Experience History Come Alive at CT Open House Day and CT's Historic Gardens Day!

Step back into the rhythms of early New England life at Stanley-Whitman House this June, as the museum opens its doors to celebrate two beloved state-wide traditions: Connecticut Open House Day on Saturday, June 14, and Connecticut’s Historic Gardens Day on Sunday, June 22. Both events are free and open to the public from 12:00 to 4:00 PM and feature guided historic house and garden tours led by knowledgeable staff and costumed volunteers.

Each day invites visitors to explore the museum’s ca. 1720 National Historic Landmark house, a beautifully preserved and interpreted example of Colonial architecture, and the living history gardens that have flourished on the site since the museum’s founding in 1935. These immersive tours share stories of the Tunxis people, the Smith and Whitman families, enslaved persons, Puritan settlers, and Revolutionary War patriots who helped shape Farmington’s place in Connecticut and American history.

A highlight of both days is a live foodways demonstration by historian Dennis Picard, offering a sensory-rich look into the domestic and utilitarian arts of the 18th century: “Foodways: Dye Plants” on Saturday, June 14—a hands-on exploration of how colonial families used plants such as madder, goldenrod, and walnut hulls to dye cloth and yarn; and “Foodways: Herbal Concoctions, Tonics, and Balms” on Sunday, June 22—exploring the preparation of natural remedies from culinary and medicinal herbs once cultivated in New England dooryard gardens. Picard’s engaging storytelling and historically grounded demonstrations link the past to the present, helping visitors understand how food, medicine, and color were made from the land itself.

As part of your visit, be sure to stop into the museum store, which features an expanded seasonal selection of handmade goods, garden-themed gifts, and new books from Microcosm Publishing, Penguin Books, and Yale University Press. Titles explore everything from natural dyeing and food preservation to folk herbalism, protest history, and early American domestic life. These special public days offer a rare opportunity to see and feel history come alive, from garden to hearth, archive to artifact.

For both events, advance registration via Eventbrite is encouraged but not required; walk-ins are welcome throughout the day. The last house tour begins at 3:00 PM.