Sherman Historical Society and Museums [CT]

Description

The Sherman Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Sherman, Connecticut, founded in 1802. To this end, the society operates two museums. The 1829 Federal-style Northrop House presents exhibits of local historical interest, while the circa 1810 Old Store presents both local history and the contents of a general store circa 1867.

The Northrop House Museum and The Old Store offer exhibits. The Old Store also offers period rooms.

Gillette Castle State Park [CT]

Description

Atop the most southerly hill in a chain known as the Seven Sisters, William Hooker Gillette, noted actor, director, and playwright, built this 184-acre estate, the Seventh Sister. The focal point of his effort was a 24-room mansion reminiscent of a medieval castle.

A second website for the site, maintained by the Friends of Gillette Castle, can be found here.

The site offers tours and occasional recreational and educational events.

Thomas Lee House [CT]

Description

The Thomas Lee House, located in East Lyme, CT, is one of the oldest wood frame houses in Connecticut in its primitive state. The original structure dates to circa 1660, with additions having been made circa 1700 and circa 1765. The site is located by the Little Boston Schoolhouse (dating to circa 1805 and also open to the public).

The house offers period rooms, exhibits, colonial days for fourth graders, and the possibility of scheduling tours.

Philip Johnson Glass House [CT]

Description

The Philip Johnson Glass House aims for the 47-acre campus to become a center-point for the preservation of modern architecture, landscape, and art, as well as a canvas for inspiration, experimentation and cultivation honoring the legacy of Philip Johnson (1906–2005) and David Whitney (1939–2005). Philip Johnson was a recognized modernist architect, having been an associate of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the recipient of the first Pritzker Architecture Prize, and the founder of MoMA's Department of Architecture and Design. David Whitney was a curator, collector, passionate advocate of contemporary art, and Johnson's life partner. The Glass House, designed 1945–1947 and completed 1949, grew from the inspirational legacy of the German Glasarchitektur drawings of the 1920s. With walls made of glass, permitting the exterior view to inundate the interior, the house speaks to minimalism, geometry, proportion, reflectivity, and opacity versus transparency. The site includes numerous other structures designed by Johnson, including painting and sculpture studios, a lake pavilion, and the so-called brick house.

The site offers tours and an informative media installation.

Essex Historical Society [CT]

Description

The Essex Historical Society works to preserve the history of Essex and the lower valley of the Connecticut River. The society manages several historical properties throughout the town of Essex, and works to educate the public by offering lectures and workshops in the town hall.

The society offers lectures and workshops in the town hall that are open to the public and also offers occasional special events, including home and town tours. The website offers a calendar of events and a brief history of the area.

Nathan Hale Homestead [CT]

Description

One of the first of thousands of patriots who would die in the war for American independence, Hale is Connecticut's official State Hero. He was born and spent most of the short life he courageously sacrificed on this 400-acre farm. Hale, a Yale-educated schoolteacher, was commissioned a first lieutenant in the Continental Army in 1775. A year later he volunteered to go behind British lines on Long Island to gather military intelligence desperately needed by General George Washington. The British captured Hale and, when they discovered he was a spy, executed him. He was 21. In 1776, Hale's father rebuilt the Homestead, which has changed little since. Its furnishings include collections amassed by pioneer Connecticut antiquarian George Dudley Seymour and several Hale family possessions.

The homestead offers exhibits and tours.

Amistad Center for Art and Culture at the Wadsworth Athenaeum Museum of Art [CT]

Description

The center was first created in 1987 with the mission to purchase, protect, and provide public access to the Randolph Linsly Simpson Collection. The collection contains over 7,000 pieces of art, artifacts, and archives; and documents more than 300 years of African American History. A highlight of the collection is over 2,000 photographs which range from vivid images of slave life through some of the most memorable news photos of the Civil Rights movement.

The center offers exhibits and group tours. Reservations are required for all group visits. The site offers an events calendar, visitor information, information on the current and upcoming exhibits, and information regarding educational programs. To email the center use the "talk to us" link on the right side of the webpage.

Huntington Homestead Museum [CT]

Description

"The Huntington Homestead in Scotland, Connecticut, is the birthplace of Samuel Huntington, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a distinguished statesman during the Revolutionary War and early Republic. The remarkably well-preserved site includes an eighteenth century house on its original foundation surrounded by acres of farmland, bordered by Merrick Brook." The house now serves as a historic house museum, and is open to visitors from May through October.

The site offers historical information about the museum and Samuel Huntington, visitor information, an archives section featuring old newsletters and site information, an online museum store, and links to other resources, such as biographies of Samuel Huntington and online historical resources in Connecticut.

Connecticut Historical Society [CT]

Description

Established in in 1825, the Connecticut Historical Society is one of the oldest historical societies in the nation and today runs a museum, library, and education center. The museum hosts an impressive collection of Connecticut historical artifacts, including 242,000 photographs and 38,000 objects. The library is similarly extensive, and also has one of the finest genealogical collections in the nation. The education center holds a variety of events, including museum tours and programs, outreach programs, online resources, and professional development for educators.

The site offers library access, information on all educational programs offered by the society, visitor information, an events calendar, exhibits information, eight online exhibits, and resources for genealogical researchers.