Old Stone House Museum & Historic Village

05/21/2026

WE ARE OPEN FOR THE SEASON!!

Visit us Wednesdays-Sundays, 11a - 4p.
FREE ADMISSION to the grounds and barn exhibits

BOOK A GUIDED TOUR TO GO INSIDE THE OLD STONE
https://oldstonehousemuseum.org/plan-your-visit/

Built in 1836—Celebrating 190 Years of the Old Stone House!

05/19/2026

Folks from the Old Stone House Museum & Historic Village had a great time visiting Ethan Allen Homestead Museum!!

It was so great to have the staff and volunteers from Old Stone House visit the Ethan Allen Homestead earlier this month. What a great day of collaboration, community, and learning.



[Image: Group shot of all the Old Stone House Museum and staff who visited with the Ethan Allen Homestead Museum and staff who hosted their visit for collaborative learning and relationship-building]

05/16/2026

Thanks team- Devin Van Bockler, Deb Henry, Bill Tulp, Deni Bergne and I spent the day at the Newport Farm Market processing fiber as part of the Newport’s third Forage Fest.
Flax, wool and Devin's amazingly strong and sturdy nettle- like no one had ever seen before! What a great day! Interested in fiber? There will be a much bigger team of fiber enthusiasts and artists at our Fall Fiber Faire in Sept. - join us then!! Sept 19th. There is lots to do at the Old Stone House & Historic Village before then as well. The Four Seasons Gardeners and our Buildings and Grounds crew are working to beautify the gardens and tours during our open hours begin this coming week. Check out our website. www.oldstonehousemuseum.org. We open this Weds. for the season!

05/13/2026

HOMESCHOOLERS: TWO UPCOMING CLASSES STILL HAVE ROSTER OPENINGS! To register email,
[email protected] with an inquiry and the names and ages of your children and a phone number. I will send a confirmation if there is space available on the roster. Filling quickly. Register soon.

Thursday, May 21st, 8:45 - 1:45, Spring Field Days,
Join us for our spring workshop extravaganza./ Participants rotate through 3, 1 hour workshops, including a Museum tour, Pond Studies and either a Bee Biology or Plant Lore workshop. The sheep will be on site and homeschoolers are free to visit them.

Wednesday, June 3rd , 10:00-12N Remarkable Rhubarb!
Spring is here and our favorite local plants are waiting for some young cooks!! Participants will head over to the Eaton House to harvest rhubarb from our historic village patch. We will pick up some local strawberries for you from our Amish neighbors and we will make our favorite strawberry/rhubarb crisp to enjoy together. We will also make some freezer jam to take home, and send participants home with some recipes for the upcoming berry season.

Meets at the Grammar School, ages 6-12 cost $12 per child

Sign Up early. Space is limited and will fill quickly for this program Meets at the Twilight House, ages 7 to 12+ cost $12 per child HOME

05/04/2026

Upcoming Family Enrichment classes with Devin Van Bockler at the Old Stone House on Saturday, May 9th. A few roster spots remaining. Register by emailing [email protected] with your children's names and ages and a phone number. A confirmation email will be sent.
$12 per child for each class. Adults complimentary

Saturday, May 9th - 10:30-12:30PM - Knots and their Multiple Uses

Join popular teacher Devin Van Bockler, founder of Ash and Birch outdoor school, for a hands-on morning at the Alexander Twilight Homestead, learning a variety of knots and lashings, their uses, and how they can be applied to everyday life.
Meets at the Homestead, * Ages 8 to 12+ cost $12 per child

Saturday, May 9th - 2pm-4pm - Make a Roycroft Packframe! What is a Roycroft packframe, you ask? Come learn from Devin how to build a traditional packframe—essentially a backpack—using materials gathered from the wilds of our property. Along the way, you’ll discover why this simple but ingenious piece of gear has long been essential for outdoor living.

Please bring one of the following: a large piece of fabric, a blanket, a durable jacket, or a small tarp. This will be used with your pack frame and is an important part of the project. You may also bring a few items you might want to carry in your new pack. We will be working outdoors in the woods using cordage and cutting tools, so please dress appropriately for the weather and activity. Meet at Alexander Twilight Homestead, * Age 8-12, cost $12 per child

05/01/2026

Tea Time Around the World at the Old Stone House Grammar School.
What a great afternoon parents, children and grandparents came for an intergenerational high tea at the Grammar School. We learned about the Boston Tea Party, made a tea blend w calendula, tulsi, peppermint, red clover and nettles. Decorated a tea box and bagged the tea.
We tried 7 different herbal teas, baked scones and muffins and made cucumber crackers before we sat down for high tea.
The program was capped with the reading of the book Tea Time Around the World. We had a fabulous afternoon at the Grammar School.

04/20/2026

Can you Identify the Man in this Portrait? 🔍

“The Man in the Green Coat” has been a part of the Old Stone House Museum collection for many years, but the subject of the painting remains a mystery.

The Man in the Green Coat was donated to the museum in 1963 by the estate of Earlah Bassett, an Orleans antique dealer. The Bassett Collection includes many pieces of artwork because Earlah Bassett had a long career as an antique dealer and collected over a broad area. We don’t know if she purchased the painting locally. No records survive about where The Man the Green Coat originated.

We do, however, have some information about the artist, Ruth Whittier Shute. In 1827, Ruth married Samuel Addison Shute (1803–1836), a physician, orator and painter. They settled in Weare, New Hampshire. Soon they began painting as a couple, traveling around New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, and Rhode Island. They painted many portraits together but they also worked independently of one another. Some of the subjects painted by the Shutes were workers in textile mills in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Whether they painted in Orleans County is unknown.

When Samuel became ill, the couple moved to Champlain, New York, where Ruth continued to travel and paint. Her work during this time period included miniature portraits. Samuel died in 1836. Ruth Whittier Shute later remarried and moved to Lexington, Kentucky, where she painted for another 45 years until her death in 1882.

Do you have another painting by Ruth or Samuel Shute; perhaps of a family member who lived in Orleans County? Do you have any other information to help us learn whether she worked in our area?

Do you recognize The Man in the Green Coat? Do you know his name? Do you know where he lived? Is he one of your ancestors?

If you think you may have answers to these questions, please let us know! Contact [email protected].