The Captain Elisha Phelps House 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 800 Hopmeadow Street in

Simsbury, Connecticut Simsbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 24,517 at the 2020 census. The town was incorporated as Connecticut's 21st town in May 1670. History Early history At the beginning of the 17th century, the ...

. The colonial-era house was built by David Phelps in 1711. His son Elisha Phelps received the land from his father and expanded the house in 1771. Elisha Phelps along with his brother Noah Phelps and others took part in the

capture of Fort Ticonderoga The capture of Fort Ticonderoga occurred during the American Revolutionary War on May 10, 1775, when a small force of Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold surprised and captured the fort's small British garrison. ...

in 1775. Capt. Phelps was appointed as commissary of the Northern Department by the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

.The Phelps Tavern Museum
The house was used as a hotel named the Canal Hotel, after the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. It is located along what was the New Haven and Northampton Canal line.

Family life

Elisha Phelps was born at

, on October 17, 1737. His father David (May 7, 1710–December 9, 1760) married Abigail Pettibone (April 25, 1731–October 16, 1787) on April 25, 1731. Both families descended from original settlers of

Dorchester, Massachusetts Dorchester (colloquially referred to as Dot) is a Boston neighborhood comprising more than in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester ...

(and five years later,

Windsor, Massachusetts Windsor is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 831 according to the 2020 census. History Windsor was first settled in 1767 and was ...

) who as

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...

arrived in the New World aboard the ship ''

Mary and John ''Mary and John'' was a 400-ton ship that is known to have sailed between England and the American colonies four times from 1607 to 1633. She was during the later voyages captained by Robert Davies and owned by Roger Ludlow (1590–1664), one of th ...

'' in 1630. He died at age 43 in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, on July 14, 1776, from diseases he contracted from the soldiers he cared for there. After his death, the homestead passed from his widow and surviving children to his brother

Noah Phelps Major General Noah Phelps (January 22, 1740 – November 4, 1809) was an American militia general, justice of the Peace, judge of Probate for twenty years, and was a Delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 to ratify the Federal Constitu ...

and until 1962 was the property of his descendants, including Jeffrey O. Phelps.

Phelps Tavern Museum

The estate is now known as The Phelps Tavern Museum. The museum uses period rooms and interactive exhibits and galleries to interpret the use of the house as an inn from 1786 to 1849. Three successive generations of the Phelps tavern-keepers are chronicled along with the social history of taverns in New England. From Masonic meetings to ordination balls, the Phelps Tavern hosted townspeople and travelers who arrived by horse, stagecoach and canal. The Phelps Tavern Museum is part of a complex that includes a museum store, research archives, and period gardens. It is owned and operated by the Simsbury Historical Society.

References

External links

The Phelps Tavern
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Capt. Elisha, House Houses in Simsbury, Connecticut Houses completed in 1771 Museums in Hartford County, Connecticut Historic house museums in Connecticut Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Historical society museums in Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Hartford County, Connecticut

Family life

Phelps Tavern Museum

See also

References

External links