A Variety of Reasons to Come to the Homestead Museum

Daffodils in Bloom: Be sure to drive by the Homestead in March or April to see the hundreds of daffodils on the historic Homestead lawn. The daffodils were planted in memory of Nancy Ryon Richartz in honor of her love of gardens and legacy of community service.

Earth Day Celebration: The Society will join the Denison Pequotspos Nature Center’s Earth Day event or  Saturday, April 19. The Society will have a booth with Honey Bee crafts for children in honor of the new bee hives being installed in our meadow and of the “Denison Honey”  to be sold at the Farm Market and our Gift Shop.

“Bee a Friend” membership will be launched in April. Discover the ways how the Society has been helping the environment with our new Friends Membership and at our Earth Day booth.

Denison Farm Market: The Denison Farm Market opens in May and is open Sundays 12-3 PM. The Homestead is open at this time so be sure to stop by for a tour also.

Homestead Opening Day Event: Sunday, June 1, 1-3pm. Come visit the Homestead and see reenactors in period costumes and much more. Call for details. Visit the Farm Market first and then come over.

School Tours Spring 2008: Tours will be available on Tuesdays from May 27-June 24. They may possibly be available in the Fall also. Call to sign up your school.

Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and other Service Groups : Scout groups and other community service groups are always welcome weekdays in the summer. Call for reservations. Participating in programs at the Denison Homestead are a fun and interesting way to fulfill important requirements.

Please contact us to make an appointment for any of these programs.

Current Programs

Be a Denison House Detective — Children "discover" interesting items from a "Denison Detective list" as they tour the Homestead with a guide. 

Digging into our Past — Children participate in a mock Archeological Dig, finding artifacts from the 18th and 19th centuries.  Students then categorize and discuss their "finds." (Click on a thumbnail below to see pictures from this program.)

     

Combined House Tour and Archeological Dig — During this 2-hour program, a guide dressed in colonial costume assists children with an "archeological dig" and a tour of the Denison Homestead. Children learn about the lives of seven generations of Denisons who lived in the Homestead from 1717 through the 1930s. After finding artifacts from the 18th and 19th centuries during their digs, children discuss how these artifacts were used in past centuries. This is a wonderful program for school groups and scouts ages 7 - 11.

Life in Colonial Times — Volunteers dressed as 18th century Denison family members lead an hour's worth of hands-on activities from Colonial times.  Also included is a small snack.  This event is appropriate for small groups and can be held at the Homestead, a library, or a classroom.

Past Programs and Special Events

Childrens' Library Program — In 2007, Denison volunteers dressed as 18th century Denison Family members taught children about old fashioned quilts, as part of North Stonington's year-long celebrations.

300 Years of Holiday Celebrations at the Homestead — In 2007, the Denison Society celebrated 300 years of Holidays at the Homestead for four Sundays: November 19 and 26 and December 3 and 10. The Homestead was decorated for the Holidays, and our Tour Guide, Sandra Van Hoven, conducted 1/2-hour tours between noon and 4:00 pm. This was a highly successful program for us and we thank all our visitors!

Holiday Farm Market — In 2006 and again in 2007, in conjunction with opening day of our 300 Years of Celebrations, we held a special Holiday Farmers Market in the field below the Homestead where the Farmers Market was held all summer. This special Market featured 18th century reenactors cooking a Harvest Dinner utilizing authentic 18th century tools, recipes, cooking methods, and food including donations from the market vendors.

Most of the same farmers who have participated in the Denison Farm Market since its inception on June 2006 and have made it such a success were again be on hand, this time displaying their fall produce.

Caring for Your Furniture was offered at the Homestead on Saturday, February 10th (snow date February 24th). (Download our flyer.) Donna Keith Baron discussed how to clean all types of furniture, including removing years of built-up grime and wax and how to dust and vacuum without damaging fragile surfaces. She demonstrated how to preserve and polish a variety of materials including wood, leather, marble, upholstery, brasses, cane and rush. Mrs. Baron, a former curator at Old Sturbridge Village and the Webb, Deane, Stevens Museum in Wethersfield, is the executive director at the Middlesex County Historical Society and a life member of the Denison Society.

Research Your Family was held at the Arnes Room, Mystic & Noank Library, Elm Street, Mystic from 10:00 until 12:00 on Saturday, March 10th. This two-hour workshop was for people who are beginning their search or those who have reached a stumbling block in the process. The workshop defined lineage and where you want or need to go and discussed proofs and what are acceptable for various lineage societies. This workshop was presented by Betty Chapman of Groton. Mrs. Chapman is a member of the CT Professional Genealogists Council; CT Society of Genealogists; CT Genealogical Records of the DAR from 1998-2002; and a member of many local and national historical societies.

Transcribing 17th, 18th, and 19th Century Documents Workshop — In 2006, Community members were invited to hear onna Keith Baron, Curator of the Webb, Deane, Stevens Museum, speak on transcribing old documents.

Preserving Vintage Textiles Workshop — A two-session workshop in 2006 featured Camille Myers Breeze from Museum Textile Services to talk about how to care for antique textile items. (Read more and see pictures.)

Colonial, Federal, and Victorian Gardens Workshop — In 2006, we sponsored Leigh Knuttel, Garden Coordinator at Mystic Seaport, to give a lecture on period gardens at the Pequotsepos Nature Center.

Mystic Heritage Days at the Denison Homestead — Reenactment Groups representing the Denison family members, Native Americans, Colonial Rangers, Revolutionary and Civil War units, and craftspeople all demonstrated a wide variety of 18th and 19th century skills on the grounds of the Homestead.  Horse-drawn carriage rides, food, and craft vendors added to the delightful days.  To read more, please see the Denison Homestead 2003 and Denison Homestead 2004 reenactor's reports. (At left, Craig Floyd, past President of the Denison Society and long-time reenactor of Quoketaug Rangers and other units.)