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07/18/2024 12:17 PMDEEP RIVER
How did a collection of swords from around the world land at the Deep River Historical Society (DRHS)? Who exactly was its donor, and what was it like to sail the oceans aboard ships like the invigorated United States Navy used in the early 20th century? These and other questions are sure to be asked when visiting the Lost Swords of the Great White Fleet exhibit at the DRHS Stone House building.
Running through October, the exhibit features nearly 50 swords which were collected by naval officer Oliver Dwight Norton, Jr. The officer picked up the blades at various points of the globe during the Great White Fleet’s 18-month world tour from 1907 to 1909—a diplomatic journey of American battleships which also sought to demonstrate the growing military strength of the nation’s maritime fleet.
Norton remains a mysterious figure, as not a single photo of him could be found by the DRHS in its research, despite the fact that he was a medical director for a U.S. Navy which was now modernized in the Age of Imperialism.
Mystery followed Norton’s legacy in 1962, when his stepson Paul Butterworth “mysteriously donated to the historical society” his adoptive father’s collection of around 50 swords whose origins and usages widely vary, said DRHS president Jerry Roberts. The swords range from battle and ceremonial swords of American and British officers to Filipino-made blades specifically for cutting pineapple trees.
“We don't know a reason why this guy Paul Butterworth of a pretty well-known Connecticut family in West Hartford would donate this chest full of swords to the museum,” said Roberts. “It was put up in our attic and more or less forgotten, and it was rediscovered in 2017.”
Roberts said that you can “read what each sword is” at the exhibit, learning quite a lot about them in the process.
“You can read basically the history of swords—what swords were used, the difference between military swords and ceremonial swords,” he said.
However, it is not the swords themselves which are the most significant part of the exhibit. Rather, “It's about this cool story,” said Roberts.
Exhibit visitors can live the beginning of the story by looking at a map which shows the path of the Great White Fleet and pinpoints the locations where it stopped, which was presumably where Norton collected many of the featured swords. There are model ships of the World War I era on display and sailor hats from the USS Connecticut, a ship which traveled the globe with the Great White Fleet. Postcards from the early 20th century are also a feature of the exhibit.
Kids visiting the exhibit can go on a journey themselves, as Roberts has hidden 16 battleship pieces, similar to those used in Monopoly, with one of them being a gold model.
“That's just a fun little thing to add some oomph to it,” he said.
Roberts will hold a public talk on the exhibit in October, retelling the story of the Great White Fleet, the surrounding history before and after, and Norton’s collection of the swords. To financially support the DRHS, the swords will be auctioned off in October, marking the end of the exhibit.
For now, though, the mystery behind swords, its collector, and their donation remain key points for visitors to ponder.
“Why did Paul Butterworth give these to us in little Deep River, rather than a museum in Hartford or Middletown? How come we couldn't get a photo of [Norton]?” asks Roberts. “We researched the crew list of all of the ships and the Great White Fleet, and he doesn't appear on any of them. How come he doesn't appear on the crew lists of any of these ships?”
The public is invited to perform its own investigation into the swords and the overall mystery.
“If you know anything about any of these swords, please let us know,” said Roberts. “Clearly, there is more research to be done.”