Beth was a wonderful tour guide, informative and fun Enjoyed our day there. No wait time and…read morereally liked the house. Beautiful setting and a nice day ~ thank you Beth.

Visited the adult home of this famous child of the Mississippi River, during the final days of our…read moretrip to Connecticut. It was a very enjoyable experience. My wife and I were flying out of the Hartford airport (Bradley International) to go back home, so decided to spend the day before in the area. A popular tourist attraction is the Mark Twain (two fathoms or 12 feet deep) House & Museum, so decided to center our day around that. Maps will take you right to it, passing by large and beautiful homes from the turn of the (19th) century. The end destination was a large parking with plenty of spaces on a Friday afternoon. Daily hours are 9:30 - 5:30, with seeing the house only available through guided tours, so it was recommended to pre-reserve slots online. There are two versions of the tour, both guided but with the less frequent Living History Tour being led by a cosplay actor. We arrived at 11:20 and was able to get tickets for the 11:30 normal tour (on this day, the normal tour had hours at 9:45, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, 3:00, 3:30, 4:00, and 4:15). Because the tour lasts about an hour, there were multiple groups in the house at the same time, but it is big enough to absorb the three concurrent groups, all seeing different parts of the home. The entire home is maintained only by ticket admission ($28 adult, $26 senior, $15 children). This was the home where he spent the most productive 17 years of his life, raising his three daughters with his wife, and writing his classics, including Huckleberry Finn. The house tour included all four stories of his home, with complete restoration being just completed in 2016. Rules: no photos or videos inside the house; don't touch anything, stay in same room as guide at all times, and no food/drink. The house was built with forced air vents, and the AC was working well within the house this day. Upstairs on the second floor was the living area, and the 3rd story attic was where Twain had his offices. The basement were the servant quarters. The entire house was fully furnished with either originals or faithful reproductions. We later learned that much of it had been given away initially, but the restoration brought much of it back. There are no elevators in the Twain home. In the visitor center, anybody could enjoy a 20 minute version of Mark Twain documentary by Ken Burns. The most celebrated Mark Twain actor was Hal Holbrook (he played a mean Lincoln too), and his very familiar voice could be heard quite a bit throughout. The souvenir shop in the visitor center had a variety of things related to his life, but to the hobby of reading for pleasure in general. There were distinctive wallpaper patterns inside the house (our favorite was that of a honeybee colony), and the same patterns could be purchased as paper in the gift shop. Because the main house is on elevated ground, one story above the visitor center, there are two parking areas. The main one near the visitor center is what Maps will guide you to, whereas the much smaller one south of the house at the same elevation is meant for handicapped spots and being much smaller, will fill up. We did see if we could walk from this parking area via local roads, but found it was much easier to just go back from where we came. We spent about 2 hours here, and saw what we wanted to see. We both felt it's well worth visiting.

Well, this is a small museum and not something on the scale as the one on Harrisburg or Appomattox,…read morebut it's a great display of the local community's history. There are a lot of artifacts from GAR of the Northeast. It's very thorough in its exhibit, but it is free and should take about an hour. They also had reenactor, so you feel the passion for preserving history. He was constantly surrounded by some older ladies, so I didn't get a chance to talk to him, but I appreciate the spirit. There is also a small gift shop, and the employees were very friendly and helpful.

Also known as 'The Mill Museum'…read more www.millmuseum.org This museum is a gem. Excellent! Connecticut is so fortunate to have a museum such as this one still in existence. For those who wonder "how did we get here" in terms of our technological age and current lifestyle, or how the industrial revolution affected thread and textiles in CT, this museum is a must see...excellent. The only other museum that I am aware of in this category is the Genius Museum in Montville, CT. It is so illuminating and interesting to see the extent and development of industry (mills) in CT and to see how something as simple, yet as important, as thread and textiles were such an intrinsic part of our economic development of our state and lives in general. Not only is the process of making thread a fascinating story, the evolution of the repetitive manufacturing process is extremely educational. Willamantic is known as "The Thread City" as it was a dominant player in that industry, and had many innovations in processing cotton into thread as well as such things as being the first business to illuminate its factory with Edison incandescent light bulbs. It is easy to dismiss such inventions without understanding the overall impact on business and society...as electrification and the light bulb changed factory architecture, the ability to utilize multiple work shifts, etc. There are so many dimensions on which to appreciate the museum including learning of the lifestyles of the times and the hardships people endured. This museum should be on every public schools agenda for student trips.

The oldest structure in Hartford has no reviews? That's a shame because it's a great historical…read moregem. Although open seasonally, the tours are very thorough. There is an exhibit on old Hartford. The house stayed in the Butler-McCook family for many generations, so most of the items were preserved, and it's great to see old Hartford next to new, modern buildings. Plus there is a great history where a car rammed through the front about 20 years ago. Luckily restorers were able to put together the couch, so the preservation is just as important to the story as the restoration. The guides were able to explain a lot about the art and furniture in the house, and they had a big binder to fill in information as needed. They were thorough discussing the family history. Most of the rooms were displayed accurately as they were designed over 100 years older. It was cool to learn about life in earlier Hartford. No gift shop, but there is a nice little garden in the back, a small parking lot in the back, and plenty of street parking. It's a nice 1-2 hour afternoon by some passionate guides who love history.

