To mark the 25 years since September 11, 2001, the Ridgefield Historical Society is opening a new oral history project to respectfully collect, record, preserve, and honor our community’s recollections, photos, and memorabilia from that tragic day and the grief-soaked months that followed.
We invite anyone who suffered loss, served at Ground Zero, supported emergency response efforts, worked at the World Trade Center, helped organize aid or navigate Ridgefield through the days and weeks that followed to participate. We would like to record the experiences of those who currently live or work in Ridgefield, or who formerly lived or worked here.
If you are interested, please complete this online Form or email us directly at [email protected] (Subject line: 9/11). A project team member will reach out to answer questions and provide more information at that time.
Oral histories help us remember and understand the real human impact of historical events, providing a richer and multi-layered historical account. They complement traditional research, and are an important contribution to knowledge for future generations.
The Ridgefield Historical Society is proud to have led several significant community oral history projects, including:
- Recording and preserving the wartime memories of more than 40 Ridgefielders who served in WWII,
- Collecting stories from Ridgefielders who lived through the COVID epidemic, as part of a broader “COVID Collections” project, and
- A two-year project to collect stories from the LGBTQIA+ community that is being honored with a prestigious national history award this month.
You can view all this work and more from our extensive archives in the Collections tab at ridgefieldhistoricalsociety.org.
Founded in 2001, the Ridgefield Historical Society is an independent 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit organization that receives no operational funding from the town, state, or federal government. Its sole mission is to preserve, interpret, and foster public knowledge of our community’s historical, cultural, and architectural heritage.
