How do I get to Weir Farm National Historic Site?

• Please follow our Directions in the Plan Your Visit section of our website.

What are your hours of operation?

• The grounds are open every day of the year, from dawn to dusk.
• The Visitor Center hours vary throughout the year. Please check our Operating Hours & Seasons in the Plan Your Visit section of our website for the most current information.

Do you sell the America the Beautiful - Senior Pass?

• Yes, we do sell the America the Beautiful - Senior Pass.
• However, it is also worth noting that most any place in which you can use the pass, you can also buy the pass. So you may not have to make a special trip simply to obtain one. You could buy the pass at the first site you visit.
• However, if you would like to come to Weir Farm NHS when the visitor center is open, please remember to bring proof that you are 62 years or older and $10.00.
• We do not sell the $80.00 America the Beautiful - Annual Pass.
• For more information on this pass and the other passes used by the National Park Service, please click here.

What is the Weir Farm Art Center?

• The Weir Farm Art Center is a private, non-profit organization that provides art-related programs at Weir Farm National Historic Site and other locations.
  
• The Weir Farm Art Center mission is:
  “To sustain and promote the legacy of American artist J. Alden Weir and preserve Weir Farm’s historic landscape and artistic tradition through its artist residency program, educational opportunities, exhibitions and publications, in alliance with the Weir Farm National Historic Site.”
  
• All Weir Farm Art Center operations and programs are funded by charitable contributions from individuals, corporations, and private foundations as allowed by the rules of a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
  

What is the difference between Weir Farm National Historic Site and Weir Farm Art Center?

• Weir Farm National Historic Site is operated by the National Park Service, a federal agency under the Department of the Interior.
• Weir Farm Art Center is its private nonprofit cooperating association.
• Through formal agreement, the Weir Farm Art Center has office space on the grounds of Weir Farm NHS. The Art Center’s mission complements that of the National Historic Site.
• The NPS manages, preserves and protects the Park for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations. NPS programs include daily tours, Junior Ranger programs, education programs, internships and other programs. 
• So while they are not the same, the two missions complement each other and occasionally overlap.

What is the Weir Preserve?

• The Weir Preserve consists of 110 acres of walkways and trails that meander over fields, past stone walls, through rough woodlands and around bold rock outcrops. 
• The preserve is located to the southwest of Weir Farm National Historic Site.
• In 2005, the Connecticut Chapter of The Nature Conservancy donated the Weir Preserve property to the Weir Farm Art Center which now maintains the property under the supervision of a volunteer stewardship committee.
• Many of the landscape features documented in Weir’s paintings remain unchanged today.
• The Weir Preserve is contiguous to Weir Farm National Historic Site and includes the originating gift of 37 acres made in 1967 by Weir’s daughter, Cora. Additional gifts from Wilton residents finally increased the total size to its current 110 acres.

Does Weir Farm NHS have animals?

• Weir Farm NHS does not have farm animals.
• However, the site was once a fully operating farm, with oxen, chickens, vegetables, and numerous gardens. Much evidence of farm life, like the corn crib, chicken coop and gardens can still be seen at Weir Farm NHS.
• Until the late 19th Century, much of Connecticut was comprised of family farms, often named for the families that owned them. These farms were the vital bedrock of the Connecticut economy.
• Many important works of art by J. Alden Weir, Mahonri Young, and most recently, Sperry Andrews, were inspired by their recollections of the working American farm.

Where is most of the art?

• Weir Farm National Historic Site maintains its museum collection of over 200,000 objects at a nearby location.
  
• The collection includes an extensive archive of Weir family letters, including hundreds of letters to and from J. Alden Weir, as well as diaries, notebooks, sketchbooks, historic photographs, scrapbook collections, and research archives about J. Alden Weir's artwork.
  
• Also in the collection are objects from the house, barn, and studios, including furniture, books, art supplies, farming equipment and gardening tools.
  
• Paintings, etchings, drawings, and sculpture are among the holdings of Weir Farm National Historic Site and the Weir Farm Art Center.
  
• However, much of J. Alden Weir's and Mahonri Young's art is in private and public art collections. Weir's art can be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, The Phillips Collections, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, and many other museums throughout the country, including The Museum of Art at Brigham Young University in Utah, which has an extensive collection of art by both Mahonri Young and J. Alden Weir.