The Lincoln Farmers Market at Chase Farm finished its 2026 season yesterday, Oct. 3. It ran Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. starting June 27. The Town of Lincoln hosts the market, and this was its fifth season since it started in 2022. For four months it was the main reason most people stopped on Great Road on a Saturday.
There's still plenty happening on the road this fall, but at different hours. From now through December, almost everything left on the calendar is ticketed or reserved, kept small, and timed later in the day. Almost all of it happens within a short walk of the Chase Farm Park entrance.
The Daytime Season Is Closing in Order
The summer schedule on Great Road is ending one site at a time, and the order matters if you were planning one more visit.
- Sept. 19, Great Road Day. The free 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. open house of the road's historic sites was also the last date on the 2026 Moffett Mill calendar. Visitors reached the mill by shuttle from Chase Farm for 45-minute tours. No tours are listed for October or November.
- Oct. 3, the last market Saturday. Pullen's Corner Schoolhouse held its last open house of the market season that morning, 9 a.m. to noon.
- Oct. 11, the last Arnold House Sunday. Historic New England runs tours of Arnold House at 487 Great Road on Sundays from June 7 to Oct. 11. Tours start on the hour from 11 a.m., and the last one begins at 3 p.m.
Arnold House is the stop to make this week. Eleazer Arnold built it in 1693. It's a rare surviving "stone-ender," a house type named for its massive stone chimney wall, and it's a National Historic Landmark. Arnold held a license to run a "Public House," and the tour points out 19th-century graffiti alongside the 17th-century construction. Next Sunday is the last tour date of the 2026 season.
Valentine Whitman House is the other stone-ender on the road. It's best seen from the street. Preserve Rhode Island describes it as dating to around 1696 and says the project is converting the former house museum into a private home.
Hearthside Takes Over the Late Shift
Once those three dates pass, the calendar shifts to Hearthside at 677 Great Road. Stephen Hopkins Smith built the Federal-style mansion in 1810 to impress a sweetheart. It's on the National Register of Historic Places and is run by the all-volunteer nonprofit Friends of Hearthside, with costumed docents leading the tours.
The fall program is "Gone But Not Forgotten: Victorian Mourning & Funeral Customs," a tour and exhibit held only at Hearthside. The dates are spread across the second half of October, timed to the weeks leading up to Halloween:
| Date | Day | Hours | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 18 | Sunday | 12:30 to 4 p.m. | Hearthside |
| Oct. 24 | Saturday | Late afternoon into evening; check the listing | Hearthside |
| Oct. 25 | Sunday | 12:30 to 4 p.m. | Hearthside |
| Oct. 27 | Tuesday | Evening; check the registration page | Chase Farm Park Visitors Center |
| Nov. 1 | Sunday | 12:30 to 4 p.m. | Hearthside |
| Nov. 7 | Saturday | Advance tickets only | The Center, Lincoln |
Saturday, Oct. 24 is the only Hearthside session that runs into the evening. The campus's printed schedule lists it as 4 to 7:30 p.m., and its homepage lists it as 4:30 to 7 p.m. Check the ticket page before you go. It's also the one chance to see a house full of Victorian mourning customs as it gets dark outside.
The Stargazing Night Starts Earlier in the Fall
The schedule shows the shift in hours most clearly with stargazing. Friends of Hearthside held a Starry Starry Nite at Chase Farm Park in the spring too. On April 22 it ran from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. The fall version, "Starry, Starry Fall Nite," is on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at the Chase Farm Park Visitors Center, 671 Great Road. The registration page lists it as 6:30 to 8 p.m. The campus's printed schedule lists 6 to 7:30 p.m. Under either listing, it starts at least an hour earlier than the spring event, because it gets dark earlier.
The evening opens indoors with a 30-minute talk by Francine Jackson of Brown University's Ladd Observatory. Then astronomers set up telescopes outside, and the highlight is a lunar occultation of the Pleiades, when the moon passes in front of the star cluster. If it's cloudy or raining, the event moves to the next night at 6. Space is limited, and the organizers ask you to reserve ahead.
The fall calendar lists far fewer events than the summer calendar did. Each one is a set date with a reservation.
A Storm Moved the Biggest Night of the Year
This year's largest Great Road event wasn't planned for November at all. The campus's 25th-anniversary celebration, "Hearts & History Silver Jubilee: Falling in Love with Our Past, One Bite at a Time," was set for Sept. 26. The organizers posted this notice:
Our Silver Jubilee scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 26th has been postponed. It is rescheduled for Saturday, November 7th. We are sorry for any inconvenience, but public safety is our priority.
The revised schedule says "Postponed due to storm," lists the event at The Center, Lincoln, and sells advance tickets only. The revision is stamped "Rev. 9/26," the same date the Jubilee was originally scheduled. Because of the move, Great Road's 25th-anniversary party now happens in November and is the last big gathering before the holiday programs.
Daylight Still Has Two Fixed Options
Two places on the road don't follow the seasonal calendar.
Aust Family Preserve at Lime Rock is open to the public every day of the year during daylight. Its connected trails cover about three miles, including a 0.9-mile Pond Loop. Parking is the catch. The Nature Conservancy lists three spaces at the trailhead and about six along the road. Visitors are asked to stay on marked trails and keep dogs leashed. With roughly nine spaces in all, a weekday morning gives you the best shot at one.
Hannaway Blacksmith Shop runs year-round, but only by reservation. Classes run every Sunday and every other Saturday, in two-hour sessions starting at 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon. Each class takes two students, and the shop opens only when students have signed up. It works the same way as the rest of the fall schedule: small, booked ahead, and closed if nobody signs up.
December Runs Later Still
After November the schedule moves even later in the day. On Nov. 22, Pullen's Corner Schoolhouse hosts a Christmas Ornament Making Workshop from 1 to 4 p.m. The schoolhouse then holds Christmas in the Schoolhouse performances on Dec. 6 and Dec. 13, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Hearthside opens for "Christmas Thru the Ages" self-guided tours from 1 to 4 p.m. on Dec. 12, 13, 19 and 20. The season ends with "Home for the Holidays" guided tours on Dec. 28 and 29, from 4 to 7 p.m. The last open hours of the year on Great Road come after sunset, inside a house built in 1810. The campus notes that more dates may be added during the season.
For dinner after an evening event, there's a new option across town. The Valley Breeze reported that Lincoln Tavern & Grill was set to open Oct. 1 at 259 Front St. Owner Kalyan Ancha took over and renovated the former Indian restaurant there, and the menu includes burgers, steak tips, pizza and dough made in-house. The owners also described plans for karaoke, live music and DJ nights.
The Hearthside tours, the Oct. 27 stargazing night and the Nov. 7 Silver Jubilee all need tickets or reservations ahead of time. The Friends of Hearthside can be reached at (401) 726-0597 or [email protected].
At Sold With Love by Chanthaly, we keep track of what's happening in the towns we serve, from Great Road's history calendar to the restaurants opening nearby. If you'd like to talk about Lincoln, whether it's Great Road or anything else in town, schedule a free consultation and we'll walk through it with care.
