Boothe Memorial Park and Museum

For the park in Cheshire, England, see Booth Park.

United States historic place

Boothe Homestead

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

The Boothe Homestead

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Location| 5774 Main St., Stratford, Connecticut
Built| 1914 (1914)
Architect| Boothe, David & Stephen
Architectural style| Greek Revival, Queen Anne, Shingle Style
Website| boothememorialpark.org
NRHP reference No.| 85000951[1]
Added to NRHP| May 1, 1985

Boothe Memorial Park and Museum sits on a 32-acre (130,000 m2) site in the Putney section of Stratford, Connecticut. Built about 1840 and remodeled in 1914, it is said to be "The Oldest Homestead in America,"[2] since it sits on the foundations of a 1663 house, and has been continuously occupied. Circa 1914 two brothers, David Beach Boothe and Stephen Nichols Boothe, created the Boothe Memorial Museum which maintains a collection of twenty architecturally unique buildings. Some of the structures include a carriage house, Americana Museum, miniature lighthouse, windmill, a clock tower museum, trolley station, chapel, and a blacksmith shop. The property became a public park owned by the town of Stratford in 1949.[3]

Boothe Memorial Park and Museum was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 1, 1985.

## Observatory[edit]

The BMAS (Boothe Memorial Astronomical Society) Observatory was built in 1957 on the grounds of the park, located near the cemetery. The observatory features two telescopes: a 16-inch Cassegrain (1960) and 4 inch Unitron refractor.[4][5]

## Putney chapel[edit]

Originally constructed in 1844 for Congregationalist services,[6] the Putney Chapel was moved onto Boothe Park grounds in 1968 from a nearby location on Chapel Street.[7] The chapel is officially non-denominational, handicapped accessible and can still be used as a place of worship or for events, being rentable by the day.[8]

## Toll booth[edit]

Other buildings in the park

The park also contains the last remaining highway toll booth in Connecticut. It was removed from the Milford side of the Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge at the end of the Merritt Parkway, when state toll booths were abolished in June 1988. The booth is of wooden log architecture and is also on the list of National Register of Historic Places.[9]

## See also[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Boothe Memorial Park and Museum.

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Fairfield County, Connecticut

## References[edit]

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
2. ^ "Boothe Memorial Park, Stratford – Damned Connecticut".
3. ^ Liebenson, Bess (17 June 2001). "Friends Keep Watch over Grand Collection". The New York Times.
4. ^ "Boothe Memorial Astronomical Society, Stratford, CT". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2010-12-03.
5. ^ "Boothe Memorial Astronomical Society, Stratford, CT". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2010-12-03.
6. ^ Calhoun, John D.; Knapp, Lewis G. (2004). Stratford. ISBN 9780738535791.
7. ^ "Putney Chapel". Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2010-12-03.
8. ^ "Putney Chapel". Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2010-12-03.
9. ^ "Merritt Parkway Toll Booth Plaza Historical Marker".

## External links[edit]

* Boothe Memorial Park & Museum \- official site
* State of CT listing
* Description from Online Highway
* Photos of the park from the town of Stratford's website
* Photographs and description of sights in the park from New England Site
* https://sites.google.com/view/bmas-ct/home \- official site

41°14′07″N 73°06′42″W﻿ / ﻿41.2354°N 73.1117°W﻿ / 41.2354; -73.1117

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