Public art and monuments create a shared understanding of the events, people, and ideas that a city values. Set out from the Butler-McCook House to explore the artistic treasures and monuments of Hartford along Main Street, in Bushnell Park, and at the State Capitol Building.
Hartford Whalers! Hartford Dark Blues! Willie Pep! Pro Football in Hartford? Where was the Velodrome? Take to the streets of Hartford to uncover the fascinating history of sports in the city from ballooning to bicycles, boxing to baseball, and so much more, beginning in the Butler-McCook Garden on this new walk for the 2024 season.
Visit the Butler-McCook House & Garden is the only 18th-century home remaining on Hartford’s Main Street for a guided tour to learn about the McCook family, who loved music, art, and travel through explorations of the museum’s collections which include paintings, Japanese samurai armor, furniture, and toys.
1885 - The residents of Blackwood Lake have received a curious letter from the Widow Whitlock. Mrs. Josephine Whitlock invites you to celebrate the life of the recently deceased Luther Whitlock. As we bid farewell to our dear husband and father, we welcome you to join us at Blackwood Manor as we hold visitation hours. We understand our family has been quite reclusive, but this recently widowed woman and her only child could really use your support at this difficult time. The town is abuzz. Luther Whitlock, the cloistered miser who lived in Blackwood Manor, had a family? Why would a wealthy man who could afford to live anywhere move into a house with such a tragic history? What kind of support is this mysterious family looking for? Come to the visitation to find out what dark and dangerous secrets the Whitlock family are hiding.
Explore this beloved family home to learn about the booming industries and culture of Hartford in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, understand medical practice and public health at this time, and learn more about the Isham and Terry families through the items they owned.
Saying good-bye in the Victorian Era was a complicated process. Join this fact-based exploration of a Victorian wake presented in partnership with the researchers and performers at Escapism Productions.
Enjoy an afternoon’s vocal and instrumental performance by Andrew Wilcox (piano) and Mae Czuba (vocals) 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. The performers will play music from the collection, and sheet music will be on display during the event.
