| Name | Hempsted Houses |
| Address | Corner of Jay and Hempsted Streets11 Hempstead StreetNew London, CT 06320 |
| Brief Description | One of New England's oldest and best-documented houses. |
| Type | Attraction |
| Category | Museum |
| Description | The 1678 Joshua Hempsted House is one of New England's oldest and best-documented dwellings. Joshua Hempsted lived here his whole life, filling many roles, including farmer, judge, gravestone carver, shipwright and father of nine children left motherless by his wife's death in 1716. The diary Hempsted kept for nearly 50 years prior to his own death in 1758, is full of sometimes meaty, sometimes mundane details of daily life in colonial Connecticut. The Hempsted House survived the 1781 burning of New London by the British, commended by traitor Benedict Arnold. Later, it may have been a safe house on the secret Underground Railroad which aided fugitive slaves seeking freedom. Adjacent to the Joshua Hampsted House is a rare stone dwelling built in 1759 by his grandson Nathaniel. Both houses' furnishings include original Hempsted family objects. A property of Connecticut Landmarks. |
| Phone 1 | (860) 443-7949 |
| Email | hempsted@ctlandmarks.org |
| Handicapped Accessible | No |
| Time Allowance | 1.5 hours |
| Website | www.ctlandmarks.org |
| Last Updated | 4/13/2009 |
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