fair. . . Adam Mowed the Little pasture before the Door & Stacked the oats.

Wednsd 13 [March 1751] fair. . .& aftern I Set out for midletown [from Hartford] & bot 2 qrts of Clover Seed for 40s of one Curtiss near the South Side of Wethersfield. . . Tuesd .26 fair.  in the foren I Sowed the oats att home.  7 Bushells & in the aftern I followed the Harrow & Sowed 2 Quarts of hay seed that I bot of Mr Curtice of Weathersfield Near Midletown uper houses.  Tuesd 2d [July] fair.  I was att home foren & aftern I was out to the Cornfield &c.  Raked ye Clover ye most of itt.  Natt Way Mowed itt ys day.

One of the biggest problems in understanding life in times past is our assumptions.  We all carry around mental pictures of objects and activities based on our experiences, which can include reading and watching videos.  Sometimes these assumptions are valid for earlier times, and sometimes not.

Take hay, for instance.  When I think of hay (before the modern rolled-in-plastic version) I think of large stacks dotted around large, open fields.  The grass that becomes the hay is all the same variety and has all grown to the same length.  The stacks will eventually be transported to barns and stowed in the haymow above the animals’ stalls, ready for use all winter.

The picture is all right, as far as it goes, but as usual the reality was more complex.  The diary entries above show that hay was sown in any available space, and that it was not always the long, straw-like grass we think of.  Both white and purple clover were used, as was grass and salt hay, or marsh hay.  And no one was going to hand weed all those acres of hay, which is why Hempstead notes when he pulled up yellow Blossomed Weeds in Smiths lot [June 1730].  St. John’s wort, or hypericum, is apparently harmful for cattle.  Most flowers and other weeds were just left to be mowed also.

Hay was stored wherever the animals were going to spend the winter, in haymows, sheds, fields, and sometimes (in pressed form) on vessels bound for the West Indies that carried horses.  In all cases except out in the fields it had to be completely dry before being stored, so that it did not spontaneously combust.  And just when you were trying to get your hay in (keeping your fingers crossed it didn’t rain—no weather forecasts), so were your neighbors, leading to a greater than usual shortage of available labor.

Actually, “keeping your fingers crossed” is another assumption.  Perhaps good Congregationalists of Hempstead’s day would have found that a pagan superstition.

Join New London Landmarks to explore the new and expanding urban amenities in New London on a self-guided walking tour.

Discover why New London’s urban dwellers love living downtown.

See for yourself why The New York Times recently lauded the city’s historic harbor and expanding art and music scenes.

Explore unique living spaces and a variety of independent businesses.

See the changes taking place along the beautiful Thames River and throughout downtown.

Stroll along the city streets at you own pace to visit tour stops listed in your LIVE URBAN PROGRAM.

Visit elegant new condos, homes created in historic buildings and the upper floors of downtown retail spaces.

Discover New London’s urban amenities: a yoga studio, interior decorator, artist studios, galleries and more, creating a new environment in the city, a great place to live . . .  to work . . .  and to visit. 

In the afternoon Miss Perkins and some of her friends from the 1860s will return to take over her garden. Miss Perkins will offer a guided tour sharing “the Language of Flowers,” and at the end of the day will they will portray a tableau vivant recreating Winslow Homer’s famous painting of a croquet match. Strawberry shortcake will also be available. It should be a lovely day to visit the garden.

Connecticut’s Historic Gardens is a collaboration of 14 historic sites across the state, each of which features the historic landscape as one of its attractions. Other sites close to New London include the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, and the Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford. For more information view the Connecticut Historic Gardens WebSite.

The Shaw Mansion, located near the intersection of Bank and Tilley Streets in New London, has been the home of the New London County Historical Society since 1907. The one acre park-like environs of the house creates one of the largest green-spaces in the center of the city. Famous modernist landscape architect Christopher Tunnard created a design for the site in the wake of the devastation of the hurricane of 1938. His plan for the garden will be on view for Historic Garden Day.

Schedule for the day:

11 am Tour the garden with master gardener Susan Munger

12 noon “Herbs for the Historic Garden” presentation

1:30 pm “The Language of Flowers” a tour with “Miss Perkins”

2:30 pm Winslow Homer’s Croquet Match, a Tableaux Vivant

Regular admission $5

The setting for our story is 1876. Miss Perkins and her niece, Elinor, have been rummaging through the attic of the family’s ancient house. They’ve found a small locked trunk which obviously once belonged to a member of the family, but what lies within? With Mother’s permission (and with her curiosity aroused as well) they are determined to find out.

