MILFORD – Over the past few years, the Milford Historical Society has uncovered artifacts that have led to a fascinating story. What began as a routine cleaning of the Carey House attic developed into the discovery of not one national treasure, but two.

Researching the history of these two items led us to an online paper written by Jon Grinspan that was several years old. Much to our surprise, not only did Grinspan respond to an inquiry, he is a curator in the division of political history at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Grinspan came to the Milford Historical Society in May 2018 and was able to assess the objects and share information about them with our Board. After much discussion, the board of directors unanimously voted to donate both items to the Smithsonian where they will join the national political history collections. The artifacts were carefully packed and delivered to the museum on the National Mall during the summer 2019.

Even though the items have left our museum, we have plenty of recently discovered information and photographs to share about the donor and all that he contributed to the Milford Historical Society.

On Nov. 21, Curator Jon Grinspan will be in Milford to talk about the finds and their important place in the nation’s political history. The event starts at 7 p.m.