Hempsted Houses
11 Hempstead Street, New London, CT 06320
hempsted@ctlandmarks.org
Important Update for the 2025 Season:
Connecticut Landmarks is undertaking a significant restoration project on the upper levels of the 1678 Joshua Hempsted House. Learn more »
For the safety of our visitors and our historic property during this work, tours of the house during regular open hours are canceled until further notice. Tours will be accommodated by appointment only, as the restoration schedule permits. Please contact Site Administrator Lynette Fisher at hempsted@ctlandmarks.org if you would like to schedule a tour. Planned public programs will still take place, though some operations may have to be shifted or reduced. Registrants will be notified of changes that may impact their experience.
Thank you for your understanding and your flexibility as we continue to care for the oldest remaining home in New London. Your donations support this work.
Hours
Currently closed for public tours while restoration takes place. Open for public programs. Contact hempsted@ctlandmarks.org to inquire about private tours by appointment or school group visits.
Admission
Ticket prices are currently reduced due to ongoing restoration work.
$8 / Adult & Senior
$4 / Child 6-18
Free for Connecticut Landmarks Members & Children under 6
House Tour
The Hempsted Houses provides a window into urban life in Colonial New London. In his 18th-century diary, Joshua Hempsted recorded family and civic life and documented the life and labor of Adam Jackson, a man of African descent who Hempsted enslaved for decades.
LEARN MORE
The 1678 Joshua Hempsted House in New London is one of New England’s oldest and best documented dwellings. Home to the Hempsted family until 1937, the wood-frame house was extensively restored by Connecticut Landmarks. Adjacent to the Joshua Hempsted House is the stone house built in 1759 for Nathaniel Hempsted by Acadian exiles. Both structures survived the 1781 burning of New London by Benedict Arnold and stand today as testaments to 17th– and 18th-century daily life.
Born in the house that bears his name in 1678, Joshua Hempsted (the second) kept a diary from 1711 until his death in 1758. Today, the diary is one of the best sources of information about the people of colonial New London and their activities. On Thursday, September 21, 1727, Joshua Hempsted went to settle the estate of Samuel Fox, a neighbor. He wrote that he purchased Adam Jackson, a farmer who had been born into slavery, for £85. Adam would live and work at the property for more than three decades.
As a site of northern slavery, the Hempsted Houses work to engage the public in understanding the historical roots and current-day implications of issues related to equality and freedom and empower people to make a difference today.
Want to help share the stories of New London’s history? Learn more about the Thames River Heritage Park Docent Academy.
