Danbury Museum Digital Archives

The archives of the Danbury Museum are a wonderful repository of knowledge. Creating access to that knowledge has, historically,  been defined by the size of the research spaces within the museum's Huntington Hall. 

In an effort to reimagine our research and archival space, the Danbury Museum has embarked on a journey of digitization to best meet the myriad needs of our elementary, middle school, high school, and adult researchers. 

To that end, museum staff and volunteers have been busy creating online research files replicating our archival filing system and making our local history accessible, no matter what your age or area of interest--beginning with Danbury's role in the Revolutionary War. 

Though we’ve begun the project in earnest this year, we envision it as a labor of love, with yearly updates as our collection continues to expand and our research community helps us decide the directions in which we grow—together!

Additionally, we have digitized the five pamphlets published by Danbury's Tricentennial Committee in 1984-85, and there are pdfs of both James M Bailey's History of Danbury: 1684-1896 and the Danbury section of History of Fairfield County by Lynn W Wilson. And we've added some great holiday recipe inspiration, too! 

These are a kind of "greatest hits" of our vast archival collection, subjects that are often asked about. If you are looking for more detail, context, genealogical records, microfilm or other primary sources please visit our Research page and  book a research appointment. Note that onsite, staff-assisted research must be scheduled in advance to give us time to prepare for your visit. 

 Danbury's role in the Revolutionary War is a fascinating and impactful part of our town's history. We're pleased to start making available some of our subject files for students and researchers. Simply click the linked file below to be taken to Dropbox where you can download these resources for yourself. You do not need a Dropbox account to access or download these files. Happy researching!

2510 Rev War - General

2511 Rev War  - Letters of Jonathan Crane

2512 - Rev War, Diary Stephen Jarvis

2513 Rev War - Journal Joseph Joslin

2522 Rev War - Artificers

2523 Rev War - Hospitals/Doctors

2524 Rev War - Masons

2525 Rev War - Pensions

2526 Rev War - Religions

2526.1 Rev War - Judaism

2527 Rev War - Society of the Cincinnati

2528 Rev War - Sons of the American Revolution

2529 Rev War - Siege of Danbury, American Perspective

2529.3 Rev War - Siege of Danbury, Books/Excerpts

2529.4 Rev War - Siege of Danbury, Letters

2529.5 Rev War - Siege of Danbury, Danbury Records

2530 Rev War - Siege of Danbury, British Perspective

2531 Rev War - Tories of Danbury

2532 Rev War - Camp Danbury

2533 Rev War - Putnam Camp

2534 Rev War - West Point Chain

2535 Rev War - Student Projects

2536 Rev War - Commemorative Events

2536.1 Rev War - Commemorative Souvenirs

2536.2 Rev War - Soldiers, Skeletal Remains

2537 Rev War - Connecticut

2538 Rev War - Soldiers

2538.1 Rev War - Soldiers Lost in War

Benjamin Hoyts Book

Letters of 1777, Danbury Supply Depot

 Thanks to the work of museum staff and interns, our #DigitalDanbury initiative continues to make progress digitizing Danbury Museum subject files, making them more readily accessible to students, researchers, and history buffs alike. We know how important access is, and getting to the museum isn't always possible, so we'll be updating with new files as often as we can. Stay tuned!

We are pleased to start off the digitization of our Civil War holdings with the James E Moore Post, Grand Army of the Republic book. This volume is a rich resource and we think it's the perfect book to showcase the breadth and depth of our Civil War collection.

2545 Civil War - General Information

2546 Civil War - Military History

2547 Civil War - Volunteer Enlistment

2548 Civil War - Ist CT Cavalry.

2549 Civil War - African-American Soldiers

2550 Civil War - Battle of Charcoal Run



2551 Civil War - Muster In Roll

2552 Civil War - Pensions

2553 Civil War - Medal of Honor Recipients

2554 Civil War - Wooster Guards

2555 Civil War - Commemorative Events

2556 Civil War  - Matthew Brady Prints

2557 Civil War - Letters

2558 Civil War - Crofut Diary.

2559 Civil War - Home Activities in Danbury.



2560 Civil War - 13th Infantry CT Volunteers / E Dunbar

2560.1 Civil War - 11th CT Volunteer Infantry Regiment

2560.2 Civil War - Flag of the 11th CVI

2561 Civil War - Reconstruction Attitudes in Danbury.

2562 Civil War - War of Rebellion

2563 Civil War - James S McCollum Diary

2564 Civil War - James M Bailey Diary Transcript

2565 Civil War - Official Papers, Records

2566 Civil War - Nurses

Civil War Danbury Times 1861

Civil War Danbury Times 1862

Civil War Danbury Times 1863

Civil War Danbury Times 1864

Civil War Danbury Times 1865

Danbury Times Civil War Research

James E Moore Grand Army of the Republic Book

2542 Spanish American War - 1898

2543 Spanish American War - Veteran Encampments

2544 Spanish American War - Veterans Group

2544.1 Spanish American War - Veteran Group Financials

2544.2 Spanish American War - Soldiers

Danbury's community response to the First World War was incredibly impressive. Each and every Liberty Loan and fundraising goal was met or exceeded (this would include Danbury's over-production of potatoes on the hat factory war farms) and this in a community where, at that time,  roughly 25% of the population had been born in the United States. Thanks to the stalwart work of Frank M Stone the Danbury Museum has an excellent collection of materials related to the Old 8th Company--many of whom served in WWI. And the cornerstone of our WWI collection are the letters from the front in France sent home by Ernest H Patchen. 

2570 WWI - General 

2571 WWI - Danbury Involvement in WWI

2571.1 WWI - Danbury WWI Committees

2572 WWI - Men & Women Who Served

2573 WWI - Old 8th Company

2574 WWI - Divisions

2575 WWI - Instruction Manuals

2576 WWI - Letters

2577 WWI - Art

2578.1 WWI - Newspaper Articles

2578.2 WWI - Newspaper Articles, continued

2578.4 WWI - 56th Battalion

Ernest Patchen Letters

2580 - World War 2: General Info

2580.1 - World War 2: Holocaust

2581 - World War 2: Publications

2582 - World War 2: Veterans

2583 - World War 2: WASPS

2583.1 - World War 2: WAACS

2584 - World War 2: Rationing

2584.1 - World War 2: Donation Drives

2584.2 - World War 2: Homefront Efforts

2585 - World War 2: Newspaper Articles

2587 - World War 2: Soldiers

2587.1 - World War 2: Soldiers, Killed/Missing

2587.2 - World War 2: Soldiers, Wounded

2587.3 - World War 2: Soldiers, Awards

2587.4 - World War 2: Draft

News-Times Articles

On Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, Marian Anderson sang before tens of thousands of people from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. 

As part of the Danbury Museum's #DigitalDanbury initiative and to commemorate Ms Anderson's famous concert, we've scanned and uploaded the museum's subject file holdings that relate to Marian Anderson's life in Danbury and beyond. 

901 Marian Anderson

901.1 Awards & Recognitions

901.2 Concerts

901.3 Correspondence

The Danbury Museum has a small collection of Hat Life magazines from the late 1930s through the early 1950s. These magazines chronicle emerging trends, famous styles, and have some incredible artwork in as well. 

 Hat Life Magazine Collection