Daytime Holiday Tours at the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum
2024-12-20 15:00 - 16:00, 2024-12-21 13:00 - 14:00, 2024-12-21 14:00 - 15:00, 2024-12-21 15:00 - 16:00, 2024-12-27 02:00 - 15:00, 2024-12-27 13:00 - 14:00, 2024-12-27 15:00 - 16:00, 2024-12-28 03:00 - 16:00 UTC and 5 more dates | Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street, Torrington, CT, 06790
Daytime Holiday tours at the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum
Take a guided tour of one of Connecticut’s notable house museums, decorated for the Christmas season. Operated by the Torrington Historical Society, the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum, built in 1900, features original family furnishings, impressive woodwork, painted and stenciled walls, and collections of fine and decorative arts. During the holiday season the house takes on a special ambiance when it is decorated with Christmas trees, vintage ornaments, wreaths, greenery, and white lights. Antique toys from the Society’s collection will also be on display and the dining room table will be set for Christmas dinner with linens, fine china, silverware and crystal from the Hotchkiss collection. Tours are for the first and second floors of the home.
Day time Tours Admission:
$15 Non Members; $5 for Torrington Historical Society members.
Children 6 and under $5
To Register please use the link below:
Holiday Daytime Tours

Connecticut's Stone Walls with Professor Mitch Wagener, WCSU
2025-02-26 18:30 - 19:30 | Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street, Torrington, CT, 06790
Connecticut’s Stone Walls with Professor Mitch Wagener, WCSU
In our corner of Connecticut, it is almost impossible to walk through the surrounding forests and fields or drive along the many winding country roads without coming across a historic stone wall. We might romanticize their existence and envision the farmers that perhaps cleared their fields and marked boundaries with them, but have you ever wondered just where those rocks came from? Professor Mitch Wagener from Western Connecticut State University will share the story of how these stone fences came to be as rounded stones, eroded from mountains of the north, were carried by ice sheets to what is now Connecticut and then left behind as the ice melted, eventually becaming covered by soil and only much later became an annoyance to farmers who stacked them up at the edges of their property. Although the farmers are largely gone, the stone fences remain. Come hear their story.
Tickets available on Eventbrite
Connecticut’s Stone Walls

The Life and Times of James "Professor Jim" Williams: An African American Story from Connecticut
2025-04-02 18:30 - 19:30 | Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street, Torrington, CT, 06790
Kevin Johnson, performer and long term member of the Connecticut State Library’s History and Genealogy Staff, presents the story of James Williams. Known as “Professor Jim”, he worked as a janitor at Trinity College for over 50 years where he became a beloved and respected figure among students. Kevin will take you on a journey of Professor Jim’s life from his early days in New York, to his escape from enslavement and adventure on the high seas, his time in battle in the War of 1812 and his final years at Trinity College.
The event is in the Carriage House located behind the Torrington Historical Society’s Hotchkiss Fyler House at 192 Main Street. Free parking is located behind the house, additional parking on the street.
To register:
“Professor Jim” An African American Story

The History of Beekeeping: Bees in Torrington, Connecticut, North America and the World
2025-05-07 18:30 - 19:30 | Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street, Torrington, CT, 06790
History of Beekeeping: Bees in Torrington, Connecticut, North America, and the World
This program focuses on the evolution of beekeeping from the collection of honey from wild hives to the domestication of bees into managed hives. We will discuss how ancient civilizations collected and used honey, how bees came to the US, the rising popularity of beekeeping as a hobby in Connecticut and the importance of hives in modern agricultural practices. Information is presented via slides and short clips with hands-on teaching materials and a featured object from Torrington Historical Society’s own collection. Participants can taste early summer and fall honey to observe the differences. Information on planting for bee health will be provided.
Tammi Worsham is the Chair of the Outreach Committee of the Back Yard Beekeepers Association. Tammi has kept bees in three states over a span of a decade and a half. Her interest in keeping bees was piqued by a viewing hive at the Wagner Institute of Science in Philadelphia and she knew she was hooked. Tammi then sought out any opportunity to have her hands in hives. She volunteered with inspections at a community garden just west of the University of Pennsylvania until she found a mentor. In 2013, Tam answered an ad from a beekeeper looking for help. This beekeeper was a member of the Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild, which gave her access to an enthusiastic community. She found working under someone’s mentorship to be an invaluable experience. After several years of helping with the beekeepers’ hives on urban roofs and farms, she was ready for a more independent beekeeping experience. Tammi was able to start her own hives with two packages in Fairfield. Now she keeps bees in four different towns and talks about her hobby throughout the state! Connecticut’s colder winters have given her new issues to learn about and overcome. Tammi is committed to continuing her education and broadening her knowledge of how to best keep bees healthy and nourished in this region and looks forward to working to share the benefits of these very special social insects.
This program is sponsored by Thomaston Savings Bank.
Tickets on Eventbrite through link below:
The History of Beekeeping

