Historic Stonington

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

Lighthouse Museum Opens
2021-05-15 | CT

Captain Palmer House Opens
2021-05-15 | CT

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 | CT
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 | CT
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 | CT
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 | CT

Santa's Ride Through Stonington
2020-12-12 19:00 - 20:00, 2020-12-10 19:00 - 20:00, 2020-11-28 19:00 - 20:00, 2020-11-27 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, 2020-12-11 11:00 - 15:00, 2020-12-05 11:00 - 15:00, 2020-12-04 11:00 - 15:00, 2020-11-28 11:00 - 15:00, 2020-11-27 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, 2020-12-11 11:00 - 15:00, 2020-12-05 11:00 - 15:00, 2020-12-04 11:00 - 15:00, 2020-11-28 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.

Annual Harpsichord Concert
2020-12-11 19:00 - 20:00 | Captain Palmer House
Join us from the comfort of your home for our annual Harpsichord Concert on Friday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. We are streaming the talented Elena Zamolodchikova from the parlor of the Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer House. To purchase a ticket, please visit the “Buy Tickets” page.
For this year’s concert we are letting you name your price! Tickets will be donation based, and you choose the dollar amount. Once you have made the donation of your choice, and the payment is processed, we will email you the Zoom link to tune in on Friday, Dec. 11.
If you have questions, please contact Chelsea Mitchell at library@stoningtonhistory.org.

Library Closed
2020-12-09 | The R. W. Woolworth Library & Research Center, 40 Palmer Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States

Santa's Ride Through Stonington - CANCELED FOR WEATHER
2020-12-05 19:00 - 20:00, 2020-12-04 19:00 - 20:00 | Captain Palmer House

Deck the Walls
2020-12-02 - 2020-12-04 | CT
Our online auction of holiday wreaths and decor allows you to stay cozy by the fire while you shop our beautiful, hand-made wreaths.
