Historic Stonington

Independence Day Parade
2021-07-04 11:30 - 14:30 (America/New_York)

Yoga at the Lighthouse
2021-06-30 10:30 - 11:30, 2021-06-23 10:30 - 11:30, 2021-06-16 10:30 - 11:30 | The Old Lighthouse Museum, 7 Water Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States
Join Chelsea Hauck of Bluebird Yoga for a calming start to your day, Wednesdays from June 2nd to July 28th. Classes begin at 10:30 am on the Lighthouse Lawn. Classes are $10 each. Registration is available here: https://chbluebirdyoga.com/the-lighthouse-museum

These classes are outdoors so please bring the following with you:

Your own mat
A towel or blanket to put under your mat (it is great to have extra padding)
A full water bottle
Any other props you personally use and might need
Sunscreen (just in case)
Bug spray (if you tend to be a tasty treat, bring it)
Mask (for walking to and fro)

SHS Little League Game
2021-06-26 09:00 - 12:00 | 43 North Anguilla Road in Pawcatuck
Batter up! Come cheer on the Stonington Historical Society’s Penguins at the Little League Field in Pawcatuck this season.
The team will play on the Brown Field on June 26th.

Hike to Venture Smith's Homestead on Barn Island
2021-06-19 10:00 - 11:30 | Barn Island, Stewart Road, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States
Join Professor Nancy Steenburg and Elizabeth Kading for a hike to the Venture Smith homesite on Barn Island, Saturday, June 19th at 10am. This walk will take place rain or shine, so please come prepared with appropriate shoes and clothing. We will be departing at 10am from the Stewart Road parking lot on Barn Island.
As of Friday, June 11th we are at capacity for this program. Thank you for your interest. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more information on upcoming programs.

SHS Little League Game
2021-06-19 09:00 - 12:00 | 43 North Anguilla Road in Pawcatuck
Batter up! Come cheer on the Stonington Historical Society’s Penguins at the Little League Field in Pawcatuck this season.
The team will play on the Gray Field on June 19th.

Historic Stonington Walking Tour
2021-06-18 17:00 - 18:00 | The Old Lighthouse Museum, 7 Water Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States
This fascinating Historic Walking Tour through the narrow streets of Stonington Borough depart on Fridays and Saturdays at 5pm from the Lighthouse Museum. The tour lasts about an hour. Experienced guides will share the stories of historic homes, sites, battles, the railroad and people that reflect Stonington’s rich 350 year history.
Once home to the Pequot Tribe of Southeastern Connecticut, Stonington’s first European settlement dates to 1649 when Thomas Stanton settled on the banks of the Pawcatuck River. The Stonington Borough settlement began about 1750 when the advantages of Stonington’s harbor were first realized. Initially fishing and farming were the primary industries, which eventually led to shipbuilding, a vibrant coastal trade, a West Indies trade, and further exploration. Stonington’s sea captains sailed the world and built fantastic homes that survive today in this perfectly preserved peninsula. Explorers included Edmund Fanning, who was also known as Pathfinder of the Pacific, and Nathaniel Palmer, credited with the discovery of Antarctica. Stonington has successfully defended her shores through two bombardments by British forces during the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Today, Stonington is still home to Connecticut’s last commercial fishing fleet.

Connecticut Open House Day 2021
2021-06-12 10:00 - 16:00
Connecticut Open House Day is Saturday, June 12th! Stop by the Captain Palmer House to churn butter and learn other historical trades or play some Victorian lawn games outside at the Lighthouse Museum.

Admission to both museums is free for everyone!

SHS Little League Game
2021-06-12 09:00 - 12:00 | 43 North Anguilla Road in Pawcatuck
Batter up! Come cheer on the Stonington Historical Society’s Penguins at the Little League Field in Pawcatuck this season.
The team will play on the Gray Field on June 12th.

Yoga at the Lighthouse
2021-06-09 10:30 - 11:30, 2021-06-02 10:30 - 11:30 | The Old Lighthouse Museum, 7 Water Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States
Join Chelsea Hauck of Bluebird Yoga for a calming start to your day, Wednesdays from June 2nd to July 28th. Classes begin at 10:30 am on the Lighthouse Lawn. Drop in classes are $10 each, or register for the full eight weeks for $72. Registration is available here: https://chbluebirdyoga.com/the-lighthouse-museum

These classes are outdoors so please bring the following with you:

Your own mat
A towel or blanket to put under your mat (it is great to have extra padding)
A full water bottle
Any other props you personally use and might need
Sunscreen (just in case)
Bug spray (if you tend to be a tasty treat, bring it)
Mask (for walking to and fro)

Woolworth Library Closed
2021-06-09 09:00 - 14:00 | The R. W. Woolworth Library & Research Center, 40 Palmer Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States
The Woolworth Library will be closed from 9-2 on Wednesday, June 9th for staff professional development. We apologize for any inconvenience and will return to regular hours on Friday.

