2024: A Year in Review
This season, you have joined us for signature events, family-friendly activities, community celebrations, and immersive tours at each of our eleven sites across the state. None of these high-quality experiences would be possible without the dedication of many people contributing to our goal to bring history to life. At Connecticut Landmarks, home is where the history happens, where legacies live, where conservation occurs, and where the people are.
In this year’s Annual Report, we are highlighting the work of those people: talented staff, dedicated Trustees, enthusiastic volunteers, loyal members, generous donors, and passionate community partners who help keep history moving forward. As you read about this year’s programming, preservation efforts, and collections updates, you will find spotlights on some of the people who make our work possible.
Since I began working at Connecticut Landmarks in 2019, I have had the pleasure of collaborating with folks who bring creativity, wisdom, and inclusiveness into every aspect of their role, even in the face of challenges. Coming to the end of my first season as Connecticut Landmarks’ Executive Director, I could not be more grateful to work with our Board to lead such a talented and motivated team as we plan for next season and the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States in 2026.
To our members and donors, we thank you for your ongoing support. We hope to see you at our historic sites next season for a program, community event, or the debut of our new annual Members’ Reception for our highest-level members.
Sincerely,
Robert Brock, Executive Director
Deborah Ullman, Chair, Board of Trustees
Bringing the Past to Life: 2024 Programs
When you attend a Connecticut Landmarks program, you have become part of our mission to inspire conversations with the past. Whether you are visiting one of New England’s earliest graveyards to discuss those of African descent who are buried there with members of the Hempsted Houses’ staff and the New London chapter of the NAACP; discovering more about the McCook family on a free tour of the Butler-McCook House’s first floor while enjoying an evening of jazz music in the garden with your family; or learning a new skill at our hands-on workshops in the historic barn at the Nathan Hale Homestead, our programs invite visitors to find their home in history through engaging experiences. Below, read more about a sampling of our most beloved programs–returning favorites and new stars–that took place this year at our sites across the state.
18th-Century Living Series at Coventry's Nathan Hale Homestead
A popular series at the Nathan Hale Homestead returned this year, welcoming over 40 visitors to pick up a tool and get crafty! With the guidance of local artist and basket-maker, Sue Muldoon, participants made small wall hanging baskets inspired by crafts from the 18th century. During another workshop, woodworker John Baron used a combination of modern and historic techniques to guide visitors in making a wooden box modeled after a Nathan Hale Homestead artifact. The exploration into our 18th-century living series concluded with the return of Robert Lecce of Pewter Pot Fine Spiced Chocolates. Guests participated in a chocolate-making demonstration (and enjoyed delicious samples of chocolate and hot cocoa, of course). History sure is sweet!
Mattatuck Museum Takeover at Bethlehem's Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden
In a first-time collaboration, Bethlehem’s Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden and Waterbury’s Mattatuck Museum brought a new perspective to Caroline Ferriday’s summer home during a special month-long art exhibition. The combined efforts of site administrator Peg Shimer, Erin Farley and Jocelyn Weaver from Connecticut Landmarks’ collections team, and curators at the Mattatuck Museum resulted in an outstanding exhibition featuring selections from the Mattatuck Museum’s significant art and history collections. Works exploring the themes of women, 20th-century art, and local art complemented the historic house’s furniture, art, and objects. Photographs, oil paintings, and sculptures nestled among the rooms of the 18th-century home welcomed visitors to peruse the halls and discuss their significance and thematic connections to the history of the house.
Home is Where Music Plays Hartford's Butler-McCook House & Garden
Photo by Frank Poulin Photography
Perennial favorite Ed Fast & Congabop filled the Amos Bull Community Room with their Latin rhythms for Make Music Day Hartford this June. Guest musician Sammy Figueroa joined the performance for an unforgettable evening. Sammy Figueroa has long been regarded as one of the world’s great musicians. He is well-known for his versatility in a multitude of musical styles. Besides playing with some of the world’s greatest pop stars, such as David Bowie, Chaka Khan and Mariah Carey, Figueroa has also played with a multitude of distinguished jazz artists including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Quincy Jones, George Benson, and many, many more.
