| New Canaan Historical Society, New Canaan, Connecticut | ||||
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| Town House | Rogers Studio | Rock School | Tool Museum | Hanford Silliman |
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The TOWN HOUSE - In 1731 the General Assembly of Connecticut, US, granted a petition from some Norwalk and Stamford residents to become Canaan Parish and form their own Congregational Church. In 1801 Canaan Parish was incorporated as the town of New Canaan, which built its first Town Hall as a meeting and voting space in 1825. The Historical Society acquired the building from the Augustana Lutheran Church in 1963 and moved its library and offices to the Town House building in 1964. With alterations and additions over the years, the building now houses the Society's offices, Library, Costume Museum, Cody Drug Store, Exhibition Rooms and Meeting Room. |
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The CODY DRUG STORE - The daily routine of pre-Civil War Connecticut comes vividly to life when you explore this 1845 shop interior. Originally located on Main Street in New Canaan, the Society's Cody Drug Store, adjacent to the Town House, is complete with original fixtures, store merchandise, and bottles still filled with medicines and remedies. Labels on the many original apothecary jars are in need of conservation, a critical step to preserve the character of the museum. It is hoped that this project can be undertaken soon. |
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The costume museum, the largest in Connecticut, contains a treasure of traditional wardrobes of the 18th and 19th centuries. A donation of new mannequins, produced specifically for museums, provide the body shapes specifically appropriate for 18th and 19th century clothing. The exhibit room, located on the second floor of the Town House, is easily accessible by elevator. |
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HANFORD-SILLIMAN HOUSE -18th Century towns were required by law to have a tavern and inn for travelers; New Canaan's "ordinary" was built by Stephen Hanford, a weaver and the community's first licensed tavern keeper. Hanford purchased the land in 1761 and moved into the house with his bride Jemima in 1764. Widowed in 1784, Jemima sold the property to Elisha Leeds who gave it to his newly married daughter Martha, and her husband, Joseph Silliman. Generations of the Silliman family have occupied the house until the 1920's. It was acquired in 1957 by the Historical Society. The collections and their presentation of many of the original furnishings give the house a living quality. |
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The TOOL MUSEUM - The Print Shop section of the Tool Museum will have a docent for demonstrations on Tuesdays from 2 to 4 p.m. Early America was built, maintained and fed by the hands of Connecticut craftsmen and farmers wielding the tools typified by this important collection. Accompanying illustrations explain the tools use by cabinetmakers, wheelwrights, tanners, shoemakers, coopers, builders and others. The New Canaan Hand Press is housed in a separate room of the Tool Museum. It is a re-creation of a 19th century printing office built around an original Smith-Hoe Acorn press. For further information about the printing office, click on the Tool Museum logo. |
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The ROGERS STUDIO - The ROGERS STUDIO & MUSEUM was built in 1878 by John Rogers, famous as "the people's sculptor" in the latter half of the 19th century. The studio was registered as a National Historic Landmark in 1966 and houses a large collection of Rogers' famous groups of plaster statuary, many of them sculpted on site. The Rogers Groups have been restored, and the display area has been reconfigured to reflect the feeling of the Victorian artist's studio. It is now open for tours on Tuesdays from 2 to 4 p.m. Call the Society at 203-966-1776 to schedule other times. |
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The ROCK SCHOOL - Built in 1799, this one room schoolhouse was saved for future generations through the efforts of modern-day schoolchildren. When the Rock School was threatened with demolition at its original site on Laurel and Canoe Hill Roads, local schools raised money and awareness to make relocation possible. Professional and amateur volunteers moved the school, intact, to its new location. |
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THE LITTLE RED SCHOOLHOUSE on Carter Street is a welcome addition to our museum complex. The restoration of the one-room schoolhouse received great support from the community with gifts from the Community Foundation, the Jeniam Foundation and the Rotary Club of New Canaan, along with support given by Society members and former students in the school. The School House opened its doors to students in 1868 and finally closed after Mary J. Kelly's last class in 1957. Miss Kelley spent her entire life in the neighborhood, attended the school as a child, and became a teacher at the Carter Street School in 1910. Our 2004 annual "A Student's Memoir" by Robert W. P. Cutler, class of 1943, is now available in the Town House library. Mr. Cutler has compiled the memories of many students who attended the school. |
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The Gores Pavilion in Irwin Park is a mid-century modern building designed by Landis Gores in 1959. It will be restored as a cultural center, and eventually open to the public. The Pavilion will feature architectural exhibits of the modern movement in New Canaan. |