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05/03/2022 12:38 PMOver the past few years the North Haven Historical Society (NHHS) has undergone a transformation—a renewal, as the directors refer to it—and that renewal has refitted and upgraded the town-owned building located at 27 Broadway to take the facility well into the future as both a museum and a place of exploration for all things related to North Haven history.
“A renewal of the historical society has been long needed,” stated Marisa Hexter, a volunteer and board member at the MHHS. “There had been no major renovations or changes done to the building since the 1970s when it became the [town] cultural center.”
It was in late 2019 when the NHHS board decided it was time to close briefly, according to Hexter, and get some much-needed work done with facility upgrades and repairs.
“[We] thought it would only be brief,” stated Hexter. “We wanted to refresh displays, get new flooring, and paint, and generally change some things around to make it all new and inviting.”
Then the COVID-19 pandemic reared its ugly head, and the renewal effort came to a standstill when non-essential activities came to a screeching halt due to the federal and state government stay-at-home orders.
Some work was done but at a snail’s pace, until construction activities could resume in earnest. Now the renewal is nearing an end.
“We now have use of the entire building, which we didn’t have before,” states Hexter, “so this is really exciting, and we are very happy to have the extra space for visitors to [conduct] research and in which to explore exhibits. We are using display cases and already existing bookshelves for more displays as well.”
Besides the expansion of display space, the building needed structural upgrades, including new electrical writing and plumbing.
“There have been so many updates it’s almost hard to keep track,” noted Hexter. “We had a new roof put on before 2019, new flooring put in, custom-made molding was put up, and we had some plumbing done as well along with a multitude of jobs to spruce up the existing property.”
“We start[ed] in 2019, but like everywhere, we had no idea what was coming,” Hexter recalled of the challenges COVID created. But the pandemic was, in the end, not a major problem during the renewal effort. Just the opposite happened.
“We definitely see it [COVID] as a blessing in disguise for us because it’s given us a lot of time to just get stuff done without worrying about much else,” said Hexter. “COVID slowed work down for a while, but it slowed us down in a way where we could think methodically about what we wanted to do, how we wanted to do it and do it well.”
When it comes to the costs associated with the facility renewal, Hexter noted that the board of directors worked closely with the Town of North Haven, since the town owns the building.
“So, we have worked together financially,” Hexter explained, and added, “We certainly couldn’t have done any of this without help from the town and [First Selectman] Mike Freda!”
As for the extent of the renewal, Hexter noted, “Everything really did need to be updated. We wanted North Haven to be represented proudly through this building. Built in the 1930s as a library, it has its own history, but now it also hosts so much of North Haven’s past.”
“The building needed to be updated,” continued Hexter. “There was no question about that. Since the renovations, we are proudly displaying more artifacts, protecting them in the best way possible, along with securing the building and its contents for the future. We are really happy with how it’s turning out.”
Hexter noted that the renewal effort is “comfortably 85 percent of the way there. We have a few displays left to fill and some little things to iron out, but we are definitely close to being done,” she said.
While all the “big” renovations are complete, “Displays have and are continuing to be set up,” Hexter stated. “I think it’s [now] more of ironing out those last few behind-the-scenes items that come in at the last minute!”
“Stay tuned for our Grand Reopening,” Hexter concluded. “Date and information to come soon!”
For more information on the North Haven Historical Society, visit northhavenhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com.