Darien Historian Ken Reiss Talks About Town’s History

‘2020 Committee’ Formed to Organize Darien’s Upcoming Bicentennial

Mather Homestead Seeks Help in Restoring the Historic Home’s Colonial Gardens

Historic Mather Homestead in Darien Prepares to Open as a Museum

Darien Historical Society Gets Gift of Revolutionary War Era List of Militia Members

Darien History

By David Gurliacci | April 15, 2021

Government & Politics

By DARIENITE.COM | November 2, 2018

Community Organizations

By David Gurliacci | April 5, 2018

Around Town

By David Gurliacci | April 25, 2017

Darien Historical Society

By David Gurliacci | April 20, 2017

Ken Reiss, a Museum of Darien historian, will discuss how Darien sought its independence, the forces blocking its path, and the hero who persisted to give the town its name in an online lecture Thursday evening. — an announcement from Darien Library

Discover what life was like 200 years ago in “History Close to Home with Ken Reiss,” a Museum of Darien Historian and the author of Darien, 1820: New Town, New Times. This event will take place virtually on Wednesday, April 15 from 7 to 8 p.m. You can register here on Darien Library’s website. About Ken Reiss
Ken Reiss’ lifelong pursuit of history has in recent years been sharply focused on the story of Darien, Connecticut, where he has made his home for the past 32 years. In addition to his most recent work to commemorate the town’s bicentennial, Darien 1820: New Town, New Times, Ken is the author of The Story of Darien, Connecticut, a definitive history of the town.

The town of Darien is starting to plan for the town’s bicentennial in the year 2020 with a “New Vision” of its past and future, and a special committee has been established by the Board of Selectmen to coordinate the effort. — an announcement from First Selectman Jayme Stevenson

“The year 2020 will be a year of great celebration as we mark the Town of Darien’s Bicentennial,” said First Selectman Jayme Stevenson. “We will be planning activities that honor our past as we look to an exciting future here in Darien. The 2020 Committee is charged with making the town’s 200th birthday a year to remember and we encourage everyone to participate!”

The state Legislature granted a town charter in 1820, establishing this area as the independent Town of Darien. Prior to that, the area was part of Stamford and Norwalk and known as Middlesex Parish.

Darien’s Heather Raker is spearheading efforts to raise funds for the Mather Homestead to restore the historic home’s colonial gardens. The Mather Homestead was built in 1778 and owned by the Mather family through seven generations, until 2017 when it was donated to The Mather Homestead Foundation thanks to the generosity of the McPherson family. The home is rich in history and open for public enjoyment and education. Stephen Mather, great-grandson of Deacon Joseph Mather, was an environmentalist and the founder and first director of our National Parks Service. The original garden, which was designed by Stephen Mather himself, included both native plants and specimens from his work across the United States with National Park Service.

One of Darien’s oldest houses, raided by Tories during the American Revolution and later the summer home of the first director of the U.S. National Parks Service, is getting ready to open to the public later this year. The home at 19 Stephen Mather Road was built in 1778 by Joseph Mather, a church deacon (and son of the Rev. Moses Mather, then minister of Darien’s Congregational Church). Joseph Mather chose a spot for it in the north of town thought to be less likely raided by Tories. Mather’s descendants have owned it until now.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for May 5 to mark the transfer of the property from the Mather family to the new Mather Homestead Foundation. The foundation will open the house to small groups of visitors by appointment sometime this spring, said foundation Executive Director Anna Denoyer.

« August 2022 »

Although historian Ken Reiss had knowledge of its existence, and had hoped for years for its re-emergence, he was unexpectedly and happily surprised when Dave Burt expressed his plans to donate a significant piece of history to the Darien Historical Society, a Middlesex militia muster roll from April of 1767. Although the document had been in Burt’s family for decades, he deemed it an appropriate time to give it back to the town; Its 250th anniversary was approaching.

Burt, along with family members, mother Carolyn “Rusty” Burt, brother Jeffrey Burt, nieces Hattie, Chloe and Sophie Burt, and uncle Bill Ruscoe, were in attendance at an informal ceremony where the muster roll was donated to the Society. The occasion was marked with a champagne toast and refreshments, and a reading by Rusty Burt, touching on the family’s connection with the document. Established as a way to account for members in a military unit, the muster lists the names of soldiers assigned to the Fourth Company of the Ninth Regiment, which was made up of the militias from Norwalk, Stamford, Greenwich and Ridgefield.