Tyler Ingram, the new collections manager at the Ridgefield Historical Society, has a long connection with the organization. A Ridgefield native, the son of Brian and Goia Ingram of Ridgefield, he began volunteering with the historical society in 2021 while in high school and was also a summer intern in 2022 and 2024. He was the winner of the inaugural Ridgefield Historical Society scholarship in 2022 and completed a Bachelor of Science degree in biological anthropology at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
The new collections manager explained his interest in this field: “Since beginning work with the Ridgefield Historical Society as a volunteer back in 2021, I have always wanted to work in archival and collections management. After studying biological anthropology and archaeology in college, I only grew a deeper appreciation for the work that goes into preserving our past. It is an honor to now be in charge of the collection that I once worked with, and I am so excited to be a permanent part of the Ridgefield Historical Society team.
“In this position, I hope to take in many new donations to expand the scope of our collection, incorporate our over 10,000 items into public programming, and work closely with our new and longtime volunteers to engage our community in Ridgefield’s history. History can sometimes feel disconnected from the present, so I aim to highlight the patterns and commonalities we share across time as Ridgefielders, and make history accessible and relatable to all.”
After initially working alongside retiring collections manager Betsy Reid, Tyler has stepped into the position and plunged into the work of assessing and documenting the historical society’s collection of books, documents, photographs and objects. He’s also been an enthusiastic host for the historical society’s Open the Vault parties at the Scott House, introducing groups to the treasures that are preserved in the climate controlled basement vault.
A major project he’s currently involved with is the migration of the Ridgefield Historical Society collection information to a cloud-based Past Perfect system, making it easier for staff and volunteers to access and update the data.
Tyler is at the Ridgefield Historical Society headquarters in the Scott House, 4 Sunset Lane, Tuesday through Thursday; he can be reached via email at [email protected] or call 203-438-5821.
