The Wright Museum is a one-of-a-kind non-profit institution dedicated to teaching present and future generations about the significant and lasting impact the years 1939-1945 had on the United States and the world. Nearly sixty years after the end of World War II, the country is losing 1,000 veterans every day. There are approximately five million veterans from WWII and as of 1994, 35,000 lived in New Hampshire. Now is the time for them, their baby boom children and the next generations to share and compare experiences, insights, and attitudes about that war, and any war. The Americans on the Home Front did war work, saved fuel and rubber, read newspapers and listened to the radio while they waited for (and worried about) their loved ones overseas.

The Museum
There are three distinct buildings: the Home Front and theater, the two-story educational building or Visitor's Center and the military building which houses memorabilia from all branches of service from WWII including a large collection of military vehicles from this era. It is air-conditioned, wheelchair accessible and the parking lots have ample space for tour buses. The museum can be booked for special presentations. Allow between one and two hours to tour the museum and still have time to peruse the gift shop.

The Home Front and military building exhibitions were the first two built, and in July 2002, the connecting section known as the educational building opened its doors. A new gift shop, reception desk and an area set aside for a possible "working" soda fountain shop are all housed in the front area of this section.

The time tunnel located on the first floor of the "Educational Center" building will link the Home Front to the military building. It is expected that the tunnel should be completed by the end of 2003. Visitors will walk through the years 1939-1945 with special exhibits and murals highlighting each of the seven years.

It is anticipated that by the year 2005, the second floor of the educational building will be completed. This area will house a chapel, meeting rooms where community educational programs can be held, a research library and reference center where a vast collection of books, maps, videotapes and audio recordings will be available to students, scholars, and researchers. Also, there will be a special exhibit area for art and interactive special exhibits from the WWII era, and last but not least, the staff offices for the museum staff.

History
David M. Wright, founder and creator of the Museum, the son of a WWI veteran who served in the U.S. Marines during the Korean War, is the inspiration and motivation behind the creation of the E. Stanley Wright Museum. He continued until he had over 50 vehicles, all totally restored, totally operational. By 1983 the E. Stanley Wright Museum Foundation, Inc. was established in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.

At that time the Museum was a mobile museum and was taken around Northern New England to parades, military functions, e.g. the Roosevelt Museum and West Point for Founder's Day. Years later realizing that it was more than just vehicles that memorialized the war effort but also the Home Front and the enterprising American spirit that contributed to the war effort, Wright began looking for land for a permanenet museum to be established.

In 1992 he purchased an 8 acre piece of property, the site of Diamond National adjacent to the Smith River. On July 16, 1994 the doors opened to the first visitors. Since then, over 100,000 people have toured the Home Front and military buildings. Some visit out of curiosity after having seen the "M3A1 Stuart tank protruding" from the front brick building. What they find inside stirs up memories, either as a veteran or person on the Home Front or as a child being brought up on the Home Front while Dad was overseas fighting. Some visitors are young enough that they have no idea what happened in WWII except what they learned in history class.

The museum shows how a country came together. Everyone pulled together in a unique way; either building aircraft, ships, tanks,jeeps, women going into the workforce, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts helping gather scrap metal, or by growing a Victory Garden. No one in America stood still. Everyone helped with the war effort.

Mission Statement
The Wright Museum was founded in 1982 based in the belief that the events and experiences which occurred on the American Home Front during the 1939-1945 World War II period, resulted in a significant and lasting impact on both the United States and the world, and should be preserved for posterity. The Museum, a 501 (c)-3 not-for-profit educational corporation, is supported by public donations. www.wrightmuseum.org

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