But thanks to what he describes as a “high value” and historically significant trove of images, maps, and documents that were recently relocated from Edmond Town Hall’s lower vault, anyone interested in getting a better idea of the community’s history can now do so in the well-lit comfort of the climate-controlled vault at Newtown’s Municipal Center.

Mr Bartucca of Document Management Systems assisted in the discovery and relocation of all remaining records from the former municipal headquarters to their new home through a grant- supported program that was completed in two phases according to Town Clerk Debbie Aurelia.

“We applied for and received two rounds of grants of $6,000 each to complete all the relocation, and when appropriate, the disposal of old or vital records,” the town clerk said during her final sweep of the old vault, which at one time also served as the town jail — complete with a locking cell.

“All of these historical records will be installed on new shelving at our new office site,” Ms Aurelia said.

The goal of the project, she explained, was not simply to relocate boxes from one place to another, but to identify the many items in storage and assess their historical value. This was the part of the project that was most exciting to Mr Bartucca.

“I’ve only found one other municipality in all of Connecticut with this many records in such good condition going back so far,” he said. “The materials we found that are of extreme historical and genealogical significance are invaluable. I mean, we have Grand Levies, or Grand Lists as they are now called, going back to 1739.”

100 Hours Work

Ms Aurelia said her consultant was so passionate about the high value discoveries that he spent more than 100 hours picking through and, when necessary, carefully relocating the records, sometimes with the assistance of town Highway Department crews.

Another goal was to ensure the proper custodians of respective records and documents were aware of their existence, while determining their functional value, according to a project report compiled by Ms Aurelia. (View a copy of the report in the Source Files at Newtownbee.com under “Miscellaneous.”)

Mr Bartucca also worked in collaboration with other town departments to identify and, if required, dispose of any items that had no value — consistent with guidelines established by the state’s Public Records Administrator’s Office.

While the initial wading into the thickly packed vault turned up various softcover notebooks containing handwritten levy and Grand List records dated between 1804 and 1947, the discovery of the bound records dating back nearly a century earlier were not visible or accessible until much of the relocation was complete.

“These lists were handwritten on folded sheets of paper that were later sewn into booklets,” Mr Bartucca noted in the report. “With the exception of a few loose pages the booklets were intact.”

After consulting with the conservator of the State Library on the fragile condition of some of the pages of the oldest entries, it was decided to enclose the lists in adjustable storage containers secured with cotton cord.

Constitutional Resolution

Among the most historic finds was a Town Meeting resolution from 1816 calling for the formation of a constitutional convention to draft a state constitution.

“At that time the state was operating under the authority of the ‘Fundamental Orders,’ the Royal Charter and the United States Constitution,” the report states. “A Connecticut Constitution was not drafted until 1818.”

Another find was a series of aerial photos taken to help with property assessments, dated 1948, 1971, 1989, 1998, 2002, and 2007, which Mr Bartucca said provide a visual history of the town’s development. A collection of leather-bound notebooks was also discovered, providing the earliest record of town electors, listed alphabetically, and dating back to 1820.

Among these notebooks is a check-off record of electors casting votes in the Presidential reelection of Abraham Lincoln in 1864, as well as the first record of women being allowed to vote in a local school referendum. Long before women became entitled to vote in general elections, they were permitted to vote on matters relating to local educational concerns, the report states.

Another package of notebooks trace the oldest original town road network dating back to 1861, along with assessed properties on those avenues.

Ms Aurelia said that the project was so involved that it required Mr Bartucca to be on site several days a week for more than a year. But she was pleased this week to invite The Bee in as she made her final sweep of the vault to ensure no other records were left to transfer.

Mr Bartucca said that although some of the records are quite mundane, they still present some historic value when taken in total.

“I’m confident the State Archives would want these records if Newtown decided it did not,” Mr Bartucca said, “but I’m certain Newtown is aware of the historical significance of some of the records we discovered.”