Yuletide Celebration at The Nathan Lester House in Gales Ferry, CT
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Every year, I try to check out historic houses for the holiday season. There’s just something so charming about seeing a historic home dressed up for the holidays. After Thanksgiving, I got sick with a pretty brutal cold. After a week of suffering, I was able to check off my first historic house event of the season at one of my favorite historic homes in southeastern Connecticut: The Nathan Lester House.
Getting There
This historic home is located in Gales Ferry, Connecticut, which is a section of Ledyard, Connecticut. The entrance to this property is where Long Cove Road and Vinegar Hill Road meet. The GPS is pretty good about getting you to the right spot. Just look for the sign at the end of the drive for the Nathan Lester House because you cannot see the house from the road.
Follow the gravel drive towards the house. The parking area for the museum is on the right side. When I got here for the event, the lot was full. However, the carolers were leaving as I got there so plenty of spots opened up and I was able to get a spot. There was a volunteer directing people for parking so if it was full, I’m sure she would have directed me to somewhere else to park.
About The Event
This event is essentially a holiday open house where the public is invited to visit the property and check out the house. The house gets decorated for the holidays with greenery and Christmas trees. There are docents around the house to answer any questions that you might have, and they are VERY knowledgable about the history of the house. In addition, they had carolers from the local high school and refreshments in the historic kitchen of the home. It is completely free to visit.
My Experience Going To The Event
Unfortunately, I got there an hour late and I missed the carolers. I saw a video of the performance on the museum’s Instagram account, and it looked like they put on quite a show. However, due to my timing, I was able to find a parking spot because the carolers leaving opened up tons of spots in the lot.
Since there wasn’t much going on outside when I got there and it was cold, I headed into the house. As soon as I walked inside, I was greeted by the smell of ham. Most holiday open houses have light refreshments, but this one had an entire feast in the kitchen. The table in the center was full of food and there were even tables lining the walls with even more food! I was honestly super impressed.
Since it was pretty packed in the kitchen, we decided to make our way through the rest of the house. This was not my first time visiting the house, but it was my first time visiting the house during the holidays! They did such a great job decorating the house. The day before the event, The Ledyard Garden Club spent the day decorating the interior and exterior with greens they’d gathered from their own gardens.
Below are some photos I took inside the house.
Is It Worth Going To?
If you’re interested in historic homes and the holidays, absolutely! If you’re interested in hiking, there are trails you can explore on the property as well. If you’re looking to just check out the house, I’d say you probably need an hour or two. If you’re looking to explore the trails, you could definitely spend more time here.
While this event might not be something you do for the entire day, there’s definitely other things to do in the area. This spot is between both of the casinos so you could go check out either Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun. Both casinos get decorated beautifully for the holidays. Foxwoods has an outdoor ice skating rink and Mohegan Sun has a popup Gingerbread Holiday Bar. It’s really just a matter of what you’re in the mood to do!
