Nathan Lester House Museum

10/10/2026

A project long in the making comes to fruition at the Nathan Lester House and Farm Tool Museum.

Our very determined and ambitious young volunteer from the American Heritage Girls has planned and worked for a full year, and this Saturday, October 10, will raise the frame for a garden shed for the use of the Ledyard Garden Club. Learning the ancient craft of timber framing, she lead her group of volunteers, raised funds, and organized multiple workshops over the summer and fall to shape raw timber into stacks of cut pieces waiting to be pulled together.

Join us at 9:00 to start the morning and linger to watch as the frame goes up over the day.

Many thanks to the American Heritage Girls, our instructors and helpers from Northford Timber Framers, and the Ledyard Garden Club!

09/25/2026

Being hardy New Englanders, and having made it through the last few gully washers, we hate to do it, but it seems prudent that we close the museum for this weekend - September 26-27.

Everyone stay safe in this rare September nor’easter, and visit us again as the leaves turn in October!

09/13/2026

Rainy days are perfect for timbers in the barn.

09/13/2026

Our vintage rain gauge says we’ve had 5 1/2” so far.

This is us… NOT complaining. 😀

08/29/2026

An afternoon crafting Timbers becomes a visit from migrating starlings - wheeling through the skies over the Lester House.

Nature and her creatures are always close here on the old farmland and in the woods grown up around.

08/13/2026

As was frequent at the time, many New Englanders relocated to the Midwest and all the way to the Pacific coast during the 19th century. William Larrabee, a young son of Hannah Lester and Adam Larrabee (and grandson of Nathan and Susannah Lester), found work on his sister’s farm in Iowa, eventually marrying Anna - featured here on her birthday.

Happy birthday, Anna Larrabee!

07/25/2026

Woods have grown up where there once were fields, and the Great Lawn is no longer mown for hay, but much of the old farm remains.

Generations of Lesters and Larrabees, and then Graves and Hills, grew up here, marched off to war, returned to marry, raise children, repeat… Today the Lester House is presented as a multi-generational family home - quintessentially New England… quintessentially American.

07/04/2026

***** Update ******

Due to the weather we are going to scale back and move to the air conditioned indoors. We will still have some crafting tables setup, the bake sale and tables for the colonial coin exhibition and the Ledyard Garden Club!

There will be plenty of water and freezer pops to go along with our splash station that will be set up in the field so bring a towel if you’d like to cool off in the water!

05/16/2026

The Great Oak Garden at the Nathan Lester House and Farm Tool Museum.

The love and care the Ledyard Garden Club pours into this magical space is on full display in the spring. Come and see it in all seasons and weather.

The over 100 acres of grounds surrounding the 18th century farmhouse are open year-round, and from dawn to dusk. The house opens this coming Memorial Day weekend. We hope to see you.

05/10/2026

The Master Gardener project which Tricia Marcek has created with her team of volunteers is really taking shape at the Lester House!

UConn Master Gardeners bringing new life to the historic Nathan Lester House in Ledyard, CT 🌿This project highlights the care, planning, and community effor...