Thetford Historical Society

03/11/2026

Coming up Sunday, please join us!

Please join Thetford SQC and our very own Director, Martha Howard and Trustee Steve Niederhauser next Sunday for “The History of Thetford and Its Historians”!

Sunday March 15, 2026 at Thetford Academy, 3pm!

03/11/2026

Loved our Spring Series last year on forests? Check out this great new book coming out in April!

(And if you want to catch the recordings from those lectures, head over to our YouTube channel!)

We are very pleased to announce our next book: When the Trees Came Back: The Great Battle to Save Vermont’s Forests by Robert Mello.

It'll be out in late April and is now available to preorder! Here’s the description:

Although long recognized as the “Green Mountain State,” Vermont’s hillsides were once nearly completely bare. By the 1880s, unsustainable logging and farming practices had decimated its once-dense forests, with enormous environmental consequences.

When the Trees Came Back: The Great Battle to Save Vermont’s Forests tells the story of how a group of dedicated advocates, citizens, and lawmakers turned the tide at the dawn of the 20th century. It explains how their efforts contributed to the remarkable recovery of Vermont’s forests and provides lessons for protecting our forests in an uncertain future.

03/08/2026

Reposting! We are still hoping to get some photos and recollections for Cecilia - if you are interested, send us a message here or to [email protected]!

On this snowy start to the weekend, we are looking for some help from our followers to answer a research request from a recent TA grad, Cecilia Luce (‘24)!

Cecilia is working on a story about the evolution of winter sports (specifically ice skating/fishing) in VT as a result of climate change. She is hoping to gather photos of winter activities in and around Thetford, as well as info about ice out dates, high and low temperatures, and when lakes and ponds have/haven't frozen over would be helpful.

Anything helps; we are always interested in more photos of winter activities. We have shared some of the gems from our photo archive here and would love to continue collecting!

If you have ideas or photos to share, let us know in the comments, on Facebook Messenger, or email us at [email protected]!

Thank you!

(Photo taken last weekend on Lake Fairlee!)

03/08/2026

Please join Thetford SQC and our very own Director, Martha Howard and Trustee Steve Niederhauser next Sunday for “The History of Thetford and Its Historians”!

Sunday March 15, 2026 at Thetford Academy, 3pm!

03/07/2026

Sharing a neat opportunity to learn at one of our fellow museums in Vermont!

02/21/2026

On this snowy start to the weekend, we are looking for some help from our followers to answer a research request from a recent TA grad, Cecilia Luce (‘24)!

Cecilia is working on a story about the evolution of winter sports (specifically ice skating/fishing) in VT as a result of climate change. She is hoping to gather photos of winter activities in and around Thetford, as well as info about ice out dates, high and low temperatures, and when lakes and ponds have/haven't frozen over would be helpful.

Anything helps; we are always interested in more photos of winter activities. We have shared some of the gems from our photo archive here and would love to continue collecting!

If you have ideas or photos to share, let us know in the comments, on Facebook Messenger, or email us at [email protected]!

Thank you!

(Photo taken last weekend on Lake Fairlee!)

01/18/2026

On this day in 1810, James Wilson of Bradford, VT sold his first globe!

Known as America's First Globe-maker, Mr. Wilson was a farmer and blacksmith who taught himself engraving and geography. Believe it or not, we have two incredible examples of his handiwork in our collection!

The first globe is a terrestrial one while the second is celestial. They were made in 1822 and 1826, respectively, and at least one of them was used in the first decade of instruction at Thetford Academy (opened in 1819). In the early 2000s, the globes were restored by THS with assistance from the Art Conservation Center in Williamstown, MA, to make sure that they were stabilized and able to be viewed with care by students for generations to come.

Photo: A group of local students carefully view the globes at the Thetford Historical Society Library and Archives, early 2000s.

01/18/2026

🌟Head's up!🌟

We are closed Monday, January 19th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as well as Monday, January 26th for scheduled building maintenance and repairs. We will be open during our regular hours, 1-5:00 pm on Thursday, January 22nd and 29th.

As always - we are available via email at:
info (at) thetfordhistoricalsociety.org!

Thank you!

image: Snow Rolling in Thetford!

12/14/2025

This time last week, we were wrapping up our Annual Meeting Program with Jeffrey Amestoy!

We thoroughly enjoyed a behind the scenes look at writing about a historical legal case in the Upper Valley. We hope you will add his book “Winter’s Time” to your reading list. Thank you to everyone who came out! As always, it was great to see so many new and familiar faces.

Check out some of the photos from the events below!

12/05/2025

Join us for our 2025 Annual Meeting Program at Thetford Academy, coming up this Sunday December 7th at 3pm!

We look forward to seeing you - our programs are always open to the public and free of charge!

12/05/2025

: Another call for our History Detectives!

Wow, we are blown away by the response to our last photo ID request - thank you to everyone who chimed in!

We’ve uncovered another photo that we need your help with!

This photo is labeled as Bill Fitzgerald, but we are having trouble placing the barn in town!

Any ideas on where this photo was taken?

12/04/2025

Wondering who else was inspired by this unprecedented case?

Check out Paul Gillies’ 1995 article on the case!