Henry Whitfield State Museum

History

Thirty-two years after the founding of Jamestown and nineteen years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, a group of English Puritans journeyed across the Atlantic Ocean. Their goal was to establish a community in the New World free from religious persecution. They were led by their minister, Reverend Henry Whitfield.

The Whitfield family home also served as a fort for the community. Its massive stone walls and chimneys, steeply-pitched roof, and casement windows reflect the style of post-medieval domestic architecture found in England - rare in 17th century America and unique today. Through the years, the "Old Stone House" has undergone many changes and many families have called it home. Today, it is Connecticut's oldest house and New England's oldest stone house.

Since 1899, the Henry Whitfield State Museum has been owned and operated by the State of Connecticut. Restored by noted architects Norman Isham and J. Frederick Kelly in the early 1900s, the house is an important example of Colonial Revival restoration work. For over 100 years, visitors from around the world have explored this unique site and learned not only the history of the Henry Whitfield House but the story of the English settlement of Connecticut and the coming together of the European and Native American cultures.