UPCOMING ANNUAL MEETING TBA
REGULAR MEETINGS Even Numbered Months on the 3rd Sunday @ 1pm
The Hampton Antiquarian and Historical Society was founded in 1968 and in 1974, acquired this remarkable property and immediately began careful restoration of the house and ground. Today, a walk through this 2-story treasure will delight every member of the family.
The original portion of the house was built in 1834 by Thomas Neff for Charles Button, who rented the house to tenants. In 1853, he sold it to Joel and Lydia Searles. The outbuilding, where Joel once worked as a cobbler, can still be seen behind the house.
When Mary Burnham acquired the house in 1897, she added the ell and took in boarders from time to time... prominent among them were the chauffeurs of the wealthy families who spent weekends in the country, as well as school teachers, road workers and men hired to eliminate and infestation of gypsy moths! By the time the house passed to her daughter, Mildred (Burnham) Hibbard, Hampton was a bustling community whose residents used many of the "new" inventions of the day to improve their lives. You will see some of them - along with the furniture, textiles, ceramics, toys, tools and other Hampton memorabilia of the earlier centuries - when you visit this "living museum."
The Burnham-Hibbard House is open to the public twice a year: once after the Memorial Day Parade and again on the second Sunday in December for an old-fashioned Holiday Open House featuring music and yummy treats to eat and drink. For all other visits (a personal or group tour, a small reception or gathering of friends), you can make an appointment by calling Sue Hochstetter at 455-0783 any evening before 9:00 p.m.
Text from 'Hampton... a very special place'; written by Barbara Andersen; used with permission.
Text from 'Hampton... a very special place'; written by Barbara Andersen; used with permission.
In 2000, with the assistance of a grant from the Connecticut Humanities Council, the Society published Discovering Hampton: a Connecticut Town, written for the Society by member, Janice Trecker. The book was awarded the Betty M. Linsley Award by the Association for the Study of Connecticut History. Copies are available through the Society. The Society has also been involved in the documentation and photography of gravestones in Hampton's five historic cemeteries.
The Society publishes a newsletter titled Now and Then, which is mailed to all members prior to the Society's scheduled programs.
Annual dues are:
Individual: $10.00 Family: $25.00 Lifetime: $150.00
Individual: $10.00 Family: $25.00 Lifetime: $150.00
Mailing address:
Hampton Antiquarian and Historical Society
P.O. Box 12
Hampton, CT 06247-0012
P.O. Box 12
Hampton, CT 06247-0012
For additional information or to schedule an appointment to tour the museum, please write to the Society or contact Robert Burgoyne or Susan Hochstetter at (860) 455-0783 or email: suemh35@yahoo.com.