The SHS has also received grant funding for the repair of several boxes of historic manuscripts which were damaged when the basement of the Justin Morrill Homestead Education Center flooded. These collections, which include historic diaries and photographs, are now being professionally restored. Thankfully, Simone Pyle, Curator and archivist for the historical society, was also able to dry out and restore all of our photographs that were water-damaged. We are grateful that we did not lose any of our valuable archives in the flood--and that we will soon have a new building to safely store our collections after the Masons’ building is renovated. 

The Strafford Historical Society’s main mission is to preserve and make available the town’s historic archives.  These include important manuscripts, historic diaries, deeds, thousands of photographs, maps, and other historical collections. During the renovation of our new building, we have had to store our collections. While the majority of our artifacts and furnishings are safe in the storage container in the park and ride lot across from our building (and we are grateful to the town for allowing us to do this), we did have more than a dozen boxes of manuscripts stored in the basement of the Education Center building at the Justin Morrill Homestead. Most of these are now in the attic of the Masonic Hall. Some of our collection, which include historic diaries and photographs, were damaged by flooding in the basement. Currently, the manuscripts which were damaged, as well as some film footage, are in cold storage at the Dartmouth Library or in the hands of the State of Vermont’s Archives and Collections staff. Cold storage basically helps dry out damp manuscripts and prevents them from mildewing. We are grateful for Dartmouth and the State of Vermont’s support, as they have helped us seek grant funding to have those materials restored. We are lucky to not have lost anything of value — and that we will soon have a new building to safely store our collections after the Mason building is renovated.