The Darling House Museum is a
historic house museum
A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...
at 1907 Litchfield Turnpike in
Woodbridge, Connecticut
Woodbridge is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,087 at the 2020 census. The town center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Woodbridge Green Historic District. Woodbridge is part of ...
, and is owned and operated by the Amity & Woodbridge Historical Society. The house is open by appointment and during special events.
In the early 1770s,
Thomas Darling hired Abiel Gray of
West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census.
The town's popular downtown area is colloquially ...
, to build a new home in Amity Parish, outside of
New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
. Gray took two years (1772–1774) to finish the project. The house has a gambrel roof, is built on a central hall plan and has some unusual features. Paneling and woodwork in the hallway and front rooms are richly detailed under 9-foot, 3-inch ceilings. The influence of 18th-century New York is suggested by the imported tiles of Biblical scenes over one fireplace.
["History" Web page]
Amity & Woodbridge Historical Society website. Retrieved February 6, 2007
Much of the furniture and many items in the home were owned by the Darling family, which owned the house and surrounding land until 1973, when the property was sold to the town of Woodbridge and the Amity & Woodbridge Historical Society began caring for the structure. The property includes a large 18th-century barn, a 19th-century horse barn, a carriage shed, a chicken coop, a pig house, and a 19th-century privy.
The town maintains several fields near the house, and some easy walking trails skirt the base of West Rock.
The Society has a large collection of farm implements on display in the horse barn. Quilts, linens, and period clothing are also displayed in the house.
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See also
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Notes
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External links
Thomas Darling House
- Amity & Woodbridge Historical Society
Historic house museums in Connecticut
Museums in New Haven County, Connecticut
Woodbridge, Connecticut
Historical society museums in Connecticut
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in New Haven County, Connecticut
Houses in New Haven County, Connecticut