The new galleries offer many opportunities for friends and families to connect with the past and to learn new things about our community. Did you know that in 1692 Fairfield was the site of witchcraft trials, the same year as Salem, Massachusetts' infamous witchcraft hysteria? Did you know that the burning of Fairfield in 1779 by the British changed the town's future? Did you know that the final chapter of the Pequot War took place in Southport, nearly 100 miles from the Pequots' home territory? Learn more about these stories and many others, including the personal stories of Fairfield ship captains, slaves, Revolutionary War Patriots and Loyalists, a famous local spy, and a Fairfielder who joined the California Gold Rush.
Children's education in the 18th and 19th centuries is also a feature of our core exhibition. Come see the beautifully penned school items made or used by children. Parents will enjoy reading about the misdeeds of students recorded in a teacher's notebook dated 1854, and seeing early tuition bills and report cards from the Fairfield Academy!
Learn more about Fairfield's colonial past through a model of the town's original four squares - then enjoy studying our colorful, 9-foot high map of Fairfield, hand-drawn in 1937 as a WPA project. You'll even see where chicken coops and outhouses were once located!
