Derby Neck Library program offers pictorial views of Valley in 1902

1902 photo courtesy of Connecticut DEEP

Derby Neck Library reference librarian Pat Sweeney offered an interesting presentation last week featuring candid photos of the area taken in 1902.

A friend and I both were captivated by the photos, which had been part of a Derby Neck Library project spearheaded by businesswoman, conservationist, and philanthropist Frances Osborne Kellogg (1876-1956) to record scenes of everyday life.

The photos are owned by the Osborne Homestead Museum at 500 Hawthorne Ave., Derby, Kellogg's lifelong home. The museum is operated by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the photos belong to the state of Connecticut.

Many of the places and buildings depicted are easily recognizable, but not all. Sweeney said the photos are not labeled.

The program also served as a remembrance of the official public opening of Derby Neck Library in January, 1908. Kellogg's father, Major Wilbur Fisk Osborne, was a founder of the library.

Next up: Sweeney will give a PowerPoint presentation at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 16 describing what was happening in the Valley during World War II.
Attendees will learn how local towns worked diligently in the war effort. 

Sweeney will discuss fashions of the era, favorite films, rationing measures, war bond drives, and much more.

The Library is at 307 Hawthorne Ave., Derby.

Derby Neck Library presentation to feature photos from 1902

Shared from the Library's Facebook page:

"Next Thursday at 6:30 PM, we will host a presentation featuring a large number of candid photos taken in 1902 as a Derby Neck Library project to record scenes of everyday life and special places.

"Join us as we remember the official public opening of our library in January of 1908 by visiting the past together."

The Library is at 307 Hawthorne Ave., Derby.

Derby Public Library to remember H. Harcourt Wood on his birthday

Holton Harcourt Wood

DERBY - Come [to Derby Public Library and] learn about Holton Harcourt Wood, the young boy in whose memory the Library was built, on June 19, his birthday! 

The Library will be decorated with flowers in compliance with his father Colonel H. Holton Wood's request, which he made at the dedication of the Library in 1902. 

The public is invited to visit throughout the day to learn more about the history of the Library at 313 Elizabeth St.

This is shared from the Derby Public Library Facebook page.

Derby Public Library to mark June birthday of Holton Harcourt Wood

DERBY - The Derby Public Library will commemorate the birthday of Holton Harcourt Wood, the young boy in whose memory the Library was built.
This time-honored tradition of the Library being decorated with flowers in compliance with his father Col. H. Holton Wood's request, which he made at the dedication of the Library in 1902, has become well known over the years, not only throughout the Valley, but well beyond.
This year Harcourt Wood will still be remembered on June 19 even though the Library is closed for public access due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the week of June 15-20 a special search and find activity will be featured on the Library's website www.derbypubliclibrary.org with a photograph of Harcourt along with pictures of roses hidden throughout the website's pages.

This loving tradition continues even in these most uncertain times.


This is shared from the Library's Facebook page.