Mark Twain House and Museum

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The Mark Twain House in Hartford, CT.
Credit:  John Groo for The Mark Twain House & Museum.

The Mark Twain House & Museum

351 Farmington Avenue

Hartford, CT

Website:  The Mark Twain House & Museum

  

The Treasure:  This is the house where Mark Twain wrote Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—and lots more, too.

Accessibility:  For most of the year, the Mark Twain House and Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 to 5:30 and Sunday from noon to 5:30.  From January through March, the site is closed on Tuesdays.

Mark Twain in 1907.
Image courtesy of The Mark Twain
House & Museum.

Background:  Samuel Clemens, better known by his pseudonym Mark Twain, moved into his Hartford home along with his wife Olivia “Livy” Clemens in 1874 and remained there until 1891. It was to be the happiest and most productive period of the sharp-tongued author’s life. While ensconced in his private study on the top floor, he wrote and published The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Life on the Mississippi, The Prince and the Pauper, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and (perhaps most famously) Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

For a total of 17 years, this house served as home to the author, his wife Livy, and their three daughters. During that time, Twain’s taste for new technology quietly altered the space, including the introduction of an early telephone in the kitchen. Of all the places he lived during his life, this one was certainly his favorite.

The couple engaged New York architect Edward Tuckerman Potter to design an ambitiously large house which they paid for with Twain’s earnings from his books as well as Livy’s significant inheritance. The house follows a Victorian Gothic Revival architectural style, including a steeply-pitched roof and an asymmetrical bay window. At the time of its completion, the house cost between $40,000 to $45,000 dollars—a considerable sum for the time. Still, Twain didn’t mind. According to him, his Hartford house was “a home, and the word never had so much meaning before.”

The Mark Twain House -- the Clemens family on the porch.
Photo courtesy of The Mark Twain House & Museum.

                                                                                                                             

Notes from the Editor:  Mark Twain is a favorite author of mine to the degree that one of my most frequently-worn shirts bears a quote of his: “Those who don’t read have no advantage over those who can’t.” His genius found no subject too sacred to comment upon, and his own words remain the best way to capture his personality.

Here are some of my favorite Mark Twain quotes:

“It were not best that we should all think alike; it is difference of opinion that makes horse-races.”

“Life does not consist mainly—or even largely—of facts and happenings. It consists mainly of the storm of thoughts that is forever blowing through one's head.”

“There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.”

Twain thought quite a bit about how “thinking” itself works, and he questioned everything. His incisively witty descriptions of his 19th century surroundings invariably succeeded in capturing distinct times and places while reflecting universal truths. As he once pointed out, the call of “Mark Twain” on a steamboat was one that could always be relied upon—and he upheld that same standard in his writings.

The Mark Twain House -- The Dining Room.
Credit:  John Groo for The Mark Twain House & Museum.

The Mark Twain House -- The Billiard Room.
Credit:  John Groo for The Mark Twain House & Museum.

Other Recommended Sites:  The Mark Twain Library in Redding, CT takes pride in its roots in Twain’s generosity. He was one of the founders of the library and donated a large collection of books to start them out. There are artifacts associated with Twain in the library and notable Twain quotes line the walls.

Mark Twain grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River in Hannibal, Missouri, where you can visit the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum, explore the river on a Mark Twain Riverboat, and descend into the Mark Twain Cave Complex that inspired the memorable climax of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

The Mark Twain Museum Center.
Credit:  John Groo for The Mark Twain House & Museum.

Guest author for this entry:  Terry Price

Tour America's History Itinerary

Thursday’s (9/6) destination:  New Canaan Historical Society

© 2012 Lee and Terry Price

Manchester Historical Society

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Front view of the former Cheney Brothers Machine Shop, now
the Manchester History Center.
Photo courtesy of the Manchester Historical Society.

Manchester Historical Society

175 Pine Street

Manchester, CT

Website:  Manchester Historical Society

  

The Treasure:  Now serving as the Manchester History Center, the Cheney Brothers Machine Shop originally provided a whopping 40,000 square feet of work space for the country’s most successful silk manufacturer.

Accessibility:  The Manchester Historical Society has adapted the historic Cheney Brothers Machine Shop to serve as its Manchester History Center, which houses the Society’s administrative offices, special exhibitions, and space for lectures and special events. The building is open by appointment and for the special events.

