Westbrook Historical Society celebrates 35th year with a new

home on the horizon.

WESTBROOK – As the Westbrook Historical Society reflects on its 35 years in existence this year, its members are also looking forward to a move that should make it a more visible part of the community.

The historical society is located on the second floor of Stephen W. Manchester American Legion Post 62 on Dunn Street. A special lift provides access for disabled visitors, but it will be much more accessible when the society moves into the new community center at the old Wescott Junior High building in the near future.

Maria Dorn, director of community services, said the society will be a great addition to a community center that is quickly developing into a hub of activity.

“We definitely welcome them,” she said, adding the move will benefit the society by making it more visible to a different segment of the population – namely, children and families.

“It’s going to make them more accessible,” she said, noting the move is an appropriate merger of past and future.

One difficulty will be moving the society’s vast collection, but Dorn said high school clubs have volunteered for other moves into the center.

“We haven’t really decided how we’re going to move everything yet,” said Mike Sanphy, society president. “It’s going to be a massive endeavor, but we’re going to accomplish it one way or another.”

Contained within its walls is a stunning array of Westbrook history. Donors or the volunteers themselves have collected historically significant artifacts that otherwise would have been discarded.

Exhibits provide visual history lessons about how Westbrook has changed through the years and what its residents have accomplished. Topics covered are diverse and include the S.D Warren paper mill, Westbrook public safety, wars and popular culture.

Old military uniforms are proudly displayed on mannequins. The journals of Westbrook residents who served in wars provide personal accounts of those conflicts.

The display cases are lined with items that tell the tale of time marching on. Antique typewriters and calculators that today’s youth might not even recognize, glass milk bottles once delivered by a long- forgotten milkman and penmanship workbooks in which students in the past would have painstakingly practiced cursive writing are all there for older guests to reminisce over and youngsters to marvel at.

“These are significant pieces of history that people forget,” said Sanphy, while standing over a display case full of objects associated with the founding of Westbrook’s original rescue department. “It’s important for people to realize what we had at one time and where we came from.”

According to documents provided by the society, the City Council met on April 7, 1975, and discussed starting up the Westbrook Historical Center so interested citizens could “begin the overdue task of preserving some of Westbrook’s heritage, so much of which has already been lost.”

One of the society’s founding members, Nancy Curran, is still its treasurer. According to her, it is the same organization today as it was in 1975, except its collection has grown exponentially since then.

“I don’t know where there are any real gaps,” she said, gazing around at the display cases full of trinkets and the bookshelves loaded with genealogies and other documents.

Today, its members include Sanphy, a retired 40-year police department veteran, and 90-year-old Ellie Conant Saunders, a direct descendant of Joseph Conant, one of Westbrook’s first settlers.

What brings the society members together is a shared interest in history, particularly that of the local community. Their zeal has been a boon for anyone researching family history, as the society often has information available nowhere else.

Immediate past president Donna Conley said she has received inquiries from people as far away as Australia looking into their family history. She and other volunteers frequently assist with mapping out someone’s genealogy.

“I find it fun to do that research,” she said. “It’s just amazing to be able to reach back through history.”

At her fingertips is the society’s massive collection of documents pertaining to Westbrook residents. Included alongside old city reports and directories are family genealogies and 76 scrapbooks donated to the society.

“Most of the scrapbooks are just about Westbrook people,” Conley said, adding that they nonetheless often contain significant historical information about events like the Spanish-American War.

As the Westbrook Historical Society continues on as a local institution, Sanphy said, he only sees it growing ever larger. They are looking at ways to expand their reach into the community, he said.

Part of that effort lies with the schools. Andrea Vasquez, society secretary and author of “Remembering Westbrook: The People of the Paper City,” said the Canal School has already done field trips to the facility and the historical society is working with the district to promote a better understanding of Westbrook’s history among school children.

“A lot of kids don’t know we have this here,” Vasquez said. “It’s something for them to be proud of.”

Westbrook Historical Society members Donna Conley, left, and Mike Sanphy look over the contents of a display case containing items of local significance.Staff photo by Joey Cresta