Virtual Programs
Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center’s Education Department has developed award-winning activities and resources for distance learning.
KTM&HC seeks to use Interactive Virtual Learning programs to expand access to our amazing history, stories, and programs. Our “Race, Ridgefield, and the Resseguie Hotel” program designed for middle school and high school students recently won the “Leadership in History” award from the American Association for State and Local History, as well as an “Award of Merit” from the Connecticut League of History Organizations, in recognition of the program’s ability to engage students on topics of race and gender in the 19th century.
We have two sets of digital learning units:
- Stories from Our Site uses the history of the historic house museum and the beautiful gardens as a window into centuries of the site’s history. This includes a unit using elements from our popular “Colonial Life” program and “Race, Ridgefield, and the Resseguie Hotel.”
- National Connections uses local history to illuminate national events—The Battle of Ridgefield, the only inland battle in Connecticut during the American Revolution, is a core story here at the museum and our units will cover grades 4 through 12.
Our school programs and online learning units support the C3 Frameworks for Social Studies, Connecticut Social Studies Frameworks, Common Core Learning Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and STEM & STEAM guidelines. We are currently working to integrate the Frameworks on American Slavery and Social Justice from Learning for Justice, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, into our programs as well. Please contact us for more information.
Stories From Our Site
Meet the residents of our site from the 18th century to the early 20th century. Each family teaches us about a different chapter in the American experience. “Colonial Life” showcases Timothy and Esther Keeler, who first opened the house as a tavern during the 18th century, and what daily life was like for them. “Race, Ridgefield, and the Resseguie Hotel” looks at life in the mid-19th century through a play based on the diaries of Anna Marie Resseguie, a white woman who inherited the Resseguie Hotel and who lived her whole life alongside Phillis Dubois, a Black woman who worked there. “At Home with the Gilberts” examines life at the turn of the 20th century when renowned architect Cass Gilbert used the property as his summer retreat. We will be updating this site as materials are developed – so make sure to check back!
National Connections
Local history is a powerful window onto national events. Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center has an outstanding collection of primary source materials that are used in these units to help students learn about American history through real life events that happened in Ridgefield, Connecticut – some events reflected national history and some events affected it!
The American Revolution: The Battle of Ridgefield
The Battle of Ridgefield, on April 27, 1777, was the only inland battle in Connecticut during the American Revolution. To explore this unique event, students will use primary and secondary source documents, such as letters, maps and newspapers, and artifacts from the museum’s collection in a variety of engaging ways. Each grade level will be challenged to think critically and inspired to dig deeper about how this local event tied into our national history.
