The Coley House Room 4 of 6 · Dining room
Sit at the Table
This was the house's first kitchen. Today it's where every tour sits down to talk. Pull up a chair, and turn over your plate.
Turn over your plate
When the Center asked Weston what it wanted from the restored house, the favorite answer was this: sitting at the dining table and talking about Weston. So on every tour, visitors take a seat and turn over their plates. Each one has a question taped underneath, about Weston then and now. These are the six, on the real plates.
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How has this room changed?
“The original part of this house dates to 1841; there have been many changes over time. This room was originally the kitchen. What changes can you see that happened in this room? Hint: Look at the fireplace, windows, and doors.”
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Eminent domain
“Eminent domain is the right of a government or its agent to expropriate private property for public use, with payment of compensation. It is most often used when private land is needed for the public good. In the 1930s, the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company Holdings (now owned by Aquarion) flooded the Saugatuck River Valley in Weston, Easton and Redding to create the Saugatuck Reservoir. How do you feel about the act of eminent domain? When should it not be used?”
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Who served?
“In this house we tell the story of the people who lived here during World War II (1939–1945). In 1940, the United States instituted the Selective Training and Service Act, which required all men between the ages of 21 and 45 to register for the draft. This was the first peacetime draft in United States' history. James Coley was 35, but was not enlisted because he worked in a key industry—farming. Do you have a family member that served during World War II?”
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The Merritt Parkway
“Construction of the Merritt Parkway in Fairfield County began in 1934 and reached Weston in 1939. It changed Weston from a quiet farming community to one that attracted people who wanted to live in the country but have an easy commute into New York City. Do you commute on the Merritt Parkway? Do you think that the parkway and its bridges should be preserved?”
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Country or city?
“During World War II the government created a system called rationing that limited how much households could buy of certain goods. Meat, dairy, coffee, dried fruits, jams, jellies, lard, shortening, and oils were all limited, as were automobiles, tires, gasoline, fuel oil, coal, firewood, nylon, silk, and shoes. Would you rather have been living in the country or the city during rationing? Do you remember the gas shortages in the 1970s when it needed to be rationed?”
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On the radio
“During World War II the radio was a major instrument for entertainment. Families would gather around it listening to news, music and shows. Can you name a radio show from this period? Can you name a popular musician or singer from this period?”
What gives it away?
This room was the kitchen of 1841, with a great hearth in the center chimney. It became the dining room when the kitchen moved into a wing, and the chimney came down about 1910. Three clues:
See the 1841 plan for yourself on the house map.
What would you say?
Pick a plate and tell us your answer. We read every one, and from time to time we'll share some of them here and at the table.
Family treasures
Ida's wedding china
The plates you turn over are Haviland china from Limoges, France. Ida Coley's uncle Alphonse gave her the set when she married Henry Coleburn in 1899, and in 2022 Ida's granddaughter gave the whole set back to the house.
Mary Eliza's sampler
Over the mantel hangs the sampler Mary Eliza Andrews stitched at thirteen. Under the family's birth dates she wrote:
“Mary Elizabeth Andrews is my name, New England is my station, Norfield is my dwelling place and Christ is my salvation. When this you see, remember me. MEA”
The hair wreath
Beside it is the wreath Harriet Coley made from the hair of family members. Victorians made hair wreaths to remember loved ones who had died, at a time when few families had photographs. This one is shaped like a horseshoe, its opening facing up, toward heaven.
The family's photographs showed blue and white in this room for decades, so the restored room is blue and white again.
Waiting for you in the house
- Pull up a chair at the table, turn over your plate, and talk
- The steep back stair, when your guide opens the door
- Mary Eliza's sampler and Harriet's hair wreath over the mantel
- Ida's Haviland china in the cabinet
Guided tours Thursdays and the first and last Sundays of the month, at 1, 2 and 3 pm, and by appointment. $5 adults, $3 ages 5–17; under 5 and members free.
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