HISTORY
It all started when...
In 1654, Captain George Denison and his second wife Ann Borodell Denison, often referred to as Lady Ann, brought their family to live on the land granted to him by Pequot Plantation in 1652. From there, Captain George went forward as a farmer, surveyor, selectman, deputy to the General Court in Hartford and a captain in the Great Narragansett (King Phillips) War. His war service earned him other substantial land grants. Once in Mystic their family continued to grow and they became a well respected family within the area. In 1663 Captain George raised his great manor house at Pequotsepos. In this home, he and Lady Ann raised their growing family until their deaths in 1694 and 1712, respectively. In 1717 that manor house burned down and the current house was built by their grandson Captain George Denison and his wife Lucy Gallup Denison. Since it's construction in 1717 six continuous generations have called this stately manor house their home.
Ann Borodell Denison Gates, affectionately known as Aunt Annie, and a number of other Denison descendants incorporated the George and Ann Borodell Denison Society in January of 1930. Upon her death in 1941 Annie Gates bequeathed the 1717 house, known as Pequotsepos Manor, and approximately 120 of the original 200 acre land grant to the Society. According to the Society's Articles of Association, "The purpose is to maintain a museum and memorial in the town of Stonington, CT as a testimonial to the Denison Family."
Following the end of World War II, the Denison Society embarked upon the mission of creating the Denison Homestead Museum. Noted Connecticut architect J. Frederick Kelly oversaw the conversion of Pequotsepos Manor into a museum furnishing and decoration each of the five major rooms for a different time period. Today the museum has a 1730s colonial kitchen, Revolutionary War era bedroom, 1850s parlor, 1880s bedroom and 1930s parlor. Each room is furnished with Denison family heirlooms. In addition to converting the manor house to a museum, in 1946 the Denison Society created the Pequotsepos Wildlife Sanctuary. This followed Aunt Annie's wish to also preserve the habitat and wildlife of the area.
The Denison Society closed the Pequotsepos Wildlife Sanctuary in 1971 and the following year formed the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center (DPNC) as a separate not for profit corporation. Today, The Denison Society leases buildings and 77 acres of the land on the East side of Pequotsepos Road to the DPNC for the very generous fee of $1.00 per year. As part of the lease, the DPNC maintains 8 miles of Homestead trails across the property. Each group operates as a separate non-profit organization with 3 members of The Denison Society Board of Trustees representing the Denison Society on the DPNC's board.
The Denison Fund was launched by the Society in 1992 to purchase the 49.5 acres below Pequotsepos Manor that was then owned by family member Dr. Walter Morgan. This land was part of the original 200 acre land grant given to Captain George Denison in 1652. Bill Denison, the Denison Society president at that time, and Trustee Ann Collier were instrumental in raising the funds to buy this property and to stop a proposed development only a few hundred feet from Pequotsepos Manor.
