Discover 9 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Ledyard (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center, Foxwoods Resort Casino, and Sawmill Park. Also, be sure to include Nathan Lester House in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Ledyard (Connecticut).
Table of Contents
Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center
Museum in Ledyard, Connecticut. The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center is a museum of Native American culture in Mashantucket, Connecticut, owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.[1]
Address: 110 Pequot Trail, 06338 Ledyard
Foxwoods Resort Casino
Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut. Foxwoods Resort Casino is a Native American hotel and casino complex owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on their reservation located in Ledyard, Connecticut. Including six casinos, the resort covers an area of 9,000,000 sq ft. The casinos have more than 250 gaming tables for blackjack, craps, roulette, and poker, and have more than 5,500 slot machines. There are several restaurants within the casinos, among them a Hard Rock Cafe.
Foxwoods has two hotel towers, with a total of 2,228 hotel rooms; and an arcade for children and teens. The original tower, the Grand Pequot Tower, opened in 1997, while the second opened in 2008 as the MGM Grand; it was re-branded the Fox Tower in 2013. In 2015, a retail complex, known as Tanger Outlet Mall, opened between the two hotel towers with 85 stores for luxury goods.[2]
Address: Ledyard, 350 Trolley Line Boulevard Ledyard, CT 06338
Sawmill Park
Museum in Ledyard. The Main Sawmill, now known as Ledyard Up-Down Sawmill, is a historic 19th-century sawmill at 175 Iron Street in Ledyard, Connecticut. The sawmill was built in 1869 by Israel Brown, and is the only known operational mill of this type in the state. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It is now owned by the town and administered by the local historical society as a museum.[3]
Address: 172 Iron St, Ledyard
Nathan Lester House
Museum in Ledyard, Connecticut. The Nathan Lester House is a historic house museum at 153 Vinegar Hill Road in the Gales Ferry section of Ledyard, Connecticut. Built in 1793, it is a well-preserved example of an unpretentious late 18th-century farmhouse, and one of the few houses of that age left in the town. It is located on over 136 acres of land, now owned by the town, which serves as a park and conservation land with trails. Is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.[4]
Shubel Smith House
Building in Ledyard. The Shubel Smith House, also known as Stonecroft, is a historic house at 515 Pumpkin Hill Road in Ledyard, Connecticut. It was built in 1807 as the estate of Shubel Smith, a sea captain, and is one of Ledyard's finest surviving farmhouses from that period. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. The listing included three contributing buildings on a 6.5-acre area, including the Georgian Colonial house and the "Yellow Barn" as well as a smaller outbuilding. Both of the large buildings have modernized interiors, serving as a bed and breakfast called Stonecroft Country Inn.[5]
Avery Homestead
Home in Ledyard. The Avery Homestead is a two-story Colonial-style home in Ledyard, Connecticut that was built circa 1696. Evidence suggests that the house may have begun as a single-story, one-room house and later expanded to a two-story, two-room house by 1726. The house underwent major additions and renovations by Theophilus Avery and later his grandson, Theophilus Avery. In the mid-1950s, Amos Avery began a decade-long restoration effort to return the house to its 18th-century appearance. The Avery Homestead is historically significant as a well-preserved example of an 18th-century farmhouse with fine craftsmanship. The home is also historically important because more than twelve generations of the Avery family have resided there over the course of three centuries. The Avery Homestead was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.[6]
Applewood Farm
Applewood Farm is a farmstead in Ledyard, Connecticut, United States. Constructed in 1826 by Russel Gallup, the farmhouse was built with a colonial center chimney design with Federal style details that has been modernized to the early 20th century without significantly changing the floor plan. Named after the apple orchards planted by Russel Gallup, Applewood Farm developed significantly under the ownership of Everett Gallup, the last member of the family to own the property. The property was later owned by Arlene Meyer Cohen and a 40-acre parcel was sold off in November 1984. After the Betz family became the owners it was added to the National Register of Historic Places and operated as a bed and breakfast through the 1990s. In 1987, the property included five contributory structures, the farmhouse, corn crib, barn, silo and chicken coop. The property also has one non-contributing structure, a machinery shed from the 1960s.[7]
Capt. Mark Stoddard Farmstead
The Capt. Mark Stoddard Farmstead is a historic house at 24 Vinegar Hill Road in the Gales Ferry section of Ledyard, Connecticut. Built about 1770, it is a well-preserved example of a rural Cape style farmhouse, whose preservation includes its remote rural setting. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.[8]
Perkins-Bill House
The Perkins-Bill House is a historic house at 1040 Long Cove Road in the Gales Ferry section of Ledyard, Connecticut. Built circa 1775 by Solomon Perkins, Sr. it is locally significant as a well-preserved gambrel-roofed Cape of the period, and for the role played by Perkins, his son Solomon, Jr. and Benjamin Bill, Jr. the house's next owner, in the American Revolutionary War. All three were defenders of the fort in Groton that was attacked by British forces under the overall command of Benedict Arnold in the 1781 Battle of Groton Heights. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.[9]