Key points:

• This building will become a museum for the Townsend Historical Society’s collection, along with an office, store, workspace, and vault for our archival collection
• One room in the house will be permanently dedicated to the “Charlotte’s Web” / E.B. White collection of E.B. White’s grand-niece, Lindsay Morand.
• An anonymous donor has already pledged $100,000 for the construction of a very necessary additional vault to preserve our archives into the future. 

The Townsend Historical Society wants to extend its sincere thanks to the Deluxe Corporation for their donation of 16 South Street in Townsend to us.  This house was built in 1750, and was the home of many of the Townsend residents who made the Townsend Harbor area one of the main economic centers of Townsend in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.  It is directly across the street from the Conant Tavern house, and just a few steps from the other buildings of the Townsend Historical Society in the Townsend Harbor area.

This historic house will be converted into a museum and office and work space.  The museum will display items from the Townsend Historical Society’s collections that previously could only be stored in our old vault in the Reed Homestead.  There will also be a room dedicated solely to the “Charlotte’s Web/E.B. White collection belonging to Lindsay Morand, grand-niece of  E. B. White, author of “Charlotte’s Web”, “Stuart Little”, and “Trumpet of the Swan”.  He visited his brother’s farm in Townsend for a family reunion in 1955.  Lindsay’s grandfather and E. B. White were brothers. Lindsay still lives on the White Farm.  Lindsay has spent her life being an ambassador for the timeless writings of her great uncle E. B. White, and this donation will allow her work to be enjoyed for generations to come.

This donation will also mean that much more of the Reed Homestead, the gem of the Townsend Historical Society with its world-class Rufus Porter murals, will be open to the public. To date much of the building has been used for storage, most of which can now move to the 16 South Street museum. To help make this possible, an anonymous donor with strong ties to Townsend’s history has pledged $100,000 to help construct a larger vault to hold the Townsend Historical Society’s growing collection.

We are extremely pleased and excited to receive this wonderful gift from Deluxe. This gift will create a comprehensive Welcome Center.  It will enable the historical society to bring our collections to the public while preserving and protecting our archives with a new larger vault, as the Townsend Historical Society grows and moves forward. 

This generous gift will also allow the Reed House to shine as its own museum showcasing the Rufus Porter murals and the manner in which the five generations of the Reed family lived in the house.  A further benefit will be that the current Reed House office will become a small research space and an area where those unable to climb the steep stairs will be able to view the 2nd floor and the Rufus Porter murals remotely. This wonderful gift from Deluxe will enable the Townsend Historical Society to preserve Townsend’s history and move forward with our goal of bringing history alive. 

Thank you Deluxe for making this possible. 

I am completely thrilled that THS will be creating a permanent location for my cherished “Charlotte’s Web” Collection. I am grateful that the many precious items will be preserved and promoted for the enjoyment of future generations, to learn about the life of my Great Uncle, E.B. White and his wonderful contributions to literature. Sincere thanks to Deluxe for their donation of the Toomey House. I enjoyed working for NEBS/Deluxe for thirty years, retiring on 11/11/11.

By the way, NEBS/Deluxe was founded in 1952, the same year “Charlotte’s Web” was published!