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Wallingford Historic Preservation Trust

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MUSEUM

About Us

The Trust oversees three historic properties – the Nehemiah Royce House (1672), the Franklin Johnson Mansion/American Silver Museum (1866), and the Yale Homestead (1790), gifted to the Trust in 2000. The Nehemiah Royce House is the oldest house in the Town of Wallingford. Construction for this New England saltbox was begun in 1672, just two years after our town was founded. In 1995, the house was gifted from Choate Rosemary Hall to the Trust. An extensive restoration of the outside of the house has been completed. The restoration of this property was possible due to the generous donation by Charles (Chuck) Royce, along with other generous donors.

The Franklin Johnson Mansion is a stately Italianate Victorian Mansion has been restored back to its original grandeur. It was donated to the Trust from the Ortense Family in 1997. The house was originally built and occupied by Franklin Johnson in 1866. The unusual features of this structure including its outhouse are somewhat a marvel of its time. The Johnson Mansion also houses the American Silver Museum. You can learn about how important the silver industry was to Wallingford and neighboring towns, plus see an extensive collection of silver from Wallingford and Meriden.

The Yale Homestead (1790) was dismantled in 2000 and is now in storage. This home traces its origins to Yale University founder, Elihu Yale, and his family’s ties to the East Indian slave trade. WHPT's 350th Jubilee events in 2021 will include a ''Black Stories Matter'' project, explicating our historic properties' ties to Black enslavement in Wallingford.