Ogden House To Open For Season

On June 5

FAIRFIELD — Ogden House and Gardens, an 18th Century saltbox farmhouse at 1520 Bronson Road in Fairfield, will open for the season on Sunday, June 5. Visitors can meet a costumed interpreter, take a guided tour, enjoy a special presentation, and try their hand at a Colonial toy or game.

Highlights will include Walter Matis, who will appear in the uniform of an American marine from the Revolutionary War and demonstrate drill, musket firing and camp life. Guided tours of the house, conducted by trained volunteers, will run throughout the day.

Harry Audley, a collector of antique tools, will be on hand to discuss and demonstrate agricultural tools and techniques of the period. Colonial games and toys will be available for visitors to try.

Visitors can also take a leisurely stroll around the rehabilitated nature walk and take a look at the historically accurate kitchen garden featuring herbs and vegetables typical of those used by the colonial housewife for housekeeping, fragrance, medicine and food. The herb garden is maintained by Fairfield Garden Club.

Ogden House, built for David Ogden at the time of his marriage to Jane Sturges, dates to circa 1750, making it one of Fairfield’s oldest structures. Spared when the British burned many of the town’s buildings in 1779, it now offers visitors a glimpse into the life of a farming family in the mid-18th Century.

The Ogden House is owned and operated by Fairfield Historical Society and will be open for tours every Sunday through September from 1 to 4 pm (except the Sunday of Labor Day weekend).

Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for children. For information, call 203-259-1598.