Farmington Historical Society Office 71 Main St., Farmington, CT 06032 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1645 Farmington, CT 06034 Phone: 860-678-1645 Website:

Farmington Historical Society (fhs-ct.org).

Founded in 1954 to study and teach Farmington history, the Historical Society collects and preserves documents and artifacts related to local history. The Society maintains two 18th century cottages, located at 138 and 140 Main Street, Farmington. One of the cottages serves as the Society headquarters, where meetings are held, as well as exhibits and the annual tag sale. The Society also maintains the 1790 Stone Schoolhouse, at 93 Coppermine Road (intersection of Red Oak Hill Road). 

Farmington Memorial Town Forest

The Farmington Memorial Town Forest was established in 1926, as a memorial to the men and women who served in the First World War. The Forest consists of 266 acres, between Red Oak Hill Road and Plainville Avenue (Rt. 177). Mr. Harry C. Ney, of Farmington, contributed 188 acres, and other parcels were acquired from a neighboring owner. The Forest is owned by the Town of Farmington. At a Special Town Meeting on May 20, 1926, it was established that the Forest be supervised and controlled by a quasi/Town Board of Trustees. The Board, seven in number, decided that use of the Forest be for passive recreation, such as hiking and bird watching, with no hunting, fires or vehicle trespass. As time passed, it was found necessary to manage the Forest in a constructive manner, so a professional forester was asked to draw up a forest management plan, analyzing tree stands, recommending harvest where appropriate, conducting oversight of harvests, conducting replanting and regeneration of desir­able tree species and conducting surveillance of the six blocks in the plan. Mel Harder of East Hartland, CT is our forester, and has been for many years.

Hill-Stead Museum 35 Mountain Rd., Farmington, CT 06032 Phone: 860-677-4787 Website: hillstead.org

Hill-Stead Museum, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991, is an outstanding example of Colonial Revival domestic architecture, set on 152 acres of fields and wood­lands. The Museum houses outstanding works by Monet, Manet, Degas, Cassatt and Whistler, which are shown with the furnishings and decorative arts, as they were when the Pope and Riddle families were in residence (1901-1946). The main house is complimented by a Sunken Garden, with period plantings restored after the original Beatrix Farrand design. Hill-Stead Museum is located off route I-84, at exit 39. Follow route 4 to the second light; turn left onto route 10 South. At the next light, turn left onto Mountain Road. The Museum entrance is at 35 Mountain Road. For more infor­mation, or a calendar of events, please call (860) 677-4787 or email hillstead@hillstead.org.

 Lewis Walpole Library, 154 Main Street, Farmington, CT 06032, Phone: 860-677-2140, Website: walpole.library.yale.edu

The Lewis Walpole Library is a research center for eighteenth-century studies and an essential resource for the study of Horace Walpole and Strawberry Hill. Its collections include important holdings of eighteenth-century British prints, drawings, manuscripts, rare books, paintings, and decorative arts. Given to Yale by Wilmarth Sheldon Lewis (1895-1979) and Annie Burr Lewis (1902-1959), the Lewis Walpole Library is located on Main Street in several eighteenth-century buildings on a fourteen-acre campus. The Lewis Walpole Library is a department of Yale University Library and open to researchers. The Library also presents public exhibitions and lectures. Tours are available by appointment. For inquiries email walpole@yale.edu. 

Old Stone Schoolhouse, 93 Coppermine Rd. (at Red Oak Hill Rd.), Unionville, CT 06085, Phone: 860-678-1645

The Old Stone (West District) Schoolhouse is a museum of local history operated by the Farmington Historical Society.

Stanley-Whitman House, 37 High St., Farmington, CT 06032, Phone: 860-677-9222, Website: stanleywhitman.org

The Stanley-Whitman House was built by Deacon John Stanley in 1720, and opened as a museum in 1935. The House was named a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and remains one of the best-known examples of early New England framed architecture. Recently restored, the house embodies the styles of both the 17th and 18th centu­ries. Constructed around the massive central chimney, the House features an overhanging second story, with four pen­dant drops across the front. A lean-to, added across the back in the middle 1700’s, gives it the traditional New England saltbox shape. The Stanley-Whitman House preserves and interprets the history and culture of 18th-century Farmington. Adults and children enjoy open-hearth cooking, candle-making, spinning, weaving, and other colonial activities, during special events.

Unionville Museum, 15 School St., Unionville, CT 06085, Phone: 860-673-2231, Website: unionvillemuseum.org

Housed in a restored Andrew Carnegie free public library building (the original West End Library), built circa 1917, the Unionville Museum opened in 1984, on the 150th anniversary of the federal government’s official “naming” of Unionville. Through its collection and carefully researched thematic exhibits, the Unionville Museum brings together and cele­brates the people, places and events that make Unionville unique. The Museum presents three exhibits a year, prints an annual historic calendar, sponsors annual vintage car parades, co-sponsors eight public summer band concerts, in the nearby gazebo, and participates in other community activities.

For a complete list of attractions in Farmington, click here.