Hempsted Houses

11 Hempstead Street, New London, CT 06320
hempsted@ctlandmarks.org

Summer Weather Advisory
Many of our historic properties are not climate controlled. Staff may adjust the route, duration, and schedule of tours due to higher temperatures or extreme weather. Please contact us before your visit to confirm operations. Learn more »

Tour Inquiry

PROGRAMS & EVENTS

Juneteenth Celebration

Preservation Update:
Connecticut Landmarks recently completed significant structural repairs to the Joshua Hempsted House. Our final event for the season, Hempsted Halloween on October 25th, will include tours of the first floor of the house. Interested in by-appointment tours or field trip opportunities in the off-season? Please contact hempsted@ctlandmarks.org. Stay tuned to our website and e-newsletter for a special “Re-Welcoming” to the property next Spring! Learn More »

Hours

Open for tours May through October, and for public programs.

Contact hempsted@ctlandmarks.org to inquire about private tours by appointment or school group visits.

Admission

$16 / Adult
$12 / Senior, Student, or Teacher
$5 / 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 18^th-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.

Upcoming Events

Stitching History with America’s Tapestry at the Hempsted Houses

April 4 @ 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

View all Hempsted Houses Events »

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 17^th– 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.

Restoration Updates

With the expertise of structural engineering company DeStefano & Chamberlain, along with the guidance of Preservation Connecticut and the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), we are developing a plan to restore the structural integrity and control the moisture and pest damage within the house. Jim DeStefano and his team performed a structural assessment of the house and will be working closely with Connecticut Landmarks on this project.

Completion of Restoration Work at the Hempsted Houses

After beginning significant structural work in September on the 1728 addition of the 1678 Joshua Hempsted House, Connecticut Landmarks is excited to announce the museum is ready to re-open its 350-year-old doors to visitors!

Over the course of the project, Kronenberger & Sons Restoration expertly corrected structural deficiencies in the house by adding new beams and Lally columns in the cellar as well as reinforcing the summer beam and installing a new support post in Nathaniel’s Kitchen. Their team also installed new support posts in the second-floor bedchamber and added new headers and collar ties in the rafters in Adam’s Garret. Last week, our wonderful collections team carefully reinstalled collection pieces in each room, including Nathaniel’s Kitchen and Chamber pictured above.

DeStefano & Chamberlain, Preservation Connecticut, the CT State Historic Preservation Office, Crosskey Architects, and Kronenberger & Sons Restoration played crucial roles in guiding this project to completion. Funding for this work was possible through the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development. All aspects of the project were carefully planned in compliance with the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office and United States Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. We are grateful to everyone who contributed to this project to help us preserve such an important historic landmark in New London. We’re able to keep history standing strong because of you!

We hope you will join us on 10/25 for Hempsted Halloween. This family-friendly event is free, and first-floor tours of the Joshua Hempsted House will be available! Interested in by-appointment tours or field trip opportunities? Please contact hempsted@ctlandmarks.org. Stay tuned to our website for a special ‘Re-Welcoming’ to the property next Spring!

Discover more about the Hempsted Houses »

Significant Restoration Work Underway at the Hempsted Houses

Have you seen the new sign outside our museum? We are pleased to announce that significant restoration work on the upper levels of the 1678 Joshua Hempsted House is currently underway. Connecticut Landmarks and Crosskey Architects have contracted the expertise of Kronenberger & Sons Restoration to complete this project to restore the 350-year-old house’s structural integrity. This work couples with the installation of two commercial-grade dehumidifiers installed in the house to help control moisture and mitigate pest damage. These important preservation efforts ensure our ability to continue engaging visitors in stories about colonial life and northern slavery through the history of the Hempsted and Jackson families in the spaces where they lived – empowering folks to begin their conversation with history and make a difference today.

We would like to thank DeStefano & Chamberlain, Preservation Connecticut, the CT State Historic Preservation Office, Crosskey Architects, and Kronenberger & Sons Restoration for their guidance and expertise with this project. We also want to extend our gratitude to the supporters of the Hempsted Houses. Your commitment to our work, the history of the property, and presence during events, tours, and programs makes the experiences at our museum even more meaningful. We look forward to welcoming you for generations to come!

Click here to discover more about the Hempsted Houses, restoration work, and impact on tours »

12 Next

See all updates »