There are over 200 clothing accessories, and well over 150 separate dresses and costuming items listed in our collection database online - and that doesn’t include the hats and shoes and miscellany! There are skirts, swim wear, underwear, and children’s clothes.

The history of our town is wrapped in the mantles of what we wore each day to work, and to play. From the post-Revolutionary Empire styles (even then, Paris was the heart of all that defines fashion), to the long skirts and bustles of Victorian America to the mini-skirt and pantsuit, women’s fashions have changed on an almost daily basis. Men, of course, wear almost identical clothes now as they have since the Civil War, but the hat is currently out of vogue.

So much of fashion through the ages has been a reflection of the times. Empire gowns showed the freedom of movement that the French Revolution had shown in society - though the Empire hardly represented the ideals of the Revolution. The Victorian era was constrained into distinct notions of what comprised civilized or acceptable behavior, and the gowns of the time are equally so. But were the dress styles changed by zippers, or were they just an enabling technology?

Needless to say, less of the modern era is represented, little that is later than the Eisenhower years, but even those costumes show where the hearts and minds of New Milford were.

Join us for a stroll through the history of our town as seen in our ’glad rags’.

Opening reception March 22, 2019 at 7:00pm, light refreshments will be served.

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Ron Surresha, local author and Curator, Lisa Roush have teamed up to present this fascinating story to the public. A few objects owned by Mrs. Maybrick will be on exhibit at the Historical Society. This includes the ’black dress’, the original grave marker from South Kent School and an old American flag. Photographs and details about her life including her murder conviction which was one of the most celebrated in English history will also be on display.
As with the much more infamous Lizzie Borden, many articles and books have been written about the trial and conviction of Florence Elizabeth Chandler Maybrick and to this day, there is still a question as to whether she was guilty or innocent.

In order to more fully flesh out our exhibit, we are seeking Local Sources in Gaylordsville and South Kent of remembrances of Florence Chandler Maybrick a/k/a "Cat Lady of Kent"

The New Milford Historical Society is working with local author and Town Historical Properties Commission Chair Ron J. Suresha to research and locate: 
• Local historical sources in or from Gaylordsville and South Kent with personal or family memories of a lady who lived here in the 1920s and 1930s, known initially as the mysterious "Mrs. Florence Chandler" and later as the anonymous, reclusive "Cat Woman of Kent [or Gaylordsville]".
• Photographs of Mrs. Chandler and her house during her Connecticut years (please provide photographer credit).
• Missing Artifacts from Mrs. Chandler’s home, including these items specifically mentioned in newspapers, magazines, and books of the time:
• Scrapbook with clippings about trial
• A small picture of her beloved Father Mayo
• Beautiful white lace nightgown
• Picture of young girl with curls
• Stacks of newspapers
• A number of yellowed clippings
• A photograph album
• Some scrapbooks
• Two rosaries
• A Bible with a paper prescription insert
• Address book

Ron Suresha may be reached through the Historical Society.

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