Butler-McCook House & Garden

The Butler –McCook House is the oldest in downtown Hartford. It was built in 1782. One of the residents of the home was Reverend John J. McCook, a transplant from Detroit. Rev. McCook was a Professor of German and the Language Department Chair at Trinity College. He also was the founder and rector of St. John’s Church in East Hartford.

Part of the Butler-McCook Homestead is a beautiful Victorian garden. It is the only surviving domestic commission of Jacob Weidenmann, the designer of Bushnell Park and Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Anson and Francis McCook, brother and sister, bequeathed the house in 1967 and 1971 respectively. The bequests, both of which included modest endowments, were to facilitate the home being opened to the public as a historical museum. The Butler-McCook House is completely original, in a preserved, not restored, state. All of the contents of the House are original, as well, and were part of the bequests of the siblings.

The Butler-McCook House and Garden is located at 396-4 Main St. in Hartford.

CONTACT: Karen Peterson, ALS PHONE: 860-247-899

Hill-Stead Museum

Hill-Stead Museum is the result of a bequest by Theodate Pope Riddle, a pioneering female architect and one of the first licensed in the U.S. The Museum, itself, is a Colonial Revival house, designed by Mrs. Riddle, and sits on 152-acres of land. Most experts consider the house to be the seminal example of Colonial Revivalism. There is also a unique sunken garden designed by Beatrix Farrand that is home to the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival.

Mrs. Riddle’s bequest also entailed a modest endowment and governing body for the museum, as well as a stellar collection of French Impressionist paintings, including such artists as Mane, Monet and Degas. There were also extensive archives and interdisciplinary resources left as part of her estate.

Today, the Museum is considered an invaluable resource for teachers and students across the state. It is also a primary resource for scholars, historians, and academicians in interdisciplinary studies. The Museum is maintained through Mrs. Riddle’s foresight and the participation of thousands of members and donors from across Connecticut.

The Museum is located at 35 Mountain Rd. in Farmington.

CONTACT: Margy Foulk, Marketing Manager PHONE: 860-677-4787

Westmore Park

In 1961, upon his death, Charles Hunter established, by bequest, a perpetual charitable trust. This trust was for the benefit of the Hartford Hospital, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, and, most importantly, the preservation and maintenance of Westmore Farm in West Hartford.

The Farm, consisting of 50-acres of land, two houses and a horse barn, had served as the Hunter Family residence for several years. It would continue to serve as the residence of Lyla Hunter, Charles’ wife, until her passing in 1973, at which point the title to the land and edifices passed, in remainder, to the Town of West Hartford.

Another trust, identical to Charles’, was established through Lyla’s will. Together, the bequests of Charles and Lyla Hunter served to create Westmore Park; a public park for "passive recreation" in support of "environmental, agricultural and horticultural" concerns. There is also an onsite naturalist provided for through the bequests.

Since their passing, the Hunter-family house has been remodeled to allow public access; the caretaker’s house has been demolished and rebuilt (now home to the onsite naturalist) and the barn has been remodeled to allow the public to view the interior workings. The Park also sits adjacent to the Bugbee Reservoir Flood Control Dike which, through a land use agreement, allows the Park an additional 112-acres of land.

Westmore Park is located at 119 Flag Rd. in West Hartford

CONTACT: Doug Jackson, Naturalist PHONE: 860-232-1134

E-MAIL: douglas@westmorepark.org

Colt Memorial of the Wadsworth Atheneum

Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt, perhaps the first great female patron of the arts and wife to the famous gun manufacturer, left to the Wadsworth Atheneum $50,000 to build a structure at the museum in honor of the Colt family.

Elizabeth’s bequest came into effect at her passing in 1905 and also included a sizable art collection. Among the items in the collection are several significant pieces by American landscape painters, including Frederick Church, and the Colt gun collection.

Benjamin Wistar Morris, a respected New York Architect, designed the Memorial in 1907. It was opened to the public in 1910 and remains open today, displaying the art from Mrs. Colt’s collection. The famous Colt gun collection has not, however, been consistently displayed in the memorial.

The Wadsworth Atheneum is located at 600 Main St. in Hartford.

CONTACT: Gene Gaddis, Archivist PHONE: 860-278-2670

E-MAIL: gene.gaddis@wadsworthatheneum.org

WEBSITE: http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org

Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden

Caroline Ferriday, a New York humanitarian who would summer in Bethlehem, bequeathed the Bellamy-Ferriday House in 1990. Mrs. Ferriday also left all of the contents of the house and a modest endowment with the bequest of the property.

Included among the possessions is a collection of books and manuscripts by the Rev. Dr. Bellamy, the original owner and builder of the home. The Rev. Dr. Bellamy is a major 18th century religious figure. He was the leader of the New Light Movement and is considered to have run the first theological school in the country.

The Bellamy-Ferriday House and Garden is located at 9 Main St. North in Bethlehem.

CONTACT: Karen Peterson, ALS PHONE: 860-247-8996

Isham-Terry House

The Isham-Terry House, originally built around 1854 for Ebenezer Roberts, a prominent Hartford business man, was purchased in 1896 by Dr. Oliver Isham. Julia and Charlotte Isham bequeathed the House and all its contents to the Antiquarian and Landmark Society in 1976 and 1979, respectively.

The House is supported by endowments left by both sisters to preserve the home as an historical site for public access.

The Isham-Terry House is located at 211 High St. in Hartford.

CONTACT: Karen Peterson, ALS PHONE: 860-247-8996