SHS Little League Game
2021-06-05 09:00 - 12:00 | 43 North Anguilla Road in Pawcatuck
Batter up! Come cheer on the Stonington Historical Society’s Penguins at the Little League Field in Pawcatuck this season.
The team will play on the Red Field on June 5th.

Lighthouse Museum Open
2021-06-03 10:00 - 16:00 | The Old Lighthouse Museum, 7 Water Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States
Stop by the newly refurbished Lighthouse Museum!
All residents of Stonington will receive free admission to the Lighthouse Museum in 2021, with proof of residency.

Tag Sale
2021-05-29 09:00 - 15:00 | Captain Palmer House
Come down to the grounds of the Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer House at 40 Palmer Street in Stonington and bring home your own piece of history at our tag sale! Enjoy deep discounts and special sales throughout Friday, May 28th and Saturday, May 29th from 9 am to 2 pm.
Are you interested in setting up a table or booth to sell your crafts, or some of the clutter that you cleared out of your house during the pandemic? We’d love to have you participate. For $25 you are welcome to set up on the lawn with us. If you are interested, please reach out to Maddie Mott at development@stoningtonhistory.org.

Tag Sale
2021-05-28 09:00 - 15:00 | Captain Palmer House
Come down to the grounds of the Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer House at 40 Palmer Street in Stonington and bring home your own piece of history at our tag sale! Enjoy deep discounts and special sales throughout Friday, May 28th and Saturday, May 29th from 9 am to 3 pm.
Are you interested in setting up a table or booth to sell your crafts, or some of the clutter that you cleared out of your house during the pandemic? We’d love to have you participate. For $25 you are welcome to set up on the lawn with us. If you are interested, please reach out to Maddie Mott at development@stoningtonhistory.org.

Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer House Open
2021-05-15 10:00 - 16:00 | Captain Palmer House
Come visit the Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer House Museum!

Lighthouse Museum Opens
2021-05-15

Captain Palmer House Opens
2021-05-15

Tea and Terrariums
2021-05-08 14:00 - 16:00 | Captain Palmer House
Join us on Saturday, May 8th for a Mother’s Day program at the beautiful 19th century Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer House. Enjoy afternoon tea while you create your own terrarium, and learn a little about the Victorian interest in botany. The program begins at 2pm and all materials are provided for you. Space is limited to 25 guests, and costs $10 per person to cover materials. If you’re interested, send an email to Maddie Mott at development@stoningtonhistory.org.

Rosalie Thorne McKenna Community Photography Contest
2021-04-20 12:00 - 2021-04-30 15:00 | The Old Lighthouse Museum, 7 Water Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States
In an effort to preserve and celebrate the town’s artistic legacy, we are proud to present a community-wide photography contest. Named for portrait-photographer Rosalie “Rollie” McKenna, this annual photography contest is held to inspire new generations of photographers, as well as to continuously document our changing town by the people who live in it. We also hold this contest in memory of Rollie McKenna, who left a photographic legacy to Stonington and the world through her determination, creativity and passion for photography. May we always remember the path she forged for women in the arts!

Our 13 finalists will be on display at the Lighthouse Museum from April 20th through the 30th. The Lighthouse Museum will be open with free admission from 12pm to 3pm Tuesday – Sunday. The winners will be chosen by popular vote, so be sure you come by and cast your ballot!

First place wins $100, and a Family Membership to the Stonington Historical Society. In addition, the first prize winner will have access to the Maurice LaGrua darkroom at the Woolworth Library, and act as an honorary photography fellow*. Second place wins a free Family Membership. Third place wins a free Individual Membership. The three winning images will be displayed at the Lighthouse Museum for the 2021 season.

*McKenna Honorary Photography Fellow has access during Library open hours to the Maurice LaGrua darkroom for one year. Chemistry materials are provided by the Historical Society, but film and paper must be supplied by the fellow. If the winner has no experience in dark room techniques, lessons can be arranged. Two copies of any images produced in the darkroom will be donated to the Stonington Historical Society, and serve to increase our modern documentation of the town for posterity.

