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Category: History

A hand-painted egg (pysanka)
Cultural history

Pysanky, a Ukrainian Tradition

The late Maria Kruelski, a longtime Ridgefield resident, was known for her artistic and musical talents. One of her finely decorated pysanky (Ukrainian hand painted eggs) is now in the Society’s collection.

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Letter to Luke Kilcoyne
Cultural history

Dear Luke — An Irish Immigrant Experience

Mr. Luke Kilcoyne saved letters from his early years in the US, when many young people from Ireland were establishing themselves. Even with the support of family & friends who’d come before them, it wasn’t an easy life, as these letters make clear.

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Cultural history

Hezekiah Scott (1789-1879)

Hezekiah Scott was a weaver and operated a distillery on the brook near his home on Barlow Mountain Road — a stream now called Kiah’s Brook.

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Cultural history

Paving

The first road paving, part of a state experiment, was done on the eastern end of Branchville Road around 1912. Catoonah Street was paved in 1922.

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Main Street, Ridgefield, CT during November 1933 snowstorm
Cultural history

Notable Snow Storms

What was winter weather like in Ridgefield in decades and centuries past? A synopsis of memorable storms over almost 2 centuries.

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Cultural history

John D. Edmonds (ca. 1832-1865)

John D. Edmonds was probably a Ridgefield native and as a teenager taught school in town. In 1861 he enlisted for three years in the Civil War, and may have been the town’s first lawyer.

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