The smooth sounds of jazz filled Hartford's sky at the Sunset Sounds Concert Series. Each summer, Hartford's community of jazz enthusiasts join us to enjoy music by local jazz musicians in the vibrant setting of the Butler-McCook Garden. Through assistant site administrator Jana Colacino's connection to Hartford's jazz scene, this season we welcomed the talented Jen Allen “Heart Alchemy;” Kojo Melché Roney Quartet, featuring Antoine Roney - who was the first scholarship student of renowned jazz musician and educator Jackie McLean; Will Goble Quintet; and Rick Germanson & Friends, featuring Nat Reeves and 90-year-old drummer Steve Little. These events are possible thanks to Jana’s dedication, the passion and talent of the artists, and the support of the Richard P. Garmany Fund at Hartford Foundation for Public Giving; the Greater Hartford Arts Council’s United Arts Campaign with major support from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving; and the Evelyn W. Preston Memorial Trust Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee.
This season, the Aetna Gallery in the Butler-McCook House hosted an exhibition by Windsor artist, Michelle Hawran, whose colorful paintings share the stories of her family’s past. This year, Hawran's painting of the Butler-McCook House & Garden was selected for the Connecticut Historic Gardens Day poster. "Through the Rose Arch” is a vibrant recreation of what a visitor to the garden would feel while standing under the rose arch, surrounded by the many beautiful plants that Connecticut has to offer. Hawran painted en plain air in the Butler-McCook Garden on Connecticut Historic Gardens Day this year.
Learning New Skills at Suffield's Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden
Suffield's Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden's visitor center was a creative hub this season. To highlight the 18th-century Parisian wallpaper conservation project underway in the house, participants created their own design inspired by Réveillon wallpaper during a free craft. At this year’s Connecticut Historic Gardens Day, 13 guests worked their muscles to create a floral masterpiece during the Flower Pounding Workshop. Using fresh local blooms from Willow View Farm, attendees created a piece of art to remember by arranging and hammering the flowers to reveal lovely floral impressions on paper.
On May 3rd, Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden hosted an opening reception celebrating the Trees for Suffield Photo Contest. The Suffield Tree Committee, the Town of Suffield, and the Suffield Garden Club worked together to establish Trees for Suffield, which is a vital initiative to provide residents with a tree canopy for generations to come. Winning submissions from the 2023-2024 photo contest were beautifully displayed in the visitor center throughout the 2024 season. The reception welcomed Suffield community members, Connecticut Landmarks members, and award recipients to enjoy an afternoon celebrating art, local history, and local initiatives.
History Demonstrations and Community Celebrations at New London's Hempsted Houses
This season at New London's Hempsted Houses, demonstrations exploring colonial living introduced visitors to 18th-century headstone lettering techniques and historic trades and tools. In July, families traveled back in time with the Nathan Hale Fife and Drum encampment. Sounds of music filled the air as the Hempsted grounds were transformed into workshops where visitors learned about 18th-century tools and techniques with woodworker, carpenter, and Joiner, John Baron, and Blacksmith Baird Wech-Collins. Specialty demonstrations continued in September with headstone carver Andrew Carr. To engage with Joshua Hempsted’s work as a headstone letterer, Carr re-created a headstone using Joshua’s lettering style with 18th-century techniques. This demonstration was attended by headstone carving enthusiasts and was livestreamed to our social media audience to reach history lovers all over!
Photo by La Chale Renee' Photography
In June, the Hempsted Houses held the 9th annual Juneteenth celebration, also known as Emancipation Day. The oldest celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, Juneteenth marks the day that Union troops arrived at Galveston Bay, Texas, to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed a full two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation on June 19th, 1865. Partnering this year with the New London NAACP, OIC New London, and the New London County Historical Society, attendees engaged in activities encouraging conversations about emancipation, cultural awareness, and civic responsibility.
Friday's virtual presentation and community campfire featured special conversations with Living Historians Joseph McGill of the Slave Dwelling Project and Tammy Denease of Hidden Women Productions. Saturday's event celebrated Juneteenth with music and dance performances, children’s activities and crafts, local vendors, poetry readings, and living history presentations that highlighted the African American history of the Hempsted Houses and the surrounding New London neighborhood. In partnership with the New London Historical Society, we hosted an overnight program with Joseph McGill and the Slave Dwelling Project. Guests had the opportunity to further the conversation with Joe and other historians by sleeping in the Shaw Mansion, which housed several enslaved people. The event culminated with Sunday church services and an afternoon of music with the Jim Hunter Jazz Group and the New London Public Schools Bands.
