The Colebrook Historical Society and the Colebrook Land Conservancy will jointly sponsor a social gathering on Friday, November 11, featuring a presentation by renowned free-lance photographer, Christopher Little.

This past summer Mr. Little took his family on a month-long trip to Africa, visiting Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. He naturally documented the story of their travels in photographs. His presentation, “In To Africa”, will tell that story and show those photos. His subjects along the way included an abundance of wild animals, exotic birds, Botswanan Bushmen, stunning scenery and, of course, his family. It’s a light-hearted travelogue, filled with the incredible sights they saw and the humor they shared.

Christopher Little has spent his long and varied career photographing a myriad of famous people and fascinating places. Among his subjects were President Joe Biden, Queen Elizabeth, John Lennon and Johnny Cash, to name but a few. For three years he was the official photographer of His Highness the Aga Khan and traveled nearly a quarter million miles while on the job. His work has been published in almost every major magazine and displayed in exhibitions all across this country.

In recent years Mr. Little has turned his talents to writing, publishing a murder mystery thriller, “Ever So Silent”. He’s currently working on another book.

The evening will begin with a reception at the Seymour Inn, home of the CHS, at 6:30 PM. Refreshments will be served. The Inn is located at the intersection of Routes 183 and 182A in Colebrook Center. Mr. Little’s presentation will follow at 7:00 PM at the Town Hall Meeting Room next door. All are most welcome.

For information contact Carol Lord at carol.9508@yahoo.com or 860-738-8244.

REMEMBERING G. FOX & CO. – A ZOOM PRESENTATION
FRIDAY, JULY 9 @ 7:00 P.M.
In the 50’s just about every major city had a landmark department store. In Connecticut it was G.Fox & Co. in Harftord. Taylor McClure of the Connecticut Historical Society will bring back Fox’s heyday as she conducts us on a virtual tour of this very special store.
TO REGISTER EMAIL: colebrookhistoricalsociety@gmail.com

March 2021
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
- Albert Einstein

It’s so nice to reach out to you again. We at the Colebrook Historical Society have missed you very much. We well know the value of learning from yesterday but living for today has been rather difficult this past year, hasn’t it.

The CHS was dealt a deeply personal blow last September with the passing of Jan Rathbun. Jan’s service to the Society, and to the community at large, was second to none. As President or Co-president or chairperson of whatever committee, she was the “go-to-gal” to get things done. Many of our projects and events came to pass due in large part to Jan’s imagination and determination. She was a warm, generous, kind and stalwart friend to all of us and we miss her dearly. Plans are in hand to create a permanent memorial to Jan at the CHS. 

We’re finally feeling hopeful for tomorrow, but caution is still the watchword.  We’d love to be able to schedule a full calendar of events as in the past but for now we’re taking it one step at a time. We’ll be holding our annual meeting on Friday, April 9 at 3:00 PM via Zoom. Please join us. Just email colebrookhistoricalsociety@gmail.com to register for the meeting. You’ll be sent a return email containing the link to click on. 

If any of our usual events - Friday Night Gatherings, Open Houses, a fall concert, etc. - become possible to hold safely we’ll let you know immediately via Facebook, our website and post cards. If you’ll give us your email address, we’ll be happy to notify you that way, too. We don’t want you to miss any opportunity for us to come together. In the meantime we’re exploring ways to connect virtually. We’re investigating presentations we can bring you via Zoom among other possibilities.

We have been busy behind the scenes. We’re honored to be entrusted with the preservation and maintenance of the two historic buildings in our care.  This year brought us roof repairs at the Rock School and water valve issues at The Seymour Inn among other issues. Wherever possible our volunteers take care of any task at hand, but sometimes the work of experts is needed and money has to be spent. 
Any contribution you can make this year will be greatly appreciated.  Without you we wouldn’t have been able to accomplish what we’ve done in the past; with you we can accomplish all manner of things in the future we’re finally looking forward to. 

Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote, “Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering ‘it will be happier’.” We agree with him.   

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Jan Rathbun on Friday, September 25, 2020. Jan was a unique woman, a very special woman. She was bright, beautiful, funny, energetic, kind, thoughtful and generous to a fault. We may not see her like again.

Jan was a longtime resident of Norfolk and Colebrook. She believed in giving back to her community and she “put her money where her mouth was”. She served on the governing Boards of the Colebrook Associates, Foothills Visiting Nurses Association, Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation and Battell Arts Foundation. She was a member of the Norfolk Library Associates and a hospice volunteer. But nowhere was her service more valued than at the Colebrook Historical Society.

