassembled and used, and volunteers who would like to help in this unique project may sign up during the tour.

Additional information is available by calling Jane Hulbert, 203-734-4446 or Marcia Wrogg, 203-888-6627.

Flea market to benefit Oxford Historical Society

OXFORD - The first Old Homestead Flea Market, sponsored by the Oxford Historical Society, will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 22 at the Twitchell-Rowland Homestead, 60 Towner Lane.

Twitchell-Rowland Homestead

The Society is seeking vendors to purchase sites at $15 for the day of the sale. 

Applications and regulations are available on the Oxford Historical Society website, http://www.oxford-historical-society.org or by calling 203-734-4446. 
Reservations for vendors will be available until June 15 or until sold out.

Funds from the flea market will aid in the restoration and preservation of the Twitchell-Rowland Homestead. 

The Homestead was built circa 1750 by Joseph Twitchell. When the building was slated for demolition, the Oxford Historical Society was allowed to move the building onto donated land. Since then, members and community volunteers have worked to restore and preserve the building. 

As the Society's headquarters, the Homestead provides space for the preservation of local artifacts.  The Society is dedicated to preserving and encouraging community interest in the history of Oxford, Connecticut.
The building is used for the display and storage of local artifacts. The building is also used for presenting history programs to the public.

The Homestead Museum is open the public on the first and third Sundays of each month from 2 to 4 p.m.




This information is taken from a press release from the Oxford Historical Society.

'Dolley Madison' to visit Oxford this month

Dolley Madison

OXFORD -  In celebration of Women's History Month, the Oxford Historical Society will present Seymour resident Carolyn Ivanoff in "An Afternoon with Dolley Madison" at 3 p.m. March 17.

The program will be held at the Twitchell-Rowland Homestead, 60 Towner Lane.

Admission is free for Historical Society members and for children under 12. Cost is $3 for non-members.

Costumed in period dress, Ivanoff will re-enact Dolley Madison?s life and times. She will discuss her husband James Madison's role as the Father of the United States Constitution, explain key events of the War of 1812 and talk about the great men and events of that era.

Ivanoff is a Housemaster at Shelton Intermediate School. A winner of the Civil War Preservationists Trust's Civil War Teacher of the Year Award, she is a frequent featured speaker at national and state social studies conferences and an educator who is devoted to academic and civic involvement opportunities for local students.

In 2010 and 2011, the educational programs Ivanoff developed to bring history, social studies and literacy beyond the classroom and into the community were given Awards of Merit by the Connecticut League of History Organizations.

For information call 203-888-0230.

Oxford Historical Society to exhibit photos

This historic photo from the collection of Jane Harrison features four horse-drawn sleighs at the Oxfordshire mansion of S.B. Church. Historic photos will be on display at the Oxford Historical Society museum, the Twitchell-Rowland Homestead, on the first and third Sundays of January and February.


By Nancy Farnum

OXFORD - Vintage winter photographs of long ago Oxford will be on display at the Twitchell-Rowland Homestead Museum during January and February. 
Located at 60 Towner Lane, the museum is open from 2 to 4 p.m. on the first and third Sundays of each month, Jan. 6 and 20, and Feb. 3 and 17.

The public is invited to bring early winter photos to share.  With permission, the pictures can be scanned by the Oxford Historical Society to add to its permanent collection.  They will be returned to
their owner in their original condition.

Also on display will be two newly-acquired portraits of David R. and Mary Hudson Lum painted in 1841.
These paintings are gifts from Faith Warner in loving memory of her husband, Lucian D. Warner.  The Lums have a significant place in Oxford history as proprietors of the Oxford House.
David Lum was willed the property in 1865 and ran the hotel until his death in 1868.  Mary Lum continued to operate the business, eventually selling it to her son Harrison in 1873.

Tours at other times are available by special request. For information call 203-888-0230.

This information is taken from a press release from the Oxford Historical Society.

'David Humphreys' visits Valley

Seymour native portrays Revolutionary War hero from Derby 

David C. Loda and Huckleberry

The Oxford Historical Society hosted a two-day open house over the weekend to show off its first museum:  the Twitchell-Rowland Homestead.
In 2006, the historical society moved the 1755 farmhouse from Christian Street to 60 Towner Lane, approximately three-tenths of a mile. Since then more than 500 volunteers and donors from the community have worked hard to establish the museum.

My husband, daughter, and I are all interested in local history and we decided to visit the homestead Sunday to learn something about Oxford's past.
The featured guest at the open house was David C. Loda of Bolton. Loda portrays Lt. Col. David Humphreys and presents programs throughout the area, including at the David Humphreys' house at 37 Elm St., Ansonia.
The Ansonia house is the headquarters of the Derby Historical Society. Much of modern-day Valley was part of Derby in the 18th century.
Loda appeared both days at the Oxford homestead with his horse, Huckleberry. 

Coincidentally when I returned home and checked my e-mail I had received an e-mail from Frank Loda of Seymour, David Loda's father, containing a link to a video from his son's presentation.

Many thanks to Frank Loda for providing the 30-minute video of Saturday's program, which may be viewed here.