Historic Stonington

Deck the Walls Preview Party
2023-11-30 18:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Captain Palmer House

Lobster Trap Tree Lighting
2023-11-25 16:30 - 17:30

Offices, museums, and library closed for Thanksgiving
2023-11-23 00:00 - 23:59

Stonington Cultural District Commission
2023-11-13 17:00 - 19:00, 2023-09-11 17:00 - 19:00 | The R. W. Woolworth Library & Research Center, 40 Palmer Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States

Offices, museums, and library closed for Veterans Day
2023-11-10 00:00 - 23:59

Library Closed for Professional Development
2023-11-08 00:00 - 23:59 | The R. W. Woolworth Library & Research Center, 40 Palmer Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Costume Party
2023-10-28 18:00 - 20:00 | Captain Palmer House
Join us at the Captain Nathaniel Brown Palmer House for a Halloween Costume Party to remember! Step back in time (and underwater) in this famous captains’ house and enjoy an evening of music, cocktails and spooky frights. We can’t wait to party like we’re aboard the Nautilus.

Tickets are available on our homepage by clicking the “Buy Tickets” tab at the far right. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Librarian, Chelsea Mitchell at library@stoningtonhistory.org.

Library and Offices Closed for Professional Development
2023-10-23 00:00 - 23:59 | The R. W. Woolworth Library & Research Center, 40 Palmer Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States

New England's Other Witch Hunt
2023-10-19 18:00 - 19:30 | The La Grua Center, 32 Water Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States
Everyone knows about the witch hunt at Salem in 1692. But few people know that in the years before Salem, Connecticut was New England’s fiercest witch prosecutor. The first person hanged for witchcraft in New England came from Windsor, and every single person indicted for witchcraft in Connecticut in its early years was convicted and hanged. Walt Woodward brings this extraordinary and nearly forgotten story to life in a lecture that begins with the Protestant Reformation and traces its history all the way through the Hartford Witch hunt of the 1660’s – a nightmare of trials and executions that preceded Salem by a generation. He also shows how Connecticut’s Governor John Winthrop, Jr. and his friend Rev. Gershom Bulkeley intervened to transform Connecticut from New England’s most aggressive witch hunter to a colony that completely ended executions for witchcraft thirty years before they even began at Salem. Along the way, he answers all those questions you’ve wondered about the early witch hunts, and explains why almost everyone in the 1600s believed that witchcraft was very real, and terribly dangerous.

This event is free and open to the public. No pre-registration is required. Please arrive before 6pm at the La Grua Center.

Panel Discussion of Anthony Bailey's Book In the Village
2023-10-12 18:00 - 19:00 | The La Grua Center, 32 Water Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States

Offices, museums, and library closed for Indigenous Peoples' Day
2023-10-09 00:00 - 23:59

Private Event at the Lighthouse
2023-10-07 08:00 - 17:00, 2023-09-23 08:00 - 17:00, 2023-07-15 08:00 - 17:00

Stonington Borough Art Walk
2023-09-16 10:00 - 16:00

Langdon Hammer: James Merrill's Stonington
2023-09-14 17:00 - 18:30 | The R. W. Woolworth Library & Research Center, 40 Palmer Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States

Big Lux at the Lighthouse Museum
2023-09-10 17:00 - 19:00 | The Old Lighthouse Museum, 7 Water Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States
We are so excited to be hosting the wildly talented Big Lux at the Lighthouse Museum this fall! Tickets are available through our website. This event will take place outside on the lawn at the Lighthouse Museum, so be sure to bring your blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy this sunset concert overlooking Little Narragansett Bay. Tickets must be purchased ahead of time. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Chelsea Mitchell at cmitchell@stoningtonhistory.org

Yoga at the Lighthouse
2023-08-30 09:00 - 10:00, 2023-08-23 09:00 - 10:00, 2023-08-16 09:00 - 10:00, 2023-08-09 09:00 - 10:00, 2023-08-02 09:00 - 10:00, 2023-07-26 09:00 - 10:00, 2023-07-19 09:00 - 10:00 | The Old Lighthouse Museum, 7 Water Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States
Wednesdays at 9am. Please register at https://chbluebirdyoga.com/stonington-lighthouse

Patrick O'Brien and the Battle of Stonington
2023-08-10 18:00 - 19:00 | The La Grua Center, 32 Water Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States
Artist Patrick O‘Brien has undertaken a new painting depicting the 1814 Battle of Stonington. This talk will explore the evolution of this idea and the research that is the foundation of a painting that represents historical fact. O‘Brien’s paintings capture the glory and the grandeur of the age of sail. He is a full-time professional artist and illustrator and his art has appeared in magazines and newspapers, on posters and greeting cards, and even on billboards. He has been commissioned to create marine artwork for such clients as The US Coast Guard, the US Naval Institute, Lockheed Martin, and Exxon Mobil.

Maureen N. McLane: "What you Want" and Queer Poetics
2023-08-08 17:00 - 18:00 | The R. W. Woolworth Library & Research Center, 40 Palmer Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States

The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter
2023-07-19 18:00 - 19:30 | The La Grua Center, 32 Water Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States
Join us on Wednesday, July 19 at 6 pm at the La Grua Center for a fascinating program about Ida Lewis. In honor of the 20th anniversary of the publication of The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter (Rowman-Littlefield), the true story of America’s heroic female lighthouse keeper Ida Lewis, join us for a presentation by the author, and filmmaker, Nico Raineau. Ida Lewis stands out in history as a true American heroine, saving upwards of 25 people from drowning and becoming famous overnight–something she neither wanted nor pursued. Despite her fame in the late 19th century, Ida Lewis has been summarily forgotten by history. Nico Raineau is producing a film adaption of Skomal’s book and is local to the Stonington area.

Annual Meeting
2023-07-16 16:00 - 18:00 | The La Grua Center, 32 Water Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States
Please join us on Sunday, July 16th at 4 pm at the La Grua Center for the 127th Annual Meeting of the Stonington Historical Society. Immediately following the business meeting and elections, join us for a conversation with incoming SHS President (and Harvard Business Review Editor in Chief) Adi Ignatius about highlights of his career covering Tiananmen Square, interviewing Vladimir Putin, and other epochal moments. We will also touch on his thoughts about the mission and future of the Stonington Historical Society. Society Treasurer Paul Leeming will moderate the discussion, which will include questions from the audience. A reception will follow.
All are welcome

Night of Terror: The Sinking of the Paddlewheel Steamship "Atlantic"
2023-07-13 18:00 - 19:30 | The La Grua Center, 32 Water Street, Stonington, CT, 06378, United States
Join us Thursday evening, July 13th at the La Grua Center for a fascinating lecture by Captain Bill Palmer. An Army paratrooper during the time of the Vietnam War, Palmer is now one of New England’s leading authorities on underwater wrecks and has videotaped dozens of submarines, U-boats, and sunken vessels lost in East Coast waters. As owner-operator of the charter vessel Thunderfish out of R.I. and Mystic, Conn., Captain Palmer has been diving since the late 1960s and knows the exact location of wrecks, including those where there was a large loss of life, such as the Metis and the Larchmont. This presentation promises to be one you won’t soon forget!
