Capt. Elisha Phelps House

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location =800 Hopmeadow St.
Simsbury, Connecticut
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built = 1761
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added = September 22, 1972
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refnum = 72001345
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The Captain Elisha Phelps House listed on the National Register of Historic Places was expanded by Captain Elisha Phelps (Simsbury, Connecticut, 17 Oct 1737 - Albany, New York 14 Jul 1776) in 1771, who along with other Connecticut men were volunteers who took part in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga and the Battle of Crown Point in 1775. Capt. Phelps was appointed as commissary of the Northern Department by the Continental Congress.

Capt. Phelps received the land from his father, David Phelps, who married Abigail Pettibone on 25 Apr 1731. He was the brother of Maj. Gen. Noah Phelps. Capt. Phelps built the original home in 1711. [cite book | title=Encyclopedia of Connecticut Biography: Genealogical-memorial; Representative Citizens | author=Samuel Hart| date=1917| publisher=The American Historical Society, Inc.]

His early death in 1776 at Albany, New York was the result of disease contracted from the soldiers he cared for there. After his death, the homestead passed from his widow and surviving children to his brother, Noah Phelps and until 1962 was the property of his descendants, including Jeffrey O. Phelps. It is now the Phelps Tavern Museum owned and operated by Simsbury Historical Society.

"The Phelps Tavern Museum The Entertainment of Strangers" uses period rooms and interactive exhibition galleries to interpret the use of the historic Capt. Elisha Phelps house as an inn from 1786 to 1849. Three successive generations of the Phelps tavern-keepers are chronicled along with the social history of taverns in New England. From Masonic meetings to ordination balls, the Phelps Tavern hosted townspeople and travelers who arrived by horse, stagecoach and canal.

The Phelps Tavern Museum is part of a two-acre complex, owned and operated by The Simsbury Historical Society which includes a museum store, research archives and award winning period gardens to highlight the visitor’s experience. Group and school tours are offered by appointment

The museum is open year-round Tuesday through Saturday from 12 noon to 4 PM except holidays. Tours are given at 12:15, 1:15, 2:15 and 3:15 PM. Admission fee. Not handicapped accessible.

For information or to arrange tours call 860 658-2500.

External links

* [http://www.simsburyhistory.org/phelps-tav.-mus.html The Phelps Tavern Museum]