Calendar of Events

Date: April 18, 2025

Time: 5:00 p.m.

Location: The Litchfield History Museum (7 South Street)

Members of the Litchfield Historical Society are invited to attend our Annual Meeting beginning at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 18th at the Litchfield History Museum (7 South Street). At the meeting we will review finances, elect new trustees, recap the past year, and look forward to what is new and exciting ahead!

Immediately after the Annual Meeting, all are invited as we open two new exhibitions: Litchfield Through a Lens and Litchfield Remembers: The American Bicentennial and Beyond. 

The opening is free and open to the public. Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres will be served. Kindly R.S.V.P. by Email to registration@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org | Phone at 860-567-4501

Date: April 18, 2025

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Location: The Litchfield History Museum (7 South Street)

FREE and open to the public

Kindly R.S.V.P. by Email or Online

Please join the Litchfield Historical Society for the opening of two new exhibitions on Friday, April 18 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

Litchfield Through a Lens examines the work of Neal D. Benedict (active in Litchfield from 1885 to 1898). Visitors are invited to learn about the development of camera technology, and meet the photographers whose art captured Litchfield’s visual history.

Also opening that evening is Litchfield Remembers: The American Bicentennial and Beyond. With a focus on the American Bicentennial and the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary, this exhibit examines how our community has come together to commemorate local, state, and national history.
 
The opening is free and open to the public.  Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres will be served. Kindly R.S.V.P. by Email to registration@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org | Phone at 860-567-4501 | or Online

Date: Saturday, April 19, 2025

Time: 10:00 and 1:00 pm

Location: Litchfield History Museum (7 South Street)  

Cost: FREE AS PART OF OPENING WEEKEND

Registration Requested

In conjunction with the Litchfield Historical Society’s newest exhibit, Litchfield Through a Lens, compare Litchfield as captured by photographs from the 1800s to the town today - from buildings that are long forgotten to familiar facades. After the tour, be sure to stop by the new exhibits.

Walking tours each last about 1 hour. Wear comfortable walking shoes and bring a bottle of water.

Walking Tours are generously sponsored by Berkshire Alarm 

This program was originally scheduled for April 5 and has been rescheduled to April 26.

Date: Saturday, April 26

Time: 1:00 p.m.

Location: The Litchfield History Museum

FREE for LHS Members Only

Registration Required - Space is limited

While the battles would rage hundreds of miles from Connecticut, the Northern war effort depended on local communities to raise the troops and supplies needed for the battlefield. Join Author and Historian Peter Vermilyea for a walking tour of Litchfield during the American Civil War on Saturday, April 26 at 1:00 pm. Visit the scenes and landmarks of Litchfield's contributions to the war effort as Vermilyea uses first hand accounts to bring the home front to the present day.

The walk will begin at the Litchfield Historical Society and lasts approximately 1 hour. Wear comfortable shoes and bring a bottle of water.

The Helga J. Ingraham Memorial Library and LHS Staff Offices are closed Friday, May 2. 

The Litchfield History Museum and the Tapping Reeve House and Litchfield Law School are open with regular hours.

Date: Saturday, May 3

Time: 10:00 a.m.

Location: The Litchfield History Museum

Cost: Free for Members, $10 for non-Members

Registration Requested

Join us Saturday, May 3 at 10:00 am for a walking tour exploring Connecticut's complicated history with slavery through the life of William Grimes, a man who escaped from slavery in Georgia and wrote his autobiography in Litchfield in 1825.
 
Walking tours each last about 1 hour. Wear comfortable walking shoes and bring a bottle of water. Free for members and $10 non-members.

This tour is a part of our series "Think What I Have Felt: Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave".  

These events are generously presented through a combination of grants, sponsorship, and in-kind donations. The Litchfield Historical Society would like to give a special thanks to Connecticut Humanities Council, Teno A. West of West Group Law PLLC, Belden House, Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP, Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation, and Bantam Cinema & Arts Center.

Date: Saturday, May 3

Time: 3:00 p.m.

Location: The Old Firehouse (40 West Street)

Cost: Free for All

Registration Requested - Space is Limited

The Litchfield Historical Society is proud to present a weekend of public programs to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the publication of Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave.

Join us on Saturday, May 3 at 3:00pm at the old Litchfield Firehouse (40 West Street), for a dramatic reading of excerpts from Grimes’s narrative with a panel discussion to contextualize his words and experiences. Connecticut Storyteller, Andre Keitt will perform passages from Grimes’s narrative. The expert panel will feature Grimes descendent and leading authority, Regina Mason; prominent scholar of the African American slave narrative and Professor Emeritus at UNC, William Leake Andrews; and Professor of American Studies at the University of Buffalo, Kari Winter. Michael Morand Director of Community Engagement for Yale's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library will moderate.  

These events are generously presented through a combination of grants, sponsorship, and in-kind donations. The Litchfield Historical Society would like to give a special thanks to Connecticut Humanities Council, Teno A. West of West Group Law PLLC, Belden House, Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP, Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation, and Bantam Cinema & Arts Center.