From wedding gowns and toy dolls to pianos and tin trinkets, the Henry Sheldon Museum has it all. Room after room of tastefully displayed 19th century artifacts give visitors a realistic setting in which to imagine Middlebury and Addison County at a time when Vermont was still developing its identity.
First opened in 1882, the museum is the oldest chartered history museum in the United States. The breadth of its archive is equally astounding, as it is much bigger than those typical for small town museums. According to Jan Albers, executive director at the museum, one historian has declared Middlebury to be “the most well-documented town in New England.”
The vast majority of the museum’s archives are from Henry Sheldon himself, a local businessman who collected objects and documents in the 1800s.
“It was almost unheard of to have a museum in a rural town at the time,” said Albers. “Henry Sheldon was cutting edge at the time he founded the museum.”
Though Sheldon grew up poor in Salisbury, Vt., he eventually earned enough to buy what is now known as the Judd-Harris House. Eben Judd, who made his fortune quarrying marble in Frog Hollow, and his son-in-law Lebbeus Harris built it in 1829. Sheldon feared that the stories of Vermont’s first generation of settlers would be lost as many of the second generation left the state to see economic success elsewhere, so he gathered and kept track of hundreds of artifacts. He soon amassed an impressive collection.
“This became the place in west central Vermont where people brought things to be safe,” said Albers.
The Judd-Harris House, one of three main parts of the museum, currently displays Sheldon’s collection in a house museum format. A kitchen and multiple other rooms are filled with unique artifacts and portraits of townspeople, including Gamaliel Painter, founder of the College, and his daughter Abby Victoria Painter. Ralph Earle Jr., who later became the official painter for President Andrew Jackson, painted these portraits. Large wooden bureaus and cabinets are displayed prominently on both the first and second floors of the Judd-Harris House, as Middlebury was “a hotbed of furniture making” according to Albers. Upstairs, Sheldon’s bedroom peeks into the life of the passionate collector, with photos of him and his friends playing cards. Some of his clothes are even placed around the room.
Another part of the museum is the Stewart-Swift Research Center, which is located downstairs. It holds a variety of old documents, such as diaries, letters and books. Just outside its doors is a vault, which has every newspaper printed in Middlebury since the first copy in 1800. The Addison County Independent, for which Albers writes a column, uses the space as a repository, delivering all of its newspapers here for safekeeping each year. Underneath the center is a large room that stores even more documents. Though Albers does not have an exact count of the museum’s collection, she is confident that besides the Vermont Historical Society and the University of Vermont’s special collections, the Henry Sheldon Museum has “the biggest document collection in the state.”
As with all other artifacts, the documents are kept in specific storage conditions. A climate controlled room and acid-free boxes help maintain the archive’s high quality; the collection fills virtually “every nook and cranny” at the museum, including closets in Albers’ office.
“It is important to have a place where you can take things where they will be safe forever,” said Albers. “They won’t get thrown away by the generation that isn’t interested.”
The third space in the museum is the Walter Cerf Gallery, where at least three exhibits are displayed annually. Currently, Albers and others at the museum are taking down displays from the “Celebrations!” exhibit. In the gallery, mannequins clad in dresses show the evolution of 19th century wedding gowns. Other exhibits include a holiday display that was open from Thanksgiving through January. In March, when the museum returns to its regular hours (10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday), visitors can enjoy a local history show about Addison County on the eve of the Civil War. The museum has already talked with historical societies from nearby towns, who plan to contribute their artifacts. This is not the first time Albers has played a coordinating role. She also organized a meeting with 10 Addison County towns, all of which are celebrating their 250th anniversary, to plan individual and group celebrations.
“Sheldon plays an important role in reminding people of those sort of things and bringing people together,” said Albers, who brings to her job a passion for history. After getting her Ph.D. in British History from Yale University, she taught courses at the College and later became the director of the Chellis House. She left to write a book, Hands on the Land: A History of the Vermont Landscape, and spent three years traveling and giving speeches about Vermont. As executive director, Albers is fascinated by everything from Vermont’s environment to the distinct accents of local farmers who recently came to the museum to share stories of the Vermont blizzards they have lived through.
“Even if people think they don’t care about history, they can connect with history of their own backyard,” she said. “ If you teach people to value history…they will be more motivated to preserve it.”
Yet Albers admits that doing so can sometimes be a challenge. The museum is a private, not-for-profit organization that relies heavily on donations and membership fees. It has an endowment, but Albers tries not to take too much from it. Instead, the museum also holds fundraisers, such as its annual POPS concert, to finance its operating budget.
“In the current recession it is tough for cultural institutions because there are a lot of urgent needs throughout the community,” she said. “We have to keep trying to pull rabbits out of hats to keep afloat, but I am confident we will.”
Though the museum holds many records from those who founded the College and deeply values its relationship with the school, it is completely independent of the College. Still, Albers wants more college students to visit the museum, and not just those who participate in its work-study program. She encourages all to visit the Henry Sheldon Museum’s new Facebook page, and even says she is considering setting up a Twitter account for Sheldon based off his diary.
“He [Sheldon] loved the past and he wanted to make things available for the present,” said Albers. “He would be happy to know his lifetime of collecting is still appreciated.”
Throughout her six years as executive director, Albers has kept the museum’s mission — to increase awareness of the area’s cultural history and to connect its stories with other historical themes — at the forefront. Yet she aims to do more than simply keep historical artifacts safe.
“I don’t think that foundation is enough,” said Albers. “If you are saving things and not sharing them then it becomes very static.”
Through lectures, educational programs, exhibits, tours and more, the museum connects with a wide audience of Middlebury residents and others in the area.
“My feeling is…that history has all the same drama and emotional resonance as fiction, but the extra thing is [that] it is real,” said Albers. “I think that what people connect with is stories. We are always looking for new ways to tell stories to audiences.”
Henry Sheldon Museum Homepage
Henry Sheldon Museum brings past to life
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