Background:  Silk goods were regarded as expensive luxuries in the centuries prior to the 19th century. They signaled great wealth. But with the European invention of the Jacquard loom in 1801, silk entered into the mainstream. No longer only a painstaking handcraft, silk weaving became a mechanized industry. Naturally, entrepreneurial-minded Americans took notice. 

Historical photo of the Cheney Brothers
Machine Shop showing the spinning
operation.  Photo courtesy of the
Manchester Historical Society.

Ward, Ralph, Rush, and Frank Cheney established a silk manufacturing business in Manchester in 1838. Each of the brothers brought talents to the enterprise, with Ward Cheney serving as their astute business head. He methodically grew the business, keeping an eye on Europe so he could quickly adapt the latest in silk manufacturing technologies. But not everything was borrowed from abroad—Frank Cheney had a talent for tinkering that resulted in useful efficiencies and the company lucked into hiring budding inventor Christopher Spencer as a 14-year-old apprentice in 1847. Spencer invented an automatic silk-winding machine before leaving the silk mills to design the Spencer repeating rifle, a favorite weapon of the Union Army during the Civil War.

Historical photo of the Cheney Brothers
Machine Shop.  The man is winding yarn
onto bobbins.  Photo courtesy of the
Manchester Historical Society.

After the Civil War, Cheney Brothers experienced rapid growth as a business, employing hundreds of local Manchester residents and building large mills to keep up with the demand for silk fabrics. The Cheney family developed a reputation for being thoughtful and generous employers. Very civic minded, they built homes for their workers, along with churches, schools, and firehouses. They offered their employees insurance, medical care, and retirement benefits.

America’s silk industry continued to flourish during the first two decades of the 20th century but then hit a rapid decline. Synthetic fibers like rayon and nylon began to offer a cheaper alternative to silk. Other blows to the industry came with the Great Depression and the increased availability of imported silks. By the 1930s, the Cheney Brothers business was struggling to remain solvent, only partially recovering with a turn to the production of nylon parachutes during World War II. In 1955, the Cheney family sold the Cheney Brothers Silk Manufacturing Company and then watched as their Manchester mills were closed down and sold off.

Replacing the old roof during the restoration of the Cheney Brothers
Machine Shop.  Photo courtesy of the Manchester Historical Society.

A rooftop ventilator, before restoration.
Photo courtesy of the Manchester Historical Society.

The same rooftop ventilator, after restoration.
Photo courtesy of the Manchester Historical Society.

Notes from the Editor:  The Manchester Historical Society bought the Cheney Brothers Machine Shop—the largest of their mill buildings—in 1999. Save America’s Treasures funding was used to replace the old roof and uncover the skylights. Equally ambitious, the Historical Society embarked on a “No Pane, No Gain Window Restoration Drive” to replace the windows and to repair the panes and window openings.

Recently, two historic Jacquard looms—equivalent to the looms that would have been used by the Cheney Brothers at the peak of their operation—were donated to the Manchester Historical Society by local benefactors. This equipment will be used as the centerpiece of a new exhibit that will tell the story of the Cheney Brothers mills and the textile industry that once flourished in New England.

A historic Jacquard loom in the new loom exhibit area.
Photo courtesy of the Manchester Historical Society.

Window restoration underway at the Manchester History Center.
Photo courtesy of the Manchester Historical Society.

Other Recommended Sites:  While the Save America’s Treasures site is the Manchester History Center, the Manchester Historical Society has more to offer a little further down the road… The Old Manchester Museum is the home of the Society’s main exhibition areas, their archives, and a small museum store. And for more in-depth background on the Cheney brothers themselves, the Cheney Homestead is open for very limited hours—usually the second Sunday of each month.

The textile industry that flourished in Manchester was important throughout New England. The American Textile History Museum is located in Lowell, Massachusetts and features an encyclopedic collection of historic textile artifacts. Also in Lowell, the National Park Service manages Lowell National Historic Park which celebrates the area’s 19th century water-powered textile mills.

The roof replacement project supported in part by a Save America's Treasures
grant.  Photo courtesy of the Manchester Historical Society.

Tour America's History Itinerary

Monday’s destination:  Mark Twain House

© 2012 Lee and Terry Price

Waterbury City Hall

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Waterbury City Hall.
Photo courtesy of the City of Waterbury.

