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06/20/2017 12:00 AMImagine Old Saybrook 250 years ago, a time when the militia mustered on the Town Green and General William Henry Hart and his family lived at the historic Colonial home at 350 Main Street. Since that time, elms were planted along Main Street in 1865—and died of blight 100 years later. Imagine what the Hart home has seen in 250 years and the stories it could tell.
After all that had passed, however, the historic home at 350 Main Street began to show its age, so as the home’s 250th year approached, the Old Saybrook Historical Society (OSHS, which acquired the home in 1974) decided it was time for a capital campaign to restore the home to its former glory and install protective systems to preserve it for the next 100 years. On Sunday, June 25, the results of that program will be unveiled to the public in an afternoon celebration to mark the home’s 250th year.
In honor of the milestone, OSHS will open a new exhibit in its restored exhibit space: A House for the Ages. Through drawings, photos, stories, and words, the exhibit recounts the history of the home and its residents.
The June 25 celebration will run from noon to 4 p.m., beginning with immersion into scenes from the home’s early years. Revolutionary War re-enactors in costume will present authentic scenes from the period starting at noon and ending around 12:45 p.m.
Following the presentation of this historic scene, OSHS plans a ceremony, with formal remarks by the Connecticut state historian and with a musical performance by the U.S. Coast Guard Quintet. After the ceremony, refreshments will be served, and the historic re-enactors will continue in their roles on the Hart House grounds. Also during the afternoon the Chester Fife and Drum Corps will perform.
After the formal ceremony, the Hart House will throw open its doors to let visitors tour the museum and view the new exhibit until about 4 p.m. when the afternoon festivities will end.
As the exhibit A House for the Ages explains, the house was built in 1767 by General Hart for his wife Esther. Hart himself was a military leader in the Revolutionary War, a merchant involved in the West Indies trade, and an investor in land during the sale of Connecticut’s Western Reserve. In 1854, the home was converted into a boarding school for girls. In 1972, the home was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a significant example of Georgian Colonial architecture.
In 1974, the Old Saybrook Historical Society acquired the house and began to restore it and transform its rooms into museum space. When the society first gained ownership, it already was suffering with wood rot and mold. Since that time, the OSHS has continued to restore and improve the structure and make it into a museum.
OSHS will continue celebrating the Hart House’s 250th anniversary this year with a July 9, 2017. The Concert in the Garden featuring the U.S. Coast Guard Dixieland Band on Sunday, July 9, and on Saturday, Sept. 9, will host Harvest Time at the Hart House: A Farm to Table Dinner.
For more information about the Old Saybrook Historical Society, its programs, or to read the history of the Hart House, visit www.saybrookhistory.org.