The Edwin B. Worthen Collection documents life in Lexington from the late 19th through the mid-20th centuries. The Worthen family was especially interested in the history of who lived where and when in Lexington, as well as in contemporary events that transformed the town during their lifetimes. Subjects range from American history, the Battles of Lexington and Concord, April 19th celebrations, and historic properties and monuments, to Lexington's families and individuals, religious, social and civic organizations, schools and businesses, socio-economic conditions, politics and town government, and infrastructure and transportation. Lantern Slides: A collection of more than 300 lantern slides, arranged according to Edwin B. Worthen, Sr.'s original numbering system, portrays Lexington's people, places, buildings and events circa 1850-1975. In addition to organizing and labeling the slides, Mr. Worthen wrote narrative descriptions - some of which are quite detailed - about the people and places depicted in the images and, in many cases, gave reasons why they are important. Most of the slides showing individuals and groups indicate the names of each person, giving us the ability to use the slides for family history research. Mr. Worthen's personal knowledge of Lexington's people and places is evident in these images and their descriptions. The slides are arranged as follows: Slides 1 through 222 depict Lexington properties, places and general scenes and events; Slides A through R are of individuals; Slides A1 through A40 are of groups of people; Slides S1 through S19 are of schools and school groups. The scanned images, and accompanying descriptions written by Mr. Worthen, may be browsed or searched in the Worthen Collection "Virtual Exhibit" www.carylibrary.org/special/worthen.
