Boothe Memorial Park & Museum sits on an idyllic, 32 acre site in the north end of Stratford high above the Housatonic River. It was the estate of the Boothe family for many generations and willed to the town in 1949 for the public to enjoy.
The park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There are many architecturally unique buildings and attractions on the grounds as well as a new, handicapped accessible playground. The park is open and free of charge year round and is the home to various volunteer clubs and organizations. The Friends of Boothe Park is a non-profit organization whose volunteers maintain the museums, artifacts, genealogy library, and prize-winning rose gardens and conduct tours and school programs and Opening Day events. The annual Great Pumpkin Festival is a huge attraction in the fall, while outdoor concerts and Shakespearean plays beckon visitors in the spring and summer. Sites at the park are available to rent for group functions. Tours of the historic buildings are seasonal (May - October) and guided tours for school groups can be arranged.
This 32 acre site was willed to the Town of Stratford following the deaths of David Beach Boothe and Stephen Nichols Boothe. In the 1900's, these two brothers created the Boothe Memorial Museum. The museum maintains a collection of buildings including a carriage house, Americana Museum, miniature lighthouse and windmill, a clocktower museum, a trolley station, a chapel and a blacksmith shop. The original Sikorsky Bridge toll booth from the Merritt Parkway is located on the museum grounds. The Boothe family home was built facing Main Street Putney in the 1820's on today's park's grounds. There are beautiful flower gardens and ponds located on the property. The local astronomical society has a working planetarium on the park's grounds.
Of the "50 absolutely enjoyable things worth doing or revisiting in Greater New Haven", according to the New Haven Register, try number 39: "Marvel at Boothe Memorial Park & Museum in Stratford." (Read the complete article from the New Haven Register).
"The late, great Boothe brothers, David and Stephen, created a wonderland of quirky collections on their 32-acre estate. Come for the antique clock tower and stay for the basilica, rose garden, lighthouse, windmill and miniature models of presidential houses".