Field Trips
The Mather Homestead hits the road!

We traveled to downtown NYC for a tour and lunch at Fraunces Tavern, a historical landmark and the oldest bar in the city. It was the watering hole for many of the founding fathers. George Washington gathered his troops there to thank them for their service after the British troops left America.

A MH group enjoyed a tour of the American Wing led by Dr. Elizabeth Kornhauser, the Alice Pratt Brown Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, followed by lunch in the Met's dining room.

A MH group ferried over the Sound to Setauket, LI where we learned about the Culper Spy Ring. The spies were loyal patriots who provided critical information about the Redcoats (British) to General George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Setauket native Anna Smith Strong, known in the Spy Ring as "Nancy," provided information via her clothes line! Depending on what color petticoat, or how many handkerchiefs Anna hung on the line, a different message was conveyed!

We took not one, but two visits to Weir Farm (October 2021 and 2022) to learn about Connecticut's only National Park. Weir Farm is a National Historical Park located in Ridgefield and Wilton, Connecticut. It commemorates the life and work of American impressionist painter J. Alden Weir and other artists who stayed at the site or lived there, to include Childe Hassam, Albert Pinkham Ryder, John Singer Sargent, and John Twachtman. Set amidst more than 60 acres of painterly woods, fields, and waterways, Weir described his home as the "Great Good Place." Weir’s farm is a national legacy to American Impressionism, the creative spirit, and historic preservation.