Help us to preserve and share Georgetown's past with a special film.

• Who was George, anyway?
• Do you know about the Peanut Lady?
• What everyday products did Gilbert & Bennett invent?
• Who bombed the Baptist Church-and why?
• How did immigration change this Connecticut town?
• Who wrote a musical about Georgetown?

These are just a few of the fascinating tales to be told in a 30-minute documentary combining interviews, artifacts, photographs, music, and recreations to depict highlights of Georgetown's history to date. And you can take part by supporting the Georgetown History Project!

…Now, as the center of town faces transformation, we have a chance to come together, to celebrate our past and capture it for future generations-while we still can. With the backing of Georgetown Village Restoration, Inc., and your help, we at the Georgetown History Project will collect the colorful strands of the past, weave a mesh of the stories that make up Georgetown, and portray it all in a film for everyone to discover and enjoy.

"Georgetown's story deserves to be told, and retold. Through this film, its rich history will come alive and be preserved for generations to come"-Redding First Selectman Natalie Ketcham

Gilbert & Bennett
With imagination, hard work and waterpower, Benjamin Gilbert turned leftover horsehair into a thriving industry that built and dominated this hamlet for 170 years. The legacy of the Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Co. is written in the factory complex that is about to be transformed-as well as the memories of generations whose lives revolved around it. A Georgetown Story will ensure that none of this is lost.

Take Part In Our History
We have already contracted John Maher and his multiple-award-winning production company, JEM Films, to direct and produce. Research is fully funded and underway with help from the Georgetown Fire Department, Meadow Ridge, local historians and librarians. Contributions are mounting.

Here is how you can help:

Donation Levels and Benefits

• Contributor: $1 to $49.
• Supporter: $50 to $99. Receives a GHP T-shirt.
• Patron: $100 to $499. Receives a GHP T-shirt and a DVD of the movie.
• Benefactor: $500 to $2,999. Receives the T-shirt, the DVD, a photo with the director and a film credit. Producer's Circle:

$3,000 and up. Receives a DVD of the movie, a photo with the director and VIP invitation to visit a closed set and a producer credit.

Please make your check payable to the Georgetown History Project and send with this form to P.O. Box 347, Georgetown, CT, 06829 or contact us at AGeorgetownStory@optonline.net.

Georgetown Village Restoration, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Any excess funds raised will remain with GVR to make the film available to a wider audience and to promote Georgetown history.

Contributions are tax-deductible.

Village Life & Lore
Georgetown is rich… in the remembrances of flood survivors and factory workers… in the remnants of the Industrial Revolution and the opulence of Victorian architecture…and in the rare commingling of both. With a National Register historic district at its heart, this former company town has a story to tell that is unique yet universal. Despite division by the river, roads and politics,our diverse community retains a hard-won sense of identity and pride.

Why a documentary?
Mark Twain expressed it best, recalling the town of his youth:

"…The old life has swept before me like a panorama. The old days have trooped by in their old glory again. The old faces have looked out of the mists of the past. The old footsteps have sounded in my listening ears. Old hands have clasped mine. Old voices have greeted me and the songs I loved ages and ages ago have come wailing down the centuries."

"Georgetown is an unconventional village and I don't know anyone better to portray it than Redding's imaginative John Maher."-Helen Hermes

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