In the fall of 1692, Mercy Disborough of Compo asked "to be tried by being cast into ye water." The Fairfield Museum and History Center records that she and Elizabeth Clawson of Stamford were bound hand to foot and pushed into Edwards Pond. Witnesses then testified that both women "swam like a cork." The museum dates their trial in the county courthouse on the Fairfield Town Green to October 28, 1692.
On Wednesday, October 28, 2026, the Weston History & Culture Center will host a talk called "Witches in Connecticut." That's 334 years to the day after the trial. It's the clearest sign of something that runs through Weston's whole Halloween week this year. Almost every event on the calendar reaches back into the past. The oldest of those stories happened on land that would one day become Weston, back when no one wanted to live on it.
The trial on the Green, and the woods to the north
The Fairfield Museum lays out the case this way. Katherine Branch was a servant living with Daniel and Abigail Wescott in Stamford. She was believed to be "possessed," and she accused six women. Two of them went to trial. Floating was taken as a sign of guilt, but neither woman was executed. The jury acquitted Clawson and found Disborough guilty. Three magistrates then reprieved Disborough on a technicality, writing that recent events in Salem "should be warning enough."
The dates are a little tangled. The Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project puts a first joint trial of the two women on September 14, 1692. It says the jury couldn't agree and the court met again in October. So the October 28 date most likely marks a later stage of the case. The anniversary still holds for the courthouse session the museum describes.
The same project lists more Fairfield residents caught up in that 1692 episode. Mary Staples, Mary Harvey and her daughter Hannah Harvey were cleared. A woman recorded as Goodwife Miller fled. Fairfield's history had already taken a darker turn decades earlier. Goodwife Knapp was hanged there in 1653 in a field that is now part of Bridgeport, and the Black Rock neighborhood has a memorial to her.
In 1692, the land that is now Weston was Fairfield's "long lots." These were strips about thirteen and a half miles long, ranging from fifty feet to more than 1,000 feet wide, according to the Weston History & Culture Center's brief history of the town. Fairfield's first "upright highway" was laid out in 1692 too, and the Center says it was "but a rutted path." Families counted the northern lots as "useful, but not desirable." They often gave them to second and third sons, and the people who moved there became known as Outlivers.
While the trial was going on, Weston was the rocky back country that Fairfield's leading families saw little reason to settle. Norfield Parish wouldn't exist until 1757. The General Assembly didn't create the town of Weston until October 1787.
October 28: a first talk with a fitting date
"Witches in Connecticut" opens the Center's new Backstories & Breakfast speaker series. The speaker is Rebecca Gavin, Director of Education at the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History. Her museum has covered this subject before. It ran an online "Coffee Hour" on witches in Connecticut in 2020 and another "Witches in Connecticut" program on October 27, 2021.
The details:
- When: Wednesday, October 28. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. and the talk starts at 10:00 a.m.
- Where: 104 Weston Road. Park and enter from High Acre Road.
- Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members, light breakfast included.
The story didn't end with the 1692 verdicts. In 2023 the General Assembly passed House Joint Resolution 34. It absolved those convicted and executed, restored the standing of those indicted but never convicted, and apologized to their descendants. The Senate passed it on May 25, 2023, according to the Windsor Historical Society. The amended resolution names six Fairfield-linked people: Goodwife Knapp, Elizabeth Clawson, Mercy Disborough, Mary Harvey, Hannah Harvey and Mary Staples. A talk on these women in Weston this month covers a case the state formally settled only three years ago.
Lachat moves the clock to 1776
Six days earlier, Lachat Town Farm opens its 6th annual immersive Halloween experience, "Spirits of 1776." The farm says it sets the evening in "October of 1776 where the American Revolution is unfolding." On the walk, visitors meet "ghostly battles of fallen soldiers & rebels, as well as witches, tricksters and evil spirits."
The year sets the scene for Lachat's show, and the farm doesn't tie it to any particular Weston event. The nearest documented wartime episode is the British raid on Danbury in April 1777. Troops landed in what is now Westport, and the fighting came at Ridgefield and Westport, as the Connecticut Post recounted. Still, the witches in the cast tie the farm's fields back to the theme of the 28th.