Waterbury City Hall Building

235 Grand Street

Waterbury, CT

Website:  City of Waterbury

  

The Treasure:  One of noted architect Cass Gilbert’s greatest achievements, the Waterbury City Hall is a classic representation of the economic optimism of American cities in the early years of the 20th century.

Accessibility:  A working center of government, City Hall is open for city business.

Background:  “What Is More Lasting Than Brass?” In the 19th century, Waterbury became known as the “Brass Capital of the World,” with flourishing industries that produced vast quantities of brass buttons, buckles, coins, lamps, photographic plates, and industrial equipment. By the early years of the 20th century, three Waterbury companies dominated the field of brass manufacturing: Scovill Manufacturing Company (later Century Brass), the Anaconda-American Brass Company, and Chase Brass & Copper.

Henry Sabin Chase founded Chase Brass & Copper in 1876. Chase had ambitions for both his company and its home city, and he had the drive and vision needed to pursue them. As Chase Brass & Copper flourished under his leadership, Chase’s attention turned to his civic dreams. In the aftermaths of both a 1902 fire in the downtown portion of the city and a 1912 fire that burned down their original City Hall, Chase saw new opportunities emerging for Waterbury. Inspired by the City Beautiful movement, he ambitiously proposed building a “Court of Honor” for downtown Waterbury that would include a monumental City Hall as the centerpiece of a complex of civic buildings.

Cass Gilbert, architect of
Waterbury City Hall.
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Through a national design competition, Cass Gilbert (1859-1934) was selected to design these buildings on Waterbury’s Grand Street. Gilbert was a formidable New York architect working at the height of his powers. He had established a national reputation with his work on the Minnesota State Capitol building, the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in New York City, and the United States Supreme Court Building. At the time he began work on Waterbury City Hall, Gilbert was planning what is probably his most famous building: New York City’s Woolworth Building, a groundbreaking neo-Gothic skyscraper that reigned as the tallest building in the world for nearly two decades.

Gilbert and Chase shared a conservative—and deeply optimistic—vision. Chase embraced Gilbert’s plan for a Georgian Revival-style City Hall that simultaneously displayed both wealth and dignity. Its scale is huge and its architectural details, meticulously planned by Chase, reflect the very highest standards of the time. Naturally, the marble frieze above the entrance bears the inscription “Quid Aere Perennius,” which is Latin for “What is more lasting than brass?”

Aldermanic Chambers at Waterbury City Hall.
Photo courtesy of the City of Waterbury.

View from Mayor's Reception looking toward restored leaded glass window.
Photo courtesy of the City of Waterbury.

Notes from the Editor:  After he designed City Hall, Gilbert continued to work with Chase, moving next to the design and construction of the Chase Headquarters Building, the Waterbury National Bank building, Lincoln House, and the Chase Memorial Dispensary. Located on Field and Grand Streets, these buildings now comprise the Cass Gilbert National Register District. They were designed to impress visitors arriving by train at the city’s Union Station, built by McKim, Mead & White in 1909. Visitors to the city would emerge from the train station to experience one of the most thoughtfully designed and stately urban centers in the country.

The cupola: Above the clock, a gold leaf
dome is topped by a weathervane.
Photo courtesy of the City of Waterbury.

The people of Waterbury continue to believe in the future of their city, much as Henry Sabin Chase did. In 2007, voters approved a proposal to issue $35.9 million in bonds to restore Waterbury City Hall to its former greatness. The building itself had never fully lost its air of imposing dignity, but years of deferred maintenance took a steep toll in all the detailing that originally made it such a stunning achievement. Now restored, Waterbury City Hall continues to embody a vision of city life that is both historically important and a symbol of faith in the future of our cities.

Other Recommended Sites:  While admiring City Hall, don’t neglect the other great buildings in Chase’s “Court of Honor.” Gilbert’s Chase Headquarters Building, the Waterbury National Bank building, Lincoln House, and the Chase Memorial Dispensary are all still standing and still impressive. Museums in Waterbury include Timexpo, The Timex Museum and the Mattatuck Museum Arts & History Center.

Waterbury City Hall was wrapped in scaffolding while undergoing repointing
and masonry restoration.
Photo courtesy of the City of Waterbury.

Tour America's History Itinerary

Wednesday’s destination:  Manchester History Center

© 2012 Lee and Terry Price

Joseph Webb House

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The Joseph Webb House at the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum.
Photo courtesy of the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum.

