The Watershed History Collective, formerly known as the Friends, makes history, nature and the arts come alive. For more than 50 years, our dedicated volunteers and professional staff have explored local history and designed curriculum and programming to share it with the community in interesting and innovative ways.
The Watershed History Collective was founded as an independent nonprofit organization in 1971. For many years, our organization managed collections and created engaging programs at 783 Main Street (Wood Memorial Library). We thank the Wood Memorial Library Trust for their support as we grew and evolved into the organization that we are today.
Our geographic focus is the history of South Windsor and its surrounding area, with expertise based on decades of historical research, notably on local Indigenous Peoples and early American settlements. This information has been offered as educational programming in the form of field trips, community events, lectures, workshops and a variety of print and digital publications. We also assist the public with research support.
In 1990, we began collecting archival material relevant to local history and staff created files to record history as it happened. Thanks to a grant, in 2013 our first professional archivist, Claire Lobdell, was hired. Claire went on to research, write and publish Images of America: South Windsor, available for purchase in our online museum store. An education director was added in 2018 to further interpret local research and knowledge into expanded educational offerings.
In 2021, to enhance Native American field trip programming, we opened a permanent outdoor museum of Indigenous life, called Nowashe Village, on a c. 1 acre wooded lot on historic Main Street in South Windsor. Nowashe Village features two wigwams, a classroom-sized Sachem’s House, a Three Sisters Garden, multiple classroom spaces and trails lined with native plants. It is unique to the Hartford region and we welcome the public through special event programming and private education programs for public and private schools, homeschool groups, senior centers and other community organizations. For the planning and implementation of Nowashe Village, we received an Award of Merit from the Connecticut League of History Organizations, and the prestigious national History in Progress award from the American Association of State and Local History, both in 2022.
In 2023, a historic house and barn near Nowashe Village was donated to further our vision of an educational campus of history and the humanities. The property, known as the Vibert House and Barn, is steeped in Main Street history. The modest farmhouse with Greek Revival elements was constructed in 1845, the year South Windsor was incorporated. The 20×30 English style barn dates to 1845 as well. While the house is currently rented, our vision is to refurbish the barn and open it to the public to complement and expand our Early American programming.
In 2025, we rebranded as “The Watershed History Collective” to better describe our expertise and position the organization for a new chapter. We are excited to continue to evolve to offer relevant and innovative research and programming, enhancing our interaction and collaboration with other organizations and the community at large.
Our organization is guided by part-time paid staff and Board of Directors and supported by a dedicated corps of volunteers, organizational friends and generous donations from the community.