Gathering in the Parlor at Hartford's Isham-Terry House
On November 10th, attendees enjoyed an afternoon’s vocal and instrumental performance by pianist Andrew Wilcox and vocalist Mae Czuba to hear the late-19th and early-20th century songs that would have filled the Ishams’ parlor, drawing upon the sheet music in the Isham-Terry collection and representing the lives and interests of the household’s amateur musicians. Wilcox and Czuba performed a medley of tunes, including "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree" with a Louis Armstrong-inspired twist, "Our Mayor," "When the Twilight Comes to Kiss the Rose Goodnight," and "Lonely Star." The duo provided insight into their selection and rehearsal process, while Wilcox and assistant site administrator Jana Colacino explored the historical significance of the music selections.
The Isham-Terry House has provided a spooktacular setting for Escapism Productions for several years. We are always excited to welcome their performers back to see what new productions they will share with audiences that are part theater, part escape room, and 100% immersive. This year, audience members explored the house in "The Vexed Visitation: An Immersive Victorian Halloween Tale." The parlor and library were also home to "The Final Act at Home: A Victorian Wake," a fact-based exploration of a Victorian wake presented by Escapism Productions' researchers and performers.
Nursing students from the CT State Community College Capital returned to the Isham-Terry House this season to learn about former resident Oliver K. Isham, who practiced medicine in Hartford from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries. Our staff worked closely with program director Jeff Partridge to set goals for the program, highlighting the changes in nursing care over time, and discussing bioethics and medical law using primary sources that outline Dr. Isham’s controversial court cases. Students explored Isham’s medical tools and archives to understand treatments that were common when he practiced, and toured the house to better understand Hartford’s changing physical and cultural landscapes.
Home is Where You Teach and Learn: Nathan Hale Homestead Field Trips
This year, Coventry's Nathan Hale Homestead hosted 29 field trips from public schools and homeschool groups across Connecticut. 1,438 students engaged in activities covering themes such as the American Revolution, what it means to be a spy throughout history, and life on a colonial farm.
In October, Connecticut Landmarks announced that the Nathan Hale Homestead is a Wheels to Learning program venue for the 2024-2025 school year. We are also grateful to have received a quick grant from The Scripps Family Fund for Education and the Arts to support field trip programming that will enable future generations of learners to experience history firsthand. Wheels to Learning is a pilot program that seeks to understand if providing funding for transportation will increase access to out-of-classroom enriching learning experiences. K-12 public schools within Windham County can apply to waive Nathan Hale Homestead field trip and bus costs through the Wheels to Learning website. We can’t wait to welcome returning and new students to the Homestead!
Revealing Réveillon at the Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden
On November 3rd, the Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden welcomed 24 guests to engage in a discussion about the process of conserving 18th-century Parisian wallpaper, and demonstrations of conservation techniques led by the conservators at Studio TKM Associates. Site administrator Lynn Mervosh welcomed attendees into the Burbank Parlor to share the history of the house and the events leading up to Oliver Phelps' decision to decorate the new wing of his Suffield home with handblocked Réveillon wallpaper. Following Lynn's presentation, Deborah LaCamera from Studio TKM Associates provided insight into the conservation work currently underway, supported by grant funding from the National Park Service’s Save America’s Treasures Historic Preservation Fund. Attendees learned how the original paper was made, and the techniques used by the team to assess and document the condition of the paper, to analyze key color and design elements for conservation, and to create a conservation plan to stabilize the paper in place. The presentations were followed by a champagne toast to the start of the project, and three different demonstrations in the Phelps wing led by conservators, where guests could observe conservation techniques firsthand and ask questions.
Discover more about the wallpaper conservation project here and learn how you can help us match the grant funding that allowed us to start this work!
A Welcoming Place for All at East Haddam’s Palmer-Warner House
New exterior signage, freshened-up interiors, and a bright Pride flag welcomed visitors to the Palmer-Warner House this summer. The museum’s shift to new seasonal Open Tour Saturdays, spearheaded by site administrator Lynette Fisher, embodies an important new phase of operations that complements the innovative public programs already taking place. We were excited to welcome 446 visitors for tours and events to the home Frederic Palmer and Howard Metzger made together in what they called “the wilds of Connecticut.”
