Fairfield Museum and History Center is a museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

 and library

Library

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

 focusing on the history of Fairfield

Fairfield, Connecticut

Fairfield is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is bordered by the towns of Bridgeport, Trumbull, Easton, Redding and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 59,404...

, Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

 and the greater Fairfield area. The museum opened on September 16, 2007 and is located at 370 Beach Road, behind the Fairfield Town Green.

The museum's collections included furniture and household items, clocks, costumes and textiles, art, tools, military items, dolls and toys, and architectural fragments.

Landscape of Change is the museum's inaugural exhibition that focuses on Fairfield's 375 year history. Highlights include the British invasion in 1779, colonial and Native American life, area maritime and agriculture commerce, slavery, the railroad, schools and education, and famous Fairfield landmarks.

The library's collections include manuscripts, maps, photographs, church books, land records, oral histories and other resources relating to Fairfield, as well as general books on genealogy, local and regional history, general and art history.

The library's reading room looks out on Fairfield Town Green, with views of Sun Tavern and Victorian Cottage and Barn (see below).

Historic properties

The town of Fairfield owns several historic properties that are managed by the museum.

• Ogden House
  David Ogden House
  The David Ogden House located in Fairfield, Connecticut was built in 1750 as an integral saltbox. . The house is an exceptional survivor of a typical mid 18th century Connecticut farmhouse. There is a massive central field stone chimney topped with brick...
  
   (1520 Bronson Road) – An 18th Century saltbox
  Saltbox
  A saltbox is a building with a long, pitched roof that slopes down to the back, generally a wooden frame house. A saltbox has just one story in the back and two stories in the front...
  
   house with period furnishings. The Museum owns and manages this farmhouse, which is open from 1 - 4:00 pm on Sundays from June to September.
• Bronson Windmill
  Bronson Windmill
  Bronson Windmill is an historic windmill at 3015 Bronson Road in Fairfield, Connecticut.The windmill was built in 1893-94 for Frederic Bronson and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.It is made of Georgia pine....
  
   (2963 Bronson Road) – An 1893 windmill
  Windmill
  A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
  
   built to supply water to Frederic Bronson’s estate and farm, presently the location of Fairfield Country Day School
  Fairfield Country Day School
  Fairfield Country Day School is a private, single-sex day school in Fairfield, Connecticut. Founded in 1936 by Laurence W. Gregory, the school has since its inception admitted only boys...
  
  .
• Burr Homestead (739 Old Post Road) – An 18th Century 10-room mansion that is rented out for community and private events.
• Sun Tavern (One Town Hall Green)– A 1780 tavern that was the site of a visit from President George Washington.
• Victorian Cottage and Barn (Two and Three Town Hall Green) – Two “Carpenter Gothic” buildings that served as a gardener’s quarters and tool storage.
• Powder House (230 Unquowa Road) – An 1814 stone structure built to store ammunition in case of British attacks.

External links

• Fairfield Museum and History Center
• Town of Fairfield, Connecticut