The Wethersfield Museum at the Keeney Memorial Cultural Center

Love Letters and Uniforms: Wethersfield During the Civil War

Civil WarA story, a poem and a well formed marriage proposal in a letter tell the story of the Civil War. The objects that were treasured from the war were letters. Correspondence between the home front and battlefront served as the connection which contained the heartfelt emotions or unnerving bravery. As part of Connecticut’s sesquicentennial of the Civil War a new exhibit was mounted in the Keeney Memorial Cultural Center. Love Letters and Uniforms: Wethersfield During the Civil War commemorates the American Civil War, while exploring local life during the 1860s. Walk through the exhibit to humanize the bloodiest conflict in American history into families struggling to survive, connect and sustain on the battlefront and the home front.

Wethersfield Woodworking, September 2011- March 2012

Wethersfield Woodworking is a new exhibition that celebrates the local joiners, crafters and turners in our community. Exhibit will open on Saturday, September 17 on History Day for Families and run through April 2012. A collaborative community exhibition of local pieces melded with museum collections. Come explore the remarkable craftsmanship from your own community!

A Seedy Tradition

The seed tradition began with Joseph Belden in 1811 and continues today with Comstock, Ferre & Co and Chas. C. Hart Seed Company. Wethersfield was the hotbed of seed gardens in the 19th century providing seeds to farmers throughout New England and as far as the Mississippi River. Commission boxes, colorful packets and quick businessmen nicknamed Wethersfield the “cradle of American seed companies.”

 

Upcoming: All-School Art Exhibit -May 1 - 29, 2012

Details coming soon!

 

Upcoming: WEtherfsield Art League Spring Show - June 8 - 28. 2012

The Spring Art Show of Wethersfield Art League encouraging arts in the community as well as providing an opportunity to display Art League members' work.

 

 


Legendary People, Ordinary Lives

Do you know how to rope onions? Would you like to try different architectural styles on a house? Are you interested in ships and the sea? Ever wondered what school was like in the “Good Old Days?” All these questions are part of the exhibition “Legendary People, Ordinary Lives,” which was funded in part by a grant from the Connecticut Humanities Council.

This exhibit employs a thematic approach to history, organized around six areas which focus on the history of Wethersfield’s architecture, agricultural heritage, historic preservation, social and suburban development, and entrepreneurial spirit. Among the “legendary people” featured is Wallace Nutting, whose restoration of the Joseph Webb House and interest in the collection and preservation of historic objects and architecture inspired many local historians. Also included are quotes from “ordinary people” of the time.

The exhibition brings together a wide range of artifacts from the Society’s collection, many on view for the first time. These include a Connecticut River Valley Doorway from the Churchill House in Newington (no longer standing), portraits of Sarah Noyes Chester and Ashbel and Abigail Wright, chests made by Wethersfield cabinetmakers Edward Shepard and Peter Blin, a sweetgrass bonnet made by Sophia Woodhouse, agricultural implements, maritime artifacts, and signs from the Wethersfield Village Hotel, the Thomas Griswold Co. seed company, and the distinctive Hubbard Community.

Interactive activities to engage visitors appear throughout the exhibition. Among them is a magnet board with movable architectural elements inviting visitors to change the design of a house. Finally, the “Signposts to History” direct visitors, through photographs, text and maps, to 24 other sites nearby where they can see and learn more.

The Keeney Memorial Cultural Center (200 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT) is open Tues. - Sat., 10-4, Sun. 1-4. Gallery admission is $5.00 for adults, free to Wethersfield residents, Society members and to children 16 and under.

Hurlbut – Dunham House Museum

Built in 1790’s in the Georgian style, the house was occupied in 1804 by Captain John Hurlbut, a successful mariner who circumnavigated the globe on the ship Neptune. In the 1860’s, the house was remodeled by Levi Goodwin to reflect the Italianate style popular at that time. An ell containing kitchens, servants’ quarters and a large copper cistern to hold rainwater was added.

In 1875 the house was purchased by Silas Robbins, a prominent Wethersfield merchant, for his son Elisha. Elisha married Ida Adams in 1879. They had one child, a daughter named Jane. Elisha died in 1879, and Ida and her daughter Jane lived alone in the house until Jane married Howard Dunham in 1907. At that time he joined them in the home. Mrs. Robbins and the Dunhams were prominent in Hartford social circles; Howard Dunham was Insurance Commissioner of Connecticut from 1923 to 1935. The Dunhams were enthusiastic antiques collectors and avid supporters of historic preservation, and their home reflects these interests.

