New Exhibit and Lectures!
Theater Workshop
We are extremely excited about our upcoming program. August 13 -15th we will be hosting a theater workshop designed for high school students. The workshop will be run by Tom Walker and other members of The Living Theater, NYC. We are so pleased to be able to offer young people in Connecticut this opportunity to work with this amazing theater company. So, if you are a teenager who loves acting or you know one who does, call us at 860-672-0505. Registration is still open!
Click here for more information and the application form
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Click here to see a slide show of the The Chinese Friendship Album
Click here for more information about the Chinese Student Experiences
Click here to see a slide show of the opening night of the Foreign Mission School Exhibit.
Click here to see the textual information of this exhibit.
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SMALL TOWN, TINY SCHOOL, BIG IMPACT
THE CORNWALL HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S MAJOR NEW EXHIBIT
The Cornwall Historical Society presents Visions and Contradictions: The Foreign Mission School, 1817-1826, the short and highly eventful history of Cornwall’s Foreign Mission School. The school was founded in 1817 to teach “heathen” youths from around the globe to become Christian missionaries in their own cultures. Despite good intentions, the founders failed to understand the inherent conflicts between the mission of the school, the understanding of the community, and the goals of the students themselves. The collision of these conflicting ideals lead to upheaval in Cornwall and the abrupt closing of the school in 1826, only nine years after it opened and permanently changed the American missionary movement.
“We will tell the full story of the school through the eyes of the students, teachers, and community leaders who were actually here,” says curator, Michele Musto, “We hope our visitors will see what it really felt like for young men from China, Greece, Hawaii and Native American tribes to come to this cold corner of Connecticut.” Did they like it? Did they hate it? Did they become missionaries or did they pursue other paths? The exhibit is family friendly and will tell this intriguing tale.
Throughout the summer and fall, lectures, programs, and a walking tour to two village homes connected to the school’s story will supplement the exhibit. The exhibit will be open Saturdays 10 A.M.- 4 P.M. and Sundays 1-4 P.M. from June 25th to October 11th. Details about the exhibit and accompanying lectures and walks are posted here, on the Society’s web site.
The Cornwall Historical Society has received a generous grant from the Connecticut Humanities Council for the exhibit, making possible the best use of its collection of Foreign Mission School documents and artifacts. A grant from the Cornwall Foundation has helped to create a model of the Foreign Mission School building for the exhibit and for later use with local school history projects.