Exhibits

Permanent Exhibits

The Henry Whitfield House features three floors filled with 17th – 19th century furnishings and artifacts. The introductory exhibit, The Old Stone House, on the first floor provides an overview of the site’s history.

Take an Interactive Tour of the Henry Whitfield House.

Changing Exhibits

Adirondack Charm to Abandoned Farm: The Story of Rollwood
May 21 – December 14, 2005

Feast, Famine & Fables: The Real Story of Thanksgiving, Christmas and Winter in Puritan New England
October 26 – December 14, 2005

Events

April 1-3, 2005
Scouting Weekend
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Groups of 10 or more receive discounted admission with advance reservations

April 22-24, 2005
Guilford Appreciation Weekend
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Free admission for Guilford residents (identification required)

May 21, 2005
Exhibit opening: Adirondack Charm to Abandoned Farm: The Story of Rollwood (runs through December 14, 2005)
2:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Free admission

June 11, 2005
Connecticut Open House Day
10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Free admission

June 15, 2005
Business With A Twist
Hosted by Friends of the Henry Whitfield Museum
Open to Chamber members and the general public with reservations
$8 prepaid / $10 at the door / $12 non-members
Curator led tour: 5-5:30PM and 5:30PM-6PM
Fine food and spirits with your fellow Chamber members
Museum Gift shop and “The Story of Rollwood Farm”
Call for reservations: Chamber 203-453-9677
5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

August 6, 2005
Program: Picnic at Rollwood Farm
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Free with museum admission

Historic Guilford Twilight Tours
5 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Guilford’s 6 history museums offer activities and refreshments during special evening hours
$15 for ages 13 and older, $5 for ages 6-12, and free for ages 5 and younger

September 17, 2005
Archaeology Dig
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Observe and interact with Yale University students and their professor as they dig on the grounds
Free (no museum admission required)

September 24, 2005
Archaeology Dig
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Observe and interact with Yale University students and their professor as they dig on the grounds
Free (no museum admission required)

Program: Autumn at Rollwood Farm
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Free with museum admission

October 1, 2005
Archaeology Dig
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Observe and interact with Yale University students and their professor as they dig on the grounds
Free (no museum admission required)

Kids Dig the Whitfield Museum
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Children learn the basics of archaeology using simulated test pits
Free with museum admission

October 8, 2005
Archaeology Dig
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Observe and interact with Yale University students and their professor as they dig on the grounds
Free (no museum admission required)

Kids Dig the Whitfield Museum
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Children learn the basics of archaeology using simulated test pits
Free with museum admission

October 15, 2005
Archaeology Dig
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Observe and interact with Yale University students and their professor as they dig on the grounds
Free (no museum admission required)

Kids Dig the Whitfield Museum
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Children learn the basics of archaeology using simulated test pits
Free with museum admission

October 22, 2005
Archaeology Dig
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Observe and interact with Yale University students and their
professor as they dig on the grounds
Free (no museum admission required)

Kids Dig the Whitfield Museum
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Children learn the basics of archaeology using simulated test pits
Free with museum admission

October 26, 2005
Exhibit opening: Feast, Famine & Fables: The Real Story of
Thanksgiving, Christmas and Winter in Puritan New England
(runs through December 14, 2005)
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Free with museum admission

October 29, 2005
Archaeology Dig
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Observe and interact with Yale University students and their professor as they dig on the grounds
Free (no museum admission required)

Kids Dig the Whitfield Museum
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Children learn the basics of archaeology using simulated test pits
Free with museum admission

Charter Member Private Tour and Cocktail Party
For membership information call 203-453-2457 or click here

October 30, 2005
A “Spirited” Sunday: Halloween at Connecticut’s Oldest House
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Regular museum admission
The Puritans were a suspicious lot and anything they didn’t understand was often attributed to witchcraft. Join us for refreshments, molding clay into gargoyles, and coloring. At 1:00 p.m., hear a talk at the museum about John Higginson, Henry Whitfield’s son-in-law who participated in the infamous Salem witch trials of 1692. At 2:30, State Historian Walter Woodward will present “New England’s OTHER Witch Hunt: The Hartford Crisis of the 1660s.” This special lecture will be held at the Guilford Free Library (67 Park Street) and is open to the public at no charge.

Lecture: Hangings in Hartford: The Great Connecticut Witch Hunt of the 1660s
Time, location, and ticket price to be determined

November 5, 2005
Archaeology Dig
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Observe and interact with Yale University students and their professor as they dig on the grounds
Free (no museum admission required)

November 12, 2005
Archaeology Dig
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Observe and interact with Yale University students and their professor as they dig on the grounds
Free (no museum admission required)

November 17, 2005
MUSEUM CLOSED
The museum will be closed on Thursday, November 17th to allow staff to host the Governor’s Conference on Culture and Tourism in Hartford. For more information about the conference, visit www.cultureandtourism.org.

November 25-27, 2005
Thanksgiving Weekend at the Old Stone House
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Learn what Thanksgiving was really like for the early Guilford settlers and sample period refreshments. On Saturday afternoon, costumed interpreters will make special presentations and be available for conversation.
Regular museum admission

December 2, 2005 – in conjunction with Guilford Tree Lighting
Program: An Adirondack Christmas
5 p.m. – 9 p.m.
In addition to taking an evening tour of the Whitfield House and the Rollwood Farm exhibit, enjoy the outdoor fire, popcorn, roasted chestnuts, s’mores, hot chocolate, making Christmas ornaments with an Adirondack twist, and decorating a tree.
Free with museum admission

December 14, 2005
Closed for the winter

December 15-16 and 19-23, 2005
Gift Shop open for holiday shopping
10 a.m. – 4:30 pm.