Archives Blog
New Donation from Parker and Diana Lord offers glimpse into Belle Lord’s life & wit in 1913
Here’s a peek into a box (one of six) of Ely and Lord family photographs, diaries, letters and other goodies donated to the Lyme Local Archives in August 2024 by Parker and Diana Lord! This box is filled with materials related to Isabel “Belle” Ely Lord (1871-1959). She’s second from the right in the photo. Belle appears to have been quite the character, keeping a detailed record of every book she read and producing yearly
Thank you to Essex Bank Members for 2024 Voting in Community Investment Program!
The Essex Savings Bank has distributed funds from a $120,000 charitable budget to 84 local charities participating in its Community Investment Program according to the wishes of bank customers, expressed through ballots in a February promotion. Customers were able to select up to three charities on their ballots, and the bank tallied up the votes to determine what percent of the funds each organization would receive. We are pleased to report that the Lyme Public
Artist Thomas W. Nason’s home on Joshuatown Road in Lyme
One of the advantages of living in a former artists’ colony is that these creatives have left their stamp on a number of local houses. One is the famous wood engraver and printer Thomas W. Nason’s custom built home at 282 Joshuatown Road. We know a lot about this house, designed by accomplished local architect Alberta Pfeiffer in 1938, because former owner Charles L. Hatton recently donated original correspondence, photographs, and other materials to our
Wishing you had saved that old Lyme-Old Lyme High School Yearbook? We can help.
The Lyme Local History Archive now has Lyme-Old Lyme High School yearbooks from 1958 through 1998! Gloria M. Maddocks, the Principal’s secretary for 42 years, originally collected these yearbooks, which were generously donated by her nephew, Peter Evankow. Gloria clearly had a close connection with the students, writing each graduating class a congratulatory letter (some of which were found tucked into their respective yearbooks). Thanks to Gloria and Peter, anyone who wants to look up
Tiffany Farm photo features Leon Tiffany using latest technology
Archives don’t just store physical documents; they also take responsibility for digital items like this fabulous scan given by the Tiffany family. In this striking image Leon H. Tiffany, Sr. (1903-1982) surveys the iconic outline of Tiffany Farms from his tractor, while holding the microphone of a Vocaline JRC 400 radio transceiver also known as an AM radio telephone or, in modern parlance, a CB radio. That radio came out in 1956, helping to date
Gravestone Images Unique to Lyme
The grave of Captain Samuel Selden (who died in 1745 at age 50) is in Marvin Cemetery on Hamburg Road, a little south of Mt. Archer Road. Lyme’s 18th century headstones are unusual: not a single one features a winged death’s head, usually depicted across New England as a skull sporting a prominent set of grimacing (occasionally grinning) teeth, as depicted in this local news article. Instead of these stark reminders of the terrifying potential
Thank you for a successful 2023 George House Tag Sale!
The 2023 George House Tag Sale was held at the Public Hall on Saturday, September 16 from 9 am to 1 pm. Thanks to the generous support of our community with donations of wonderful items, our hardworking volunteers who helped to stage and price the donated items, and a great turnout of shoppers on sale day despite the blustery remnants of Hurricane Lee, we had a very successful sale. We raised over $4000 which will
2023 News from the Bacdayan Local History Archives
Archivist Julie Hughes has been busy as always in the Archives Room at the Lyme Public Library. She is in residence on Thursdays from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. Here are some of the recent projects that she and community volunteer Ann Brubaker have been working on: All DVDs with moving image content in the collection have been digitized Fifteen additional Polly Murray audio cassettes have been digitized, bringing the total up to 102 Work
4th Quarter 2022 Update from the Archives
Our volunteer archivist Julie Hughes and expert community volunteer Ann Brubaker have been busy accessioning and reconciling items in our collection at the Bacdayan Local History Archives in the Lyme Public Library. Among their accomplishments this quarter: Twenty-five Polly Murray audio cassettes have been digitized, bringing the total up to sixty-seven. Work on two large boxes of documents and ledgers from papers of the fraternal order the Knights of Pythias, ca. 1920-1940, has been completed.
Local History Archives Now a Family Search Affiliate!
The Bacdayan Local History Archives at the Lyme Public Library is now an Affiliate Library for FamilySearch. FamilySearch is an international nonprofit organization and website offering genealogical records to help people research their ancestors and family history. As an affiliate library, the Archives can provide access to additional digital records not available to the general public. Currently, there are about 400 million original records available in a digital format to affiliate libraries, including: Land and
Archive Posts
- New Donation from Parker and Diana Lord offers glimpse into Belle Lord's life & wit in 1913
- Artist Thomas W. Nason's home on Joshuatown Road in Lyme
- Wishing you had saved that old Lyme-Old Lyme High School Yearbook? We can help.
- Tiffany Farm photo features Leon Tiffany using latest technology
- Gravestone Images Unique to Lyme
- 2023 News from the Bacdayan Local History Archives
- 4th Quarter 2022 Update from the Archives
- Local History Archives Now a Family Search Affiliate!
- Archive Posts
- World War I Posters
- The Eagle -- A World War II Monument, Lyme, CT
- Honoring Joseph A. Caples 1874-1954, Lyme, CT
- The Future Dr. Ely from "...somewhere in France" 1918
- Pvt. Harold Clark of Brockway Ferry, 1918
- Lyme, CT Home Movie 1976
- Lyme, CT 4th of July Parade 2016
- Families of East Saybrook (Lyme) 1665-1700
- The Loving Parting of Saybrook Colony and Lyme
- Disease and Quarantine in Lyme
- The Record of Lyme's Common Field
- Bit of History of Ancient Lyme
- Remembering Our Friend, "Doad" Jewett
- Lyme's Population Profile 1880-1930
- Lyme Libraries in the 18th and 19th Centuries?
Questions? Need more information? Check in with the Archives.
Our Local History Archives Volunteer Archivist is Julie Hughes
Julie is usually available on Thursdays from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm in the Carolyn Bacdayan Local History Archive Room at the Lyme Public Library, 482 Hamburg Road, Lyme, CT 06371
Appointments are recommended for convenience: (860) 598-9760 or use our contact form to send an email.
The Archives Room is also open Tuesdays from 2:00-5:00 pm, staffed by local volunteers.