Some practical points before you book:
- Shows run Thursday through Sunday, October 22–25. The first starts at 6:30 p.m. and another follows every 20 minutes. Each show lasts 45 minutes.
- Tickets are $25 per person and sold in time slots of 25 people. Each comes with a cup of cider. There are no refunds or exchanges, and late arrivals may not get in.
- Park in the main lot at 106 Godfrey Road and start at the Barn. The route covers wooded trails and uneven ground.
- Lachat recommends the show for ages 12 and up. Everyone under 16 must come with an adult. The show uses strobe lighting, and dogs aren't allowed.
- It runs rain or shine and is rescheduled only for severe weather.
Each night has its own registration link on Lachat's page.
A Weston actor, a candlelit barn and two Poe stories
The week ends at the farm with a reading for adults only. On Friday, October 30, and Saturday, October 31, Weston resident Daniel Gerroll reads "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe. Lachat's page notes that Gerroll had a principal role in the 1981 Oscar winner Chariots of Fire. On Broadway he appeared in Plenty, High Society and Enchanted April. Off-Broadway, his more than 30 productions earned him a Theatre World Award, an Outer Critics Circle award and an OBIE.
At 7:00 p.m., guests gather around the fire pit with hot toddies, wine and beer from the Lachat Bar. There are also small-batch Halloween chocolates from chocolatieree in Westport. At 7:30 everyone moves to the candlelit barn for the readings. Tickets are $35, and guests must be 18 or older.
Sunday morning, in between
The Kiwanis Reservoir Run falls on Sunday, October 25, the morning before the last night of Spirits of 1776. The 5K starts at 8:20 a.m., the half marathon at 8:30, and the Kids Fun Run and Family Stroll at 9:00. Both courses start and finish near the front of Weston High School, and bib pickup is at 115 School Road. Roads in Weston stay open to traffic. If you're driving that morning, expect runners along the route.
Weston Today reports that the last mile or so up Weston Road, long known as Heartbreak Hill, has a new name. It's now "Inspiration Hill," and the Weston High School band will play along the climb. The route itself hasn't changed. Proceeds go to the Child & Family Guidance Center, the Kiwanis Club of Weston Foundation and the Weston High School Boosters Club.
The week at a glance
| Date | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu–Sun, Oct 22–25, from 6:30 p.m. | Spirits of 1776 | Lachat Town Farm, 106 Godfrey Rd | $25 |
| Sun, Oct 25, from 8:20 a.m. | Kiwanis Reservoir Run | Weston High School | Registration |
| Wed, Oct 28, 10:00 a.m. | Witches in Connecticut | Weston History & Culture Center, 104 Weston Rd | $10 members / $15 non-members |
| Fri–Sat, Oct 30–31, 7:00 p.m. | Poe readings with Daniel Gerroll, 18+ | Lachat Town Farm | $35 |
What isn't on the calendar yet
Families may be looking for the Weston Women's League Trunk or Treat. Its most recent documented date is October 26, 2024, at Weston Intermediate School, in a Kiwanis Club of Weston post. The Women's League Trunk or Treat page asks for volunteers and donations but doesn't list a 2026 date. The town's "Halloween Guidelines" page dates from 2020, and we found no 2026 trick-or-treat guidance.
For teens, the town's October newsletter says Weston Public Library's Witch Club meets every Friday in October for ages 10 to 18. The library's own calendar didn't show a session on October 30 when we checked. Call the library at 56 Norfield Road before you head over.
These programs are possible because of the institutions behind them: the History & Culture Center, Lachat Town Farm, the Kiwanis Club and the library. They're also part of what we mean by hometown at Camelot Real Estate. If you'd like to know more about the history of your own corner of Weston, or what that history means for your home's value today, Vickie Kelley and our local team would be glad to talk. Request a complimentary home valuation or connect with Weston's local experts.
