If someone were to look at the population of Dublin between 1869 and 1870, he or she would see that Dublin lost half its population,

Celeste Snitko, archivist for the Dublin Historical Society, explained during a “Dublin Archives: Present and Past” presentation at the Dublin Public Library Tuesday night that the reason for the population loss was that Harrisville became its own town in 1870.

This information and more is preserved and kept at the Dublin Historical Society archives at 8 Church St. Snitko said a lot of Dublin’s records were scattered throughout the town and not kept safe.

“They weren’t always easy to find,” Snitko said.

However, she said in the 1970s through the 1980s, some people decided it was time to work on an archive and preserve the history of Dublin. Bill Bauhan along with Lucy Shonk, who was in attendance, were among those who worked to collect records. Others, like John Harris, worked to archive Dublin’s history, as well.

During the presentation, Shonk shared some of her stories from documenting Dublin’s oldest houses.

“I would drive him [Will Morgan, architectural historian] to the house and he’d sit there and write the description and I’d photograph it, all black and white photographs back then.” Shonk said. “It was fun, I really liked doing it.”

From there, she said she would pore through the records of deeds that were located in Keene, which she described as “ginormous books that were high up on shelves.”

Throughout the presentation, Snitko explained how the documents and items of Dublin are preserved. Snitko said in 1996, Dublin received an anonymous donation of $100,000 to build the archives, which were constructed to be fireproof, flood-proof and climate-controlled.

“The worst enemy of items is humidity and light,” Snitko said.

Snitko said they keep documents in acid-free folders and have records in well-organized binders. Even with history as far back as the late 1700s, Snitko said she is not worried the archives will run out of room anytime soon.

Tom Rowett, attended with his wife Joan, who is a member of the Friends of the Library. He said knowing the history of the town a person lives in can lead to a greater appreciation for the area.

“You can make a connection with your town easier than just living in it,” Rowett said.

After the presentation ended, there was a question-and-answer session. One attendee asked if there were any records on the sheep of Dublin. Rowett said he found that fascinating, despite being a niche question.

Also in attendance were other members of the Historical Society, including Sara Germain, who said she remembers the “scramble” of looking for all the records.

One item that was presented was Dublin town records from 1771 to 1806, and Germain said, “The handwriting is unbelievable.” in those documents after she got a chance to take a look at them.

Snitko said archivists do all this work to fill in blanks through the years and to make sure records don’t disappear.

“There are so many things you don’t want lost through the years, and once it’s gone, it’s gone,” she said.

Snitko added the archives do take records that are current, not just from history. She said anybody who has been in any sort of record has a file on them in the archives.