Hartford, Conn. – Intriguing stories from Connecticut’s rich heritage of folklore and folklife will be featured on roadside markers at sites across the state thanks to a partnership between the Connecticut Historical Society and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation®.
The CHS will serve as a grant evaluator for the Pomeroy Foundation’s expanding national Legends & Lore Marker Grant Program, helping to put Connecticut folklore in the spotlight. Established by the Pomeroy Foundation in 2015, Legends & Lore is designed to promote cultural tourism and commemorate legends and folklore as part of cultural heritage.
“The Pomeroy Foundation is thrilled to partner with the Connecticut Historical Society on our expanding Legends & Lore program,” says Bill Pomeroy, founder and trustee of the Pomeroy Foundation. “We feel this is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the folklore near and dear to Connecticut. We’re proud to work with your communities in celebrating and preserving your folklore and legends.”
The Pomeroy Foundation is a private, grant-making foundation based in Syracuse, N.Y., that helps people celebrate their community’s history through a variety of historic signage grant programs, including Legends & Lore. The Foundation’s grants cover the entire cost of a marker, pole and shipping.
“CHS is pleased to partner with the Pomeroy Foundation on this important project that celebrates Connecticut’s unique folklore,” says Ilene Frank, Chief Curator at the Connecticut Historical Society. “Through this program, the CHS aims to work with local communities to highlight the special people and stories who add to the vibrancy of our state.”
As a Legends & Lore grant evaluator, CHS will be responsible for reviewing applications, as well as confirming the legitimacy and accuracy of folklore and legends that applicants in Connecticut intend to commemorate on a marker. Markers should reflect important parts of community heritage, and can also include local celebrations, crafts, and people that are important to the community. Legends & Lore marker grants are available to 501(c)(3) organizations, nonprofit academic institutions, and municipalities in Connecticut, so individuals wishing to apply will need a local partner.
Working with its first partner organization, New York Folklore, the Pomeroy Foundation’s Legends & Lore program has already helped more than 35 communities in New York State to commemorate their own fascinating local stories. One of those Legends & Lore markers celebrates Ichabod Crane and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” It’s said that this famous Washington Irving character was based on a real schoolteacher named Jesse Merwin in Kinderhook, New York.
About the Connecticut Historical Society
The Connecticut Historical Society (www.CHS.org) is a private, not-for-profit educational organization that includes a museum, library, and the Edgar F. Waterman Research Center. Founded in 1825, the CHS is the state’s official historical society and one of the oldest in the nation. The CHS, a Smithsonian Affiliate, works to connect visitors to the story of Connecticut, and to help create a society that values historical perspective and understanding as essential tools in shaping communities and making informed decisions. To accomplish that, the CHS has collected more than 4 million manuscripts, graphics, books, artifacts, and other historical materials related to Connecticut’s social, cultural, and family history – which are available to the public onsite at One Elizabeth Street in Hartford, off-site at other locations, and online.
About the Pomeroy Foundation
The William G. Pomeroy Foundation is a private, grant-making foundation established in 2005. The Foundation is committed to supporting the celebration and preservation of community history; and to raising awareness, supporting research and improving the quality of care for patients and their families who are facing a blood cancer diagnosis. To date, the Foundation has awarded more than 700 grants for historic signage in New York State and beyond. Visit: www.wgpfoundation.org
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CONTACT INFO:
Connecticut Historical Society: www.CHS.org
For more details on the program, contact the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program at the CHS, kate_schramm@chs.org, 860-236-5621
Learn more about the program: https://chs.org/legends-lore-roadside-marker-program/