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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Jordan Freeman: The Fight to Set People Free
March 21st, 2026
2:00 - 3:00 pm
Newtown Senior Center
8 Simpson St
Jordan Freeman was an African American servant who witnessed pivotal moments of the Revolutionary Was while accompanying Col. William Ledyard. In this costumed, first-person presentation grounded in archival research, the lecture explores the experiences of Black men who lived, labored, and sought freedom during the fight for independence – raising enduring questions about liberty in a nation still defining it.
This is a free event, however, donations are accepted and welcomed in order to continue offering events such as this.
Open House & Billy Michael Performing at the Matthew Curtiss House Museum
Sunday, March 29, 2026
12:00 - 4:00 pm
Matthew Curtiss House Museum
44 Main St
Musician Billy Michael will be performing at the March Open House. Billy captivates his audience with storytelling as he seamlessly blends music and history. Don't miss this chance to participate in singing along to songs from the 1700s and Revolutionary War!
Open House & DAR Eunice Dennie Burr Chapter Genealogy Research Session
Sunday, April 12, 2026
12:00 - 4:00 pm
Matthew Curtiss House Museum
44 Main St
Join us for a special genealogy research session with members from the Daughters of the American Revolution, Eunice Dennie Burr Chapter, Fairfield. Explore your family’s past, uncover ancestral connections to the American Revolution, and learn how to document your lineage with expert guidance. Whether you’re beginning your journey or expanding your research, this session offers hands-on support and valuable resources to bring your family history to life.
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.
American Mettle: Original Poetry Capturing the American Spirit During the Revolutionary War.
April 21st, 2026
6:00 - 7:00 pm
C.H. Booth Library
25 Main St
Join Lauren Clifford, Newtown's Poet Laureate, as she shares her bespoke poems celebrating America250 CT. She will be focusing on heroes and heroines that impacted our state and will provide the history of the people and places used in her compositions. Signers of the Declaration of Independence, women, slaves, Native Americans, and children will all feature in her work in order to gain multiple perspectives
This event requires registration. You can register here
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.