Newtown Historical Society is going a different route for this year's Home & Garden Tour, a summer event that serves as a fundraiser for the nonprofit organization. Rather than having ticket holders drive to multiple locations to view homes and/or gardens, this year the historical society is inviting the public to join them at the property at the corner of Glen Road and Walnut Tree Road in Sandy Hook.

The tour will take place Sunday, June 10, from 1 to 5 pm rain or shine. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 the day of the tour.

Gordon Williams, chair of the event, said recently that the historical society is looking at this year's tour as "everything in one stop."

"I doubt we would repeat this type of presentation," Mr Williams said April 20. Joined by Sharon Cohen to talk about the fundraiser, Mr Williams said there are few properties in town that have as much to offer in one location.

"I don't know that we'll repeat this," he said. "What other house has this much going for it?"

The home and garden of Jean and Lincoln Sander dates back to one of Newtown's founding families. Jean and Lincoln Sander have appreciated and improved their property since purchasing it in 2002.

"When we moved here seven and a half years ago there was nothing, just nothing," Mrs Sander told The Newtown Bee in 2010. "There was a couple of shrubs, dogwoods, and dozens of stick maples. No stone wall, nothing."

The couple's home is the circa 1748 Benjamin Curtiss House, Benjamin being the brother of namesake Matthew Curtiss, whose former home at 44 Main Street serves as headquarters for Newtown Historical Society (of which Mr Sander is a former president). Benjamin was one of three men to petition the General Assembly in October 1761 to establish the Stratford-Newtown town line, according to Ezra Levan Johnson's History of Newtown, Conn (1917).

The property now features several stone walls, including one that measures 325 feet in length; and gardens behind the home, including a formal English garden adjacent to the back of the house, divided into three rooms, surrounded by a huge Taxus hedge.

The main room of Jean Sander's English garden is what she calls her "troughery," or a room filled with troughs dating from the 18th and 19th Centuries. Many have been filled with plantings, including an antique planter coupled with a set of seven 19th Century stones out of an estate in Maine.

There is also a woodland walk, which overlooks the confluence of the Pootatuck River and Lake Zoar. At least two dozen native and ornamental trees had been planted along its length by 2015, when the property was most recently on The Garden Conservancy's Open Days tour (Ms Sander has opened the gardens for that public event a few times). Shrubs and a small woodland garden accent the walk, as does an oversized birdhouse commissioned by the Sanders that replicates an antique birdhouse owned by some friends.

The 1748 home Benjamin Curtiss is a Connecticut classic colonial with center chimney. Its three stories and high ceilings, spacious rooms and beautifully crafted woodwork all reflect the status of the original owner.

Docents will be on hand to answer questions about the home and its contents, which include "an amazing collection of 18th Century antiques," according to Mr Williams.

Also new this year: tents will provide shade or protection from the rain.

"We want people to be able to sit and talk at tables this year, said Mr Williams. "It will be a very social occasion, more so than in past years."

The Dan Cruson Scholarship

In addition to the tour on June 10, Newtown Historical Society will formally introduce The Dan Cruson Scholarship Fund. Mr Cruson is probably best known for his longstanding dedication to the preservation of and research into the history of Newtown. He has served as town historian for at least three decades, and has authored a number of books related to the town and its history.

He is a retired high school teacher, having taught courses in anthropology and history.

"Dan has done so much for the community, and the historical society," Ms Cohen pointed out. "Over the years we've wanted to honor someone who has been integral."

The scholarship fund being established in Mr Cruson's name will bestow awards to high school graduates planning to study history, according to Ms Cohen and Mr Williams. Details have yet to be finalized, but the historical society will rely on Newtown Scholarship Association to administer the funds, they added.

"We may not do this every year," Mr Williams said, "but this will be a nice way to honor Dan and his work."

Tickets are being sold for the House & Garden Tour, with additional donations also welcomed, they said.

Remarks about Mr Cruson and the scholarship being established in his name will be made at 3 the afternoon of the fundraiser.

"Primary fundraising through this year's tour will be for Dan's scholarship," Ms Cohen said, "but additional funds will also help with ongoing work for the historical society."

The Matthew Curtiss House property, they pointed out, includes two barns to the east of the main house. Both "really need work," Mr Williams said.

Tickets are on sale at C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street; and Queen Street Gifts & Treats, 3 Queen Street.

Tickets include wine and heavy hors d'oeuvres. For additional information contact Mr Williams at 203-405-6392 or visit newtownhistory.org.

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[naviga:img class="aligncenter wp-image-316855" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/historical-society-house-garden-first-pvw-Benjamin-Curtiss-House-interior-June-2010-file-photo.jpg" alt="historical society house & garden first pvw -- Benjamin Curtiss House interior June 2010 file photo" width="800" height="600" /]

The 1748 home of Jean and Lincoln Sander is filled with period antiques and surrounded by stunning gardens thanks to its current owners, the former president of Newtown Historical Society and his professional garden designer wife.

-Bee file photos

[naviga:img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-316857" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SH_historical-society-home-garden-tour-Jean-Sanders-garden-corn-crib-June-2010-WATERMARKED.jpg" alt="SH_historical society home & garden tour -- Jean Sander's garden corn crib June 2010 WATERMARKED" width="1600" height="1067" /]

An antique corn crib was the first thing that was moved when Jean Sander decided to establish a garden on her Sandy Hook property. The 17th Century structure is now off a woodland pathway that runs along the northern edge of the property Jean and Lincoln Sander purchased in 2002 and began restoring shortly thereafter.

[naviga:img class="aligncenter wp-image-316856" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SH_historical-society-home-garden-tour-gates-to-Jean-Sanders-garden-June-2010-WATERMARKED.jpg" alt="SH_historical society home & garden tour -- gates to Jean Sander's garden June 2010 WATERMARKED" width="600" height="751" /]

Jean Sander established a woodland walk in 2005 that now serves as a second garden area on her property. The home and garden Jean and her husband Lincoln own on Glen Road will be the single property featured on this year's Newtown Historical Society Home & Garden Tour, scheduled for June 10.

[naviga:img class="aligncenter wp-image-316864" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/historical-society-house-garden-tour-Benjamin-Curtiss-Sander-house-July-2010-WATERMARKED.jpg" alt="historical society house & garden tour -- Benjamin Curtiss & Sander house July 2010 WATERMARKED" width="800" height="532" /]