Tel: 203.245.4567 Email: contact@madisonhistory.org

Events

Connecticut Open House Day

Saturday / June 11 / 11 am – 3 pm
Allis-Bushnell House
853 Boston Post Road

Colonial teas and traditional household herbs will be featured at the Madison Historical Society’s Allis-Bushnell House on Connecticut Open House Day. Visitors to the MHS house museum can sample colonial teas and enjoy a selection of tea sandwiches, scones, and other sweet treats. In the garden behind the house, children can plant medicinal herb seeds that would have been grown in every household during colonial times. All visitors will have a chance to win a kitchen herb planter. 

Founded more than a century ago, the Madison Historical Society preserves the past for future generations. In the society’s board minutes recorded on October 29, 1918, MHS founder Elizabeth Todd Nash spoke about the newly acquired Allis-Bushnell House. “We want all Madison to feel it is their house—filled with their treasures…not merely a museum, but a home filled with treasures saved by one generation after another. It is a place to sit and dream of old Madison and old New England filled with the books and documents given us. A place to study and learn more of what our ancestors did, how they lived, and what their aims and ambitions were.” 

It is in this spirit that the MHS is pleased to welcome visitors on June 11. Tea will take center stage, allowing the MHS to tell the story of Susan Josephine Hart, who ran a tearoom in the house in the early 1920s. Known for her views against women’s suffrage, Hart believed that granting women the right to vote would lead to a disruption of the family unit and would diminish her privileged role in society. 

In addition to offering a tasting of teas that were enjoyed in colonial times, MHS docents will be on hand to discuss the fascinating history of tea in America as well as the history contained within the walls of the Allis-Bushnell House. All are invited to this free event. 

 

The Allis-Bushnell House

The Allis-Bushnell House was once home to Madison’s prominent Bushnell and Scranton families. Built in 1785, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Visitors to the Allis-Bushnell House can experience five historic days that unfolded within its rooms or in homes nearby.

The home’s lower-level rooms, each with distinct period architectural features, are decorated with period furniture, domestic implements, decorative arts, and paintings that illustrate how life was lived in Madison in five time periods from colonial days through the 1920s.

Each of these scenic “sets” is complemented by stories, shared by our guides, of life in the house as it was during colonial days, the Revolutionary War period, the Civil War period, and the Colonial Revival era.

The House is opened on occasion throughout the year for special events, talks, and exhibits. Public tours are given on CT Open House Day in early June and on the fourth Saturday in November, following Thanksgiving. Be sure to check our calendar for details.

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  • Allis_Bushnell House circa 1785
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