As part of its longstanding commitment to preserving Guilford’s historic built and natural environments, the Guilford Preservation Alliance launched its Heritage Tourism Initiative in October 2011, working in tandem with professional staff from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to develop a viable heritage tourism component for Guilford’s local economy. At its core, heritage tourism is about inviting people to discover and experience their town’s local history and culture as expressed in its distinctive historic buildings, places of historic interest and preserved natural resources.
Henry Whitfield State Museum
Guilford is uniquely endowed with numerous splendid resources in each of these categories. It possesses hundreds of significant structures from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, many of which are on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as the Henry Whitfield State Museum, which is a National Historic site dating from the founding of European settlement at Guilford in 1639.
Its historic Town Green, first laid out by the original settlers in 1639, is considered by many to be among the most beautiful of all town greens to be found in New England. The town additionally contains thousands of acres of preserved open space, shoreline, forests and farmland within its nearly 50 square miles of area which can be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike.
This website, Historic Guilford, is where the Guilford Preservation Alliance’s Heritage Tourism Initiative has its home and serves as a clearinghouse for information about the HTI, its programs and its evolving plans for developing a heritage tourism component to our local economy. The inaugural tourism program is our Historic Guilford Walking Tours, which features several differently themed walking tours of Guilford’s historic town Green and its environs. The tours will be led by Guilford High School and college students trained to be thoroughly knowledgeable guides to downtown Guilford’s historic architectural styles, personalities and stories and will introduce interested residents and visitors to Guilford’s unique collection of house museums along its route.
Welcome to Historic Guilford, where New England begins!
