Oliver Ellsworth Homestead
(Windsor,
Connecticut)
Excerpts from Beth:
 Oliver
Ellsworth was a mark on U.S. government and CT resident. A
representative in the Continental Congress, contributor to
the first draft of the Constitution, senator, Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court, and commissioner to France, Oliver is
obviously a source of pride for the town of Windsor where
he was born and died.
His homestead is now run by some darling ladies of the local
Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) who were entirely
more entertaining than the house itself! Since we love historic
homes, a quick stop for a home tour sounded like a good plan (and it was only a few dollars donation--great
for the budget traveler).
When we entered, we learned that we had just missed the
start of a tour, but the lady at the counter said, "no
problem" that we could catch up with them--and then proceeded
to chat with us incessantly about where we were from, some
history of Oliver Ellsworth and the DAR. She gleefully pointed
out (to the wide-eyed Roadchix) a large hutch that they'd
had "ripped" out of its original spot and plunked
in the gift shop/entryway to showcase some of the "layers" of its construction.
We then hustled through a room (that was never really described
to us) to meet up with the tour. Another grandmotherly lady
took us through the rest of the house going on and on and
on
about knickknacks in each room. . . at one point settling
herself down in one of the antique chairs exclaiming that
she had *never* done this before, but her knees were just
bothering her too much. The Roadchix stifled a horrified giggle
and the impact on the poor antique furniture, and the cuteness
of this sweet DAR lady.
She continued to lead us through the house and answer
questions from the tour participants. We continued to contain
our amazement as she answered questions incorrectly and went
on and on and on about a sad-looking (but original!!) chair
that was in the parlor.
All in all, the DAR made the tour memorable--we really hope
they can get some historic home funding to help preserve some
of their artifacts. It's worth a stop by just to meet the
locals if you're in the area!
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