Early Stratford Roots
Richard Boothe, who came from England, was among the early Stratford settlers. His descendants remained connected to town life, farming, public service, and the land that later became Boothe Memorial Park.
The Boothe Family
For generations, the Boothe family shaped a stretch of Putney farmland along the Housatonic River. David and Stephen Boothe turned that inheritance into one of Stratford’s most unusual museum landscapes.
From Family Farm to Museum Landscape
Boothe Memorial Park began as a family place: farm fields, river views, household work, gardens, and generations of Stratford memory. By the early twentieth century, David and Stephen Boothe were using that land to preserve family history, collect artifacts, host neighbors, and build the curious structures that still give the park its character.
The brothers were sometimes described as eccentric, but their work was also generous and deliberate. They imagined the property as a public place of rest, beauty, history, and enjoyment, then left it to Stratford so others could experience it.
A Long Stratford Story
The family history reaches from early Stratford settlement to the Putney farm, where the land, Homestead, and family records became part of a lasting public legacy.
The Putney Farm
In 1725, Zechariah Booth purchased farmland near the Housatonic River from Jonathan Stiles. That land became the center of the family Homestead and the place where David and Stephen were later born.
Family Memory
The brothers valued genealogy, family records, and old objects. Family tradition connected the Boothe line to English heraldry, while the Stratford record shows a long local story of land, work, and civic life.
David and Stephen
Family accounts often describe the brothers as complementary opposites. David was associated with the outdoor, mechanical, business, and building life of the property. Stephen was associated with the domestic, artistic, musical, culinary, and collecting life of the Homestead.
Mr. Outside
David Beach Boothe
1867-1949
David was the older brother, a builder, organizer, businessman, and colorful public presence. He cared for many of the mechanical and outdoor parts of the property, supervised unusual buildings, and was known locally for humor, patriotic costumes, and a taste for spectacle.
Mr. Inside
Stephen Nichols Boothe
1869-1948
Stephen was remembered for cooking, music, design, needlework, and travel. He prepared meals for gatherings at the Homestead and brought back objects from abroad, helping turn the family property into a layered collection of artifacts and stories.
Collections, Curiosities, and Buildings
The brothers collected in almost every direction: family papers, farm tools, books, baskets, clocks, travel souvenirs, household objects, and artifacts connected to friends and visitors. They also built and adapted structures to house the growing museum world around the Homestead.
The result is not a conventional house museum. Boothe Park is a layered landscape where family history, local farming, world travel, showmanship, and preservation sit side by side.
Family Archives
Letters, bills, receipts, family histories, and records helped later volunteers understand the brothers and the family they worked so hard to remember.
Farm Tools & Daily Life
The museum collections preserve tools, household objects, and evidence of a working farm that changed as Stratford and the region changed.
Baskets, Books & Artifacts
The brothers collected widely, including baskets, books, dolls, stamps, coins, Native American objects, and items connected to their travels and friendships.
Buildings with Personality
Clocktower, Blacksmith Shop, Ice House, Outhouse, Trolley Station, and other structures helped make the property one of New England’s most unusual museum landscapes.
Hospitality and Generosity
The Boothe story is full of humor, spectacle, and practical kindness. The brothers could be playful hosts, exacting collectors, and generous neighbors, sometimes all at once.
Parties with a Purpose
The brothers hosted dinners, picnics, church fundraisers, and gatherings where food, games, jokes, and surprise prizes turned ordinary events into remembered occasions.
Quiet Help
During hard years, including the Great Depression, they helped neighbors with food, clothing, and practical support, often without making a show of their giving.
A Gift to Stratford
Their joint wills left the land and buildings to the Town of Stratford so the public could enjoy the grounds, views, museums, and beauty of the place.
“It has given me and my brother a great deal of pleasure to discuss its possibilities as a public park where people could come and enjoy themselves as we ourselves have enjoyed living on it during our lifetime.”
Legacy Timeline
A brief chronology of the family land, the brothers’ lives, the public park, and the volunteer preservation work that followed.
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1725
Zechariah Booth purchases farmland near the Housatonic River from Jonathan Stiles, establishing the center of the family Homestead site.
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1867
David Beach Boothe is born in the family Homestead after the Civil War.
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1869
Stephen Nichols Boothe is born at the Homestead two years after David.
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1912
The Boothe family antiquarian effort begins gathering family history, artifacts, and records tied to the Boothe and Nichols lines.
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1929
The brothers’ building program expands, adding unusual structures and museum settings across the former farm.
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1948-1949
Stephen dies in 1948 and David dies in 1949, ending the direct family line at the Homestead.
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December 1, 1954
The brothers’ wills are recorded, bequeathing the property to the Town of Stratford.
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May 18 & 22, 1955
Boothe Memorial Park is formally dedicated, followed by a public open house for tours of the buildings and grounds.
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1984
Friends of Boothe Park, Inc. is incorporated to recruit volunteers and preserve the Boothe brothers’ legacy.
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1985
The site is placed on the National Register of Historic Places, strengthening its preservation future.