Eli Whitney Museum [CT]

Description

The Museum preserves the site on which Whitney constructed the first American factory in 1798. The Museum celebrates the Whitney tradition of learning by experiment. The Museum designs, produces and teaches projects that engage hands, eyes, and minds and that blend art, science, and invention.

The museum offers exhibits and educational programs, in which students learn about history and other subjects while making crafts and conducting experiments.

Stanley-Whitman House [CT]

Description

Stanley-Whitman House is a living history center and museum that teaches through the collection, preservation, research, and dynamic interpretation of the history and culture of early Farmington. Programs, events, classes, and exhibits encourage visitors of all ages to immerse themselves in history by doing, acting, questioning, and engaging in Colonial life and the ideas that formed the foundation of that culture. Located in the historic village of Farmington, the museum facility is centered on a ca. 1720 National Historical Landmark house, furnished with period antiques to reflect the everyday activities of Colonial life in Connecticut. Surrounding the house are period raised bed gardens, an apple orchard, and heritage stone walls. The public service areas of the museum include a modern classroom, a period tavern room, post-and-beam Welcome Center, research library, and exhibit gallery.

The house offers exhibits; tours; workshops; lectures; educational programs; research library access; and other educational and recreational events, including living history events.

Talcott Mountain State Park [CT]

Description

The Farmington River Valley landmark of Heublein Tower sits atop Talcott Mountain, a long, precipitous wooded ledge named after the Talcott family. The 165-foot structure was built as a summer home in 1914 by Gilbert Heublein. In the early '50s, two future presidents were guests of the Hartford Times, then General Dwight D. Eisenhower (who was asked to run for office there) and Ronald Reagan, then president of the Screen Actors' Guild. Following a period of ownership of the property by the Hartford Times during WWII and the early 1950s, it was slated for residential development by a private corporation when the 557 acres of Talcott Mountain came under public ownership in 1965 through the cooperative efforts of private conservationists and state and federal governments.

The park offers tours.

Stonington Historical Society, Old Lighthouse Museum, and Captain Palmer House [CT] Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/08/2008 - 13:26
Description

The Society operates several historic sites, including the Old Lighthouse Museum and Captain Palmer House. The 1823 Old Lighthouse Museum's six rooms of exhibits testify to the history of this coastal region through exhibits depicting the lives of Stonington's fishermen and farmers, merchants and shipbuilders, pottery makers, blacksmiths, and many other trades. Each year a special aspect of Stonington history is featured. One room with a large dollhouse is reserved for items of interest to children and adults. The 1852 Captain Palmer House displays memorabilia pertaining to Nathaniel's discovery of Antarctica and the Palmer brothers' adventurous lives, as well as other Stonington family portraits, furnishings, and artifacts.

The society offers research library access, lectures, workshops, and educational and recreational events and programs; the museum and house offer exhibits and tours.

Phelps-Hatheway House and Garden [CT]

Description

The luxurious lifestyle enjoyed by two wealthy 18th-century Connecticut Valley families—until their fortunes collapsed—is displayed in the Phelps-Hatheway House and Garden. Merchant Shem Burbank built the house in 1761. As a Tory sympathizer, his business suffered during the American Revolution. In 1788 he sold the house to Oliver Phelps, who in 1794 flaunted the riches earned from land investments in western New York by adding a wing, an architectural masterpiece that still features original Paris-made wallpaper. Eight years later Phelps left Suffield, bankrupted by his failed land schemes. The house is furnished with outstanding 18th-century Connecticut furniture and landscaped with formal flower beds. The Hatheway family owned the house throughout the 1800s, accumulating an attic full of artifacts that document life during that century.

The house offers tours.

Mystic River Historical Society

Description

The Mystic River Historical Society, founded in 1973, owns an ever-growing collection of Mystic-related historical books, maps, photographs, and other documents and artifacts contributed by the community. It houses these collections in the William A. Downes Archives Building, erected by the Society specifically to provide a safe environment for them. It maintains part-time archival and curatorial staff available to assist researchers and to continue the organization and cataloging of the collections. In addition to the Downes Building, the Society owns the 1839 Portersville Academy, purchased from the Town of Groton in 1975 and partially restored. This historical building serves as the Society's education and outreach space. A schoolroom of the 1840s has been recreated upstairs, and historical displays form a backdrop for educational activities downstairs.

The society offers exhibits, lectures, tours, research library access, and educational programs.

Prudence Crandall Museum

Description

The Museum is housed in the U.S.'s first academy for African-American women, which operated from 1833–1834. The school was run by Prudence Crandall (1803–1890), today designated as Connecticut's state heroine. The museum includes period rooms, changing exhibits, and a small research library.

The museum offers exhibits, research library access, and educational and recreational programs.

Branford Historical Society and the Harrison House Museum

Description

The society is dedicated to the acquisition and preservation of artifacts, documents, and records pertaining to the history of Branford provenance. It also maintains a museum in the 1724 Harrison House.

The museum offers tours and exhibits; the society offers lectures and research library access. School groups are welcome to come by appointment, and background information is offered to local schools.

Carousel Museum of New England

Description

The Carousel Museum is proud to house one of the largest collections of antique carousel pieces in the country. Visitors can experience the "Golden Age of the Carousel" on their own, or with tour guides who will reveal the colorful history and development of the hand-carved animals that have found their place in America's rich folk art history.

The museums offers tours, exhibits, and educational and recreational programs.

Deep River Historical Society

Description

We are the sole organization devoted to:
*maintaining & preserving the Deep River Stone House and grounds;
*promoting general interest in the history of Deep River, Connecticut, and the United States;
*collecting and preserving historical records and artifacts of Deep River and its environs.