Author: Staff

One of our most popular fundraising efforts, the Old Wethersfield Arts & Crafts Fair, returns to Cove Park for the 41st time. As always, there will be pottery, woodworking, prints, jewelry, textiles and fabric art, painting, photography, and so much more. For a complete list of participating crafters and detailed information about the event, please visit the dedicated page on our website HERE.  Many of your favorite crafters and vendors return year after year. Round Hill Alpacas will be making their yearly visit to Cove Park. Free parking is available along State Street, and adjacent to the DMV.

While Google gives the address of Cove Park as 533 Main Street, you would be better served using  the Solomon Wells House (220 Hartford Avenue) or the DMV (60 State Street) as a frame of reference.  One entrance to the fair is directly adjacent to the DMV’s parking lot where you are welcome to park and the other is on State Street itself.

Admission for current WHS members and children under 12 accompanied by an adult is free. Advance purchase tickets are available now through this link to EventBrite  or in-person at the Old Academy (150 Main Street, Wethersfield) for $7 until 5:00 pm on October 6. Thereafter, admission jumps to $10.00. Due to the nominal nature of the admission charge, only cash will be accepted at the gate.

Join Wethersfield Historical Society for the 14^th Annual Old Wethersfield Lantern Light Tours on Friday, October 13 and Saturday, October 14. Characters on this year’s tours are drawn from the 19th century and share the diverse experiences of Wethersfield residents during this century of change. Tours depart from the Keeney Memorial Cultural Center (200 Main Street) every fifteen minutes between 6:30pm and 8:00pm. Tours will progress through the historic Hurlbut-Dunham House, First Church, and the Ancient Burying Ground. For more details, see the dedicated Lantern Light page on the website here.

Tickets are $25.00 and can be purchased on EventBrite HERE or in person at the Old Academy (150 Main Street) between 10am and 4pm, Tuesday through Friday. Ticket quantities are limited to 21 per tour, so get your tickets early. Ticket are on sale now. In the event of inclement weather, provisions have been made to conduct these tours indoors. There is no rain date.

This approximately 70-minute journey through the past covers about one mile through occasionally uneven terrain and dimly lit areas. Participants are advised to wear good walking shoes and dress appropriately for the weather. This program is not recommended for children under the age of 13.

This is the last opportunity this season to enjoy WHS’ Research Librarian Martha Smart’s fascinating tour of Wethersfield’s Ancient Burying Ground. The Ancient Burying Ground and Village Cemetery have served as the final resting place for Wethersfield residents for over 300 years. Learn about the individuals buried there and the evolution of grave stone iconography on this 90-minute tour. Tours meet at the red barn beside First Church’s (250 Main Street, Wethersfield) parking lot.

In the event of rain, this tour will be canceled. Due to scheduling issues, the society is unable to offer a rain date.

Admission is $10 per person for the general public. Current WHS members receive free admission.

After the rousing success of last year’s inaugural The Witch of Blackbird Pond Ball, it was determined almost immediately to make it an annual event. The ball returns on Saturday, October 28^th from 6:30 pm – 10:30 pm. For more details about this year’s event, a link to purchase tickets on EventBrite, and a look back at the inaugural WOBBP Ball visit the event’s dedicated page on the society’s website HERE.

Wethersfield Historical Society is pleased to announce an award of a $500,000 Good to Great grant from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and Connecticut Humanities for the second phase of the restoration of the Hurlbut-Dunham House located on Main Street in the center of Old Wethersfield. With this grant award, the Society will commence the first two stages of the house’s renovation and begin additional fundraising for the subsequent phases.

Click HERE to read the rest of this article and learn what this award means for the Capital Campaign and the Hurlbut-Dunham House.

On April 4, Wethersfield Historical Society announced the public phase of an ambitious $1 million fundraising campaign for the restoration of the historic Hurlbut-Dunham House. To date, the Society has raised an impressive 58% of the total goal, which includes a $200,000 grant from the Connecticut Office of the Arts’ Historic Restoration Fund, under the Department of Economic and Community Development.  To learn more about the scope of this project and the importance of this Wethersfield landmark, please visit the campaign’s dedicated page on  HERE.

If you’d like be a part of this historic effort and donate to the Hurlbut-Dunham House’s restoration, you can mail a check payable to:

Wethersfield Historical Society
150 Main Street
Wethersfield, CT 06109

To assure proper attribution, please write “For Hurlbut-Dunham House” on the memo line. If you’d prefer to give online, visit our donation form HERE.