The Reeve House and Litchfield Law School

Tapping Reeve House & Law School takes visitors on a journey through the life of a real student from the early 19th century. Through role-playing, hands-on areas, and interpretive exhibits, each visitor explores timeless issues of travel, communication, education, and community.

Visitors meet the students as they watch the introductory video Coming to Litchfield. They discover the students' stories as they try on clothes that a student might have worn, make decisions about what supplies to buy, and vote on issues of the day.

More about the Litchfield Law School

• Plan Your Visit
  The Reeve House & Law School is open mid-April through November. Click on the link above for complete information about hours, fees and directions.
• History of the Litchfield Law School
  In 1773, the newly married Tapping Reeve and Sally Burr Reeve settled in Litchfield where Reeve promptly established a legal practice. The following year, Sally's brother Aaron Burr came to live with them and Reeve began to instruct him in the law. Several prominent residents of Litchfield also sent their sons to Reeve for legal training, establishing his reputation as a teacher and forming the nucleus of what was to become America's first formal school of law.
• Litchfield Law School Students
  More than 1,100 students attended the school before it closed in 1833. The Litchfield Historical Society has compiled a list of them.