In 1876, the Shaw Mansion was home to Mrs. Nathaniel Shaw Perkins, her son Nathaniel Shaw Perkins, Jr., her daughter Jane Perkins, her granddaughter Elinor, (daughter of Mary Perkins Griswold who died in 1863), and two servants. In 1907 Jane Perkins sold the house to the New London County Historical Society to be its permanent home; by placing the story thirty years before that event we return to the centennial year, a time when many Americans began to truly look back at what had been accomplished when we declared our independence. Visitors will have an opportunity to be transported back in time and will see how the concept of preserving history might be older that you think.

Reservations can be made by calling the Shaw Mansion at 860.443.1209. Tickets prices will be $15 for adults and $12 for children.

Performances

21 and 22 August  at 3 pm

28 and 29 August at 3 pm

Governor Rell proclaimed 30 April 2010 to be Shaw Mansion Day in the State of Connecticut and Congressman Joe Courtney dropped by to cut the ribbon as the New London County Historical Society celebrated the completion of a $60,000 project to add an accessible classroom and bathroom to the Shaw Mansion.

The project was made possible by support from the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, the Community Foundation of Southeastern Connecticut, the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund administered by the Bank of America, and a matching grant from the State of Connecticut’s Historic Preservation Funds, administered by the Commission on Culture and Tourism.

New London County Historical Society President Deborah Donovan spoke of the difficulty of making some of our historic treasures accessible to individuals who have mobility problems and praised the State for their assistance. Rick Gipstein of Lindsay Liebig Roche Architects was the consulting architect on the project, and the contractor was LaBossiere builders of Norwich.

Friday 30 April, the New London County Historical Society will celebrate the completion of a $60,000 construction project to add an accessible bathroom and classroom to the 1845 wing of the Shaw Mansion. A reception will be held from 4:30pm to 6pm with the ribbon-cutting slated for 5:15.

The project was supported by grants from the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, the Community Foundation of Southeastern Connecticut, The Frank Loomis Palmer Fund administered by the Bank of America, and through a matching grant from the State of Connecticut’s Community Investment Act, Historic Preservation Funds, administered through the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.

Consulting architect for the project was Rick Gipstein of Lindsay Liebig Roche Architects of New London, and the contractor was LaBossiere Builders of Norwich. Short-term funding assistance was obtained through the Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region (seCTer).

The project has transformed what was once the 19th century servant’s hall and  kitchen, and a small lavatory stuffed into a closet in the 1970s, into a large classroom and commodious bathroom which meets ADA guidelines. The entire first floor of the historic house is now accessible to visitors, with the bathroom accessible from both the inside and outside of the building. This will allow the lovely garden area of the Shaw Mansion to be a much more attractive and useful location for events.

The Board of Directors of the historical society hope that many members and invited guests will join in a toast to our new bathroom!

From:

To:

“Pride and Prejudice” cast members at the Shaw Mansion participated in a campaign of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Faced with budget cuts eliminating Preserve America grant program, the National Trust has asked historic sites from around the country to send in their photos with the message that THIS TREASURE MATTERS. Between shows on Saturday, the cast were only too happy to pose for the photos that were submitted to the National Trust. See the photo slide show at http://www.preservationnation.org/take-action/this-place-matters/TPM-slideshow.html Mr. Darcy, portrayed by Daniel Dykes, and Jane Bennett, portrayed by Julie Rattey, share the message for the New London County Historical Society.

James Leach, Chairman of the NEH writes, “The goal of the ‘We the People’ initiative is to support projects that explore significant events and themes in our nation’s history.” The society’s collection has a number of outstanding components with six Ralph Earl portraits commissioned for the Shaw family in 1792, and a large number of ships’ portraits and ships’ captains’ portraits associated with New London’s whaling years. In the Thomas Shaw portrait, Earl included a view in the background of Fort Trumbull with a large American flag flying over it. This alone makes this painting an important document of our nation as there are fewer than 100 images of the American flag that have been identified as being created prior to 1800.
 
Meyer and Myers clients have ranged from the Guggenheim Museum to the Art Institute of Chicago, and more locally, the Yale Center for British Art and the Wadsworth Atheneum. In 2009 they treated “Washington Crossing the Delaware” for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Their scholarly work on 18th and 19th century painting techniques has been shared in numerous articles and conference presentations.