About the Hall

Hadlyme Public Hall began with a simple idea: to create a place where the community could come together.

In 1911, a group of Hadlyme residents met at the home of Nehemiah Daniels to make that idea a reality. Forty-two people contributed $1,340 to get the project underway, the Luther family donated the land, and members of the community contributed materials and labor to build the Hall.

More than 115 years later, it is still doing what they built it to do.

Over the generations, the Hall has been a place for dances and dinners, music and performances, meetings, celebrations, and community events. During the World War II era, its weekend dances drew people from communities throughout southeastern Connecticut. Later generations gathered here for community suppers, concerts, art shows and countless other occasions.

Like many small community institutions, the Hall has had moments when its future was uncertain. Around the turn of the 21st century, when dwindling participation threatened its continuation, neighbors rallied around it. A new generation of volunteers brought renewed energy to the Hall, its membership grew, and new events joined old traditions.

The art shows that began during that period became part of the Hall's revival, once again filling the building with artists, neighbors, and visitors from around the region.

Still a Community Hall

Today, Hadlyme Public Hall remains an independent, volunteer-supported gathering place serving Hadlyme and the surrounding communities. The Hall hosts music and performances, educational programs, dinners, meetings, community organizations, and private celebrations.

The programming changes. The people change. But the idea has endured: a place created by the community, sustained by the community, and open for people to come together.

Artists & Friends is part of that continuing story. The return of an art show to the Hall brings together its past and present, welcoming artists and visitors through its doors while helping support this remarkable community gathering place for the years ahead.