Information
Landmark: Shaw MansionCity: New London
Country: USA Connecticut
Continent: North America
Shaw Mansion, New London, USA Connecticut, North America
Overview
In New London, Connecticut, the Shaw Mansion stands as both a historic house museum and a cultural landmark, where visitors can step inside rooms that echo with the city’s colonial and early American past.Built in the 1700s, it’s famous for its well-preserved architecture, rooms still dressed in period furniture, and deep ties to the town’s most influential families.Built in 1756, the Shaw Mansion began as the home of the Shaw family, well-known merchants in New London whose ships once carried goods across the Atlantic.The mansion showcases classic Georgian design, with a perfectly balanced façade, a central doorway framed in elegant classical trim, tall sunlit windows, and a floor plan once favored by the colonial elite.For centuries, the Shaw Mansion has worn many hats-first a family home, then a lively salon where the city’s elite sipped wine by the fire, and eventually a place opened to the public.Preserving it lets us glimpse New London’s 18th- and 19th‑century world-how families cooked over open hearths, observed their social traditions, and surrounded themselves with the objects of daily life.At the Shaw Mansion, visitors can wander through rooms frozen in time, where polished mahogany chairs, painted portraits, and delicate china reveal the daily life of a prosperous colonial family.Highlights include the Parlor and Dining Rooms, where polished silver catches the light beside fine china and graceful, period furnishings.Bedrooms and chambers showcase authentic textiles, soft bedding, and personal artifacts-a worn quilt here, a polished keepsake there-bringing everyday domestic life into view.Kitchen and service areas reveal how a colonial household ran, from the hiss of a pot on the hearth to the distinct duties of servants and family members.On a guided tour, you’ll hear stories about the Shaw family, learn how New London thrived as a busy port, and notice the mansion’s carved wooden banisters.Visitors get a feel for the era’s social life, its economy, and the culture that shaped it, from bustling markets to quiet parlors.The Shaw Mansion hosts educational programs for school groups, locals, and visitors, offering hands-on experiences like weaving on a wooden loom, sampling colonial-era recipes, and playing old-fashioned games.Lectures and workshops dive into colonial history, exploring grand brick buildings and the intricate patterns carved into their wooden doorframes.Special Exhibits feature rotating displays that bring 18th- and 19th-century life to vivid detail-like a sailor’s worn logbook-or shine a spotlight on New London’s rich history.The mansion comes alive with cultural events, seasonal festivities, and vivid historical reenactments-sometimes you can even hear the clink of teacups in the parlor.You’ll often find holiday-themed tours, lively talks about local history, and warm community gatherings where neighbors swap stories that bring New London’s heritage to life.You’ll find the Shaw Mansion at 11 Blinman Street in New London, Connecticut, open seasonally for tours by appointment or during special events, with a modest fee or suggested donation that often differs for school groups or public gatherings.Step inside and you’re surrounded by creaking floorboards, finely crafted woodwork, and rooms filled with period furnishings, all offering a vivid glimpse into New London’s colonial heritage and the daily life of one of its most influential families, while also serving as a rich educational and cultural hub for the community.
