Collections

This unique Gettysburg chair, part of our Civil War
collection, was built of fence rails taken from the
field of battle. The chair was designed by Levi
Fuller, 1841-1896, who didn't serve in the Civil
War, but collected battlefield relics afterwards. He
lived in Brattleboro, where he was son-in-law and
partner of Jacob Estey. In 1874 he founded the
Fuller Battery, of which he was breveted Colonel.
He served for 2 years as Governor of Vermont.

A lifelong resident of Williamsville, Porter Thayer
immortalized this area in the photographs he took
between 1906 and 1920. His horse "Lady" helped
transport his camera, tripod and boxes of glass
plates over the 25 mile territory he covered. To give
an idea of the popularity of his business, in a
6-month period over 1,000 postcards were sold at
Williams store alone.

Otis Warren was a Universalist preacher who
lived in Newfane from 1836-1837. Our exhibit is
based on his diaries. As a youth he was
apprenticed to a cabinetmaker: he made the
carved sideboard in 1832 as a wedding present
for his wife. In his diary for Dec.14th 1844 he
writes of painting the portrait of Albert his son,
then aged 10.

This Civil War exhibit features Franklin Stockwell of
Dummerston. In 1861, an 18 years old farmer, he
enlisted as a drummer boy in Co. F, 4th Vt. Regt. In
Dec. 1863 he transferred to Co. B, where he served
as a dispatch rider. He had his horse shot from under
him at Spottsylvania Court House, and often found
bullet holes in his hat. He was never wounded, but
suffered from lifelong dysentery. Included in the exhibit
are his discharge papers as well as his saddle and
bridle. He died at 89 in 1932; the recent donor of
many of the documents in the exhibit often sat on
Stockwell’s lap as a little boy.

The local blacksmith was essential to a
pre-industrial agricultural society. He made and
sharpened tools, repaired farming implements
and shod horses. All these various tasks are
indicated on Elihu Park's blacksmith sign,
painted on wood cut to the shape of a broad
axe by an unknown folk art master.