Bristol museum opens doors
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BRISTOL -- The Bristol Community Museum was scheduled to open in the spring of 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic delayed its debut, with the museum now opening Saturday.
The museum will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the former 1845 congregational church at the township center at state Routes 45 and 88. There also will be a craft and vendor show at the center.
Mary Ann Raidel of Bristol, curator of the museum, said also open that day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. will be the historic 1850s doctor's office and 1899 barbershop buildings, both from the late 1800s, located behind the museum building.
"We wanted to showcase people, places and events of our past. We have a variety of items from a 1920s flapper's dress, homecoming gown from 1952, business calendars, school graduation items. We are fortunate the items have come from different families. Many of the items were given to my mom to keep in her care when she lived here," Raidel said.
Raidel said her mother, Leah Hubbard, kept the items hoping one day there would be a museum to showcase them. Hubbard also worked to save the barbershop in 2000.
After Hubbard died in 2002, Raidel acquired many of the items that are now being shown in the museum.
Bristol Trustee Ramon French said there is limited space at the museum, but plans are to expand in the future.
"We are already out of room for items. It's exciting that people will be able to see the local history and get the younger folks involved," he said.
Raidel said there are enough items to rotate exhibits during the year.
"Because we have so many sports pictures we would like to invite the local teams and their coaches. We hope this will help the younger people with Bristol's past," she said.
French said future plans are to open the museum once per month on a Sunday afternoon for a couple of hours and highlight local families and their history.
"We are glad to be able to finally open the doors," said Raidel, who worked on the museum displays during the pandemic.
French said plans are for fundraisers and to seek donations related to Bristol's history for the museum.
The building is the former location of the township zoning office, which was there for many years.
French said Bloomfield Trustee Roger Peterson donated items for display.
Sarah Moell, curator of collections for the Trumbull County Historical Society, was visiting the museum this week and said, "This is wonderful what they have done. I do not know a lot of the history of Bristol but have learned so much being here. I like the display of clothes and the business signs."
Raidel said she learned about so many businesses that have been in Bristol, including furniture, automobile, cheese and barrel factories and even a train that went through Bristol to Mecca carrying lumber.
"This community was very self sufficient with the different businesses and factories. I was amazed how many general and hardware stores there were," she said.
Photos and information also highlights major events in Bristol's history, including Gideon Sprague, who was the first postmaster in 1825; the flood of 1878 that washed away five mills on Baughman Creek; Dr. Edward Brinkerhoff, who began his medical practice in 1886 with the doctor's office still displayed at the center; the Bristol Library, which was constructed in 1912; and a May 1967 tanker on fire at the center threatened to explode with the center park covered in foam to prevent a meltdown.