Preserving and Sharing Guilford's Treasures
P.O. Box 363, Guilford, Connecticut 06437 ~ (203) 453-2263 ~ Registered 501c3 Non-Profit
Our Mission: To collect, preserve and share the history of Guilford, Connecticut for present and future generations.
For links to videos related to our museums and collections
Museum Hours:
During the off-season,
both museums are open by appointment and for special tours. Call 203-671-9351 to schedule.
Thomas Griswold House
171 Boston Street
Guilford, CT
June - September
Saturday 11-4
Sunday 12-4
Medad Stone Tavern
171 Three Mile Course
Guilford, CT
June- September
Saturday 11-4
Sunday 12-4
$3 adults
$2 students and adults 60 & over
Free: children under 12, active military & GKS members.
Upcoming Events
Tour check-in will be on the Historic Guilford Green- Broad and Whitfield Streets.
All tour locations are within a 1 mile walking distance from the Guilford Green.
Advertising & Sponsorship Available: click here
Tickets $40 (presale) $45 (day of)
2025 Calendar - On Sale Now
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Available at: Sachem Card & Party (946 Boston Post Road), Breakwater Books (81 Whitfield St.), Page Hardware (9 Boston St.), The Hartmann Group (705 Boston Post Road). To purchase online: Click Here.
Summer Camps at GKS Museums
The Guilford Keeping Society will sponsor two camps this summer where campers can have fun while learning about history.
Historical American Girl Dolls – This camp, for ages 7-12, will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Medad Stone Tavern Museum from July 7-11. Campers will travel through American history with historical American Girl Dolls. They will learn about the everyday lives in the dolls’ time periods by reading their stories and hearing about when they lived. The campers will write in their own journals, make crafts, play games from the doll’s era and cook food from recipes they would have used. The week will end with a tea party in the parlor of the Tavern Museum.
Colonial Life Camp – This camp, also for ages 7-12, will be held from 9:30-12:30 at the Thomas Griswold House Museum from Aug. 4-8. The camp will focus on life in a New England town in colonial times. We will learn about life in early Guilford and do crafts, cook and play games from that period. We will have a Native American Day and a Revolutionary War times day. Our blacksmith will show the campers how iron items were made at that time.
Cost for each camp per person is $125 and includes project materials.
Click here to enroll and pay for your child.
2024 Ornament
The First Congregational Church
The Guilford Keeping Society proudly offers pewter ornaments featuring local historical sites. Books, bird carvings and our annual calendar are also available.
About the Guilford Keeping Society
The Guilford Keeping Society collects artifacts and archives related to the history of Guilford. Our two museums house a multitude of artifacts. An extensive collection of Guilford historic photographs, journals, daybooks and other memorabilia are available to the public for research or browsing in the Historical Room at the Guilford Free Library and the Archives Room at the Medad Stone Tavern Museum.
A wealth of history is shared through exhibits, lectures, tours and educational activities. Membership is open to the public and donations are greatly appreciated as they assist the Guilford Keeping Society in maintaining its properties and sustain its various programs, such as Early Guilford Days.
The Thomas Griswold House, which sits on the knoll at the corner of Boston Street and Lovers Lane, once considered the gateway to Guilford, houses a collection of items that stir our imagination of a simpler and quieter way of life.
Our Properties
The Medad Stone Tavern, the “Tavern that never was,” was built in the Dutch Colonial style with a graceful gambrel roof sweeping out widely over the facade to form a porch and includes tall chimneys, dormers, and stone retaining wall. This property remains one of Guilford’s most magnificent historical buildings, and some of our annual events take place here.
Our newest property, the Clapboard Hill Schoolhouse, built c. 1835, exemplifies the quaint days when one teacher taught neighborhood children of various ages.