8 East Main Street
Listed on the State Register of Historic Places
How It All Started
Built in 1823, this one-room schoolhouse was originally located in West Avon and was used until 1949. When it was threatened with demolition in 1981 to make room for the new town library, the Society and others funded its dismantling, relocation, and restoration at its current location, the site of the former town hall. It opened in 1983 as "The Living Museum" with textiles, signs, household goods and furniture, farm implements, and many more items from the early days of Avon’s agrarian settlement. It also had drawings from the 1830s showing the architectural renderings of the Farmington Canal, as well as a topographical diorama of the canal through Avon showing the exact specifications of how it was built in town. The Farmington Canal operated from 1829-1847 and crossed the Albany Turnpike (Route 44) at this very site. In 2012 two plaques showing the crossing locations were placed next to the schoolhouse and across E. Main Street (Route 44) at the entrance of the current daCapo’s Restaurant. The Living Museum was closed in 2012 due to inadequate storage space and structural problems with the building.
Adaptive Reuse
This building is currently closed to the public for renovation. In September 2020, repair work on the chimney's exterior was completed. In early 2021 the town Department of Public Works renovated and updated the cellar – installing a new floor, walls, ceiling, bathroom, and HVAC. This is step one in what is expected to be a two to four-year process that will create a more permanent museum of Avon’s history, scheduled to reopen in 2024. This is a shared project between the Avon Historical Society and the Town of Avon.
The main room’s focus inside will be the history of Avon since English settlers came to the Farmington Valley in the 17th century. At that time the land was named “Nod,” later it became “Northington” (a daughter town of Farmington) and in 1830 it was named “Avon.” A popular feature from the previous museum will still be on exhibit: the diorama of the Farmington Canal. The Canal operated through Avon from 1828-1848 and the museum is sitting on top of what was the towpath for the canal. The oldest textile in the collection, a women’s silk dress worn in a 1794 wedding in Avon, was professionally restored thanks to a Historic Preservation Grant from the National Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) through the Abigail Phelps Chapter in Simsbury. It will be showcased and described in a separate case along with other artifacts from the Society’s collection. In addition, professionally curated graphic panels, wall vinyls, and illustrated window shades will tell the story of Avon over four centuries.
The Avon History Museum will also feature an exhibit on the 2019 discovery of the Brian D. Jones Paleoindian Site along the Farmington River in Avon. The site, placed on the CT State Register of Historic Places in May, is the oldest known human occupation site in Southern New England. The Institute of American Indian Studies, Washington, CT, will curate this section of the new museum which will contain original Native and Indigenous artifacts from the collection of both organizations.
“The Town is very excited that the Avon History Museum project is now underway. The updates that are planned will help to preserve over four centuries of artifacts that tell Avon’s story, while adaptively reusing the Town’s oldest public building to serve future generations of Avon residents. We are so pleased to partner with The Avon Historical Society on this effort and look forward to showing the community the end result!” said Brandon Robertson, Town Manager.
The Society thanks the early donors and corporations who shared in the vision for the Avon History Museum: The Felicia Fund, Elizabeth Speer Foundation, Sharon R. O’Meara Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Eversource, Avangrid and the Family of Anthony O’Neill. Their support to help start this project will allow the Avon History Museum to become a reality.
“Avon residents can be so proud of the careful stewardship of one of its finest historical resources. I commend the strong partnership that the Town of Avon and the Avon Historical Society will bring this museum to life. The items and the knowledge it preserves will honor all those who came before - including, quite incredibly, the Paleoindians here 12,500 years ago,” stated Nora Howard, Avon’s Town Historian.
When it is completed, the Town of Avon and The Avon Historical Society, as shared stewards of the property, will host a public open house which will coincide with the Society’s 50th anniversary in 2024. Shortly thereafter, it will be open to the public year-round.
Buy a Brick Fundraiser
The next big step will be to install a professionally curated set of exhibits in the interior. The Society has hired a firm from Fairfield, CT, to create exhibit spaces, interpretive signage, and interactive areas.
To pay for this portion, the Society is announcing the launch of a Buy a Brick fundraiser. We encourage you to consider buying a brick, or two, to have placed in a lovely seated area adjacent to the new museum when it opens in 2024. Click here for more information
