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Salisbury, Connecticut is a quintessential New England town founded in 1741. The Salisbury Association was established in 1902 to promote the best interests of the town and to protect its natural attractions. Today that mission includes preserving our history, conserving our land, and celebrating our community.

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The World Comes to Salisbury:
Celebrating the Holley Knife Collection

Come see our newly conserved collection of original Holley Knives! It’s the centerpiece of a major interpretive exhibit “The World Comes to Salisbury: Celebrating the Holley Knife Collection” which tells the story of the Holley Manufacturing Company which was central to Salisbury’s economic life from 1844 to 1947. To advertise its wares, and reflecting its role in the nation’s expanding industrial life, the company commissioned a hand-carved walnut case over seven feet tall to display 222 knives at our country’s first World’s Fair: the national Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. The collection won a bronze medal and a Certificate of Award. Now, the original case has been professionally refurbished and the original knives have been painstakingly cleaned. The case displays more than one hundred of the original pocketknives, including the 24-blade knife and the pistol knife and additional products made by the Holley Company, such as scissors and straight razors. Come see it and learn about the role Salisbury played in our country’s industrial age!

The World Comes to Salisbury:
Celebrating the Holley Knife Collection

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Acknowledgment: We are grateful to Joseph Meehan and Louis Hecht for their beautiful photographs used throughout the website. Many thanks also to Carolyn Grimaldi, John Harney, Leo Nadeau, Don Perdue, Scott Whelan, and trustees too numerous to mention who provided other photos.