The Thankful Arnold House is a historic house museum dating from the late 18th century located in the picturesque village of Haddam along the Connecticut River. The house was built in three distinct stages between 1794 and 1810. Today the house provides a glimpse of the life of the Widow Thankful Arnold in the late 1820s. The property remained in the Arnold family into the 1960s when it became the home of the Haddam Historical Society.

   In 1795, Linus Parmalee erected the first phase of the building, which was one room deep and consisted of the eastern two bays and was one room deep. When Haddam became a half-shire town in 1785, the resulting activity and business caused a brief building spurt. Parmalee already owned other properties in town when he purchased the small empty lot in 1794. He probably intended this new building to be used for investment purposes. It eventually consisted of three rooms, a shop on the basement level, a parlor/kitchen on the second floor, and a sleeping or storage loft in the attic. Needing more money, Parmalee mortgaged the small house shortly after it was built and lost it in 1797 to John and Andrew Cook in a foreclosure petition. The Cooks turned around and sold the “small dwelling with store” to Joseph Arnold. Joseph brought his young wife Thankful and infant daughter Nancy to the newly purchased home in June on 1798. Joseph and Thankful were among the first generationof United States citizens. Both were born at the beginning of the War for Independence, Joseph in 1774 and Thankful in 1776, and their earliest memories must have included absent soldier fathers and wartime shortages.

    Joseph was the son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Smith) Arnold and a direct descendent of Joseph Arnold, one of the original proprietors of Haddam and his namesake. In 1797, Joseph at the age of 23 married Thankful Clark, age 24 of Chester, Connecticut. She was the daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Dudley) Clark and could trace her Lineage back to John Alden and Priscilla Mullins of Plymouth Country. They had twelve children.

    Joseph Arnold died in 1823, leaving much debt and no will, so the court appraised the value of every item in their house and held a sale to pay off his debt. Thankful Arnold was awarded one-third of the house, and the other two-thirds was sold, fortunately to her brother-in-law. She continued to live in the house,and eventually her son bought out his uncle. Because the house was located across from the courthouse, Thankful Arnold took in boarders, which gave her an income that allowed her to maintain her independence.  The house is an important part of Connecticut’s women’s history.  It was known as the Widow Arnold House, until her death in 1849.

14 Hayden Hill Road
Haddam