New Canaan Museum and Historical Society

Mission:

The New Canaan Museum & Historical Society is a cultural institution that focuses on preservation, modernism, education and community. Through exhibits, programs, library services and events, we celebrate history and explore its role in shaping the future.

About:

Founded in 1889, the New Canaan Historical Society had as its mission “to bring together and arrange the historical events of the town of New Canaan, the genealogies of the families who have lived in the town, to form a library and to collect relics and curiosities, to form a museum.”

Although our mission has expanded and our name has changed, to this day we continue to promote historic preservation, aid researchers, maintain museums and historical sites, mount exhibitions, hold educational events and tours, and build an awareness and appreciation of our Town’s rich past.

Our founders included the descendants of some of New Canaan’s first families — among them Mr. & Mrs. Frederick Lockwood, Charles R. Abbott, Alexander Law, S.Y. St. John, James and Edwin Hoyt, Lucius Monroe Sr., Francis E. Weed, Mr. & Mrs. Henry B. Rogers, and Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Silliman. Today the Society welcomes members and visitors from around the country and abroad.