Residents and visitors to Southbury will soon have the opportunity of stepping back in time to see what the town and its people looked like over the past couple hundred years, without the need of a time machine. The 350th Anniversary Steering Committee, as part of its year-long celebration of the town, is proud to unveil a new, historical photography exhibit at the Gloria Cachion Gallery in the Southbury Public Library that will include images from private collections, some never before seen by the public.
This free photographic exhibit is the first of three months’ worth of changing images that celebrate some of Southbury’s outstanding people, places, institutions, and events. The changing exhibit will last three months from October to December. Each month will feature different photographs. The first part, which will open on October 3, 2023 is called “Early Southbury” and will feature many old images of Southbury, some dating as far as late 1800s.
Most images in this set are digitized photographs and come from both public and personal collections, including those of the Southbury Historical Society, Kayanne and Bill Davis, John and Lynn Dwyer, Christine and Ed Edelson, Melinda and Ray Elliott, Joyce Hornbecker Family, Ed Platt, Marilyn Stebar, Sandy Tarbox, Shirley Thorson and Cathy Phillips Weissmann.
Gosia Liedlich, the town’s Digital Communications Specialist, is a member of the 350th Anniversary Committee, and was leader on the project, including collecting and assembling the photographs. “It has been a privilege to work on this exhibit,” said Liedlich. “I’ve learned a lot about Southbury and its history in the process and we are thankful to all the current and past residents who brought in or sent us the photos.”
The town historian John Dwyer, co-chair of the 350th Committee, along with Southbury Historical Society President and committee member Melinda Elliott, collaborated on the captions for all the images.
The 350th Anniversary Steering Committee sincerely hope that residents and visitors alike will learn something new about the town and come away with a deeper appreciation of Southbury.
The exhibit will be open during regular library hours which are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:30am to 5:30pm, Tuesday and Thursday 9:30am to 9:00pm, Saturdays 9:30am to 4:00pm and Sundays 12:00pm to 5:00pm.
