Keeler Tavern Preservation Society

Vernon and Glenna Welsh purchased the historic tavern property in 1957, and a year later, divided the property in half and sold the newly divided parcel (which did not include the tavern) to Dr. Robert mead, who lived in and operated his dentist office out of the former Cass Gilbert Memorial Library.

After the controversial 1963 demolition of the historic Penn Station in Manhattan, a movement to preseve America’s historic buildings flourished. This movement inspired a group of Ridgefield residents, who, motivated by a desire to preserve the history, structure, and artifacts of the Keeler Tavern, established the Keeler Tavern Preservation Society in 1965. By 1966, they had raised enough money to purchase the property from the Welches, and on July 4, 1966, the re-opened the site to the public as a museum. Keeler Tavern Museum was designated a historical landmark in 1982. In 2015, the museum was able to re-acquire the parcel that had been sold off in 1958, reintegrating the original four-acre lot and transforming the former library into the museum’s Visitor Center, business offices, and state-of-the-art archives.

Since then, Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center has provided educational and cultural programs that connect past and present, with a focus on our former site residents’ experiences in the colonial era through early 20th century. We are fortunate to have significant archives of many of families who owned the site, as well as information about individuals who worked at the site and/or lived nearby.