New England Civil War Museum Adds Sunday Hours for Every Week

VERNON, CT — Sunday hours have returned to the New England Civil War museum.

And it is now every Sunday.

The museum, located in a fully preserved Grand Army of the Republic hall in the second floor of the Vernon Town Hall complex, is now open from noon to 3 p.m. on Sundays.

The New England Civil War Museum was originally begun in 1896 by the Civil War veterans who made up Rockville's Grand Army of the Republic Burpee Post No. 71, museum director Matthew Reardon said.

The vets sought "to perpetuate the memory of its dead for all time," he said.

The collection started to build that year, when each post member was encouraged to donate their personal wartime relics to the building up of a museum, Reardon said. The collection now features uniforms, a regimental Bible, weapons that were used in actual Civil War battles, portraits and several versions of the carte de visite, the 1800s version of the business card.

In 1993, the Rockville Sons of Union Veterans Camp, officially incorporated the New England Civil War Museum inside the former meeting rooms of Burpee Post No. 71. The museum has the honor and distinction of being one of the longest continuously used GAR Halls in the entire country, Reardon said.

"The mission of the museum today is the same as the veterans, but to also provide historians and enthusiasts a place to study and conduct research related to the Civil War in the southern New England area," he added.

The New England Civil War Museum is located on Park Place, in the downtown Rockville section of Vernon.

Admission and parking are free. For more information about the museum, visit www.newenglandcivilwarmuseum.com or “like” the museum's Facebook page.

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel