In 2024, Waterbury’s Mattatuck Museum shared pieces from its significant art and history collections with visitors to the Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden in Bethlehem. Works exploring the themes of women, 20th-century art, and local art complemented the historic house’s beautiful furniture, art, and objects.

“The Mattatuck Museum is thrilled to be collaborating with another Connecticut institution! This is a fantastic opportunity to engage with new audiences and connect our collection to local history,” said Becca Lo Presti, Assistant Curator at the Mattatuck Museum.

Visitors were immersed in photographs, mixed media collages, oil paintings, and sculptures nestled among the rooms of the 18th-century home that Reverend Joseph Bellamy built, and 20th-century philanthropist Caroline Ferriday made her summer refuge.

On view were works by Julia Milch Singer, Alan Cohen, Leo Manso, Fred Staloff, Babette Bloch, Juan Nito Cruz, Tom Baril, Eva Fuka, Joe Stein, William Merritt Post, and Mia Brownell. Visitors perused the halls and discussed the artworks, their significance, and thematic connections to the house’s history as they learned about the ways that beliefs and values can guide one’s actions by interpreting the lives, actions, and commitments of the house’s former residents.

“I am delighted to see the Ferriday family’s beloved summer home in a new context by exhibiting these amazing works of art in conversation with the history of the home,” said Peg Shimer, Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden’s Site Administrator. “This collaboration is a testament to the work both organizations do to inspire a deeper understanding of the past and create space to nurture learning.”

Interested in collaborating? Email Deputy Director Shaelyn Amaio at shaelyn.amaio@ctlandmarks.org.

Nursing students from the CT State Community College Capital visit the Isham-Terry House each year to learn about former resident Oliver K. Isham, who practiced medicine in Hartford from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries.

CT Landmarks 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.

After pausing this program during the pandemic, our staff was excited to welcome nearly 100 people to investigate, reflect, and discuss medical history and ethics, historical instruments, and Hartford heritage. We’re thrilled to continue this collaboration to share the fascinating story of Oliver Isham’s work with future students.

Learn more about the organizational membership that makes this partnership possible here »

Interested in collaborating? Email Deputy Director Shaelyn Amaio at shaelyn.amaio@ctlandmarks.org.

Connecticut Landmarks on the Road: Speaker Series

Each season, we encourage our visitors to begin their journey through history to our historic house museums, but did you know that our museum administrators and interpreters will also bring history directly to you? We love opportunities to share the stories of our historic properties and their inhabitants with new audiences across the state, or right in our local communities!

Peg Shimer, Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden site administrator, recently presented at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the Waterbury campus of UCONN to a crowd of over 100 people. At this event, Peg shared from her popular presentation: “Stories We Don’t Tell You: The Secrets and Truths Behind Some of the Lesser-known Stories of Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden.” In February, Peg also gave a series of talks at the Woodbury Public Library on the history of the property. These talks included:

• Enslaved, Indentured, In Service, and Companions at Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden
• Meet Your Community – Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden

On October 21 at 6 pm, she will present “The Stories of the Rabbits of Ravensbrück” at the Woodbury Public Library, we hope you will consider attending!

At the Isham-Terry House in Hartford, museum interpreter Jan Beatty gave a virtual presentation in collaboration with the Avon Free Public Library. The event was attended by over 50 people and featured a virtual tour of the Isham-Terry House using footage from the 3D scans taken of the museum by Matterport. These scans of seven of our historic house museums give Connecticut Landmarks the unique ability to bring the history of the homes to audiences in new, accessible ways.

These are just a few examples of speaker presentations offered by Connecticut Landmarks. With history spanning from the Colonial Era to the 21st century, our collection of historic house museums offers a breadth of themes for presentations. You can learn more about our properties here.

Interested in booking a Connecticut Landmarks speaker at your historical society, library, school, or other event? Contact Deputy Director Shaelyn Amaio at shaelyn.amaio@ctlandmarks.org.

Connecticut Landmarks creates a print program guide to introduce our Members and other stakeholders to all of the programs we are planning at our museums throughout our operating season. Check out this year’s program guide to explore the many programming partnerships taking place this season!

Our 2023 and 2024 Annual Reports highlight partnerships across our historic house museums. Dive deeper into ways we have partnered with various individuals and groups in the past!

Do you have an idea of how we might collaborate? Are you interested in beginning a conversation with our team to discuss ways we could work together? Email Deputy Director Shaelyn Amaio at shaelyn.amaio@ctlandmarks.org or fill out the form below! We would love to hear from you!