Oliver Ellsworth Homestead Museum - Windsor, CT
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member Metro2
N 41° 52.734 W 072° 37.460
18T E 697126 N 4639059
This is the homestead of Oliver Ellsworth who helped to draft the US Constitution.
Waymark Code: WMKE7J
Location: Connecticut, United States
Date Posted: 03/30/2014
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member silverquill
Views: 4

Wikipedia (visit link) informs us:

"Oliver Ellsworth Homestead, also known as Elmwood, was the home of the American lawyer and politician Oliver Ellsworth from 1782 to 1807. The house is in Windsor, Connecticut. Ellsworth (1745–1807) helped draft the United States Constitution, served as the third Chief Justice of the United States and a United States Senator from Connecticut.
The Georgian clapboarded house includes a portico with Tuscan columns supporting a gable roof and two brick chimneys near the gable ends of the wood-shinqled roof. The name Elmwood derives from the thirteen elm trees Ellsworth planted in honor of the thirteen colonies.
Elmwood was visited by two sitting Presidents: George Washington (on October 21, 1789) and John Adams (October 3, 1799). The house was occupied by the Ellsworth family until 1903 when it was given to the Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution. The homestead was restored in the late 1980s and early 1990s and is now a museum.
The house was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989."

The homestead now serves as a Museum. See it's website at (visit link) which informs us:

"Oliver Ellsworth's homestead was built by Samuel Denslow to specifications laid out in a contract between Ellsworth and Denslow dated 26 February 1781 on land that had been in the Ellsworth family since 1664. This contract was specific as to dimensions, rooms, materials, cost and quality.

Built in 1781, the original house is a two story wood frame building on a stone foundation. It had a peaked cedar shake roof and clapboard exterior walls. Its design was four rooms on the first and second floors with a central hallway running front to back. Twelve over 12 sash windows were specified by Ellsworth, as were the two chimneys.

In the early 1790s, Ellsworth commissioned Windsor architect and builder, Thomas Hayden, to make changes to the original structure, most notably a two story addition on the south side for the drawing room on the first floor and a bedroom above. Daughter Abigail was married in the drawing room in 1794.

Elmwood has the distinction of being visited by two sitting Presidents. On 21 October 1789, President George Washington visited, entertaining the Ellsworth children by singing the Darby Ram. On 3 October 1799, President John Adams was a guest of the Ellsworths.

By 1836, the colonnade or porch with overhanging roof was built for Martin Ellsworth. Continuously occupied by Ellsworth family until 1903, Elmwood was deeded to the Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution by the 116 living heirs of Oliver and Abigail Ellsworth. It has been open as a museum since that time.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Ellsworth Homestead underwent massive restoration during the late 1980's and early 1990's. The DAR restored it to what is historically correct for Oliver Ellsworth's life there (1783 - 1807)."
Theme:
Cultural history.


Street Address:
778 Palisado Avenue Windsor, Connecticut


Food Court: no

Gift Shop: no

Hours of Operation:
May 16 through October 12 Fridays 12:00 Noon until 4:00 PM; Saturdays 12:00 Noon until 4:00 PM; Sundays 1:00 PM until 4:00 PM.


Cost: 0.00 (listed in local currency)

Museum Size: Small

Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
In order to log this waymark in this category, you must be able to provide proof of your visit. Please post a picture of yourself or your GPSr in front some identifiable feature or point of interest either in the museum, or on the museum grounds.
Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest History Museums
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
Date Logged Log User Rating  
Metro2 visited Oliver Ellsworth Homestead Museum  - Windsor, CT 06/27/2010 Metro2 visited it