Aug 14, 2026
From the high seas to the town square, we’re bringing you the
story of a New England family navigating revolution, economic
expansion, and nation building.
Awakenings and Revolutions: The
Harts, Saybrook, and the New Nation is a new look at
the residents of the Old Saybrook Historical Society’s Gen. William
Hart House and the Hart family of Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Moving
between the Connecticut River estuary, Hartford, New London,
Boston, New York, and as far as Ohio and the West Indies, the story
reveals the Harts’ surprising connections to major moments of
Connecticut’s and our nation’s early history.
Author and historian Elizabeth Normen shares details about the
Great Awakening; slavery in the north; the American Revolution and
privateering; the West Indies trade, and the birth of the two-party
political system in America. From pious ministers to financial
fraudsters, the Hart family spent 250 years in Old Saybrook. Normen
is the founder and first publisher of Connecticut
Explored, the magazine of Connecticut history and of the
Grating the Nutmeg podcast.
Visit the beautiful gardens of the General Hart House at 350 Main Street in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Order the book on the Old Saybrook Historical Society’s website here: saybrookhistory.org/store/
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Don’t forget to subscribe to Connecticut Explored magazine today-our summer issue is a double-issue celebrating our nation’s 250th birthday! And set up your monthly donation to Grating the Nutmeg at ctexplored.org/
This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O’Sullivan at highwattagemedia.com/ Follow Grating the Nutmeg on Facebook and Instagram.
Follow executive producer Mary Donohue on Facebook and Instagram at West Hartford Town Historian. Join us in two weeks for our next episode of Grating the Nutmeg, the podcast of Connecticut history. Thank you for listening!