Seth Thomas Bradstreet House

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Seth Thomas - Bradstreet House Museum

 

  • Open Saturdays in May, June, September and October
  • Guided tours on the hour at 11, 12, 1 and 2
  • The tour is approximately 45 minutes long
  • The maximum number per tour is ten people
  • Private tours for 4 - 10 people available anytime by appointment.
  • Admission is free. Donations are always gratefully accepted.
  • There are no bathroom facilities.

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The Seth Thomas-Bradstreet House has stood on Main Street at least since 1838. A very well preserved two-story building, it has a long association with one of the most important families in Connecticut.

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In 1838, Seth Thomas bought the house from Marvin Blakeslee. Thomas was the famed clockmaker whose company would attain an international reputation. It was one of five houses that belonged to the Seth Thomas family which were situated along Main Street. All were large; all except the Seth Thomas-Bradstreet House are gone.

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In 1850, Thomas sold the house to his daughter, Amanda Thomas Bradstreet, for $2,700. Her husband, Thomas Jefferson Bradstreet, was from Massachusetts. He was a descendant of the Puritan poet, Anne Bradstreet and her husband, Gov. Simon Bradstreet of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

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Subsequently, the house remained in the family. Amanda's son, George Parker Bradstreet, and his wife, Hattie Blackman Bradstreeet, lived in the house, and the next family member to live there was their daughter, Edith Amanda Bradstreet and her husband, Ulric Mather. The Mather family traces its lineage back to the Puritan minister, Richard Mather, grandfather of the Rev. Cotton Mather.

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The last in the line of descent from Seth Thomas was Edith Bradstreet Mather, who never married. When Miss Mather died in 2004, the State of Connecticut awarded the Town of Thomaston a grant of $450,000 to purchase the house and its contents from her surviving sister, Clara-Louise Mather Riggs.

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In November, 2005, the Town of Thomaston became the owner of the house, the contents, and the real estate.

The house is a gem. Its location and association with three prominent families make it a treasure.

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Seth Thomas-Bradstreet House

Seth Thomas (1785-1859) + Laura Andrews (1790-1871)

Amanda Thomas (1821-1884) + Thomas Jefferson Bradstreet (1807-1897)

George Parker Bradstreet (1848-1929) + Hattie Melchor Blackman (1863-1945)

Edith Amanda Bradstreet (1886-1965) + Ulric B. Mather (1883-1973)

Clara-Louise Mather Riggs (1918- 2009 ), Edith Bradstreet Mather (1919-2004)

Gwendolyn Bradstreet Riggs (1946-  )