Built in 1788 on the Tolland town green, this house began as a tavern, then became the Hicks family home from 1845 to 1970 and stands as one of the town’s major landmarks. Its rooms preserve multiple layers of New England domestic life, combining a colonial-era kitchen with Victorian parlors, furnishings, and family heirlooms. Originally owned by deacon and postmaster Benoni Shepard, it was most notably transformed by Ratcliffe Hicks, a Brown graduate, lawyer, industrialist, and legislator, who enlarged it in Victorian style. His legacy later helped establish the University of Connecticut’s school of agriculture and forestry, while Elizabeth Hicks ensured the house’s preservation as a museum.