Weston at Work
When: Sunday, October 5, 2025 1pm - 4pm
Where: Weston History & Culture Center: 104 Weston Rd. Weston, CT ( Parking and entrance accessed from High Acre Rd. Tickets and Check-in Visitor's Center)
Series: Join us for the public grand opening of Weston at Work
Free Admission For All on Opening Day!
Explore this engaging exhibit in the 1883 Coley Barn.
Come explore the history of agriculture, manufacturing and textile production in Weston and Connecticut during the 19th and early 20th centuries in the new, interactive exhibit, “Weston at Work”.
Children can card wool, weave on a wall loom, use a rope and pulley to raise a hay bale and more!
With hands-on activities for children, rare Bradley Axe tools, farming implements, a working loom and countless historic images, “Weston at Work” allows visitors of all ages to actively engage in learning about Weston's past.
The exhibit highlights the many people, including immigrant populations, people of African descent, women, and children, who helped put Weston to work.
“Weston at Work” gets out its shovel and digs deep into the people behind the tools, exploring stories of struggle and success.
Learn about the immigrant community the developed around an internationally famous wire mill.
Engage with diary entries and news articles that shed light on the people of African descent working and living in Weston and the surrounding area.
Work on a loom that was used as a main source of income for a widowed mother of four.
Learn about Weston’s former vibrant industrial and agricultural history that helped to shape the lives of residents and workers of the town throughout the past 150 years.
“Weston at Work” is supported in part by grants and donations from the following organizations: CT Humanities, the Daniel E. Offutt, III Charitable Trust, the Twenty-Seven Foundation, Elizabeth Raymond Ambler Trust, Flagstar Bank, Kiwanis Club of Weston and over 25 private donors.
“Weston at Work” was curated by Dr. Daryn Reyman-Lock, with exhibit design by Scott Kuykendall and exhibit interactives by executive director, Samantha Fargione.
During your visit you can also explore the following:
Guided Tours of the historic Coley House: Take a guided tour of the award-winning Coley House! On your tour, learn how the Coley family would have lived, worked, and played during the 1940s. Kids can play with toys and games from the 1940s, build with Lincoln Logs and type on an old typewriter!
Exhibit: "Images of a Forgotten Village - Valley Forge": This exhibit is in partnership with the Weston Library Photography Club. The picturesque Saugatuck Reservoir in Weston, CT was home to a small neighborhood called, Valley Forge. This once thriving community of mills, forges and farms has vanished from memory and sight. The only reminder being photographs. Join the Weston History & Culture Center and the Weston Library Photography Club for an exploration of this forgotten valley.
Exhibit: "May I Have This Dance? "May I Have This Dance?" featuring rare social dance ephemera from the World War I / Titanic era from the private collection of dance historian Susan de Guardiola. The exhibit includes original early 20th century dance manuals, rare sheet music, and actual dance cards relating to the early days of ballroom dances such as the tango and foxtrot! Browse the cases while enjoying the exhibit soundtrack of popular ragtime dance music of the 1910s.