5 Years Later: Covid-19 Community Experience Survey
The Newtown Historical Society invites you to participate in creating a historical record of Newtown’s local experience dealing with the COVID-19 global pandemic five years after it began. Your contributions will be archived with those of other Newtowners and accessed in the future by scholars, townspeople, students and others who study and look back on this historic time in our modern life.
We were all touched by COVID-19 in very different and personal ways. Children and parents, seniors and students, merchants, highly educated professionals...all creatively finding new ways to work and play safely. Every kind of individual and family has been forced to adopt new habits almost overnight.
Much of the story of COVID-19 will be about hardship and difficulty, but not all. A complete record should reflect new work requirements and adaptations, pastimes, family time, entertainment, steps to protect from the virus, changes in the household and other personal observations describing how our lives have been affected by the pandemic.
Please join us in updating our archive that chronicled our shared experience with COVID-19 five years later. Your contribution, however large or small, is historically significant and will provide a rare opportunity to touch the future.
Upcoming Events
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James Wilkinson: ‘Agent 13’ ~ The Double Life of a Founding Scoundrel
February 22nd, 2026
2:00 - 3:00 pm
Newtown Senior Center
8 Simpson St
A decorated officer of the American Revolution and one of the highest-ranking generals in the early U.S. Army, James Wilkinson also led a secret life as a paid agent of the Spanish Empire. This talk will explore how “Agent 13” managed to betray his country for decades while remaining at the center of American power – and why his story forces us to reconsider what loyalty looked like in the nation’s fragile early years.
This is a free event, however, donations are accepted and welcomed in order to continue offering events such as this.
Rochambeau and the Alliance That Won the Revolution
April 19th, 2026
2:00 - 3:00 pm
Newtown Senior Center
8 Simpson St
Rochambeau, commander of French forces in the American Revolution, helped shape the outcome of the War through alliance, diplomacy, and coordinated military action with George Washington. His story highlights the international effort behind America’s fight for independence – and reminds us that the road to 1776 did not end at America’s shores.
This is a free event, however, donations are accepted and welcomed in order to continue offering events such as this.
Ezra Around Town
Beginning January 2025
Introducing Ezra the Rooster. Follow our "Ezra Around Town" posts on Facebook or Instagram. Ezra the Rooster, named for our first unofficial Town Historian, Ezra Johnson, will be starting his travels around Newtown in January. He'll be visiting locations with a historical significance, but some of the lesser known locations to most Newtowners. Be sure to like our pages in order to receive updates of his travels.