Brookside Farm Museum in East Lyme pitches new exhibit with abolitionist roots

East Lyme ― The Brookside Farm Museum is laying the groundwork for a "seismic shift" it hopes will help unearth and share more stories about those whose existences have been hidden from history.Annah Perch, the part-time curator hired in 2023, in an interview last week said an abolitionist newspaper discovered behind the walls of the 1845 farmhouse is the basis for what she hopes will become a permanent exhibit.While the newspaper was uncovered during a 1970s renovation, the yellowed pages were only recently sent out for preservation to the Northeast Document Conservation Center. The document is on its way home after about six months at the facility, according to Perch.The Christian Freeman edition from Aug. 7, 1845 was published at a time when Perch said the abolition movement to end slavery was active in town. She pointed to evidence of well-attended abolitionist meetings at a church about a mile from the museum.The Brookside Farm Museum at 33 Society Road, dedicated as a town museum almost 50 years ago, has also been referred to as the Smith-Harris House and Thomas Avery House. It currently showcases domestic life from 1845 to 1955.The exhibit also will delve into the story of Amos Watrous, an 8-year-old boy identified as Black in census records who lived in the Avery house without parents in 1850. Slavery had been abolished in the state just two years prior.Little else is known about the child."To date, nobody's ever talked about Amos Watrous living in that house," she said. "I don't really have an opinion as to why that is, but he did live there."Historian Tom Schuch, a resident of East Lyme known for his work on the New London Black Heritage Trail, lives behind the museum. He said he was compelled to use his research skills to find out why the Black child was living with the Avery family without his parents."I'm a lifelong Sherlock Holmes fan, so I'm always interested in mysteries and hidden histories and things that are undiscovered," he said.Research so far indicates Watrous was an orphan, according to Schuch. At least three of Watrous' siblings were placed separately with local families after the death of the children's mariner father and a mother Schuch believes is buried in the Old Stone Church Burial Ground on Society Road near the museum."I found her gravestone. It's knocked over. It's laying down," he said. "I am 99% sure that is his mother."Schuch said Watrous appears to be the child's middle name rather than last. His research indicates he died in 1851, but Schuch doesn't know why."There's an answer out there. We haven't found it. It's waiting to be discovered," he said.Perch estimated it will be at least a year before the new Black history exhibit is unveiled. She described the proposed exhibit as part of the museum's efforts to create a "seismic shift in how it offers itself to the public." The timeline is dependent on securing grant funding or donations to make it happen."That's the plan," Perch said. "How we're going to do it, I don't quite know yet."The first step is bringing in a certified historical architect or engineer to prepare a Historic Structures Report focused on the historic house itself. Preliminary estimates put the cost at $20,000.The Board of Selectmen last week unanimously endorsed a resolution supporting the museum's request for a $10,000 grant from the State Historic Preservation Office to fund the report.The state grant program requires organizations to match a portion of the total cost. With $5,000 allocated in the town's capital budget for the expense, the Friends of Brookside Farm Museum has committed to covering the remaining amount.The report will delve into the history and existing physical condition of a property through research, photographs and physical exploration, according to the State Historic Preservation Office. Guidance will also be provided on needed repairs and how the property can best be used in the future.Town Finance Director Kevin Gervais told the selectmen many funders require a Historic Structures Report as a condition of a grant award, including the state's Local Capital Improvement Program that funds public building projects."This is step one," he said.The building has fallen into disrepair with peeling lead paint and a failing roof, according to Perch.Her previous experience includes eight years as executive director of the Stepping Stones Foundation in Katonah, N.Y., where she oversaw a historic house museum and guided the process of it becoming a National Historic Landmark."Any smart organization would get the Historic Structures Report to give us the best advice for how to treat the structure of the house moving forward," Perch said. "It can also tell us a little more about the history of the entire property."e.regan@theday.com