Sarah Treadwell: Connecticut Mom, American Patriot

The Revolution is usually told through the men who marched. This is the woman who kept the household standing while they did.

Sarah Treadwell and her family lived in North Fairfield, a stretch of Fairfield that became Weston and later Easton. The exhibit follows her life during and after the Revolutionary War: her roles in her family and community, the hardship she came through, and the pension process for veterans and the widows of veterans, which is where a great deal of what we know about ordinary women of the period actually survives.

It is a deliberate corrective. The contributions women made to America's fight for independence went largely unrecorded at the time and largely unmentioned since.

Where in the building. The Visitor's Center. The exhibit is funded in part by a grant from CT Humanities.

When you can see it. The exhibit is up through 17 December, and the center opens to the public on Thursdays from 1 to 4 and on the first and last Sunday of each month, same hours. They close on holidays and holiday weekends, so check before a long weekend.

What it costs. $5 for adults and $3 for children 5 to 17, free for members and for any child four or under. They take cash, card or check at the door.

Where to go. The center is at 104 Weston Road, but parking and the entrance are off High Acre Road, not Weston Road, and everyone checks in at the Visitor's Center. Worth knowing before you circle the block.