The Branford Historical Society, Inc.

Name: The Branford Historical Society, Inc.
Address: 124 Main Street, Branford, CT, 06405, US
Telephone: +12034884828

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The Branford Historical Society, Inc.

Founded in 1960, our mission is to discover, preserve, and educate about Branford’s heritage.

09/03/2026

On a July morning in 1779, more than 2500 British and Hessian troops stormed ashore on both sides of New Haven Harbor in a coordinated invasion.

Ann McGuire, President of the Friends of Fort Wooster, joins the Branford Historical Society to share the story of that 36-hour battle...of the British officer who died reaching for a wounded enemy, of the 19-militiamen who held Black Rock Fort until their powder ran out, and how on the hillside east of the harbor, now Fort Wooster Park, citizen defenders fought British regulars to a standstill.

Part of Branford Celebrates America's 250th, The Branford Historical Society is hosting
Fire on the Hill: The Battle for New Haven, 1779
with Ann McGuire, President of the Friends of Fort Wooster on Tuesday, September 22nd at 6:00 PM at James Blackstone Memorial Library

09/01/2026

The Branford Historical Society has been named the September beneficiary of the Stop & Shop Community Bag Program. Throughout the month, every $2.50 reusable Community Bag purchased at the Stop & Shop located at 22 Leetes Island Road in Branford will generate a $1 donation to BHS.

Community members can take part by purchasing a Community Bag at the Branford Stop & Shop anytime during September — no additional donation or paperwork required.

Founded in 1960, BHS works to discover, preserve, and share the history of Branford. The organization operates the Harrison House Museum, built in 1724, along with its barn and gardens at 124 Main Street. Funds raised through the Community Bag Program will support the Society’s ongoing preservation and educational work, including this fall’s exhibit programming and Harrison House upkeep.

08/26/2026

Wishing all Branford students an excellent start to the new school year! 🍎📚

This summer, Branford High School is getting a new roof — a good excuse to look back at where it all started. Pictured: an aerial view of BHS in 1958.

Photo archived at James Blackstone Memorial Library, Historical Society Photographs, Box 49, Photo 78.

08/25/2026

For years, we told Harrison House visitors that a replica of our corner cupboard lived at the Art Institute of Chicago as "the" Connecticut example. None of us had ever actually seen it.

Mystery solved — thanks to a sharp-eyed couple on a recent tour.

Our cupboard (with its fluted pilasters and corner rosettes, unlike anything from Massachusetts) is part of the famous Thorne Miniature Rooms. Artist Narcissa Niblack Thorne built 68 of these rooms between 1937–1940, each one a museum-quality miniature down to the furniture.

Room No. 4 is "Connecticut Valley Tavern Parlor, circa 1750" — and there's our cupboard, not once but twice, one on each wall. The room's design credits two historic Connecticut houses, which tracks: J. Frederick Kelly, the architectural historian who restored the Harrison House in 1938, almost certainly worked with Thorne on the details.

The room measures 8" x 17" x 13" and is still on view in Chicago today. Small world — even smaller room. 🏛️

Photos: our full-size cupboard at the Harrison House, and its tiny twin at the Art Institute of Chicago.

07/16/2026

We did it — Capt. Spencer's cane topper is coming home! 🎉

Thanks to our incredible anonymous donor and all of you, we've reached our full $325 match — meaning $650 of our $650 goal is already accounted for between your gifts and the match.

Since a few of you have asked how you can keep helping: this fall, the Harrison House is revitalizing its exhibits. Grant funding covers part of the project, but we're still about $2,000 short on new collection cases to properly display and protect our collection — including Capt. Spencer's cane topper itself.

If you'd like to keep giving, every dollar now goes straight toward those cases. Visit www.branfordhistoricalsociety.org/donations

07/13/2026

Capt. John Spencer spent decades as master of the schooner Jenny Lind, trading goods along the Atlantic coast before retiring in 1894. On his 50th wedding anniversary his Branford friends gave him a gift: an ebony cane topped with a solid gold band, engraved "1849–1899, May 10th, Presented to Capt. John Spencer from Branford Friends."

More than a century later, the gold topper from that very cane has resurfaced — and we have the chance to bring it home to the Harrison House, where it belongs alongside the rest of Capt. Spencer's story.

Today we're launching a three-week campaign, Raising Cane for the Harrison House Collection, to make it happen. Our goal is $650, and thanks to a generous anonymous donor, every gift made during this campaign will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $325.
Your $25 gift becomes $50

Help us bring it home where it belong by donating today. Link in comments below.

07/06/2026

Thank you to Branford Garden Club for making the Harrison House Museum part of your “Garden Secret’s Tour.”

07/03/2026

In the summer of 1779, Branford built a warship.

The galley was called the New Defense, and she was armed to the teeth: two 18-pound cannons, two 12-pounders, and several 6- and 4-pound guns. She was Branford’s contribution to the fight for American independence — built right here and crewed by people from this area.

She didn’t survive the war. In the winter of 1780, the British captured the New Defense in Long Island Sound. Twenty of her crew perished on the notorious prison ships in New York harbor — a grim fate that claimed more American lives than many battles of the Revolution.

On this Independence Day eve, we honor the crew of the New Defense. ⚓

MaritimeHistory

07/02/2026

🎶 to 2024 (and to a story 200 years older than that!)

When Lafayette passed through Branford on August 21, 1824, elderly veterans of the Revolution were brought forward to meet the General. According to family descendants, Daniel Averill was one of them.

Averill had enlisted in the Continental Army at just fifteen years old. He served three years, fought at the Battle of Monmouth, and made his home here in Branford. When he was presented to Lafayette, the General greeted him with the words: "one of my old soldiers."

His fife is on display at the Harrison House Museum right here in Branford — and it tells the whole story. 🏛️

07/01/2026

The American Revolution wasn't only fought with muskets. It was also fought with generosity.

When the British Parliament shut down the port of Boston, leaving thousands to suffer, Branford residents stepped up — collecting donations for the relief of those "suffering in the common cause of American Liberty under a cruel & arbitrary act of the British Parliament."

Community taking care of community. Neighbor taking care of neighbor. Across state lines and in the face of a monarchy.

Some things about this town have never changed. ❤️

Address

124 Main Street
Branford, CT
06405

Telephone

+12034884828

Website

https://branfordhistoricalsociety.org/

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