The Romance of Worth

200 Years of Textiles from the Eldridge Family

The Eldridge family roots date back to the founding fathers of Norfolk.  Their great grandfather Rev. Ammi Robbins was Norfolks first ordained minister in 1761. Rev. Robbins served as Chaplin during the Revolutionary War. Their father Rev. Joseph Eldridge was the minister here from 1832 -1874, the longest pastorate of any Norfolk clergy.  The families

A New Birth of Freedom: Norfolk in the Civil War

In the 1840 presidential election, Thomas Cowles was the first man in Norfolk to openly cast a vote for James G. Birney, the nominee of the abolitionists Liberty Party. Mr. Cowles was applauded somewhat vigorously by some of his fellow townsmen and friends, and this independent act caused much interest and discussion over the next twenty years. A New Birth of Freedom, a quote from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, explores Norfolk in the era leading up to the Civil War, and the men who fought to preserve the Union.

A Haven of Happiness: Inventor Michael Pupin in Norfolk

Our 2024 Exhibition focuses on the amazing life of Professor and Inventor Michael Pupin, a true American Story.

Michael I. Pupin immigrated to the United States in 1874 arriving in New York with 5 cents to his name. The bright young man came here at the urging of his mother, as his education and prospects were few in his home town of Idvor, Banat, in what is now Serbia. Taking the first job

Shedding Light: 200 Years of Art & Music in Norfolk

For the past 200 years music and art have held a very special role in this small New England town.

Music and art have had a long and storied history in Norfolk. A list of illustrious names provides testament—Samuel Coleridge Taylor, Jean Sibelius, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ralph Vaughan Williams, John Cage, Ben Shahn, Josef Albers, Chuck Close, Eva Hesse. Performers, teachers, students, mentors, these artists and musicians had varied roles in Norfolk but each contributed to