Danbury's Historical Marker At Elmwood Park Receives Makeover

Danbury’s Historical Marker received a complete makeover on Saturday, August 5th. The Historical Markers Restorations Company based in Daytona Beach, Florida restored the marker. The company specializes in restoring Historical Marker and Blue Star Memorial Highway Markers. The company does onsite restorations eliminating the need to dismantle and ship the marker to them. The process required the entire two sided marker to be stripped, repainted and then sealed. The marker’s lettering and State of Connecticut seal was hand painted.

Danbury's historical marker had been subjected to the harsh environment over the years and had reached a point where the lettering had become illegible according to Danbury resident Lee Teicholz, who led the effort to have the marker restored. “I’m very pleased with the outcome,” Teicholz stated. “Tom Stelling, owner of the company did an amazing job."

Funding for the project was received from The Friends of the Danbury Museum and Historical Society and Warren Levy.

In 1967, The Connecticut General Assembly approved legislation directing the then Connecticut Historical Commission to "provide an appropriate marker describing the time and place and circumstance of the founding and subsequent history of each of the towns in the state".

In accordance with the state requirements, a marker was provided without charge to each town if they agreed to erect and maintain it and the site on which it is located. Cast by Sewah Studios of Ohio, the first marker was placed in 1970 and the last was placed in the mid-80s. Danbury's marker was placed in 1974.

They are usually located in front of a Town/City Hall, local Historical Society or Town Green. However, some were located elsewhere and or have been moved over time. The individual towns provided the text on the marker. A few markers were one sided, but most were two sided with either the same text on both sides or longer text continuing from one side to the next.

For more information about the marker and restoration process, please visit the website http://www.danburyhistoricalmarker.org or https://m.facebook.com/danburyhistoricalmarker on Facebook.