At the Palmer-Warner House, home is where acceptance is. Connecticut Landmarks is honored to provide a safe space for people to build community through history. During Pride Month in June, specialty tours introduced visitors to the house’s residents and explored the themes of Equity, Unity, and Reflection. A Historic Timeline of Connecticut’s LGBTQ+ Community, on loan from the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History, was also on view. The month culminated in a historic Pride Month Celebration in collaboration with the East Haddam Historical Society. The event featured an afternoon of special guests, exhibitions, and discussions exploring our state’s rich LGBTQ+ history.
Special programming highlighted the House’s colonial history and landscape. In May, participants built tables in a hands-on woodworking workshop led by traditional furniture maker John Baron. More than 20 people visited the Palmer Cemetery in October to explore colonial New England burial customs with Dean Massey, an urban planning researcher at Northeastern University. In September, stone artisan, gardener, and horticulturist Andrew Pighills discussed the evolution of stone walls and how they fit into broader landscapes from colonial times to the present day.
The first ever Summer Pipes & Cider welcomed a sold-out crowd to celebrate Scottish culture on a warm September day. Guests sipped local cider from Yankee Cider Co. and embarked on a trail walk led by Coreyanne Armstrong and the Portland & District Pipers. Joined by Nathan Hale Homestead staff, attendees tested their knowledge in pub trivia and toured the House to learn about Frederic Palmer’s Scottish heritage.
We look forward to welcoming new and returning guests in 2025. Stay tuned to our event calendar for next season’s programming and Open Tour Days!
Creating Space for Connection at Bethlehem’s Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden
At Connecticut Landmarks, collaboration with local organizations, artists, authors, and community members is central to the work we do to help people connect to history in new ways. This season, the Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden became a place where history, art, literature, and law intertwined through new programs and longstanding partnerships.
Afternoon Tea with Martha Hall Kelly
We were thrilled to welcome back New York Times best-selling author Martha Hall Kelly this June for a new event hosted at the exquisite Winvian Farm in Morris. After delicious afternoon tea, Kelly discussed her books (Lilac Girls, Lost Roses, Sunflower Sisters, and The Golden Doves) and how she discovered inspiration for her novels while touring the home of philanthropist and human rights activist, Caroline Woolsey Ferriday. Forty-six history lovers and bibliophiles had the opportunity to ask questions, chat with new acquaintances, and have a once-in-a-lifetime experience to sit with Kelly during tea service. Twenty-three guests continued their day at the Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden, where they toured the property to discover more about the life of Caroline Ferriday, who used the power of her words to create change and aid those in need. Connecticut Landmarks is honored to collaborate with Martha Hall Kelly to share the stories of the Ferriday and Woolsey families and create space for readers to connect to their favorite authors in the historic places that inspired their stories.
The Education of Aaron Burr
In addition to the Mattatuck Museum partnership, the Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden worked with the Litchfield Historical Society in a first-time collaboration this August for “The Education of Aaron Burr.” Seventeen attendees followed in Burr’s footsteps with a tour beginning at the Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden and continuing to Tapping Reeve House & Law School. Burr spent his late teens and early twenties studying with Rev. Joseph Bellamy and Tapping Reeve, both father figures who aided in the education of the young Burr. These formative years in Litchfield County would influence Burr’s life for years to come. We were pleased to partner with the Litchfield Historical Society for this program to invite visitors to immerse themselves in local places where the story of a national historic figure began his journey.
Lilac Walks
Passing under the archway between the Bellamy-Ferriday House and visitor center, visitors find themselves transported into the historic garden curated by Caroline Ferriday and her mother, Eliza. Every May, attendees gather to experience the beauty of the garden during spring’s Lilac Walks. This season, 71 guests toured the gardens to indulge in the fragrant scents of the stunning variety of lilacs. Guided by site administrator Peg Shimer, attendees learned about the long history of the lilacs and the care they require. Learn more about the importance of preserving the Bellamy-Ferriday Garden as a vital resource to cultural heritage, botanical artistry, and community connection here.
