Boothe Memorial Park and Museum sits on a site in the
Putney
Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
History
Putney is an ancient paris ...
section of
Stratford,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
. Built about 1840 and remodeled in 1914, it is said to be "The Oldest
Homestead
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
*Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
*Homestead principle, a legal concept th ...
in America," since it sits on the foundations of a 1663 house, and has been continuously occupied. Circa 1914 two brothers, David Beach Boothe and Stephen Nichols Boothe, created the Boothe Memorial Museum which maintains a collection of twenty architecturally unique buildings. Some of the structures include a carriage house, Americana Museum, miniature lighthouse, windmill, a clock tower museum, trolley station, chapel, and a blacksmith shop. The property became a public park owned by the town of Stratford in 1949.
Boothe Memorial Park and Museum was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on May 1, 1985.
Observatory
Th
BMAS (Boothe Memorial Astronomical Society)Observatory was built in 1957 on the grounds of the park, located near the cemetery. The observatory features two telescopes: a 16-inch
Cassegrain (1960) and 4 inch
Unitron
Unitron is a US-based company and distributor of optical instruments including stereo microscopes and accessories, binoculars, and classic brass telescopes. The company was founded in 1952 by Lawrence A. Fine as the United Trading Company and loc ...
refractor.
Putney chapel
Originally constructed in 1844 for
Congregationalist services, the Putney Chapel was moved onto Boothe Park grounds in 1968 from a nearby location on Chapel Street. The chapel is officially non-denominational, handicapped accessible and can still be used as a place of worship or for events, being rentable by the day.
Toll booth
The park also contains the last remaining highway
toll booth in Connecticut. It was removed from the
Milford Milford may refer to:
Place names Canada
* Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia
* Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia
* Milford, Ontario
England
* Milford, Derbyshire
* Milford, Devon, a place in Devon
* Milford on Sea, Hampshire
* Milford, Shro ...
side of the
Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge
The Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge (also known as the Sikorsky Memorial Bridge, and as the Housatonic River Bridge) carries the limited-access Merritt Parkway (Connecticut Route 15) over the Housatonic River, between Stratford and Milford, Con ...
at the end of the
Merritt Parkway
The Merritt Parkway (also known locally as "The Merritt") is a limited-access parkway in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County, Connecticut, with a small section at the northern end in New Haven County, Connecticut, New Haven County. ...
, when state toll booths were abolished in June 1988. The booth is of wooden log architecture and is also on the list of National Register of Historic Places.
See also
*
References
External links
Boothe Memorial Park & Museum- official site
State of CT listingPhotos of the park from the town of Stratford's websitePhotographs and description of sights in the park from New England Site
*https://sites.google.com/view/bmas-ct/home - official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boothe Memorial Park And Museum
Buildings and structures in Stratford, Connecticut
1840 establishments in Connecticut
Houses completed in 1914
Museum districts
Monuments and memorials in Connecticut
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
Astronomical observatories in Connecticut
Museums in Fairfield County, Connecticut
Open-air museums in Connecticut
Historic house museums in Connecticut
Railroad museums in Connecticut
Shingle Style architecture in Connecticut
Parks in Fairfield County, Connecticut
Gardens in Connecticut
Model railway shows and exhibitions
Houses in Stratford, Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in Fairfield County, Connecticut