East Lyme — The town's first firetruck, an early mail wagon and historical artifacts previously hidden away from public view will be on display under one roof in the near future.

The East Lyme Historical Society is fundraising to build an addition to the barn on the grounds of the Thomas Lee House on West Main Street in Niantic. Town Historian Elizabeth Kuchta said the addition to the barn will expand the structure by 30 feet to the west and enable the historical society to exhibit more of East Lyme's history and the different aspects of the town throughout the years in one space.

"We would like to finally showcase East Lyme's past," said Kuchta, who is a member of the historical society.

The historical society, which was formed in 1897 with the mission to preserve the town's historical assets, bought the Thomas Lee House in 1914, and opened the home to the public the following year. The barn on the property, built in 1995, features local history displays on the Nehantic indigenous people and "Lyme in the Revolution," as well as the Lee family history, its genealogy and "Ezra Lee and the Turtle submarine," and some local artifacts.

The historical society has been thinking for years of expanding the barn to display many more of the historical artifacts, that have been hidden away from the public eye, East Lyme Historical Society President Norman Peck III said. The immediate catalyst for starting the project this year was that the Niantic Fire Department was looking for a space to display "Our Pride," its first firetruck, he said.

"It's been very well preserved, and it deserves a place in the public eye," Peck said.

Kuchta said the historical society plans to feature "Our Pride" — constructed in Niantic by George Dixon, the owner of Dixon Carriage Co., with metal work forged by Blacksmith Fred James circa 1890 — as part of a display on firefighting in town.

The historical society also wanted to showcase one of the earliest mail wagons for the Niantic RFD in East Lyme, which the Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution currently is taking care of but will be giving to the society, according to Kuchta and Peck. The horse-drawn wagon will be part of a display on postal service in East Lyme.

Kuchta said the historical society also plans to showcase additional artifacts and displays that include: a 2-foot-by-8-foot black-and-white Morton House sign that could date back to the late 1800s; equipment from ice cutting on the ponds, which was a big business in East Lyme in the 1800s, when fishing fleets needed ice to transport seafood to fish markets in New York; and items on work in the town's granite quarries, which started in the early 1800s and produced pink granite, a high-quality granite used for monuments and in buildings.

While the historical homes in town tend to focus on more specific historical aspects, the barn will show artifacts from throughout the town's history and display the different centuries in East Lyme, said Dawn Shea of the East Lyme Historical Society. Rotating displays will keep the space fresh, she said.

The historical society is fundraising for the estimated $32,000 cost of the addition. The society already has reached about half of its goal and is continuing to fundraise. A group of donors is willing to match contributions up to $4,000, Peck said.

Construction is slated to begin this fall on the post-and-beam addition, similar to the original barn, and the historical society is planning an opening event for the spring, Kuchta said.

Peck said the project will serve as the first step toward a museum dedicated to the town's history.

"Our long-term dream is to have a real building dedicated to East Lyme history but this is a start," he said.

More information is available at bit.ly/ELHistory.

k.drelich@theday.com