Playhouse on Park to host lecture and ice cream social on history of A.C. Petersen

Milk trucks in front of 244 Park Road in West Hartford in 1950. Photo via Playhouse on Park

A collaborative local history event is coming to Park Road this weekend. The Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society, West Hartford’s America 250 Celebration, and Playhouse on Park are partnering to present a lecture and ice cream social titled “Building a Dairy Empire: A.C. Petersen.”

The program takes place Sunday, May 31, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. at Playhouse on Park, located at 244 Park Road. The event is part of Historic Preservation Month and highlights the specific history of the theater building itself. Long before it hosted live theater, the structure served as the milk delivery truck garage for A.C. Petersen Farms.

West Hartford Town Historian Mary Donohue and Chuck Coursey, host of the Trout Brook Tales history podcast, will present the lecture. They will share rarely seen photographs from the Petersen family archives, present contemporary images, and offer a look at the largely unseen upper floor of the original factory building.

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The presentation will trace the story of Andrew Christian Petersen, a Danish immigrant who arrived in New York in 1912. After working a milk route in Hartford, Petersen purchased his own route in 1914. He acquired property on Park Road in 1921 to begin processing milk, eventually purchasing multiple local dairy farms.

The business expanded on May 3, 1940, with the opening of the A.C. Petersen Farms Ice Cream Parlor, which drew over 2,000 visitors on its opening day. The parlor featured modern comforts for its time, including air conditioning.

Donohue noted that the parlor is a 1940 Art Moderne style masterpiece. She added that despite having only an elementary school education, Petersen used his strong business acumen to control all aspects of milk production, processing, and sales.

Following the lecture, attendees will receive ice cream provided by A.C. Petersen Farms.

Admission is $15 per person, and all proceeds will benefit Playhouse on Park. Tickets and additional details are available on the theater’s website at PlayhouseOnPark.org. Click here to purchase tickets.

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Playhouse on Park to host lecture and ice cream social on history of A.C. Petersen