Still have questions? Contact Director of Collections and Community, Chelsea Mitchell at cmitchell@stoningtonhistory.org

"Hidden History" with Gail MacDonald
2021-04-15 18:00 - 19:00
Join local author Gail B. MacDonald as she discusses her book Hidden History of Mystic and Stonington.
“Mystic and Stonington are quintessential seacoast villages with colorful and diverse histories that extend well beyond the wharves and former sea captains’ homes. Native Americans, African Americans, immigrants and women also wove the unique story of this New England coastline. Now known for bucolic landscapes and tourist attractions, Mystic was once a workaday village that hosted thousands during annual Peace Meetings and provided groundbreaking education to deaf children. Stonington village teemed with railroad and steamship workers and passengers and was home to a women’s college. Gail Braccidiferro MacDonald peels back the layers of these southeastern Connecticut coastal communities, revealing a rich history that is sometimes surprising and always intriguing.”
Gail Braccidiferro MacDonald is a veteran Connecticut journalist and a member of the journalism faculty at the University of Connecticut-Storrs. She is the author of Morton F. Plant and the Connecticut Shoreline: Philanthropy in the Gilded Age and is an award-winning journalist and former reporter for The Day of New London, Connecticut. Her work has been published in newspapers and magazines throughout the country. As a longtime former resident of the Pawcatuck section of Stonington, she has a deep appreciation for and love of the unique history of the Mystic and Stonington communities. She lives in New London with her husband.

To Register for the Zoom talk, please click this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIlcOisqTkuHdwKBRL6-OI54jxLO1eXgGzi
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Wet Plate Photography Program and Demonstration
2021-04-10 10:00 - 11:00
Join us for a truly unique learning experience on Saturday, April 10th at 10am. Together with locally owned Marquis Jewelry Academy, and the Victorian Photography Studio based out of Gettysburg, PA , the Stonington Historical Society is pleased to present this free educational Zoom program. Dave Wilson of VPS will explore the collodion process of wet plate photography. If you’ve enjoyed seeing our tintypes, or just love photography, then this is the program for you. The collodion process was invented in 1851 by Frederick Scott Archer. During the subsequent decades, many photographers and experimenters refined or varied the process. Within twenty years it had almost entirely replaced the first announced photographic process, the daguerreotype, and allowed many images to be created from the one glass negative.

Registration is required, so please click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAudOGgrzkoEtw5zOVGxlgVA1IiczwuPD1a

On April 17th the Victorian Photography Studio will be in town, hosting wet plate photography demonstrations at Marquis Jewelry Academy. You too can be immortalized in image the way your great-great grandparents would have been! For more information on that event, please click here.
For more about the Victorian Photography Studio, click here.

Venture Smith in Stonington; A Family Affair
2021-02-11 18:30 - 20:00 | The R. W. Woolworth Library & Research Center, 40 Palmer Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States
Join Professors Nancy Steenburg and Elizabeth Kading as they present their findings from their most recent research into the life of Venture Smith, and the prevalence of enslavement along the Connecticut coastline. This project was made possible by a generous grant from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development. If you think you know the story of slavery in the North, and particularly in our little corner of Connecticut, be sure not to miss this one because there’s so much to learn! This program is being presented via Zoom and requires registration. Please click the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dzMKvlRHQlm3ZSzz92W49g

Book Talk with M. Earl Smith and Jade Huguenin
2021-01-19 19:30 - 20:30
Did you receive the newest book on Stonington for Christmas? Join the authors of the newest Images of America book, M. Earl Smith and Jade Huguenin, on Tuesday, January 19th. The authors will discuss interesting and curious things they learned while researching, favorite photographs and stories, and how two people – one from Kentucky, the other from Idaho, decided to write a book about Stonington. This event is free and available by registering for the Zoom link by clicking below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_x7N8Z93jTqqf9ooUJVaN_A

Offices and Library Closed
2020-12-24 - 2021-01-01

Santa's Ride Through Stonington
2020-12-12 19:00 - 20:00 | Captain Palmer House
This holiday season you have five different nights to catch Santa’s Ride Through Stonington! A family-friendly outdoor event, guests will join us at the Palmer House to watch as Santa flies through the skies over Stonington Borough. This shadow performance is a collaboration between the Stonington Historical Society and Jane Martineau, director of theater at the Williams School in New London. Performances each weekend through the evening of December 12.

Admission is free. Run-time: about 5-7 minutes, and new screenings begin every 15 minutes.

Palmer House Holiday Schedule
2020-12-12 11:00 - 15:00 | Captain Palmer House
If you missed us this summer, you can still visit the Capt. Nathaniel Palmer House during our special holiday schedule. We’re open each weekend on Fridays and Saturdays from Nov. 27 through Dec. 12. Wander the home of the man credited with sighting and mapping Antarctica exactly 200 years ago, or bring your family for photos on the scenic grounds. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children; members always enjoy free admission.

Lighthouse Museum Holiday Schedule
2020-12-12 11:00 - 15:00 | The Old Lighthouse Museum, 7 Water Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States
If you missed it this summer, you can still visit the newly-renovated Lighthouse Museum during our special holiday schedule. We’re open each weekend on Fridays and Saturdays from Nov. 27 through Dec. 12. Climb the spiral steps to enjoy a wintry view of Stonington Point, or bring your family for photos on the scenic grounds. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children; members always enjoy free admission.
