1903 was the year the silent film The Great Train Robbery debuted and the Wright brothers flew over Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. On his July day in Huntington, the town celebrated his 250th anniversary, with President Theodore Roosevelt in attendance as his guest speaker.
The festivities and the assembled relics used to display the celebrations inspired the idea that six bold women would create the town’s historic society.
That dream has become a reality.
To mark the Huntington Historical Society’s 120th founding this year, a new exhibition, “Our Founding Mother and the Origins of Our Collection, 1903-2023,” opens Friday.
Collection manager Emily Warner said, “It highlights the beginnings of a historic society and focuses on the six women who helped make it happen.
Also on display are photographs and objects that were exhibited in July 1903.
The six women referred to as the “Founding Mothers” by members of the Society are Lisbeth Samis, Jesse Kendall Brash, Jenny Dusenbury Pratt, Carey Shaw Dusenbury Shakeshaft, Lucinda Beers Conklin and Ella Jayne Conklin Hurd.
They were part of the influential family in the community and their names can be seen on buildings and street signs today.
The women were members of the Huntington Colonial Society and were collecting exhibits for the town’s 250th anniversary. After that, the bereaved family donated it to the association, which was a women’s only organization. In her September of that year, the women came together to found an “organization to perpetuate their interest in historical objects.” In fact, since 1653, all historical relics associated with the town of Huntington. ”
The Huntington Colonial Society changed its name to the Huntington Historical Society in 1911 and began allowing men to participate, said an official with the society.
“It is not clear why they changed their name, but they have been operating as a historic association since 1903,” said Robert “Toby” Kissam, board member and former association president.
Kissam said he believed the association was the first to be organized around a town in Suffolk County.
The Society maintains four properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Kissam House, Conklin Farmhouse, the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial, and the Huntington Trade School and Archives Center, now the headquarters of the Society.
The society’s executive director, Stephanie Gothard, said the show will celebrate women throughout the year, with some being fine-tuned to focus on women-focused endeavors that were popular at the time. rice field.
As society continues to emphasize its past, she said it’s important to keep society moving forward.
“When you look at what’s in the collection, it’s limited,” said Gothard. “If we want to better represent the history of all cultures and all peoples, we need to build relationships so that we can include members of those groups, different communities. and we can have a more comprehensive exhibition, so the history of everyone is represented in the town of Huntington.”
1903 was the year the silent film The Great Train Robbery debuted and the Wright brothers flew over Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. On his July day in Huntington, the town celebrated his 250th anniversary, with President Theodore Roosevelt in attendance as his guest speaker.
The festivities and the assembled relics used to display the celebrations inspired the idea that six bold women would create the town’s historic society.
That dream has become a reality.
To mark the Huntington Historical Society’s 120th founding this year, a new exhibition, “Our Founding Mother and the Origins of Our Collection, 1903-2023,” opens Friday.
Collection manager Emily Warner said, “It highlights the beginnings of a historic society and focuses on the six women who helped make it happen.
Also on display are photographs and objects that were exhibited in July 1903.
The six women referred to as the “Founding Mothers” by members of the Society are Lisbeth Samis, Jesse Kendall Brash, Jenny Dusenbury Pratt, Carey Shaw Dusenbury Shakeshaft, Lucinda Beers Conklin and Ella Jayne Conklin Hurd.
They were part of the influential family in the community and their names can be seen on buildings and street signs today.
The women were members of the Huntington Colonial Society and were collecting exhibits for the town’s 250th anniversary. After that, the bereaved family donated it to the association, which was a women’s only organization. In her September of that year, the women came together to found an “organization to perpetuate their interest in historical objects.” In fact, since 1653, all historical relics associated with the town of Huntington. ”
The Huntington Colonial Society changed its name to the Huntington Historical Society in 1911 and began allowing men to participate, said an official with the society.
“It is not clear why they changed their name, but they have been operating as a historic association since 1903,” said Robert “Toby” Kissam, board member and former association president.
Kissam said he believed the association was the first to be organized around a town in Suffolk County.
The Society maintains four properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Kissam House, Conklin Farmhouse, the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial, and the Huntington Trade School and Archives Center, now the headquarters of the Society.
The society’s executive director, Stephanie Gothard, said the show will celebrate women throughout the year, with some being fine-tuned to focus on women-focused endeavors that were popular at the time. rice field.
As society continues to emphasize its past, she said it’s important to keep society moving forward.
“When you look at what’s in the collection, it’s limited,” said Gothard. “If we want to better represent the history of all cultures and all peoples, we need to build relationships so that we can include members of those groups, different communities. and we can have a more comprehensive exhibition, so the history of everyone is represented in the town of Huntington.”
