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SUMMER 2025: Celebrations! A 200-year milestone, Connecticut wedding albums, unveiling a new monument, Juneteenth weekend celebrations, the Good Will Club, a special offer, and more!
200 Years, Millions of Stories: Connecticut Museum Celebrates a Milestone and Looks Ahead
“According to a 2022 national census conducted by the American Association for State and Local History, there are 21,588 history organizations in the United States. This number exceeds that of public libraries and even surpasses the number of Starbucks seemingly on every corner. In other words, Americans seem to love history as much as—if not more than—a good book and their daily cup of coffee,” writes Rapacz and O’Brien. This year celebrates a tremendous milestone for the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History, marking 200 years of caring for the legacy of the state and collecting over four million artifacts.
What stories do these objects tell us and why do we hold on to them? Read more about the history and exciting future of the former Connecticut Historical Society in our Summer 2025 issue.
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Peter and Esther Jackson Memorial Dedication Ceremony
On June 19, 2025 at 10am, the Alex Breanne Corporation in Collaboration with Simsbury Historical Society and the Town of Simsbury will be unveiling a new monument at Simsbury Cemetery honoring a historic black couple and their family. Their names are Peter and Esther Jackson.
In preparation for next years 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, this new monument will honor this heroic Black family from Simsbury, as well as list all 12 members of the family who fought in the various wars that established our country. Additionally, a reimagined portrait of what Esther looked like based on images of 3 of her Great Granddaughters will be unveiled.
To learn more about this special event and register click here.
Eno Memorial Hall, 754 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury. Thu, Jun 19, 2025 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM. This is a free event.
Snapshots: Connecticut Wedding Album
Did you know that the Congregationalist founders of the Connecticut Colony and the New Haven Colony viewed marriage as a civil contract rather than as a sacrament? Connecticut’s divorce policy during the 17th and 18th centuries was the most liberal in New England, according to University of Connecticut Professor Cornelia Hughes Dayton in her book, Women Before the Bar: Gender, Law, and Society in Connecticut, 1639–1789 (University of North Carolina Press, 1995).
Subscribe to learn about a few famous Connecticut weddings!
The Latest From Grating the Nutmeg
Mary Hall and the Good Will Club
In this episode, Natalie Belanger of the CT Museum of Culture and History tells the story of the Good Will Club, the forerunner of the youth club movement that got its start in Hartford. But the story of the club can't be separated from that of its founder, a woman who's an inductee of the CT Women's Hall of Fame for her barrier-breaking work in the legal field.
Listen: Mary Hall and the Good Will Club
Thanks to the Connecticut Museum of Culture & History and Preservation Connecticut for their financial sponsorship of Grating the Nutmeg, helping us bring you a new episode every two weeks.
Programs and Exhibitions to Enjoy This Month
Amistad Center’s Juneteenth Weekend Celebration
Join the Amistad Center for a powerful Juneteenth Weekend Celebration, honoring freedom, culture, and community! Engage our latest installation, Yoruba World. The festivities kick off on Saturday, June 7, with the Juneteenth Gala – People Get Ready, an unforgettable evening of elegance and empowerment. Purchase one of our limited VIP reception tickets to take part in the champagne toast for our honorees, passed hors d'oeuvres and an exclusive musical act from 6–7 PM. Followed by a lively general admission Juneteenth Gala from 7–11 PM, featuring music, dancing, and celebration. On Sunday, June 8, bring the whole family to Juneteenth Family Day at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art from 12 to 4 PM. Experience a day filled with live performances, sensory-friendly art activities, creative workshops, and more, celebrating Juneteenth's legacy. Don’t miss this inspiring weekend of reflection and joy! Learn more at www.AmistadCenter.org.
The Amistad Center for Art & Culture at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, 600 Main Street, Hartford. 860-838-4089; AmistadCenter.org
Weaving Together Past and Present at the Bruce
The first major retrospective of the artist’s work, Jeremy Frey: Woven, presents acomprehensive survey of Frey’s prolific career spanning more than two decades. A seventh-generation Passamaquoddy basket maker and one of the most celebrated Indigenous weavers in the country, Frey pushes the creative limits of his medium, producing ambitious and meticulously crafted baskets that reflect his technical skill as a weaver and his profound ecological knowledge of the Passamaquoddy ancestral territory of the Northeastern Woodlands. Featuring over 50 baskets made of raw materials such as sweetgrass, cedar, spruce root, and porcupine quills, Woven offers visitors an opportunity to reflect on the cultural agency and resilience embedded in Frey’s practice. Through his use of video, installation, and print, Frey honors his ancestors and future generations, weaving together past and present and uplifting viewers through the power and beauty of his vision. On view June 5-September 7, 2025.
Bruce Museum, 1 Museum Drive, Greenwich. brucemuseum.org; 203-869-0376
Farmington Historical Society offers Freedom Trail Lectures and Tours
In 1841, Farmington was home to the African Mende captives who had rebelled and overtaken the slave ship La Amistad. On several dates this summer, the Farmington Historical Society will host a presentation and guided walking tour of these Freedom Trail sites that played a role during their stay in Farmington. The lecture and tour will be led by Connecticut storyteller Andre LePelle Keitt. Mr. Keitt serves as Consultant for Education and Programming for the Farmington Historical Society. The walking tour will also feature other sites in Farmington village which are part of Connecticut’s Freedom Trail and the Underground Railroad.
The event will be presented on most Saturdays at 10 a.m., meeting at First Church of Christ, Congregational, 1652. Dates are: June 7, 14, 21; July 12, 19, 26; and August 2, 9, 16, 23; September 6, 13, 27. Cost for the lecture and tour is $20 per person (19 and up), $15 for seniors, and $10 for those under 18. Free for children 5 years old and under. The event will take place rain or shine. If the walking portion of the tour is not possible due to extreme weather, the event will continue in the church with a special presentation. Tickets must be purchased prior to the tour here.
First Church of Christ, Congregational, 1652, 75 Main Street, Farmington. https://fhs-ct.org; 860-678-1645
Editor’s Picks:
Christina Keyser Vida, “First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage,” Connecticut Explored, Winter 2017-2018.
Elizabeth Warren, “Mary Hall: Breaking the Legal Barrier,” Connecticut Explored, Spring 2010.
Ben Gammell, “Making Connecticut: Objects and Documents That Tell Our Story,” Connecticut Explored, Summer 2011.