Joseph Webb House, Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum

211 Main Street

Wethersfield, CT

Website:  Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum

  

The Treasure:  Dating back to 1752, the Joseph Webb House served as George Washington’s headquarters at a critical moment in the spring of 1781.

Accessibility:  Open every day except Tuesdays from May 1 through October 31. Variable hours during other months. Check the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum website for seasonal hour schedules.

Background:  The Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum maintains and interprets four 18th century houses: the Silas Deane House, the Isaac Stevens House, the Buttolph Williams House, and—our focus—the Joseph Webb House. Located in a quaint historic town just a little south of Hartford, the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum benefits from the distinctive colonial appearance and atmosphere of Wethersfield’s Historic District. It’s like stepping back in time.

An engraving by John Barber showing the Webb House
in 1838.  Image courtesy of the
Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum.

In 1752, Joseph Webb hired Judah Wright to build a three-and-a-half-story house and shop with a large gambrel roof. The tall roof added extra space for the goods sold by the young merchant—and likely served as sleeping quarters for his slaves, as well. After Webb’s death in 1761, the house was inherited by his son, also named Joseph.

Under the care of Joseph Webb, Jr. and his wife Abigail, the house came to be informally known as “Hospitality Hall.” On one particularly important instance, General George Washington spent five days there in May 1781. During that time, Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau planned a joint military campaign that resulted in the victorious siege at Yorktown that ended the American Revolution.

Unfortunately money ran low for the Webb family in the years following the Revolutionary War, forcing them to sell the property in 1790. The house was eventually purchased by Judge Martin Welles, remaining in the Welles family for three generations until the death of Judge Welles’ grandson in 1913. After quickly passing through several hands, the Joseph Webb House was sold to the Colonial Dames of Connecticut in 1919 for preservation as a house museum.

Paint being removed from the front facade of the Webb House while
carpenters work on the north facade.
Photo courtesy of the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum.

Notes from the Editor:  Determining the original color scheme of a historic house can be tricky. Despite the sophistication of modern paint analyses, traces of the original colors can be tantalizingly elusive. Although it would be wonderful to know the exterior colors of the Webb House at the time of its construction or when George Washington visited, the earliest clues date back only to the 1820s. For current interpretive purposes, the exterior is painted a grey-tan shade to match its appearance circa 1821.

But sometimes you get a lucky break… During the preparation of a 2005 Historic Structures Report, conservator Brian Powell found evidence concerning the original look of the room now known as the Washington bed chamber. Historic paint expert Marylou Davis was retained during the 2009-2010 restoration of the bed chamber. Based on the newly-discovered findings, Davis worked to recreate the original appearance of the room. She was able to replicate about half of the room’s original faux cedar wood graining, returning the room to the original striking and handsome appearance that Washington may well have enjoyed.

Interestingly, Marylou Davis noted similarities between the graining in the Washington bed chamber and the graining used in the Wetmore Parlor at the nearby Wadsworth Atheneum. Since both buildings date back to the mid-18th century, there is a good chance that the same craftsman may have worked at both important historic sites.

The Washington bed chamber at the Joseph Webb House.
Photo courtesy of the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum.

View of the recreated faux cedar wood graining on the wall of the
Washington bed chamber at the Joseph Webb House.
Photo courtesy of the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum.

Other Recommended Sites:  Mentioned in the paragraph above, the Wadsworth Atheneum (Hartford, CT) is both an important historic site and a remarkable collection of American art. The Wadsworth Atheneum received its own Save America’s Treasures grant in 2002.

The Joseph Webb House in the middle, with the Silas Deane House to
the left and the Isaac Stevens House to the right.
Photo courtesy of the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum.

Guest author for this entry:  Terry Price

Tour America's History Itinerary

Friday’s destination:  John Rogers Studio and Museum

© 2012 Lee and Terry Price

Avery Point Lighthouse

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The fully-restored Avery Point Lighthouse.
Photo courtesy of the Avery Point Lighthouse Society.

Avery Point Lighthouse

East side of Thames River, Pine Island Channel
Avery Point Campus of the University of Connecticut

Groton, CT

Website:  Avery Point Lighthouse

The Treasure:  This handsome octagonal lighthouse served as a beacon for guiding small craft through the waters of New London Harbor for nearly 25 years.

