Publications and Museum Shop

Since our founding in 1970, we have been busy writing and publishing books on Chester history as well as reprinting old maps. Here is a description of what you can find when you visit our Museum Shop at our Chester Museum at The Mill. We are also happy to ship to you if you cannot visit. You can mail a check to Chester Historical Society, PO Box 204, Chester, CT 06412. Please add $5 for shipping. You can also order with a credit card by going to our Donations page. Just note the item you wish to purchase; please don’t forget to add $5 for shipping.

If you want us to send the book as a gift, please let us know the address for the recipient. We will send it with one of our notecards with your message. (If you have any questions about using our Donations page for this gift, please email us at chestercthistoricalsociety@gmail.com.)

The Streams, Mill Dams and Mills of Chester, written by Nathan L. Jacobson, 2023. 118 pages with 112 photos, maps & drawings. $30 for nonmembers, $25 for members. How the early years of Chester were influenced by the streams that flowed through it and the numerous dams and water-powered mills that were built along those streams.

These Few Lines - Chester in the Civil War as Depicted in the Correspondence Between Willis and Nancie Ayers, Edited and Annotated by Robert J. Miceli and Thomas J. Miceli, 2021. 88 pages with index. 7x10”. “The book interweaves first-hand accounts from a soldier on the front lines and civilians on the home front with detailed annotations that put their experiences in historical context.” This book was a winner of the CT League of History Organizations Award of Merit. $20. You can watch a film about the book on our YouTube channel here.

Ephemera! Designed & Produced by Janet Cummings and Peter Good, 2021. 80 pages with index. 8x8”. Dedicated to Chester ephemerist Al Malpa, the book features images of historical Chester ephemera (tickets, invitations, trade cards, calling cards, photos, etc.) from the archives of the Chester Historical Society. $20. (Al Malpa gave a program on ephemera for the Historical Society in fall 2019; you can watch the video of that program here. Additionally, you can watch a film of a recent program about the story BEHIND the book here.

Chester: Lost, Found, Remembered by Robert and Thomas Miceli, 2018. 97 pages with index. 7x10”. 100+ photos with stories of Chester life. “The guiding theme [of this book] is to present images of Chester that are all but forgotten, whether due to fading memories, the ever-changing landscape, or the rapidly evolving culture that characterizes the modern world.” $20 (The Miceli brothers introduced their book with a program in February 2019. You can watch the video of their program here.)

Kate Silliman’s Chester Scrapbook, edited and revised by Thelma Clark, 1986. 264 pages with index. 7x10”. A detailed, easy-to-read story of Chester past. $15.

Chester Voices from the Civil War by Keith Dauer and Sandy Senior-Dauer, 2012. 32 pages. 5.5 x 8.5”. Excerpts from letters home to Chester from two Civil War soldiers, with brief analysis of aspects of the war. $5.

The Waterhouse Grist Mill Saga by Nathan L. Jacobson, 2017. 104 pages. 6x9”. The first grist mill in Chester, likely built in the early 1700s by Abraham and Gideon Waterhouse, and why the mill was so important to the early settlers. Illustrated with schematic drawings and photos. $15 (Watch Nathan Jacobson’s program about the grist mill here.)

Pataconk and its Indians, a Brief History for Young People, by E.C. Hungerford, reprinted 2009. 24 pages. 5.25 x 8.5”. Originally written in the late 19th century by Edward C. Hungerford to tell details of daily life of Native Americans of the area. $5

Ferryboat, by Betsy and Giulio Maestro. Reprinted by the Chester Historical Society. 2017. 30 pages. 10x8.5”. Color. Beautifully illustrated child’s picture book about the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry. $13

From Meeting House to Mill, the Story of the Chester Historical Society, by Barbara S. Delaney, 2005. 24 pages. 5.5x8.5”. The history of the Chester Historical Society from its 1970 founding to 2000. To be updated in 2020. $5

“Att a Socioty Meetting” Compiled by Gwendolyn Orton-Jones, 1980. 64 pages with index. 8.5x5.5”. Briefly excerpted records of the Fourth Ecclesiastical Society of Saybrook 1741-1808, giving facts of the early years of the town that became Chester. $10

The Houses and History of Chester, revised edition, 1984. 152 pages with indexes. 8.5x5.5”. Facts and photos of 165 houses in Chester built before 1875. $10

Jonathan Warner, A Man of Parts, 1728-1810, by Gwendolyn and Harry Orton-Jones, 1977. 58 pages. 10x8.5”. Jonathan Warner was an early landowner, farmer and ferryman in Chester, whose house on Kings Highway is still one of the town’s distinguished residences. $5

Map of Chester c. 1795. Shows two streams of Pattaconk Brook and businesses along them. $5.

Map of Chester 1874. Shows town center and surrounding roads. $5

“View of Chester” 1883. Shows businesses. $3

In addition, we sell DVDs of “It Happened to Jane” and books about Judge Constance Baker Motley in our Museum Shop.