Scope of the Collection

By far, the Society’s largest collection is comprised of the objects, photographs and archival materials pertaining to the town and city of Torrington and including its history before European contact. Included in this collection are thousands of objects that document the social, cultural, industrial, municipal, military, and ethnic history of Torrington and its residents. The oldest artifacts in this collection are stone tools used by indigenous peoples thousands of years ago. More recent historical artifacts from the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries feature products manufactured in Torrington, objects pertaining to Torrington’s many ethnic groups, furniture, household items, tools, clothing and textiles. Fine art in this collection includes portraits by important 19th century American artists John Brewster, Jr., Erastus Salisbury Field and Ammi Phillips. The Society also has works by 20th century artists including Ervin Nussbaum, Arthur S. Covey, Whitlock Knaus and Torrington sculptor Paolo S. Abbate.