Jan served 3 terms as co-president of the CHS, and several more terms as president on her own. Her contributions were innumerable. She felt strongly that the society should serve the Colebrook community at large. She set about finding ways to do it and came up with the idea of “Friday Night Gatherings”. The society would be open to all on four Friday evenings during the season. A local speaker would be invited to share their expertise with those gathered in an atmosphere of laughter and lively conversation, not to mention a little libation and loads of refreshments. Jan got this program off the ground and every year thereafter she personally scoured the community for interesting speakers, then proceeded to pin them down. Not every one of her “targets” was as enthused about the idea as Jan was, but her charming powers of persuasion invariably carried the day. Other community events - our open houses, concerts, ice cream socials, tea parties, etc, - all profited from Jan’s strong and steady direction.

Jan loved people and they loved her. She knew how to bring people together, how to get them excited about an event or a project. She knew that everyone must feel their efforts are appreciated, and she made sure they did. Jan was always available for help or advice, or if you just needed a good laugh. Nothing was too big or too small for her to tackle. She may have given us a glamorous performance of The Ghost of Christmas Past in our production of “Once Upon a Scrooge”, but on Wednesday mornings you could find her in old jeans and a work shirt, helping to paint the walls of The Seymour Inn.

We will never forget Jan. She’ll live on at the Colebrook Historical Society. You’ll find her in the exhibits she helped create, in the period furniture she hunted down to make the restoration of the Inn just right, in the desks at the Rock School, in the myriad of other things she touched and loved and worked for. Most of all, you will always find Jan in our hearts.

Read Jan's Obituary here >>

The CHS and the Colebrook community at large lost a cherished friend on February 11th, 2020. Mike Hurd was a long-time Colebrook resident, family man, active in community organizations, a decorated U.S. Navy veteran, devoted patriot, history buff, conservationist, stickler for proper grammar, and gifted story teller.

We miss you and salute you, Mike. Our thoughts and prayers are with you, Judy and your family. May you see red skies at night, and smooth sailing on tranquil seas for eternity.

Sept. 13th | The "Messiah" Violin

2018 at CHS
Open House | June 10, 2018

Read about Shelter Rock HERE »

Coming Up

Saturday, Aug 12, 9 PM @ Rock School: The Night Sky | Perseid Meteor Shower (weather permitting)

Friday, August 18, 7 PM | "Gateway to Freedom" - Underground Railroad | Eric Foner

Miniature Exhibit all Summer: Saturdays & Sundays | 11 AM - 1 PM

2017 Annual Meeting | April 23, 3:00 - 5:00 P.M.

Join us Friday night, July 8 when...

Schedule of Friday Night Gatherings 2016

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George & Greg knocked this one out of the park, and now...

2016 Summer Exhibit

Did you know that Colebrook teems with talent? Artists of every type imaginable flourish in our community. Our new exhibit - “Artists Abound” - will celebrate these artists, and their amazing creations. We'd also like to feature artists from Colebrook's past. If you have any work of art done by a local artist of years ago hanging on your wall, (or hanging out in your attic or your basement) please let us know. We'd be honored to display it. Another section of the exhibit will spotlight our artists of the future - any and all creations by Colebrook's kids are most welcome. Come to our Summer Open House on Sunday, June 26, 3-5PM, and you'll get to meet the artists in person. Or drop by the Society any Saturday or Sunday during the season (11AM-1PM) to see all the works on display.

2016 Annual Meeting

Our season begins with a very special event on Sunday, April 17. At 3PM we'll hold our annual meeting at the Town Hall Meeting Room. Then we're all invited to cross the street for an Open House/Tour of the Samuel Rockwell House.

The original part of the house was built in 1766, making this year its 250th birthday! Samuel Rockwell was one of the founders of Colebrook and a militia captain during the American Revolution. His home was the principal meeting place for conducting the business of the town and the church, and for many social events. Its current caretakers, Mark and Susan Caufield, have lovingly and painstakingly restored the house to its true historical glory. You won't want to miss this rare opportunity to literally walk through Colebrook's storied past.

ROCK SCHOOL CLASS on the Rock - circa 1895

ROCK SCHOOL - 1913

This is a postcard of The Rock School postmarked in
Bantam, Conn. on June 5, 1913 at 7PM with a one cent stamp.

Veterans Day, November 11, 2015 — WW2 Colebrook Honor Roll