Mark Edmiston: 100 Years of Madison’s Treasures
It was the year 1917 and the World War dominated newspaper headlines and conversations around the globe. It was also the year that the Madison Historical Society (MHS) was created—and though it seems unlikely, the two events are entwined.
The story goes that a group of local townspeople weary of talk about the Great War gathered to share tales of better times, and were inspired to establish a society to celebrate the town’s history. One hundred years later, the group’s commitment to preserve and illustrate Madison’s rich cultural past is as strong today as it was at formation.
To commemorate its centennial year, the society has published a new book, Madison’s Treasures, an illustrated volume of its extensive collection of local artifacts. Society Board Trustee Mark Edmiston says the book gives a unique insight into life in Madison.
“We hope readers will have a much better understanding of way people in Madison lived in the past, and we hope we preserve that story for the future. Many of the artifacts in the collection, and in the pages of the book, don’t exist in the real world anymore,” he says.
Mark credits a dedicated team of society members including Doe Boyle, Rick Camp, Bob Gunderson, Tricia Royston, and Carol Snow with bringing hundreds to years of history to life in one publication.
“We had a great team who put together the book and it was a lot of fun. For three or four months, we met every Saturday for a few hours and we’d put out artifacts and say ‘What is this?’” he says. “It’s remarkable that we created the entire publication—photography, copy, design, editing—all with the work of volunteers.”
Mark says the team worked together to select and showcase a wide range of the society’s comprehensive collection, which ranges from indigenous Native American artifacts to those of the original settlers through the late 18th and 19th centuries, right up to the 1950s and ‘60s.
“We put in more dolls and less rifles and swords—these artifacts won’t last forever. It’s amazing that the children’s toys survived being played with as well as decades in the collection. There are beautiful wedding gowns that are wrapped in plastic in the closet and a flapper dress that’s ripped so it can’t be displayed,” he says.
“The society has a very large collection and there’s so much stuff that’s not in the museum because there’s simply not enough room. In the book we can share artifacts that have never been seen.”
Between the rich, glossy pages of antiques are the biographies of five important figures of Madison history: Clarissa Munger Badger, a botanical illustrator; Cornelius Scranton Bushnell, founder of the Union Pacific Railroad; Daniel Hand, a successful businessman and founder of Hand Academy, the original Academy School; Grace Miner Lippincott, a renowned poet; and Constance Wilcox Pignatelli, a celebrated novelist and playwright.
“These are the stories of Madison people who were of great importance to the history and development of the town, and some were of national importance, too,” Mark adds.
As the society wraps up its milestone year, Mark says the year was a great success.
“Coming up to the centennial year, the society made the decision to celebrate it with the public, not just put on a cocktail party for the members. We wanted to engage with the community and share the town’s history. We had the Centennial Gala, which attracted about 100 people new to the society, and the Evening in White was great. It’s been a terrific year,” he says.
In addition to public events, the society completed The Madison Green National Historic District Tour, a digital collection of historic people and places, which can be accessed through the historical society website.
“The historical tour of the Madison Green is a great piece of work. You can walk around on the green and learn about the houses and locations you see in front of you. The society is working on setting up interactive kiosks so that the history is right there for visitors,” he says.
“Embracing new technology to preserve history is very important. Many of the items in our collection weren’t built to last for a hundred years, so we need to create a lasting record for the future.”
Just in time to mark the end of the centennial year, MHS has also released The A to Z of Madison poster. A partnership with the Madison Art Society, the illustrated alphabet was created from a community survey asking residents what makes the town unique; the survey drew more than 500 responses.
“We had voting boxes around town and it was a great way to engage people. We had several hundred responses...It was hard to select the letters—and hard to find something good for ‘x’! Local artists illustrated each letter and they did a great job. The result is a very attractive poster,” Mark says.
A Particular Set of Skills
In a group well known for its passionate membership, many of whom have dedicated decades of volunteer service to MHS, and indeed the town, Mark is a newcomer.
“I only joined the historical society a year and a half ago. I have always been very interested in history and I wanted to get involved in the local group. I went along to the annual meeting and after I had coffee with the membership chair and the president, they asked me to join the board.”
In 2001 Mark and his wife, Lisa, purchased their home in Madison, close to their daughter Ann Rumberger, her husband James, and their granddaughters Julia and Alison, who live in town; and their daughter Laura Carroll, who lives in Stamford. Growing up in New York City, Mark first lived in Connecticut as an undergraduate student majoring in political science at Wesleyan University.
“I always thought I’d be a lawyer—my father was a prosecutor—and then maybe a politician. I went to a job fair to get a part time job while I was at grad school. I did an interview with Time Inc. and they called me to come to New York for another interview and then a job,” he says.
Shelving the law school plan, Mark pursued a career in publishing, which included professional postings in San Francisco, San Diego, and Tokyo, and working up through the executive ranks to serve five years as the president of Newsweek in the early 1980s. Later, he established his own digital magazine company and worked in New York City as an investment banker.
Now retired, Mark dedicates his time to charities including the Children’s Aid Society and CityLimits.Org, a nonprofit website dedicated to investigative journalism in New York City—and of course, MHS.
“History is important because it fixes people in the larger environment. What happened here in the past shapes where we are as a town today,” he says.
When he and his family moved to the Connecticut shoreline, Mark says he was pleasantly surprised to discover that each town held its own identity.
“One hundred years ago, Madison was very much a local farming community with a little central market to sell your tomatoes or whatever they had grown at home. Then in the 1920s and ‘30s, Madison became a summer resort, attracting people from far way, and that changed the culture of the town. Buffalo Bay at the west end of town was named because so many people from Buffalo, New York, migrated here in the summers,” he says.
“Of course, we still have the beaches and the summer crowds, but Madison has evolved to be a suburban town. Some other towns like Madison had big stores move in and they really lost their soul, but Madison is unique. It has a distinct character and its people are very proud of their town.”
With a successful centennial year wrapping up, Mark says the society is looking forward to the next 100 years.
“We’ve fixed the fireplaces at the Allis-Bushnell House and at the Centennial Gala we gave away a hearth dinner for 20 people, which was a great success. So, we are talking about hosting some fireside chats where we bring out some of the treasures of the society’s collection and have a conversation about them and their history,” he says.
“We’re very encouraged by the interest in the projects and events of the centennial year. The board is dedicated to greater engagement with the community and developing more outreach programs,” he says.
Madison’s Treasures ($29.99) is available at local retailers including R.J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road; Walker Loden, 788 Boston Post Road; and the Madison Beach Hotel, 94 West Wharf Road. The book and The A to Z of Madison poster ($15) are available at the Madison Historical Society office, 14 Meetinghouse Lane; and online at madisonhistory.org. Proceeds benefit the Madison Historical Society.