History of Our Museum
The Unionville Museum is a non-profit 501C3 organization housed in a historic Carnegie Library building at 15 School Street in downtown Unionville. Founded in 1984, Its collection of over 10,000 photographs and historical items stored in three local locations. Our mission is to foster an appreciation of the history, culture and traditions of the village of Unionville, Connecticut by collecting and preserving artifacts from its history and using these artifacts to interpret and present Unionville’s story.
The Unionville Museum has partnered on exhibitions with Farmington Historical Society, The Farmington Library, Tunxis Hose Fire Department, The Farmington Public Schools, The Unionville Free Masons, The Stanley Witman House, and the Boy and Girl Scouts.
The Museum is supported by the town of Farmington, and a wide range of individuals, businesses and civic organizations. It relies on membership dues, bequests, grants, and fundraisers for funding and supporting its endowment.
The history of the Unionville Museum begins in late 1983 when the Town of Farmington’s historic Carnegie Library building became available after its current occupants the Tunxis Senior Citizens Association moved next door to the
Former West End Branch Library.
There were many proposals for the use of the building ranging from a no-alcohol nightclub for teens, a local museum, and a day care center for the elderly which was the favorite among town officials. Emotions ran high at a public hearing to review the proposals and according to the newspaper reports the proponents of the museum were asked hard questions about how much public support there would be for exhibits of “ball bearings and felt and mouse traps” and how they would raise the money for the building’s upkeep.
But in the end, the town extended an invitation to the backers of the senior day care center to use vacant space in the former East Farms Elementary School building and allowed the Carnegie building to become the Unionville Museum.
The “founders” immediately organized as a Steering Committee and set about creating a non-profit organization and raising money for the needed building renovation. The new museum received a grant of $1000 each from the Farmington Historical Society and the Farmington Board of Education reflecting widespread support from local historical preservationists and educators that still exists today.
By the following spring, the Museum building held a Founders Meeting as its first event with a talk on about concept and purpose of the Museum, a screening of a “Unionville” documentary film, and the election of the first board of directors. The guest book for that night shows over 130 attendees.
The new board would become the core group for the first phase of the Museum’s development and continued to collect donations, eventually raising more than $10,000 for renovations and a new endowment.
The year 1984 was an important year for Unionville – its 150th anniversary – so the timing was perfect for the opening of the new Unionville Museum. During the town’s Memorial Day celebration that spring the Museum displayed the large
Town Hall stage curtain from the former town Hall to give those enjoying the day the opportunity to have their pictures taken just like the old days.
The museum was officially opened on November 4th, 1984 with an official ribbon cutting and the presentation of the first exhibit “You’ve Come a Long Way” featuring items from the suffrage movement collection of local collector Frank Corbeil along with other related Unionville memorabilia. The exhibit was a great success and was followed a month later by the first annual carol sing.
Over the last 36 years, the museum has presented over 80 special exhibitions including Veterans of WWI, wedding gowns, local mills, the Flood of 55, Suburban Park, and Farmington High School Basketball Champions. It has also hosted and co-sponsored many special events and presentation including the history of Hitchcock Chairs, the rededication of the Civil War Monument, Unionville Trolley Day, and the annual Jingle Bell Jubilee.
The Unionville Museum has partnered on exhibitions with Farmington Historical Society, The Farmington Library, Tunxis Hose Fire Department, The Farmington Public Schools, The Unionville Free Masons, The Stanley Witman House, and the Boy and Girl Scouts.
The Museum is supported by the town of Farmington, and a wide range of individuals, businesses and civic organizations. It relies on membership dues, bequests, grants, and fundraisers for funding and supporting its endowment.
The history of the Unionville Museum begins in late 1983 when the Town of Farmington’s historic Carnegie Library building became available after its current occupants the Tunxis Senior Citizens Association moved next door to the
Former West End Branch Library.
There were many proposals for the use of the building ranging from a no-alcohol nightclub for teens, a local museum, and a day care center for the elderly which was the favorite among town officials. Emotions ran high at a public hearing to review the proposals and according to the newspaper reports the proponents of the museum were asked hard questions about how much public support there would be for exhibits of “ball bearings and felt and mouse traps” and how they would raise the money for the building’s upkeep.
But in the end, the town extended an invitation to the backers of the senior day care center to use vacant space in the former East Farms Elementary School building and allowed the Carnegie building to become the Unionville Museum.
The “founders” immediately organized as a Steering Committee and set about creating a non-profit organization and raising money for the needed building renovation. The new museum received a grant of $1000 each from the Farmington Historical Society and the Farmington Board of Education reflecting widespread support from local historical preservationists and educators that still exists today.
By the following spring, the Museum building held a Founders Meeting as its first event with a talk on about concept and purpose of the Museum, a screening of a “Unionville” documentary film, and the election of the first board of directors. The guest book for that night shows over 130 attendees.
The new board would become the core group for the first phase of the Museum’s development and continued to collect donations, eventually raising more than $10,000 for renovations and a new endowment.
The year 1984 was an important year for Unionville – its 150th anniversary – so the timing was perfect for the opening of the new Unionville Museum. During the town’s Memorial Day celebration that spring the Museum displayed the large
Town Hall stage curtain from the former town Hall to give those enjoying the day the opportunity to have their pictures taken just like the old days.
The museum was officially opened on November 4th, 1984 with an official ribbon cutting and the presentation of the first exhibit “You’ve Come a Long Way” featuring items from the suffrage movement collection of local collector Frank Corbeil along with other related Unionville memorabilia. The exhibit was a great success and was followed a month later by the first annual carol sing.
Over the last 36 years, the museum has presented over 80 special exhibitions including Veterans of WWI, wedding gowns, local mills, the Flood of 55, Suburban Park, and Farmington High School Basketball Champions. It has also hosted and co-sponsored many special events and presentation including the history of Hitchcock Chairs, the rededication of the Civil War Monument, Unionville Trolley Day, and the annual Jingle Bell Jubilee.
