Simeon Leete Day at Pelatiah Leete House, June 22, 2014, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Leete’s Island Road, Guilford, Connecticut
In recognition of Guilford’s 375th anniversary, the owners of the Pelatiah Leete House on Leete’s Island Road in Guilford would like to invite the public to attend a first annual Simeon Leete Day celebration, to be held at the historic house in which one of Guilford’s brave soldiers who fought in the Battle of Leete’s Island on June 18, 1781 lived, and in which he also died of his wounds, the following day.
Simeon Leete was the great-great-grandson of Guilford founder Governor William Leete, whose direct descendants continue to live on Leete’s Island and in other parts of Guilford to this day. The battle in which Simeon fought and died was one of the largest military engagements fought on Connecticut soil during the American Revolution, involving upwards of 250 fighters at its peak.
The house in which he lived and died is the only structure which was standing on the day of the battle that remains, and his gravestone is around the corner in the triangle of land at the intersection of Leete’s Island Road and Moose Hill Road. His home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. And it will be open to the public for tours from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. along with docents from the “Early Guilford Days” public school program for Guilford 4th grade students on hand to answer questions about early Guilford history.
An inaugural “History Hike” will also be offered jointly under the auspices of the Guilford Land Conservation Trust and the Guilford Preservation Alliance’s Heritage Tourism Initiative to trace the route taken by refugees from the battle in 1781 up Moose Hill Road to safety in the Colonial Caves site in Westwoods, crossing lands still owned by the Leete family, as well as lands held in trust by the Guilford Land Conservation Trust.
A free will offering for the house tour, to benefit the “Early Guilford Days” program for the coming year, is requested—but not required– from participants in the day’s events.
Because public parking is virtually nonexistent in the vicinity of the house, visitors are strongly encouraged to use the free shuttle service, leaving from the Green in front of Town Hall, starting at 9:45 a.m. and running every 30 minutes thereafter. This service will be provided through the generosity of the town’s 375th Committee. Pre-registration is encouraged and can be arranged by calling (510) 841 2108 or by emailing [email protected].
An official Town 375th Committee event.
