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Summer Smorgasbord at Seven Hearths

It’s finally time to open Seven Hearths for the summer exhibit. We’ve been doing some “ripping and tearing” there as part of our exciting research for the Seven Hearths Historic Structures Report, so were not able to open our doors in June or July as we have in the past. This year, it will be for the month of August, and maybe into September. The hours are Saturdays and Sundays from 10 AM to 4PM. For more information, please call 860-927-4587, or email kenthistorical@att.net

The exhibit this year is actually three small exhibits, which were previewed in the March newsletter. There’s something for everyone, so we hope to attract a variety of visitors. In the studio and gallery, we will be featuring a number of George Laurence Nelson’s lovely portraits of local people. In our last newsletter, we asked for loans of your Nelson portraits, and the response was terrific. The portraits will range from the founders of South Kent School to a young girl with long braids - who coincidentally just contacted us last week wondering if we knew the whereabouts of the portrait that had been painted of her close to 50 years ago (we happen to own it!). This exhibit is part of our quest to discover as much about Nelson as we possibly can, and we hope you will enjoy this opportunity to see some of his works never offered to the public.

In the dining room and upstairs front bedroom, we will present the collection of 20th century clothing from the Barton family, given in response to our plea after our fabulous 2008 costume exhibit. They have loaned photos to go along with the costumes, and for those of you who remember Thelma and Buffy Barton there will be some sweet surprises! Meanwhile, in the front parlor, we will be displaying the wonderful family heirlooms of the Peet and Straight families that came to us, unbidden, from descendant Fran Beardsley of Hawaii. She and her sister felt strongly that this collection of photographs, letters, silverware and portraits belonged back in Kent. We are honored to have their family treasures and just wanted to share them for a brief time.

In addition to those three diverse displays, we will be featuring Seven Hearths itself. Earlier this year, we got a large grant from the CT Trust to do a Historic Structures Report on 7H. Mason Lord of HVP has been hard at work with his crew, poking and prying into the nether reaches of the house. He has discovered that the bones of 7H are in excellent shape, which is a huge relief! There are repairs here and there that need to be addresses – some major, some minor. But more significantly he is uncovering many clues about the history of the house. Some of these discoveries will be evident to any visitors.

For example – on the second floor, hidden above the dropped acoustic ceiling tiles installed by George Laurence Nelson is the original ceiling of Kent’s colonial Fur Trading Post. Nelson described the area in his ode to Seven Hearth, New Life for Old Timbers, “most of the rear [of the second floor north] was unfinished storage space, including a fur trading post connected with the store [today’s downstairs studio] by a second back stairs. One could see the names of mink and fox and other skins, marked in blue chalk on the beams. Large painted letters indicated the bought and sold sections.” Mason has removed the tiled ceiling in part of the area, revealing some blue chalk marks, including the word “mink.” But there is a good bit more of the newer ceiling to be removed still, not an easy task since that area is now used for storage of most of Nelson’s artwork.

We’re so excited about this discovery because it is clear proof of the significance of 7H in the fledgling town of Kent. To put it into familiar terms, 7H housed what was akin to the Davis IGA, the Kent True Value, the Community House and maybe the Farmer’s Market! It was the commercial hub of the town, and sat in close proximity to the Tavern and the Church. There were three separate doors in the northern two-thirds of the house, leading to three separate shopping or trading areas. We’ve always “known” this, as part of Kent’s legends, but to find original, tangible proof is almost incredible. It makes it a little easier to imagine the hustle and bustle of horses, wagons and carriages coming and going in Flanders. The original downtown!

There’s much more of the discovery story to tell, but you’ll have to visit 7H to find out the details: Who lived there at the turn of the last century? What will an excavation of the outhouse tell us? What other public activities took place? Where were the various barns and animal pens?

And there’s still work to be done. GLN was told that there was a school in 7H known as Flanders Academy, and rumor has it that Birdsey Grant Northrop, promoter of Arbor Day, attended that academy before heading on to Yale. But we need proof, and need help in finding that proof. What documents might record that school? Where would they be? If you can help us search, please let us know. It might mean a trip to the state library in Hartford, the probate records in Litchfield, or other records who knows where? How do we find out about mid-19th century education in CT?

The Historic Structures Report is still a work in progress, and we hope you’ll stop by 7H to learn more about it as well as to see Nelson’s exquisite portraits, the story of South Kent’s Straight and Peet families, and the latest additions of 20th century clothing to our costume collection.

The Calendars are Here! Buy a Calendar, Support the Society.

The 1st annual Kent Historical Society calendar is now available for 2010. The calendar is comprised of old photographs of the town from the Society's archives. Many of the photographs depict street scenes from long ago, pictures of well-known faces from the past, and those of historic importance such as the Kent Center School fire in 1956. There are current and historic dates noted for each month, as well as quotes from newspapers of the past.

The calendar is now available for $5.00 at the House of Books, Heron Gallery, Richard Lindsey - Bookseller, Town Hall and the Historical Society. This is the perfect gift for members, families and friends of the Kent community.