A small but very nice museum in the heart of Simsbury. Built in 1771, five generations of the…read morePhelps family lived here before donating the property to the Simsbury Historical Society. The museum looks at the various Phelps generations and major personalities, and has quite a few exhibits highlighting the property's years as a tavern from 1786 to 1849. One of the very cool exhibits included a blackboard describing the food served at the taven back in the day. On the breakfast menu were broiled shad and smelts with pickled watermelon rind and horseradish vinegar. The lunch menu included turtle soup and a choice of rice, maize, or buckwheat puddings. Dinner items included hash, meat patties and stuffed eel. Bon appetit!

ORIGIN: After nearly two decades of fundraising, the vision…read moreof a local resident and nationally-known author, lawyer, and political activist, Ralph Nader, became realized with the opening of the American Museum of Tort Law in 2015. LOCATION: The museum is located in the stately former Winsted Savings Bank, which had been constructed in 1925. The museum is open 10-5 Monday through Saturday, with shorter hours on Sundays (11-4). CONCEPT: The mission of the unique museum is to "educate, inform and inspire about two things: trial by jury; and the benefits of tort law" (@american.museum.of.tort.law, 2024). EXPERIENCE: The American Museum of Tort Law looks to educate and inspire citizens about "law of wrongful injuries, including motor vehicle crashes, defective products, medical malpractice, and environmental disasters" (website). The museum has several rooms with attractive and engaging displays to support this mission, including an installation of a Corvair -- the dangerously designed car that is the subject of one of the museum founder's popular books (Unsafe at Any Speed, 1965). Complementing displays is a small shop with a curated collection of books dedicated to the history of tort law. TIP: Consider coordinating a visit with a dinner at the well-regarded Lebanese restaurant just down the road -- Noujaims -- open 5-9 Thursday through Saturday. The museum's founder is of Lebanese decent, and even authored a family cookbook in 2020 (his family ran a restaurant in town), so it's a destination that will complement a museum visit.

I was recently looking up unique places in CT, and stumbled upon the American Museum of Tort Law in…read moreWinsted! Now I am not a lawyer, but I am interested in law, and so decided to check it out. The museum was founded by CT attorney and four-time presidential candidate Ralph Nader (who was born in Winsted) and is located in the former Winsted Savings Bank building on Main St. It is actually the first and only law museum in the country, which I found pretty cool! Admission is $10 for adults, and there's free parking in lots on either side of the building. I went this past Saturday around 3PM, and was the only person in the place. You walk in the front door to a small gift shop, and there was a nice lady working behind the desk who was very friendly. The museum is not very big, but it really explains (in the most basic terms that non-lawyers will understand) what tort law is and its history, as well as the importance of jury trials. You will learn about precedent-setting civil cases, some of the most dangerous toys ever made, and famous cases like the McDonald's hot coffee case, Ford Pinto exploding gas tanks, lawsuits against the tobacco and asbestos companies, etc. There's a also a short video that you can sit and watch related to these same topics. Another room had interactive touch screens where you can explore other famous civil cases from around the country. The main centerpiece is a 1963 red Chevy Corvair, and an accompanying display of how Ralph Nader himself investigated safety issues with the vehicle. Overall, I found the museum very interesting, and learned a lot about tort and civil law! I was able to walk through the whole place in about an hour, and I stopped to read pretty much every display they had. Keep in mind that they do close for the winter, but their current hours are Tues-Sat 10AM-5PM, and Sun 11AM-4PM. Make sure to stop by!

We are proud to own about 6 of Catherine Elliot's paintings. She is an award winning artist and…read moreshe captures the essence of life (as we would like to to be) here in the Farmington Valley and beyond. For two very special wedding presents, Catherine created paintings from some photographs of some very special landscape scenes. The results were stunning and will be treasured for generations.

Went to a ginormous tag sale here today!! The selection was mind boggling! All the crew were very…read morehelpful and friendly. I got some excellent buys!! The sale happens tomorrow also 10 to 2. I plan to go again!! Cash or card ok. Bags are available for your purchases. Many families were there, looking and buying. Great selection for everyone!

What local gems the Historical Society of Windsor's museum and 1700s houses are!! The Historical…read moreSociety staff, which I think may be almost all volunteers, are exceptionally well trained and deeply knowledgeable to help answer your history questions, assist with research in their extensive upstairs library, help with genealogical conundrums, share their extensive knowledge of all things (and I mean ALL things!) Windsor, and to share the lifestyle of the 1700/1800s families that lived in Windsor. You can bring your elementary school aged children (who will get free admission) to the 1767 Chaffee House or the 1758 Strong-Howard House and they'll be captively entertained, learning about how folks lived in the 18th and 19th centuries. They won't even remember they own cell phones...for a few hours, at least. Adults will appreciate the many diverse speakers and presentations the Society puts on, the respect shown for the town's cultural history going all the way back to the original Native American occupants, and, my absolute favorite, the manufacturing history of a very industrious town...just to name a slight few of the many aspects the Historical Society's vast collections and records touch upon. I found the staff here to be so generous with their personal and professional knowledge, that I find it a pleasure to come back again and again. With the changing displays, their extensive catalog of artifacts and the plethora of speakers they invite, you can virtually see something new each time you visit. Don't hesitate to bring the entire family- from kids to grandparents, as there truly is something here for everyone.