Max R. Traurig Library and Archive Access

The Max R. Traurig Library and Archive housed in the Mattatuck Museum collects extensively on Waterbury history, with a special focus on Connecticut history. This includes archival collections, books, photographs, broadsides, ephemera, maps, and city directories.

It is the local repository of records and ledgers of many of the city’s past businesses, institutions and organizations. Archival collections document Waterbury industry in general, the brass industry, clock manufacturing, button business, and significant local figures.

The collection is searchable via the following sites.  In-person research must be scheduled by appointment.  

Featured Collection:
M-2 Waterbury Button Company Records, 1849-1935

1868 Presidential Campaign Button for Grant, created by the Waterbury Button Co
1868 Presidential Campaign Button for Grant, created by the Waterbury Button Co
The Waterbury Button Company was founded in 1812. The collection is largely composed of business documents including correspondence, bills, receipts, account details, patents, and ledgers. The collection also contains the J. R. Smith Papers. Smith was President of the company and the papers mostly relate to the Waterbury Country Club, of which he was a founder.

Library & Archive Policies  Archival Collections Finding Aids
 Subject Guides

Contact Information:
Stephanie Crawford, Archivist
scrawford@mattmuseum.org
203.753.0381×119

Other Resources

  • The Silas Bronson Library: Collections of local history and genealogy
    Contact the Reference Librarian: 203-754-8225
  • Waterbury City Hall: Land records
    Town Clerk’s Office: 203-574-6806
  • The Republican-American: Newspaper, photograph and print archives
    Contact the Librarian: 203-774-3636 x 1497
  • Marriage, Birth, Death records: Holdings back to 1886
    Office of Vital Statistics: 203-574-6800

Articles

Part IV: Our Boys – Letters Home by Michael DeGirolamo Jr., Republican-American, April 19, 2017