Frederick Douglass: From Slave to Statesman with Professor Bryan Sinche, UHART
2025-05-21 18:30 - 19:30 | Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street, Torrington, CT, 06790
Frederick Douglass, From Slave to Statesman – Professor Bryan Sinche, University of Hartford
Frederick Douglass was a writer, an editor, an activist, a government minister, and the de facto spokesman for nineteenth-century Black America. In this lecture, Bryan Sinche will highlight Douglass’s achievements as a pre-Civil War author and abolitionist, explain his importance as a Civil Rights leader in the postwar period, and reflect on Douglass’s enduring legacy.
Bryan Sinche is Professor and Chair of English and Modern Languages at the University of Hartford. He is a scholar of nineteenth-century African American literature and, most recently, the author of Published by the Author: Self-Publication and Nineteenth-Century African American Literature, which was published by the University of North Carolina Press and was a finalist for the 2024 Book Prize presented by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
To Register:
Frederick Douglass
This event is generously sponsored by Thomaston Savings Bank.

Connecticut Open House Day - Free Admission
2025-06-14 12:00 - 16:00 | CT
Join us for Connecticut Open House Day on Saturday June 14th where you will have the opportunity to visit:

The first floor of the historic Hotchiss Flyer House
The Torrington History Museum “No Place Like Home: The History of Torrington
Pursuit of Precision: The Hendey Machine Company

Admission is free. The Museum is open from 12-4 p.m.

Summer Concert Series - Peter McEachern Quintet
2025-07-19 18:00 - 19:30 | Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street, Torrington, CT, 06790
Peter McEachern returns to the Torrington Historical Society summer concert series with a new line up of jazz musicians playing original music from a soon-to-be released CD.
Peter McEachern Quintet
Jazz In The Garden
Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street Torrington, CT
Saturday July 19, 2025 6:00 PM
This outdoor concert will take place in the garden of the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum.
Attendees are encouraged to bring folding chairs and refreshments. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased on line or at the door. Onsite parking is limited but street parking or nearby parking lots are available.
About the Music
The group will be performing original compositions. The music draws from the jazz tradition as well as personal influences and is a starting point for these gifted improvisors to tell their stories.
Peter McEachern, Trombone
Peter McEachern, has toured and recorded with Blues legend Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown; has worked with minimalist composer Lamonte Young. He is featured on several important CDs: “Insomnia” with the Thomas Chapin Trio and “Song for Septet” with the Mario Pavone Septet. He received several fellowships for music composition from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, his most recent for a sound sculpture at Five Points Center for the Visual Arts based on his work with brain waves and cognition. He was a member of The CT Composing Improvisers Project which included 2010 Grammy winner David Darling. Peter has been a teaching artist at the Litchfield Jazz Camp since 1998. He has released ”Shockwave” featuring the late Thomas Chapin, “New Chordtet” with Dave Santoro and Mike DiRubbo, “Bone Code” on Clean Feed Records (Portugal) and “Code 2” on Steeplechase (Denmark), released in 2021, which received 4.5 stars in Downbeat. His newest project “Streamin’” featuring Noah Preminger will be released on Truth Revolution Recordings in 2025.
Noah Preminger, saxophone
Of Boston-based saxophonist Noah Preminger, The New York Times declares: “Mr. Preminger designs a different kind of sound for each note, an individual destiny and story.” Preminger, a two-time winner of Downbeat Magazine’s Rising Star Best Tenor Saxophonist, has recorded over twenty critically acclaimed albums as a band-leader. Preminger has played with the likes of Billy Hart, Dave Holland, John Patitucci, Fred Hersch, Dave Douglas, Rudy Royston, Joe Lovano, Victor Lewis, John and Bucky Pizzarelli, Billy Drummond, George Cables, Roscoe Mitchell, and Dr. Eddie Henderson.  “The most important thing to me at this point is making music that I enjoy playing.”
Zwelahke-Duma Belle le Pere, Bass
Bassist Zwelakhe-Duma Bell le Pere was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and grew up in New Haven, attending Educational Center for the Arts. He then attended New England Conservatory, graduating from there with a masters degree. Since then he has traveled the world playing jazz festivals.
Michael Sarin, Percussion
A veteran of the New York music scene Michael has played with an amazing array of greats. His drumming blends precise rhythmic frameworks with free improvisation, noted for its dynamic textures and polyrhythmic complexity.[Influences include Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, and global percussion traditions.
Andrew Wilcox, Piano
Andrew is a frequent performer in the Northeast, where he is a regular member of the Haneef Nelson Quintet and Ed Byrne Quartet, among other groups. In addition, Andrew fronts his own trio and sextet that perform his original compositions and arrangements.
Tickets:
Peter McEachern Quintet Tickets

