Historical Society Annual

House & Garden Tour

Lovers of old houses who also appreciate beautifully landscaped and well-established gardens will want to save the last Saturday in June to attend the 16th Annual Newtown Historical Society House and Garden Tour.

The 2012 tour, for which organizers have found nine locations that fit a theme of “A New Look At Newtown’s Oldest Places,” includes six homes dating from the early 18th Century to the early 19th Century and their gardens, as well as three garden-only locations.

All of the properties with homes and gardens on the tour have been lovingly maintained and renovated to a greater or lesser degree and each family has managed to update an antique home to meet their modern needs yet preserve its historic character.

These six properties include a farmhouse with a historically respectful renovation along with a great room created from a massive, transplanted Canadian hay barn; the oldest house in Newtown, circa 1700, which is largely unchanged yet cherished in its relatively primitive state by longtime owners; the antique Sandy Hook home once owned by 1930s opera singer and movie star Grace Moore, which retained many of her decorative touches and is surrounded by spectacular patios, gardens and grounds.

Also, a 1750 farmhouse that town benefactress Mary Hawley bought and renovated for her chauffeur in 1927; a 1750s-era home that has been beautifully renovated but has its historic keeping room as its central feature, as well as terraced gardens that include the old outbuildings and great barn; and an early 19th Century farmhouse built atop a bedrock ledge and beautifully nestled among mature trees and shrubs.

The Matthew Curtiss House Museum Dooryard Garden will also be on the tour for the first time, featuring historically correct herbs and perennials. Across Main Street are the gardens of a landscape designer and master gardener, while the third garden on the tour is a shade-filled perennial garden with koi pond, designed with an artistic eye by its owner, a professional nature and landscape photographer.

The self-guided tour will take place rain or shine on Saturday, June 30. The properties will be open for ticket-holders from 11 am to 5 pm.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 on the day of the tour. Checks may be sent to Newtown Historical Society House Tour, PO Box 189, Newtown CT 06470, before June 22. Please include name, address and telephone number, and indicate the number of tickets being purchased.

Tickets are limited to prevent overcrowding, and are also available at C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street; Everything Newtown, 61 Church Hill Road; and The UPS Store, 261 South Main Street. On the day of the tour any remaining tickets will be sold only at the Matthew Curtiss House, 44 Main Street, from 10 am to 1:30 pm.

Proceeds benefit Newtown Historical Society, including maintenance of the circa 1750 Matthew Curtiss House Museum and to support the educational programs of the society. For additional information call 203- 426-5937 or visit www.newtownhistory.org.