The Newtown Historical Society will host an open house at its headquarters, The Matthew Curtiss House. The house/museum, a fine example of Connecticut saltbox architecture, was constructed circa 1750 and purchased by Matthew Curtiss Jr. in 1781. In 1970 the Newtown Historical Society purchased and restored the house to its original condition.
During the open house, Holly Kocet, Master Gardener and Designer of our new garden will help us celebrate its one year birthday. Holly will be available to discuss why certain plants were included, or excluded, and which plants Matthew Curtiss may have had in his garden. Holly was assisted in designing and planting the garden by Master Gardener, Terry Merola, and The Garden Club of Newtown and she would like to thank the following members for all their help - Joyce DeWolfe, Deb Osborne, Kathy Williams, Maureen McLachlan, Carol Garbarino, Diane Baumer, and Kim Verdries. In addition to a grant received from the Connecticut Master Gardener Assn, funds for the project were provided by The Garden Club of Newtown, The Newtown Historical Society, and the Horticulture Club.
The public is invited to visit and tour the building at 44 Main Street any time between noon and 4pm. Admission is free; however, donations are welcomed and appreciated. Our junior and senior docents will be available to answer questions about the house and its history, as well as provide guided tours by request.
In conjunction with the open house, Dan Cruson, Town Historian,will be conducting a walking tour of Sandy Hook. He will explain how the fires of 1905 and 1906 remade the landscape and tell stories of various robberies and wild west style shoot-outs that occurred. Please wear comfortable walking shoes and meet at the corner of Washington Ave and Church Hill Road at 1:00pm. The tour
will last about 45 minutes.
The Historical Society is a non-profit, all volunteer organization. During the year we offer open houses with living history demonstrations, a lecture series, and a summer history camp for kids among other special events. All funding comes from private donations, membership dues, bequests and fund raisers such as the antique show, house and garden tour and publication sales. New members are always welcome and volunteers are needed to help organize and run our many events! To join or for more information, please visit our website: www.newtownhistory.org or call the society at 203-426-5937.
