Sandy Hook Archives

The Condolence Archive Project of the C.H. Booth Library The Condolence Archive Project of the C.H. Booth Library is a historic preservation project documenting expressions of condolence received after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012, through the creation of a digital archive of approximately 1,000 images. These images are representative of the scope and range of condolence materials sent to the town of Newtown.

Iron Mountain: Iron Mountain will protect letters, cards, banners, quilts, teddy bears and other expressions of sympathy inside one of its nearby secure storage facilities. The company has donated the space indefinitely.

Sacred Soil: Following the tragedy, many items were left as temporary memorials throughout town, including stuffed animals and flowers. These items were later incinerated, with the resulting ash called “sacred soil.” The “sacred soil” will be used in the Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial.

Documenting an Outpouring of Grief in Newtown: An article published by Connecticut Public Radio / WNPR and written by Diane Orson.

In the Wake of Tragedy: An article published by American Libraries by George M. Eberhart.

C.H. Booth Condolence Documents:
CHB Digital Archive
Condolence Objects in CHB Archive (1)
Condolence Objects in CHB Archive (2)
Condolence Objects in CHB Archive (3)
Condolence Objects in CHB Archive (4)
Condolence Objects EB 1
Condolence Objects EB 2
Condolence Objects EB 3
Condolence Objects EB 4
Condolence Objects EB 5
Condolence Objects EB 6
Condolence Objects EB 7
Condolence Objects EB 8
Condolence Objects EB 9
Condolence Objects EB 10
Condolence Objects EB 11
Condolence Objects EB 12
Condolence Objects EB 13
Condolence Objects EB 14
Condolence Objects EB 15
Condolence Object EB 16
Condolence Object EB 17
Condolence Physical Archive and Archive Project
Digitization Project and Single Items Sample
First Batch To Go
First Batch To Go (1)
First Batch To Go (2)
First Batch To Go (3)
First Batch To Go (4)