Join us on a Coley House Tour – Sundays and Thursdays at 1pm, 2pm & 3pm

Over the course of 5 years, the Coley House has undergone restoration work as well as a reinterpretation which includes new exhibits and a focus on life in the 1940s. No other historic house in Connecticut reflects the 1940s era which makes the Coley House unique!

On your guided tour, learn how the Coley family would have lived, worked, and played during the 1940s. Using photographic evidence and historic research, rooms on the first floor have been interpreted in the 1941 - 1945 period when three generations of the Coley family occupied the home.

In the parlor, learn about leisure time on the home front during World War II. Sit down at the dining room table for an interactive experience as you discuss topics important to the Coley family and Weston during this period. Explore a kitchen in transition as technology and World War II impacted food supplies, appliances and everyday household tasks. Learn about the lady of the home, Cleora Coley, who served multiple roles in the family.

Complete your visit with self-guided tours of three new exhibitions in the Coley House.

In the back parlor, enjoy the interactive exhibition "Life in the 40s". Compare architecture, food, communication and education in the 1840s (when the house was built), 1940s (when the last three generations lived in the home) and then predict what life will look like in 2040!

Upstairs, explore the exhibition, "Let's Play!" Without video games, TV and computers, how did children have fun in Weston all those years ago? Find out in this new permanent exhibit located in Jimmy Coley's former bedroom. Learn about the Weston Toy Company, view toys created in Weston, and explore toys and games children would have enjoyed in the 1840s and the 1940s. See the restored wallpaper that was installed for Jimmy when he was a child back in the early 1950s.

Across the hall is the exhibition, "Twelve Stories of Weston", which uses objects from the Weston Historical Society's collection as well as reproductions to highlight twelve important moments in Weston's history. From Weston's Indigenous inhabitants, to the rise and fall of Weston's industrial age, to the impact of the Merritt Parkway and the Saugatuck Reservoir, learn how Weston has evolved.

David Dimon Coley House: A Brief History

Built around 1841 in the Greek Revival style and remodeled before 1872, the Coley House was lived in by five generations of the family, from 1841 - 1983. David Dimon Coley (1811 – 1894) purchased the home lot of one acre from his father-in-law in 1841. The remaining 104 acres were given to or inherited by Coley's wife, Mary Eliza Andrews (1817 – 1872), from her father in 1847 and 1867. The house was remodeled extensively prior to 1872 with the addition of the porch across the full width of the facade and a bay window, while the side porch on the south end was enclosed for a kitchen addition.

Bathrooms were added to the rear of the house in the 1920s and 1960s. The large center chimney was removed when David's grandson, James Coley, took ownership. The site of the well house and 1890s pump can be seen next to the kitchen addition.

Five generations of the Coley family occupied the homestead for 167 years, and for much of that time, worked it as a farm, raising livestock and growing both cash and feed crops. The last Coleys to own the house and property were James S. Coley, Cleora B. Coley and their son, James (Jimmy) B. Coley. The house, barn, outbuildings and 3.7 acres of property was bequeathed to the Weston Historical Society by James S. and Cleora Coley in the early 1980s.

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