Ysanne & the Lotus Blues
2025-08-08 18:00 - 19:30 | CT
Ysanne & the Lotus Blues blend jazz and soul with captivating storytelling, led by jazz vocalist Ysanne. Her soulful performances explore themes of love, backed by the dynamic Lotus Blues collective.
Recent highlights include singing the National Anthem at the Hartford Mayor’s Inaugural Ball 2024, placing 3rd in Hartford’s Got Talent, May 2023, and residencies at Hartford venues. The group has performed at the Hartford Foundation Gala, Hartbeat Music Festival, Indie Soul Fest, and community events like DominGo. Ysanne also starred as Billie Holiday in “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill” at Seacoast Repertory Theatre.
Tickets available on Eventbrite using the link below:
Ysanne and the Lotus Blues Tickets

Summer Concert Series - Mariachi Mexico Antiguo
2025-08-23 18:00 - 19:30 | Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street, Torrington, CT, 06790
Mariachi Mexico Antiguo symbolizes extraordinary musicianship and a renewed focus on the tradition of Mariachi. Established in 2010, Mariachi Mexico Antiguo is comprised of dedicated and talented musicians. As ambassadors of the mariachi genre, Mariachi Mexico Antiguo has performed by invitation throughout the Western United States as well as throughout the New England area. Mariachi Mexico Antiguo has also worked with renowned artists such as Beatriz Adriana, Graciela Beltran, Gildardo Alvarez, Jesus “Chuy” Guzman, Juan Valentin and, in 2015, Placido Domingo.

Mariachi Mexico Antiguo moved from Las Vegas, NV to Connecticut in 2016. Since arriving, we have had the opportunity to perform at The Big E, the Jorgensen Center for Performing Arts, the Lowell Folk Festival, the New England Taco Festival, the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, the Palace Theater, and at various multicultural festivals and theaters throughout the New England area.

Performing members on the 23rd:

Rodbel Virula: Guitarron and musical director
Jose Luis Robles: Guitar
Javsiel Zepeda: Trumpet
Vicente Gomez: Violin
Tickets available on Eventbrite using the link below
Mariachi Mexico Antiguo Tickets

Torrington Remembers: Your Favorite Places
2025-09-24 18:30 - 19:30 | Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street, Torrington, CT, 06790
Join us for a night of casual conversation and reminiscing about your favorite Torrington places – to shop, to hangout, to play, to eat. Maybe you have fond memories about going to the bookstore at Mertz, picking through all the goods at Woolworths or the Army Navy Store, buying school supplies at Bradlees or school clothes at Jus Teens or Reibmans. You might have a story about attending the carnival up by Caldor, buying your first bike at Tommy’s, attending a special event at the Yankee Peddlar or Venetian, or taking an outing to get your favorite food at Scarpellis, Tonys or Torrington Creamery. Maybe you worked at Torrington Company, Hotchkiss Brothers, WTOR or the UCONN Branch or one of the other organizations in town and spent your free time skating, fishing, or swimming on Burr Pond or hanging out with your friends at Skyvue or the Parkade Cinema. The possibilities are endless.
We’ll get you started with some of our favorite images and collection items and will leave the rest of the conversation to the group. If you have a great photo of your favorite place that you’d like to share with the group, please send to sue@torringtonhistoricalsociety.org so that we can include it in the presentation. We want this to be a fun, interactive night of conversation and good memories. Come to share or come to listen – all are welcome!
For tickets, please register using the link below. Thanks and see you soon!
Torrington Remembers – Favorite Places

