Past Exhibitions
THIS SIDE OF PARADISE
Madison Center for History & Culture
14 Meetinghouse Lane, Madison, Connecticut, 06443
Open Wednesday through Friday from 10 am to 2 pm. Free and open to the public.
From plastic to gold and birds to beetles, This Side of Paradise explores the intriguing and beautiful accessories in our collection. We invite you to enjoy our hair combs, fans, rings, pocket watches—and more.
FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES ONLY
Summer 2025
The Allis-Bushnell House
853 Boston Post Road, Madison, Connecticut
Open on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month from 11 am to 1 pm. Admission is free. Donations are welcome.
This exhibit features items used by medical practitioners and citizens in Madison during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Objects from Dr. Mila Rindge, Dr. Hyman Birnbaum, and others will be displayed in the Allis-Bushnell House tearoom. This unique exhibit offers a glimpse into the evolving practices of medicine from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, highlighting both the ingenuity and eccentricity of health care in earlier eras.
MADISON INVENTORS
Spring 2025
The Allis-Bushnell House
853 Boston Post Road, Madison, Connecticut
Open on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month from 11 am to 1 pm. Admission is free. Donations are welcome.
This exhibit features such MHS collection items as the Munger family's early dustless crayon and Reuben Shaler's 1858 carpet sweeper.
EVERYTHING APPLES
Winter 2024
The Allis-Bushnell House
This exhibit celebrates apples and all the comfort and seasonality they invoke. Along with locally published recipes from different historical periods in Madison, our historic kitchen gadgets related to apples and baking are on display with artworks that feature apples as their theme.
BUSINESS OF LEISURE
2013-2015
The Allis-Bushnell House
In the last half of the nineteenth century, Madison was a community on the wane economically. Jobs had shifted to the manufacturing centers, and young people followed the jobs. When the growing middle class discovered that Madison was a good place to spend their newfound leisure time, the economy of Madison was revived. Visit the Business of Leisure exhibit page.
OVER HERE, OVER THERE: MADISON IN WWI
2016-2018
Lee's Academy & Memorial Town Hall
Over Here, Over There: Madison in WWI was a collaborative exhibition of the Madison Historical Society and the Charlotte L. Evarts Memorial Archives. It told the story of Madison and its people during the Great War with a focus on individual stories of those who served overseas and those who remained at home. Visit the exhibit webpage.