Faces of Kent

Tours of Seven Hearths Available by Appointment

The Kent Historical Society is offering tours of its Seven Hearths Museum by appointment.

Our ongoing restoration of the museum continues. It is something that has been underway since our 1978 inheritance of “Seven Hearths,” a large pre-Revolutionary house in the Flanders Historic District of Kent. The structure dates back to 1751, when it was constructed by the Beebe family.

Seven Hearths was bequeathed to the Society by its long-time owner, noted New York artist, George Laurence Nelson. He had bought the house in 1919, and invested a great deal of time in “fixing it up.” Fortunately for posterity, Nelson respected the ancient bones of the house and documented his process in an essay entitled New Life for Old Timber. He noted where he had removed walls, converted rooms, and even where he had covered up the names of fur pelts chalked on some beams upstairs.

Anyone wishing to visit is asked to make an appointment by phoning the office, 860-927-4587 or by emailing.