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.
The Coventry Farmers’ Market on the grounds of the Nathan Hale Homestead is an experience not to be missed. This market carries the tradition of being the largest farmers’ market in the state, featuring some of the best of Connecticut-grown, Connecticut-made products in one of the most unspoiled countryside settings in the state. Each week, the staff of the Homestead will lead a family-friendly activity to connect the history of the site with the theme of the market.
Admission to the Nathan Hale Homestead is by regular admission and is not included in the Farmers’ Market program.
Bring a lawn chair and a picnic dinner and enjoy music in the lovely setting of the Butler-McCook historic garden on the Richard P. Garmany Fund Music & Education Terrace at the Amos Bull House. Celebrate a featured artist’s exhibition opening at the Amos Bull & Butler-McCook Houses and experience free tours of the first floor of the Butler-McCook House & Garden.
Spend an afternoon with Hempsted staff on the Thames River Heritage Water Taxi to learn about New London's history. This tour will explore the stories of a fugitive slave, Black Revolutionary Patriots, Black Governors and Whalers, the Amistad and more.
Experience the home Frederic Palmer and Howard Metzger made together in what they called “the wilds of Connecticut.” Explore the property's Colonial-era history to understand why Palmer was interested in purchasing the home with his mother in 1936. Learn about the collection of letters and diaries, photographs, historic furnishings, and decorative arts used to reconstruct their lives together. When weather permits, explore the grounds to see the constructed landscape Metzger and Palmer created.
Cruise along the Thames River and hear about sites along the Thames that sparked authors' imaginations to write their stories. Explore books that tell the tales of the people and events that inspired them like Night of the Moonjelllies, Love and Brutality: The Mysterious Saga of Gallows Road, For Adam's Sake: A Family Saga in Colonial New England; Diary of Joshua Hempsted, Morton F. Plant and the Connecticut Shoreline, Venture Smith: The First Slave Narrative, Jordan Freedman Was My Friend, and Ice Diaries - the incredible true story of Capt. William R. Anderson and his crew's harrowing top-secret mission aboard the USS Nautilus, and more. As these authors attest by their writing, the Thames truly is one river with a thousand stories.
The Coventry Farmers’ Market on the grounds of the Nathan Hale Homestead is an experience not to be missed. This market carries the tradition of being the largest farmers’ market in the state, featuring some of the best of Connecticut-grown, Connecticut-made products in one of the most unspoiled countryside settings in the state. Each week, the staff of the Homestead will lead a family-friendly activity to connect the history of the site with the theme of the market.
Admission to the Nathan Hale Homestead is by regular admission and is not included in the Farmers’ Market program.
Step inside the museum to be transported to the 18th and 19th centuries and learn about the lives of those who built, lived in, and preserved the house. Understand the role of Connecticut in the American Revolution, examine colonial era trade and commercial exchange, consider land and real estate speculation and Indigenous people’s land rights, and observe the ways we display wealth and status in our homes. Winning submissions from the 2023-2024 Trees for Suffield Photo Contest will be on display in the Visitor's Center.
The Coventry Farmers’ Market on the grounds of the Nathan Hale Homestead is an experience not to be missed. This market carries the tradition of being the largest farmers’ market in the state, featuring some of the best of Connecticut-grown, Connecticut-made products in one of the most unspoiled countryside settings in the state. Each week, the staff of the Homestead will lead a family-friendly activity to connect the history of the site with the theme of the market.
Admission to the Nathan Hale Homestead is by regular admission and is not included in the Farmers’ Market program.
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.
Aaron 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. Presented in partnership with the Litchfield Historical Society, follow Burr’s footsteps with a tour beginning at the Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden and continuing on to Tapping Reeve House & Law School.
The Coventry Farmers’ Market on the grounds of the Nathan Hale Homestead is an experience not to be missed. This market carries the tradition of being the largest farmers’ market in the state, featuring some of the best of Connecticut-grown, Connecticut-made products in one of the most unspoiled countryside settings in the state. Each week, the staff of the Homestead will lead a family-friendly activity to connect the history of the site with the theme of the market.
Admission to the Nathan Hale Homestead is by regular admission and is not included in the Farmers’ Market program.
The Coventry Farmers’ Market on the grounds of the Nathan Hale Homestead is an experience not to be missed. This market carries the tradition of being the largest farmers’ market in the state, featuring some of the best of Connecticut-grown, Connecticut-made products in one of the most unspoiled countryside settings in the state. Each week, the staff of the Homestead will lead a family-friendly activity to connect the history of the site with the theme of the market. Admission to the Nathan Hale Homestead is by regular admission and is not included in the Farmers’ Market program.
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.
Joshua Hempsted held many positions throughout his lifetime, one of which was headstone letterer. On Wednesday, December 27th, 1749, our diarist writes, “fair & cold I finisht engraving a headstone for Samll Bills wife.” Join headstone carver Andrew Carr as he re-creates a headstone using Joshua’s lettering style with 18th–century carving techniques. A tour of the house is included with admission.
