The Wilmington Historical Commission exists to protect and conserve our historical resources, and to educate our citizens on Wilmington's rich history.
Mission of the Commission
"The Commission is made of up of seven volunteers appointed by the Town Manager and confirmed by the Board of Selectmen. Each of the volunteers resides in the community. The members meet once per month, excluding July and August, participate in community events throughout the Town (library programs, elder services programs, school programs, Farmers Market, Harnden Tavern and Town Museum programs, Minuteman programs, etc.), and work with a limited Commission budget to preserve the Town’s historic resources and educate the community as to the same. The members took an oath to preserve Wilmington’s historic resources, but they are not urban planners or architects. The Town Curator is overseen by the Commission and attends its monthly meetings."
~excerpted from 2014 Whitefield School Report, revised 1/8/2024
Mission of the Town Museum
The purpose of the Wilmington Town Museum is to shed light upon the history of our community from the time before its incorporation to the present; to increase understanding and appreciation of our community’s heritage; to preserve and present, for public education and enjoyment, the collections acquired by the Town Museum that document our community’s history.
Accepted by the Wilmington Historical Commission / Town Museum Board of Trustees on January 10, 2000.
Where we are today
Wilmington has an active community of history enthusiasts that participate on a Facebook page for recollections of yesteryear, has benefited from a supportive library and town management, and benefits from employing a professional curator at the Town Museum. This effort to collect details about the people and places in Wilmington's past is facilitated by proactive citizens who care to preserve our local heritage.
Other Active Projects
Current projects being undertaken by Historical Commission members:
Improvements to Historical Property Research Database and the Historic Homes Plaque Project
Harnden Tavern Window Restoration
Cataloging of Inventory into PastPerfect Museum Software
Carriage House Maintenance/Cleanout
Commission meetings are open to the public, and are typically the second Monday every month, and published on the Historical Commission section of the Town website.
Bonny Smith, Chairperson
Karin Bloom,
Member
Jim Buck, Member
Joseph A Jackson, Member
Christine Johnston, Member
Odette Kent, Member
Robert Mallett, Member
Anthony Accardi, Clerk of Hist. Commission
Matthew Beres, Curator of the Town Museum
The Shoulders Upon Which We Stand
The Town of Wilmington has benefited from having conscientious resident-historians through the years, and has made a series of strategic investments that have kept the story of Wilmington accessible. At the 150th anniversary of its founding, Reverend Noyes gave an address outlining the earliest days of Wilmington, which was then published and is now digitally accessible in the Wilmington Memorial Library’s archives. At the 1905 Town Meeting, an article was proposed to fund Arthur T. Bond to write and publish a 300 page town history, which motion ultimately failed having not met the ⅔ vote threshold. Bond’s notes, photos, and genealogical research, however, have largely been preserved and are now at the Town Museum. These notes and artifacts had been lost for more than 60 years after Mr. Bond’s death in 1936, and rediscovered as a presumed complete set in 1997 and purchased from Stuart Goldman, an antiquities dealer. In 1930, Harry Deming chaired the Wilmington’s 200th Anniversary Committee, which published an anniversary booklet. Later, Captain Larz F. Neilson wrote a memory book in 1955 in celebration of the 225th town anniversary. Throughout his time owning and operating the Town Crier, Capt. Larz continued to research and publish interesting vignettes about the town in the weekly newspaper. His son, Larz F. Neilson, carries on the tradition and publishes historical material in the Town Crier under its new ownership.
Four key contributors to the collective information and published works about the early history of the Town of Wilmington. Arthur T. Bond, Harry Deming, Capt. Larz Neilson, and Adele Passmore.
Over the past 25 years, additional authors have helped document Wilmington’s history. These include Captain Larz Neilson’s two sons Larz and Stu (seated), Paul Chalifour, and Gerry O’Reilly. They have published invaluable historical articles, picture books, and story collections.
A very thorough treatment of the town’s history was written and edited by Adele C. Passmore as a commemorative book for the 250th Anniversary, and is undoubtedly the most thorough collection of information printed to date. We revere her work to document and memorialize the town’s forefathers, their organizations, and the buildings and industries that they built. Her role as a “finder” of information brings as much honor as does being a “founder” of our town. It is also with highest regard that we note her passing at age 90 on November 19, 2022.
Additional collections have since been published by Paul Chalifour, with his 1998 photo book for the Images of America series, and a series of memoirs written by Gerry O’Reilly between 1996 and 2015.
Commission members began a major effort in 2022 to organize this web index to increase access to the information contained in these individual commemorative booklets, along with the collections housed at the town museum, and the collective knowledge being published to Facebook groups and found elsewhere in the published literature.