Accessibility:  Stroll over to appreciate the exterior of the Avery Point Lighthouse on the grounds of the Avery Point Campus of the University of Connecticut. The interior of the historic lighthouse is not open to the public.

Background:  Respect for lighthouses as public treasures dates all the way back to the ancient world, where the Lighthouse of Alexandria was named one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Built circa 250 BC, the Lighthouse of Alexandria was acclaimed for its height (rumored to tower over 400 feet high) and its civic importance to the great city of Alexandria in Egypt. It remained standing for slightly over 1,000 years before succumbing to earthquakes and neglect.

The iconic Boston Light is built on the site of
the first lighthouse on American soil.  The
standing structure is the second oldest
working lighthouse in the country.  Photo
by Dpbsmith at the English Language
Wikipedia.  Source:  Wikimedia Commons

Throughout history, lighthouses have been regarded as necessities in coastal areas. They serve as aids to navigation, warn of hazards such as shoals and reefs, and mark the entrances to harbors. Beginning with the establishment of Boston Light in 1716, American communities invested in the construction of over 1,000 lighthouses in strategic locations on islands and coastlines. People dedicated their lives to maintaining and operating the lighthouses and the handsome structures themselves became points of pride for their local communities. As modern electronic navigational systems largely eliminated the practical need for lighthouses, hundreds of these distinctive buildings remain standing today, now in need of preservation as important and attractive testaments to our maritime heritage.

According to the “Lighthouse Friends” website, there are 21 surviving lighthouses in Connecticut. Most are in need of restoration and not currently open to the public. The oldest and tallest of the Connecticut lighthouses is the New London Harbor Light, which dates back to 1761 and is 90 feet tall. It is located on the west side of New London Harbor (across from the Avery Point Lighthouse) and is now under the care of the New London Maritime Society.

Our focus today—the Avery Point Lighthouse—is the last lighthouse to be built in Connecticut, constructed in 1943 and first used in 1944. It has a distinctive octagonal shape and rises to a height of 55 feet, with a balustrade (featuring marble railing balusters recycled from the gardens of the estate that once owned the property) circling the top of the structure. The U.S. Coast Guard managed the Avery Point Lighthouse as part of their New London training center facility, using the light as a beacon for guiding small crafts in the waters around New London Harbor. In its early years, the beacon was composed of a cluster of eight fixed lights. These were replaced by flashing green lights in 1960. The Avery Point Lighthouse completed its service as a functioning lighthouse on June 25, 1967.

The Avery Point Lighthouse as it looked in the
1990s, prior to restoration.  Photo courtesy of
the Avery Point Lighthouse Society.

Notes from the Editor:  The local community valued its lighthouse.  When the University of Connecticut reported in 1997 that the tower was in “dangerously poor condition” and a safety hazard, the move to restore the Avery Point Lighthouse began in earnest. In 2000, the Avery Point Lighthouse Society (APLS) was formed. More than 25,000 people signed a petition supporting the restoration and relighting of the lighthouse. Six years and $500,000 later, the APLS relit the lighthouse in a formal ceremony on the evening of October 15, 2006.

At the relighting, APLS co-chair Jim Streeter said, “These structures and the people who kept them operational should go down in history as heroes. I think about the hours the keepers and their families spent in isolation to provide protection to maritime traffic. The work the keepers performed was labor intensive and never ending. They received little public attention or recognition for their efforts. Therefore I hope by officially dedicating the Avery Point Lighthouse to the lighthouses and keepers, it will finally bring some well-deserved recognition to these important people and structures.”

Other Recommended Sites:  There are many historic lighthouses still standing in the United States and throughout the world. The Lighthouse Directory offers information on nearly all of them. Here’s the link to the lighthouses of Connecticut. And after you finish exploring Connecticut, you can move on to the lighthouses of other areas, perhaps the other New England states, the Pacific coast, or even the lighthouses of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, or Antarctica—more than 15,400 lighthouses throughout the world to discover and explore!

As a fundraiser for the lighthouse restoration, the Avery Point Lighthouse
Society sold over 3,100 commemorative bricks, creating this attractive
walkway on the Avery Point Campus of the University of Connecticut.
Photo courtesy of the Avery Point Lighthouse Society.

Tour America's History Itinerary

Monday’s destination:  Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum

© 2012 Lee and Terry Price