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The number of visitors to the Adams display at the C.H. Booth Library has created a need to extend the exhibition through Feb. 8, the Newtown Historical Society ssaid.
The crowds have been steady, and calls of inquiry frequent, said library officials.
Donated by William Zilinek of San Diego, whose family previously lived in Redding, the display features more than a dozen items that are mainly from the possessions of the second President John Adams, his wife Abigail Adams, and their son, the sixth president, John Quincy Adams. Two items represent a later descendant, John Quincy Adams Johnson, who lived in Redding for a time.
The total collection contains 52 objects, and those on display were selected to give the best insight into three Adams' lives.
The objects include personal jewelry, including a bracelet woven from the hair of John Adams, signet rings that would have been used to seal state papers, as well as personal correspondence, an inaugural medal, and gifts given to John Quincy Adams, including a box made from wood taken from the USS Constitution, the famed Old Ironsides, during one of its several restorations.
When the Erie Canal opened early in John Quincy Adams' administration, it was only fitting that he be given mementos of the occasion. His example of the opening day medal is still encased in its original box made from wood carried as the first cargo along the Canal.
This outstanding display of the country's early history has been made possible in part by a grant from the Connecticut Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The display can be visited any time during library hours. For more information about the Adams collection visit www.newtownhistory.org.
The C.H. Booth Library is at 25 Main St.
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