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Five high school interns at the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society have created an informational exhibition at a popular local park to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“The History Trail” at Irwin Park will remain in place through July 4. It includes 80 informational signs with images celebrating New Canaan history and influential figures.
A partnership between NCM&HS and the town, the trail went up over the course of the interns’ work from mid-May through mid-June, said Nancy Geary, executive director of the museum.
The idea came from a similar trail in Darien, she said.
“I was excited about the project, so we found lawn signs with a patriotic trim that we could use double-sided, and laid out a trail so that no matter which direction you’re walking, you can see the information,” Geary said.
L-R: Victoria Vaccaro, Abby Brown, Serena Peterson, Fabio Rathgeber and Max Boccaccio, the interns who created the History Trail at Irwin Park. Credit: Courtesy of Nancy Geary
The interns—New Canaan High School seniors Victoria Vaccaro, Abby Brown, Serena Peterson and Max Boccaccio, and Darien High School student Fabio Rathgeber—each were given a different chapter of “Portrait of New Canaan,” Mary Louise King’s definitive history of the town, and asked to pull out the best facts for the trail’s 80 signs.
“We wanted a mix of fun things people might not know and bigger milestones in the life of the town,” Geary said. “They were limited to about 200 words per sign, though most ended up closer to 30, since we wanted people to be able to read while they walk.”
Irwin Park was chosen largely for its size and location on Weed Street near the top of Elm, Geary said.
“It’s very central to town, you can walk there from downtown, and people really only come to Irwin Park to walk, so it felt like the highest-traffic spot we had,” she said.
One of the 80 signs along the History Trail at Irwin Park, this one noting that the 300-acre Waveny estate was donated to the town in 1969 by Mrs. Ruth Lapham Lloyd. Credit: Valentina Fuentes Jimenez
The signs run chronologically, starting near the main parking lot and going counterclockwise, so walking the loop in reverse begins with the most recent history first. The interns spent much of their time digging through the museum’s photo archive to pair pictures with facts, Geary said.
“They had a huge amount of discretion, and they did a fantastic job,” she said.
Visitors who stop to read everything and look at the photos should expect to spend close to 30 to 45 minutes on the loop.
“I’ve heard people like to stop with a friend, read it together, and talk about it before moving on,” she said.
The response so far has been positive, Geary said.
“I’ve only gotten very positive emails,” she said. “People love the idea, and one of our board members, who’s in charge of school tours, wants to work some of these facts into our school tour curriculum, because they appeal to younger visitors. We’re very grateful to the interns for their hard work, and I hope they’re proud to have done a project that’s such a big contribution to America 250.”