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Visit our Tour Destination:
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
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
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