Why Support The Trinity Historical Society?

Trinity Historical Society’s Mandate: To preserve, present and promote the history of Trinity and the surrounding twelve communities, commonly referred to as Trinity Bight, through the operation of the Trinity Museum, Trinity Historical Society Archives, the Green Family Forge, the Court House, Gaol and General Building, the Lester-Garland House and the Cooperage.

The Trinity Historical Society has, since it’s inception in 1964, been quite successful in the preservation, presentation and promotion of the historic resources, heritage and history of Trinity and the surrounding area.

The generous financial and in-kind support of individuals, businesses and government and the commitment of those involved with advancing the organization’s goals have helped the organization grow and become a leading contributor to the economic development of the region.

The Trinity Historical Society owns and operates the Trinity Historical Society Archives (1966), Trinity Museum (1967), Green Family Forge (1991), Court House, Gaol and General Building (1996), Lester-Garland House (1997) and the Cooperage (2007).

The Trinity Historical Society has achieved a number of accomplishments since 1964, on its own and with partners, some of which are listed below.

• Opened the first Museum outside of St. John’s in 1967.

• A partner in The Trinity Restoration Project, 1978 - 1983 which saw many of the older buildings including the Parish Hall, the Court House and the Anglican, Roman Catholic and the Mortuary Chapel refurbished on their exterior; the Methodist School (SUF Hall) was acquired and refurbished; a start was made on reconstructing Ryan’s Shop; the Hiscock House was acquired and restored to the 1910 period; a private dwelling was purchased, remodelled and opened as the Interpretation Centre and contracts were let for research on various aspects of the history of Trinity.

• Restoration of the Green Family Forge in 1991 which is operated as a living history museum.

• Worked with members of Rising Tide Theatre in gathering of material for The Trinity Pageant -The New Found Lande.

• Established the Trinity Trust - Canada Inc. to raise funds for the reconstruction of the Lester-Garland House in 1996/97.

• Published a history of Trinity written by Dr. Gordon Handcock titled The Story of Trinity, 1997. Republished in 2008.

• Celebrated 40th anniversary of the founding of the Historical Society with various events, 2004.

• Completed Oral History Project for the following communities: Kerley’s Harbour, White Point, George’s Cove, New Bonaventure, Cat Cove, New Bonaventure and Whale Cove, 2006 - 2007.

• Society launched four virtual exhibits, www.newfoundlandshipwrecks.com, 2006;  www.newfoundlandandthesomme.com, 2007; www.newfoundlandshipbuilding.com, 2008; & www.trinitymerchants.com, 2009.

• Reconstructed the Cooperage on the Lester-Garland Premises as the Society’s second living history museum, 2007.

• Completed interior renovations at the Trinity Museum and updated the collections management information system for the site, 2008.

• Completed major renovations to the Court House, Gaol and General Building including the restoration of the clock and tower, 2010.

The Society is now working on a number of new and innovative projects such as: the digitization of parts of its archival collection for both preservation reasons and to share our resources with the world through placing the information on the internet; the creation of new and interactive exhibits for our system of historic sites and the development of educational programming through living history interpretation, demonstrations and workshops.