Jane Dunham bequeathed the home to the Historical Society which received it in 1970. After an extensive restoration, the house was opened as a museum in 1995, reflecting the residency of the Dunhams between 1907 - 1935. It is rich in early 20th century features including original Rococo Revival wallpapers, painted ceilings and cornices, and furnishings and accessories. Wethersfield Historical Society received the Connecticut League of Historical Societies’ Award of Merit for the restoration of the house in June of 1996.

The Hurlbut-Dunham House at 212 Main Street is located next to the Keeney Memorial Cultural Center. Tours originate at the Keeney Memorial. Admission is $5.00 for adults, free to children 16 and under and to Society members. Hours: Saturday 11am-2pm and Sunday 1-4pm in mid-May to mid-October, please confirm hours at museum. Open for special events and group tours,  please call to confirm hours and schedule group tours (860) 529-7161.

The Cove Warehouse

The Cove Warehouse is located on the waterfront of the Wethersfield Cove and used to interpret Wethersfield’s maritime trade with the West Indies that flourished between 1650 and 1830. Visit the Cove to learn the significance of the Red Onion trade, shipbuilding, privateers, fisheries and early yachts.

The Cove Warehouse is located in Cove Park at the north end of Main Street. Please park in the Cove Park parking lot and use the path. Hours: Saturday and Sunday inmid-May to mid-October, please confirm hours at museum.. Open for special events and group tours. Group tours may be arranged by calling (860) 529-7161.




Captain James Francis House Museum

Located at 120 Hartford Avenue, across from the Board of Education, the Captain James Francis house was in the possession of the Francis descendants from 1793 until 1969, when it was gifted to the historical society. James Francis was a master-builder and custom built the home to his family’s needs. This 18th century house is interpreted in different time periods depending on the room – enter the Victorian Parlor to reflect on Christmas past all the way up through Mary Strong’s Summer Bedchamber from early twentieth century living.

The Captain James Francis house is open for education programs and by appointment seasonally. Education programs held at the house include Keeney Kids History Camp, Cookies over the Coals with local preschoolers, Amazing Apples Adventures, Victorian Christmas, Victorian Games and local school tours.

The Captain James Francis House (120 Hartford Avenue, Wethersfield, CT) is open by appointment only. Please contact Education Coordinator Mary Pat Knowlton at (860) 529-7656 or by

 

Past Exhibitions:

Photo Exhibit Celebrating Town’s 375th (October 2009 - May 2011)

As part of the Town of Wethersfield’s ongoing celebration of its 375th Anniversary (1634-2009), Wethersfield Historical Society mounted an exhibit based on its recently published book of photographs, “Wethersfield – Images of America.” The exhibit features more than 100 images selected from the society’s collections as well as those from private collections belonging to individuals, organizations, clubs and houses of worship. The large format photographs and insightful text panels detail the town’s “recent” history from the 1860s through 2008, reflecting the diverse, complex and multi-faceted community that Wethersfield has become in its 375th year.

The exhibition is supported by grants from the Greater Hartford Arts Council and the Robert Allan Keeney Memorial Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, which has allowed the society to complement the photographs with several hands-on components and interactive ways for additional community participation. Within the exhibition, education trunks can be used inside the gallery or taken “on the road” to participating classrooms. These trunks will allow young people the opportunity to experience the hands-on material culture, as seen in the photographs, to reinforce learning and have fun at the same time.

Happy Anniversary, Wethersfield!

nECESSITY AND bEAUTY: nEEDLEWORK FROM wETHERSFIELD'S tALENTED hANDS (September 2010 - March 2011)

Mounted in the Keeney Center’s Watson Gallery starting the beginning of September that displays needle and thread work from the Wethersfield community of past and present. Necessity and Beauty: Needlework from Wethersfield’s Talented Hands will feature a selection of samplers, quilts and other decorative arts from the Society’s collections incorporated with more contemporary pieces loaned from current Wethersfield residents. The textile pieces will be rotated out every few months to refresh and enliven the exhibit. If you have viewed the exhibit once – you have not seen it all! Come to the Watson Gallery and see a 19th century quilt from the Francis family next to your neighbor’s needlepoint art. Through April 2011.

 

Pilot Girl: Mary Goodrich Jenson (March 2010 - March 2011)

Mary Goodrich Jenson was a remarkable woman – not just for her ancestral Goodrich family roots, but for her barrier-breaking achievements. Mary was not only the first female to earn her pilot’s license in Connecticut and one of the charter members of the Ninety-Nines, a women’s aviation organization, but also the first female reporter for the Hartford Courant. Mary is remembered fondly by friends and family who join with Wethersfield Historical Society in honoring this remarkable woman with a new exhibit that is adjacent to the reception desk in the Keeney.