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06/09/2021 07:00 AMFor the first time in well over a year, Guilford’s historic houses and museums are opening their doors again, and in celebration of Connecticut Open House Day, many will be offering free admission this Saturday and Sunday, June 12 and 13, as the organizations that oversee them push to get back on track after being shuttered from the public.
The Thomas Griswold House, the Medad Stone Tavern, the Henry Whitfield Museum, and the Hyland House all opened their doors early this month. The Dudley Farm Museum began hosting events again in mid-May.
All but Hyland are offering free or reduced admission for Open House Day on Saturday, June 12, a state-wide program promoting tourism that is receiving special attention this summer as many businesses and cultural landmarks begin the re-opening process.
Notably, this Saturday will also feature the return of the popular tag sale hosted by the Guilford Keeping Society (GKS), which maintains and preserves the Thomas Griswold House and the Medad Stone Tavern, as that organization seeks to get back on track after a year mostly cut off from public events
“It’s a big deal, and it’s a great place to do it,” said GKS member Sue Stottard. “This is where we make money to maintain these two old houses. It’s a lot of money.”
The sale, which is more in a flea market style behind the Griswold House, with vendors renting space to offer their goods, is already exceeding expectations from year’s past, according to Stottard, with 28 spaces rented a week before the sale.
Whether it is returning to these kinds of community fundraising events or just seeing people’s back inside the structures, the local historic site community is simply excited to begin welcoming residents and visitors again.
“It’s kind of super special,” said GKS Director and Curator Pat Lovelace. “We’ve kind of spruced things up a little.”
It hasn’t been easy this past year, especially for GKS, which houses hundreds of historical artifacts, photographs, and documents, and also is responsible for the upkeep of the houses, which are aging and in need of special care.
Without the ability to hold most of its annual fundraisers, including beer and wine tasting and picnics, Lovelace said GKS has subsisted off of a handful of grants and donations as the members try to replace windows and install a functional woodworking shop in the Griswold House, among other things.
The hope is that as people grow more comfortable and vaccinations continue to increase, GKS will be able to hold a full slate of events and begin to build back their fundraising slate and eventually return to indoor events as well, according to Stottard.
Stottard said that in the past the tag sale has been one of the bigger events, and includes donated items sold by GKS itself as well as plants and flowers offered by the Guilford Garden Club and the Leete’s Island Garden Club.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the two GKS houses will be open weekends through September, and the other museums also indicated they hope to return back to normal operations for the public.
That is the most important thing, according to Lovelace, and the real mission of those who have continued to dedicate themselves to local history through the difficulties of the last year.
“It just warms my heart so much, because this is Guilford’s history and people haven’t been able to see it,” Lovelace said.
For more information on GKS, visit www.guilfordkeepingsociety.com. For information on the Hyland House Museum, visit hylandhouse.org. For information on the Dudley Farm Museum, visit dudleyfarm.com. For information on the Henry Whitfield State Museum, visit portal.ct.gov/ECD-HenryWhitfieldStateMuseum.