Welcome to your bi-weekly newsletter from Connecticut Explored with the latest stories, the newest Grating the Nutmeg podcast, programs and exhibitions from our partners to see/watch this month, and more!
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Spring 2022 / Preserving Historic Craftsmanship
Spring is here and we’re celebrating craftsmanship in historic preservation with support from the State Historic Preservation Office with funds from the Community Investment Act of the State of Connecticut.
Craftsmanship in Two Connecticut Landmarks
This hidden gem (pictured above) is worth a trip from anywhere. You’d never guess it’s mere feet from an interstate highway (I-84 in Hartford), saved from demolition by its last residents, the determined Isham sisters, Julia and Charlotte, when the highway was built in the 1960s. The classic Italianate Isham-Terry House, built in the 1850s, was home to the Isham family from 1896 when brother Oliver purchased the property to house his family and his medical practice. His office remains intact, surgical instruments and all.
We drive by houses like this and tend to underestimate not only the beauty within, but the American dramas they hold. For our Spring issue Alex Dubois, curator at the Litchfield Historical Society, writes about the Isham-Terry House and another CT Landmarks property, the Phelps-Hatheway House in Suffield, as if he’s a kid in a candy store—his appreciation for these sites is infectious.
The Phelps-Hatheway House dates to the late colonial era but was improved around the time of the American Revolution through a windfall gained by its second owner, Oliver Phelps, through land speculation in Ohio. With those quick gains came the impulse to show off. The house still has the gorgeous original French block-printed wallpapers and borders by the premier wallpaper manufacturer of the Louis XVI period—nearly as bright and colorful as the day they were hung.
Alas, Dubois writes, “Phelps fell into financial difficulties by 1800, and two years later he mortgaged the property and moved” out of state. That’s an American drama!
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Preserving Fairfield’s Sun Tavern with the Freemasons
James D’Acosta is a Fairfield high school history teacher and third-generation Freemason. His story in the spring issue is also imbued with infectious enthusiasm for his topic. He writes about the Freemasons’ return to meeting—one time only—in Fairfield’s Sun Tavern after 200 years and how redolent of meaning it was for those who were there.
The historic tavern, owned by the town of Fairfield and operated by Fairfield Museum and History Center, was built in 1780 after the previous tavern on the site was burned down on July 7, 1779 during the British attack on Fairfield. D’Acosta writes, “During this cataclysmic event, British troops also burned the court house, church, and most of the homes near the town green. Samuel Penfield built Sun Tavern from these ashes the following year.” D’Acosta goes on to note that the newly-inaugurated President George Washington stayed at the tavern in October 1789 on his tour of New England. John and Abigail Adams stayed there at various times, too.
How did the Freemasons end up holding a meeting in the restored tavern after 200 years? Find out more about the relationship between St. John’s Lodge No. 3, the first Masonic lodge in Fairfield County, and Fairfield Museum that made it possible. Read the entire story with your print subscription. (Subscribe at CTExplored.org/Shop.) Now through May 31, get 6 issues for the price of 4 (one year) or 10 issue for the price of 8 (two years): Use COUPON CODE InboxS22 at check out.
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The Latest from Grating the Nutmeg
140. New Hope for a Connecticut Champion
For more than 2,000 years, the American chestnut was the tallest, largest, and most omnipresent tree in Connecticut. It’s a tree for which a hundred hills, countless streets, and at least one Connecticut town were named, whose nuts we sing about on the holidays, and which was used to build houses, furniture, fences, train tracks, and utility lines. In this episode, Jack Swatt, President of the Connecticut chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation, talks with state historian Walt Woodward about the tree’s long history, its destruction by chestnut blight, and the efforts by scientists to restore this functionally extinct species to its former place in Connecticut’s woodlands.
Programs and Exhibitions
to Enjoy This Month
Take a Walking Tour
Learn about Cedar Hill Cemetery’s world of art, history, and natural beauty by attending Cedar Hill Cemetery Foundation’s popular public programs. Seasonal activities begin this month and run through October. For nature enthusiasts, there are bird, tree, and mushroom walks. Thematic tours highlight celebrated residents and renowned monuments. A Guide for Visitors, A Guide to Notable Trees, and Guide by Cell Audio Tour are available for self-guided experiences.
Cedar Hill Cemetery, cedarhillfoundation.org
Webster’s War of the Words, May 14
If language is your jam, you’ll love Webster’s War of the Words—a clever game show on May 14 hosted by Peter Sokolowski, editor at large at Merriam-Webster Dictionary. This fundraiser for the Noah Webster House challenges two teams of celebrity contestants—and the audience—in a battle of words and wit. Learn more at noahwebsterhouse.org.
Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society, noahwebsterhouse.org
Discoveries at Keeler Tavern Museum
The historic tavern at Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center in Ridgefield is undergoing significant exterior repair, restoration, and preservation. Restoration specialist Jan Desiato discovered and verified significant timelines and structural details, including that the kitchen addition, previously thought to have been built in the 1790s for Esther Keeler, was built c. 1820s by her son William Keeler. You are invited to visit the museum to see the project in action! The museum thanks the Society of the Cincinnati and the 1772 Foundation for underwriting this important historic preservation work.
Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center, Keelertavernmuseum.org
Modernizing Two Cemeteries
The collaboration between Brookfield’s Laurel Hill Cemetery, a Connecticut State Historic site, and Central Cemetery continues to expand, as does outreach to others seeking to regionalize, professionalize, and modernize cemetery operations.
One initiative has been installation of beehives in collaboration with professional beekeeper, Mike Rice of Roxbury. Wendy Ford of Old Saybrook-based Atlas Outdoor Living is overseeing production of custom-designed sheds to house the hives. A second initiative is adopting an open source-based mapping system.
For more information visit centralcemetery.net.
Restoration Projects at Greenwich Historical Society
Greenwich Historical Society has several important preservation projects underway at its c. 1730 Bush-Holley House, a National Historic Landmark. The house is open for docent-led tours while work is ongoing, thanks to a generous grant from the Connecticut Historic Restoration Fund. The Bush-Holley House is central to the society’s work with the Witness Stones Project (witnesstonesproject.org), launched in 2020 to recognize the lives and contributions of enslaved people who lived there. In April the society held its second annual Witness Stones Dedication Ceremony to honor Jack and Cull Jr., two boys who were enslaved at the site from their births c. 1801 – 1802 until c. 1822 – 1823.
Greenwich Historical Society, Greenwichhistory.org
Editors’ Picks
Stories we love from back issues to read now.
“West of Eden: Ohio Land Speculation Benefits Connecticut Public Schools,” Summer 2007
“Revolutionary War: Fairfield Set Ablaze,” Spring 2009
“Trees as Memorials & Witnesses to History,” Spring 2021
“City, Country, Town: Connecticut Landmarks,” Summer 2010
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