Saturday, Feb. 10 through Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024.

This temporary “pop-up” exhibit will feature some of the most interesting artifacts accessioned by the Museum in 2023. Among the objects on display will be a collection of pencil sketches of old Willimantic buildings; the sketches were made in the late 1800s but show buildings as they looked in the 1860s. There will also be a vintage fire fighter’s hat, bound copies of 19^th-century Willimantic newspapers, trade cards from century-old Willimantic businesses, an early 19^th-century watercolor of old Windham Center, the original sign that hung on the Museum when it opened in 1989, memorabilia from the political career of John Lescoe, who served as Mayor of Willimantic, First Selectman of Windham, and Windham’s representative in the Connecticut Legislature. Visitors will also be able to inspect an early 20^th-century thread mill chemists’ manual, a collection of quilt books, early 20^th-century garments on mannequins, restored flat irons, picture postcards, ornate Victorian and Edwardian metal jewelry boxes manufactured in Connecticut, 1960s union cards, a copy of a 1960s contract between the American Thread Company and the Textile Workers Union, and other wonderful artifacts. Most of these items will soon be stored safely away in the Museum’s archives, so this will be a good opportunity to see and inspect in person the kind of artifacts that the Mill Museum preserves.