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Archives and Manuscripts
The Fairfield Museum and History Center is the repository for some 120 collections, or over 600 linear feet, of archives and manuscripts. The manuscript collections are housed in an environmentally controlled, secure storage environment that is only accessible to staff.

The manuscript collections include personal papers, working papers, family papers, and business records. Since 1996, the museum has also been the designated repository for town records. Some of the collections at FMHC reach back as far as the 1600s, among them for example the Sherwood Family Papers (MS 7), the Hyde Family Papers (MS 9), and the Fairfield School Records (MS 14).

The family papers housed at FMHC include some longstanding and influential families in the history of Fairfield. Among them is the Ogden family (MS 4), a member of which, David Ogden, built in 1750 what is still known today as the “Ogden House.” The original plan for the house is part of the collection. Another family represented in the manuscript collections is the Burr family (MS B20), whose mansion, site of John Hancock’s wedding to Dorothy Quincy, still stands on Old Post Rd.

The collections of business records at FMHC reflect the changes in Fairfield’s industries. The Bullard Company Records (MS B41) trace this Fairfield business from its founding years in the late 19th century up to its closing and demolition in 1983 through annual reports, personnel files, and photographs. It is complemented by personal collections such as John Camarra’s papers (MS B78) containing union documents that speak to the union activities at Bullard Company. Another collection of corporate papers, the Fairfield Business Records Collection (MS B34), includes such Fairfield businesses as the Fairfield Rubber Company, Kennel Food Supply, and McKesson & Robbins.

An underused resource at FMHC are the Fairfield town records. Most notably, they include a collection of real estate tax records dating back to 1890 and documenting the decades up to 1973 in five-year increments. Organized by address, these documents allow an insight into the valuation and development of Fairfield properties over the last century. The tax records are freely accessible in the Reading Room.

Did you know?
As in most archival repositories, the manuscript collections at FMHC are numbered—but ours start at number 2! This was done to merge two related collections pertaining to the Turney family history. Number 1 was moved back and merged with number 14. The Turney Family Papers are now one collection, MS 14.