Threads Of History At Stonington Historical Society

Press release from the Stonington Historical Society:

Sept. 22, 2021

STONINGTON — Opening next week! Stop by the Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer House and the R.W.
Woolworth Library between September 22nd and October 1st for Threads of History, the Stonington Historical Society’s latest temporary exhibition. Some of the most incredible quilts from the Historical Society’s textiles collection will be on display, like a 19th -century Album Quilt signed by fourteen Stonington families and a quilt made in 1870 from fabric that washed ashore on Stonington Point from a shipwreck.

“Quilts are a witness to the lives of ordinary women,” says Martha Geehan, the curator of Threads of History. "While revisiting our quilt collection, I wondered about the stories that lay beneath the quilts. The hands that thread the needle, that cut the fabric, that placed the pieces into a design. The maker’s choice of fabric and design reveals in part her skills and her circumstances. Quiltmaking allowed expression through color and design and offers a peek into one’s personality."

Two free programs will be offered in conjunction with the exhibition. On Friday, September 24th at 5 p.m., Susan Jerome, the Collections Manager at the University of Rhode Island Historic Textile and Costume Collection, will present a lecture on quilts at the Woolworth Library. On Thursday, September 30th, at 4 p.m. Susan will host a “bed-turning,” a rapid-fire presentation about many quilts in the collection of the Historical Society. Guests are welcome to bring along their own quilts to the bed-turning, which will also take place at the Woolworth Library.

Admission to Threads of History is included with a dual admission ticket to the Captain Palmer House and the Lighthouse Museum. The Captain Palmer House is open from 10am to 4pm. The Captain Palmer House and the R.W. Woolworth Library are both located at 40 Palmer Street in Stonington.

Founded in 1895, the Stonington Historical Society preserves, interprets, and celebrates the history of all of Stonington, Connecticut. The Society owns and operates the Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer House, the Lighthouse Museum, and the Woolworth Research Library, as well as maintaining its collection of objects and documents and offering educational programming throughout the year. For more information about the Historical Society and to learn more about upcoming events and programs, please visit stoningtonhistory.org.

This press release was produced by the Stonington History Society. The views expressed here are the author’s own.