Recurring Programs

The museum’s recurring programs include the Washington History Club, Readings from the Archives, the Washington Cemetery Tour, New Years Tea, and History Bites.

Washington History Club

In the morning: Meets the third Monday of the months of March, June, September, and December at 10:00 a.m. at the Washington Senior Center to discuss the history of Washington, Washington Depot, Marbledale, New Preston and Woodville. Share your stories with the group or just listen to the fascinating conversation about our town’s past. Bring your photos and objects for show and tell!

Next meeting: Monday, June 18, 2018 @ 10 am. The topic of discussion: to be announced. This will be our last meeting. We will resume meetings in September 2018.

Everyone is invited to attend this free program. The Washington Senior Center is located at 6 Bryan Hall Plaza, Washington Depot, CT 06794.

At Night: The Washington History Club at Night is a program of the Gunn Historical Museum and Meets the third Tuesday of the months of November, February, and May at 6:30 pm in the Wykeham Room of the Gunn Library to discuss the history of Washington, Washington Depot, Marbledale, New Preston and Woodville. Share your stories with the group or just come and listen to the fascinating conversation about our town’s past. Bring your memories, photos and objects for show and tell!

Next Meeting:  Tuesday, May 15, 2018 – 6:30pm – Topic: Washington Volunteer Fire Department and Carnival. In the Wykeham Room of the Gunn Memorial Library.

Readings from the Archives

Meets the first Monday of the months of January, April, and October at 10:00 a.m. at the Washington Senior Center. Staff present a paper about the history of Washington from the museum’s archive, related photos and artifacts from the museum are displayed and a discussion follows.

Next Meeting:  Monday, April 2, 2018 @ 10 am. Topic: “A Walk Through New Preston in the 1960s” by Doug McHan in 2015. At the Washington Senior Center.

History Bites

Each spring ten heritage sites throughout Northwestern Connecticut present History Bites, a series of weekly lunchtime programs designed to bring topics of local history to the attention of the regional community. The lunchtime series is hosted on Thursdays between April and June from 12:00 to 1:00 pm. Attendees are encouraged to bring lunch. Beverage and dessert will be provided by the hosting organization. Lectures are free and open to the public. History Bites is sponsored in part by the Connecticut Community Foundation.

Next Meeting: Thursday, May 24, 2018 – 12pm- Topic: Music Education in American Private Schools. Will be held in the Wykeham Room of the Gunn Library.

Looking at documents since the founding of The Gunnery, Emma Wang, a 2018 Gunn Scholar, has drawn connections between the school music programs and the broader history of music education. With a focus on the town of Washington, Connecticut and local institutions, her presentation will illustrate the changes and developments of musical instruction.

Parking is limited, please carpool. 

Please click the images below to view the History Bites Lecture Series Schedule

Cemetery Tour

Take a candlelit tour through the Washington Green Cemetery and meet some of Washington’s unforgettable residents from the past! A community favorite – hundreds attend each year.

Groups of visitors will be led by tour guides dressed in vintage attire along a path of 1,000 luminaries through the Washington Cemetery. Citizens from centuries long ago will be brought to life by costumed actors who will tell their true stories; some amusing, some sad and some tragic. This year’s tour will feature all new stories!

Attendees will get numbered tickets for the tours at the Gunn Museum, on a first-come first-serve basis, starting at 6:15 pm on Friday, October 26, 2018 and continuing through the evening until the tickets run out. Tickets can’t be reserved in advance.

Tours of the cemetery depart from the Museum with eighteen people every eight minutes between 6:30-8:30pm and last approximately one hour. Refreshments, face painting for kids, and a Halloween themed movie will be shown in the Wykeham Room of the Gunn Library where attendees can wait inside for their tour group to depart.

Visitors are encouraged to bring a flashlight, dress warmly, wear comfortable walking shoes, and carpool since parking is limited. The cemetery is dark and the ground is not level so the tour is not recommended for people who are unstable on their feet. The rain date for the Cemetery Tour is Sunday, Oct. 28 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Admission is free, donations are welcome.

 

New Year’s Tea

Ring in the New Year with an old-fashioned tea hosted by the Gunn Historical Museum and Gunn Memorial Library. Visitors will have the opportunity to socialize with friends under the historic 1914 gilded ceiling mural by H. Siddons Mowbray and enjoy period music in the festively decorated room. We’ll also have our Washington photo albums out for guests to browse. Guests are asked to bring their favorite tea cup we’ll provide tea sandwiches.