The Chester Historical Society seeks to promote an interest in the history of Chester, Connecticut, as a prototypical New England small town that has survived and thrived by adapting to changing cultural, economic, and demographic environments throughout its four-century evolution as a settled community. The Chester Historical Society created and hosts the Chester Museum at The Mill, a new museum
whose award-winning permanent exhibit "Streams of Change: Life and Industry along the Pattaconk" tells a compelling history of its town. The Museum also presents changing exhibits with a particular theme. The 2011 exhibit Chester Voices from the Civil War coincided with the 150th anniversary of the start of the conflict. Our 2012 exhibit was Beyond the Battlefield, a focus on the Chester home front during the Civil War. The 2013 exhibit, which is called Over the River and Through the Woods, focuses on different modes of transportation in Chester over a 100-year period. The “Over the River” exhibit was funded in part by a grant from the Community Foundation of Middlesex County. Throughout the year, the Society presents programs and other events that also explore various aspects of Chester’s history. The Society founded the Robbie Collomore Music Series, which promotes an interest in classical and contemporary music through a series of four concerts held throughout the year.
