Nathan Lester House Museum

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...

03/31/2026

Movie making returned to the Nathan Lester House Museum recently as scenes for work in progress saw transformation of the 18th century keeping room into a modern day (if traditional) setting.

With a working title of “The Plan,” this film uses scenery around southeast Connecticut and into Rhode Island, including interiors and grounds of the Lester House.

See the trailer at:

https://www.theplanmovie.com/trailer

03/16/2026

Another storm…

They all are to be heeded, but they come and they go. This one is just today’s.

12/08/2025

Ledyard High School Carolers continued their tradition of sharing seasonal songs with the community at the Nathan Lester House for Yuletide.

It was a bright, clement day for early December after a very frosty morning - perfect for music outdoors and a crackling fire.