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FRESH OFF THE PRESS!
Docent Donn Smith has been busy poking around the attic of the Mather Homestead and he's found treasures abound! Check out his blogs which document his findings including artifacts from 250 years of American life - a bible from 1743, a girl's dress from the 1860's, Stephen Mather's camera, a love letter written by Stephen Mather to his wife ❤️ and more. Oh the stories they tell!
Sometimes a map leads you to a chest, and at other times…
A large metal-framed chest in the Mather Homestead attic contains an assortment of architectural plans, mortgages and deeds, builders’...
Donn Smith
Feb 1, 20231 min read
Fifty years ago this year…Dedication of the Mather Gorge on the Potomac
At the top of the Homestead attic stairs is a moderately-sized cardboard carton. It contains an assortment of printed materials,...
Donn Smith
Feb 1, 20231 min read
A look back to that middle name … An appreciation of Stephen Higginson Tyng
Visitors to the Homestead know that Stephen Mather’s middle name was Tyng. But who was Tyng and what was the connection? On 27 June...
Donn Smith
Feb 1, 20232 min read
What goes up, must come down, spinnin’ wheel…
The question for anyone who has watched the CBS television series NCIS over the years must be, how do you get the boat out of the...
Donn Smith
Feb 1, 20231 min read
In the days before Fortnite…Delving into a hidden trove of children’s books
Next to a small wooden cradle in the Homestead attic is a large wooden chest with a hinged lid. The chest is empty except for a few...
Donn Smith
Feb 1, 20231 min read
Great-grandson of a preacher man. An appreciation of Reverend Charles Grandison Selleck
Moses Mather’s great-grandson, and Deacon Joseph Mather’s grandson, was Charles G. Selleck. Deacon Joseph’s eldest child (the only one...
Donn Smith
Feb 1, 20232 min read
She wore blue… A remembrance of Ella Maria Mather
In the Homestead attic, in the middle drawer of a wooden chest, wrapped in newspaper and tied with string, is a plain blue, checked dress...
Donn Smith
Feb 1, 20231 min read
Have You Seen this Man?
On the East wall of the Homestead attic is a framed lithograph of a somber, robed man with books and what would seem to be a clerical...
Donn Smith
Feb 1, 20231 min read
If Wishes Were ... Remembering Joseph W. Mather
In the Homestead attic there is a large, curved-top, hide-covered trunk. Inside, a small blue book with the simple title: “Autographs.” ...
Donn Smith
Feb 1, 20231 min read
2023 Essay Contest - 5th grade honorable mention
Why are the National Parks Important for Kids? By Benjamin Kelsey National Parks are full of gifts for children. They are spaces where...
Benjamin Kelsey
Jan 31, 20232 min read
2023 Essay Contest - 6th grade winning essay (tie)
The Mather Homestead Essay Contest: Why are the National Parks important for kids? Submission by: Juliet Chattaway, 6th grade, New Canaan...
Juliet Chattaway
Jan 31, 20232 min read
2023 Essay Contest - 6th grade winning essay (tie)
National Parks: Our Nation's Treasure by Pavana Attonito, grade 6 Filtered sunlight seeps in through a thick canopy of spruce trees and...
Pavana Attonito
Jan 31, 20232 min read
2023 Essay Contest - 7th grade winning essay!
When I was younger, I was afraid of bears. It wasn’t just a vague unease around the topic. No, I had a debilitating phobia. The woods...
Zoe Younessian
Jan 31, 20232 min read
The Story of the Mather Homestead ... as told by Gordon Hastings
Persons reading this blog know of my great interest in American History. I am a volunteer docent at the Stephen Mather House in Darien,...
Gordon Hastings
Jan 31, 202312 min read
Roots and Seeds: An appreciation of Michael Floy, Sr.
On the north wall of the Keeping Room hangs a portrait of Michael Floy, Sr., the great-grandfather of Jane Thacker Floy Mather, Stephen...
Donn Smith
Jan 31, 20232 min read
What have they talked about for 65 years?
Against the eastern wall in the Mather Homestead attic sits a large black steamer trunk. A metal tag riveted into the top reads...
Donn Smith
Jan 31, 20231 min read
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