The Devil In New England: Witch Belief and Witch Trials in the Seventeenth Century with Professor Leslie Lindenauer, WCSU
2025-10-15 18:30 - 19:30 | Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street, Torrington, CT, 06790
The Devil in New England: Witch Belief and Witch Trials in the Seventeenth Century presented by Professor Leslie Lindenauer, WCSU.
When most people think about historic American witch trials, it is Salem Massachusetts that comes to mind. With good reason; in 1692-3, the Massachusetts courts sentenced 19 people to hang and tortured a 20th to death. Others died in Jail. But dozens and perhaps hundreds of people were tried for witchcraft in New England beginning over four decades before the Salem witch trials. Many of those trials occurred in Connecticut. At least sixteen people in Connecticut and Massachusetts were executed for the crime of witchcraft, most of them women. This program will explore those trials and consider the ways that popular culture has represented that dark history.
Leslie Lindenauer is a Professor in the Department of History, Philosophy, and World Perspectives at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury Connecticut, where she teaches courses in early American history, public history and museum studies, the American Revolution, local history, and gender studies. She holds an A.B. from Brown University, and an MA and PhD from New York University. She is currently working on an article examining the mythologies inherent in popular representations of early American witch trials. Her book I Could Not Call Her Mother: The Stepmother in American Popular Culture, 1750-1960 was published by Lexington Books.
Tickets available through the Eventbrite link below:
Witch Trials in New England

Historic Center Cemetery Halloween Walking Tours
2025-11-01 15:30 - 16:30, 2025-11-01 16:00 - 17:00, 2025-11-01 16:30 - 17:30, 2025-11-01 17:00 - 18:00 | Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street, Torrington, CT, 06790
The popular Historic Center Cemetery Halloween Walking Tour will take place on November 1 with time slots at 3:30, 4, 4:30 and 5:00 pm.
Center Cemetery is the only remaining burial ground in Downtown Torrington. Tour guides will lead groups through the cemetery by lantern with stops at various graves where actors will share the stories of early Torrington residents. Tours will start at the Torrington Historical Society (meet at the shed on the property near the cemetery gate to the left of the carriage house) and will return to the same spot. Please arrive 5 minutes ahead of time and later tours should bring a flashlight. Parking available behind the Historical Society or on the street.
Proceeds to benefit Torrington Historical Society educational programs. Please note this tour is most suitable for adults. Members $5, Non Members $10.
To register:
Center Cemetery Tour

Liberty and the American Experience with Professor Hamish Lutris
2025-11-05 18:30 - 19:30 | Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street, Torrington, CT, 06790
Liberty and the American Experience, “Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.” with Professor Hamish Lutris
The history of the United States is bound up with the meaning of liberty as it has evolved and changed at different times in our nation’s history. It has also been the subject of constant controversy and debate, at times heated, at times deadly. This presentation will center on the nature of American liberty and how it has transformed since 1776. The nature of enumerated and implied rights as interpreted by the judicial system will provide a backdrop for examining some of the most famous controversies over liberty in the nation’s history.
Lutris is an Associate Professor of History at Manchester Community College, and a member of the Winchester Historic Commission. He is a well-known speaker throughout the region with long experience in historical interpretation. He holds numerous programs celebrating our nation’s history and people across a broad range of topics, including Native American history, the US Civil War, World Wars I and II, the American West, as well as Scientific, Social and cultural history.
To register, use the link below:
Liberty Program

Daytime Holiday Tours at the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum
2025-12-07 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-12-07 14:00 - 15:00 | Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street, Torrington, CT, 06790
Daytime Holiday Tours at the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum
Take a guided tour of one of Connecticut’s notable house museums, decorated for the Christmas season. Operated by the Torrington Historical Society, the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum, built in 1900, features original family furnishings, impressive woodwork, painted and stenciled walls, and collections of fine and decorative arts. During the holiday season the house takes on a special ambiance when it is decorated with Christmas trees, vintage ornaments, wreaths, greenery, and white lights. Antique toys from the Society’s collection will also be on display and the dining room table will be set for Christmas dinner with linens, fine china, silverware and crystal from the Hotchkiss collection. Tours are for the first and second floors of the home.
Day time Tours Admission:
$12 Non Members; $5 for Torrington Historical Society members and children 10 and under.
To Register please use the link below:
Daytime Holiday Tours
