200 Years - Connecticut Museum of Culture and History

200th Anniversary Commemorative Book

Available for purchase online or in the Museum's gift shop!

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The Key to Adventure

Original children's book created by Museum staff

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Closing @ 3 pm on Wednesday 11/26, closed Thursday 11/27 for Thanksgiving. See you on Friday!

Your support helps to collect, preserve, and share Connecticut's culture and history. Give Today!

Prudence Punderson: Documenting life during the American Revolution

In 1963, the Connecticut Museum purchased several textiles embroidered by a young women named Prudence Punderson, who documented her life during the American Revolution through needlework skills. With access to her personal writings and embroidery, audiences can view a woman’s perspective during the fight for independence and recognize themes still relevant today.

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Commemorative 200th Anniversary Book

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With a collection of approximately 4.7 million objects gathered across two centuries, the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History offers far more than numbers can express. Beyond preserving rare artifacts, the Museum has long been a dynamic hub for cultural engagements—hosting exhibitions, festivals, and programs that connect people of all ages to Connecticut’s diverse heritage.

This beautifully illustrated volume brings the Museum’s legacy to life, showcasing its most iconic treasures, from manuscripts, books, and photographs to furniture, textiles, toys, and beyond. Dive into the compelling stories behind these objects and discover the people, communities, and cultures that have shaped Connecticut’s rich and evolving identity.

And the story isn’t ending! As it honors the past, the Connecticut Museum continues to look forward, preserving history while championing new voices and stories for generations to come.

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Now available online and in the Museum gift shop.
Online orders fulfilled by NewEngland.com.

Celebrate 200 Years of Culture and History—Help Us Reach 200 Donations!

For two centuries, Connecticut Museum has preserved and shared our collective history and cultures, inspiring generations through its collections, exhibitions, and educational programs. Now, as the Museum celebrates its 200th anniversary, it need your help to ensure our legacy continues for the next century.

To mark this milestone, we’re calling on our community to help us reach 200 donations—one for each year of our remarkable journey. Your contribution, no matter the size, will support:

Conservation of Connecticut’s treasured artifacts
Engaging exhibitions and programs
Access to history for future generations
Cultural events and traditional arts all year long

Join us in honoring the past and shaping the future. Make your gift today and be a part of history!

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The Key to Adventure

Written by Rebecca Gavin | Illustrated by Mya Concepcion

When a young girl named Prudence finds a strange-looking key, she brings it along on her visit to the Connecticut Museum–and suddenly falls back in time! Join Prudence on her journey home through Connecticut history, where she meets new friends, explores new places, and learns that everyone holds their own key to adventure. With whimsical illustrations of the Connecticut Museum and its objects and a story that inspires imagination and encourages discovery, The Key to Adventure will delight children of all ages. Written and illustrated by Education staff members of the Connecticut Museum!Learn more about the project, including tour dates for the exhibit-on-wheels in partnership with cARTie:

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Blog Series: Millions of Stories

Behind every object, image, and written word found in the collection at the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History, there are countless individuals from all walks of life with their own stories to tell; their own heritage, interests, views, and dreams.

As we reflect on our 200-year legacy, we aim to highlight just a few of these individuals on a quarterly basis whose memories are safeguarded in the Museum collection and share their stories to represent the scope of who we are as a state and illuminate the present with stories from across Connecticut.

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Edgar Yergason could be considered many things: a political radical, a soldier, an interior designer. The Connecticut Museum is honored to hold many of Yergason’s personal items in its collection, from diaries and letters, to flags and Civil War “relics” that he saved and passed down to his son, Dr. Robert M. Yergason, who donated several of these items to the Museum in 1922.

During Katharine Hepburn’s lifetime, her unconventional style made her an icon of the “modern woman” of the 20th century. The Hollywood silver screen is where Katharine Hepburn became a household name, but her story can be traced all the way back to the east coast and into the heart of Connecticut, where the foundations of her independent spirit were laid.

In 2017, a pair of brown leather shoes came into the collection, worn by a man named William J. Brown during the March on Washington, and donated along with several other personal items by his daughter, Andrea Seldon. As the first Executive Director of the Urban League of Greater Hartford, Brown was a trusted community leader who left behind a legacy of civil rights activism.