home

Your Invitation to Connecticut History

The historic properties owned and operated by Connecticut Landmarks, the state’s largest statewide heritage museum organization, offer insights into the daily lives of Connecticut’s citizens, both ordinary and extraordinary, spanning more than three centuries.  Visiting them introduces you to a variety of cities and towns, urban settings and rural spaces, that together help define our state’s culture, community, and character: shaped by hard work and pragmatism, rooted in tradition, and driven by dreams.

Join us at the 1678 Hempsted House in the heart of New London, where prominent farmer/judge/gravestone carver/shipwright/widower Joshua Hempsted raised nine children by himself. Visit the Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden, home to Bethlehem’s first resident fire-and-brimstone minister, and later a wealthy New York family’s weekend retreat.  Trace the Butler-McCook family’s solid ties, which kept their homestead on Hartford’s Main Street vibrant for four generations even as the city changed and grew around them.  Enjoy the quiet country and stately elegance of Suffield’s Phelps-Hatheway House, built on fortunes that eventually fell. And explore the Coventry farmhouse that the Hale family built while their patriotic son Nathan was away on a Revolutionary War spy mission, a job that would cost him his young life.

Step into our front parlors and see where these folks entertained their friends and relaxed with their family. Stroll through our lovely gardens and breathe the same sweet scents that they relished. Wander into our kitchens and learn how they cooked their meals and cared for their families. Steal up the stairs and imagine them tucking their children in for the night.

Come to our homes. You’ll learn a lot about the people who lived in them. And maybe a bit about yourself.