The Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum of Wethersfield sits in the largest historic district of Connecticut and is comprised of three historic homes from the 18th and 19th centuries. Owned and operated by the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Connecticut since 1919, the three-house museum offers a fun and informative tour that is filled with great lessons in political, military and social history. You’ll be surprised at the amount of important American history that took place in these homes!
History
Isaac Stevens House
Built by leatherworker Isaac Stevens in 1788-1789, the house was completed just prior to Isaac’s marriage to Sarah Wright.
After Isaac Stevens’ death in 1819, his son Henry inherited the house. Unfortunately, six years later, Henry died of illness. In 1828, Henry’s widow Elizabeth married a man named a local merchant Stephen Francis. Remarkably, the house remained in possession of the Francis family for 170 years!
Silas Deane House
Built in 1766, the house was built by Silas Deane- a merchant, politician and diplomat who played a prominent role in foreign relations and the American Revolution.
Having graduated from Yale University in 1758 and trained as a lawyer, Deane moved to Wethersfield, Connecticut in the early 1760s to establish himself as a merchant. In Wethersfield, Deane married the widow Mehitabel (Nott) Webb and in 1764 they had their son Jesse. In 1766, Silas Deane built his house for the family next to the Joseph Webb house.
Unfortunately for the young family, Mehitable died in 1767, leaving Silas Deane to raise their young son and six Webb children. Within a few years, Deane again married a widow, Elizabeth (Saltonstall) Evards, granddaughter of a former Connecticut governor. Her family’s prominence undoubtedly helped Silas Deane in his political and social ambitions.
In 1769, Silas Deane was elected to the Connecticut Committee of Correspondence and from 1774 to 1776, he served as a delegate for Connecticut in the First Continental Congress. On March 2, 1776, the Continental Congress appointed Deane as a secret envoy to France- he became the first foreign diplomat with the job of courting the French to provide financial aid to the American cause.
In December 1776, Silas Deane was joined in his mission by two other American diplomats: Arthur Lee and Benjamin Franklin. With the joining of these three men in Paris, they were officially recognized as a diplomatic delegation. Sadly, Silas’ wife Elizabeth died in 1777 while he was in Paris.
These men were responsible for military and financial aid being sent by the French, the endorsement of foreign fighters including Marquis de Lafayette and the Baron von Steuben and the signing of an official treaty with France on February 6, 1778. Deane continued his work in Paris until March 1778, when he received a letter from Congress for his recall. He arrived in Philadelphia on July 14, 1778 and was shocked when he learned that he was being accused of misuse of government funds (a charge begun by his fellow commissioner, Arthur Lee). With his account books all in Paris, Deane was unable to defend himself of the charges. In 1780, Deane was able to return to France to retrieve his records.
Silas Deane’s woes continued into 1781 when a letter written to his brother, in which he described the American war effort as “hopeless” and that the colonies should attempt to reconcile with Britain, was intercepted by the British. This letter was published in the colonies and the hapless Deane was accused of being a traitor.
Silas Deane would remain outside the United States the remainder of his life. He lived in Paris, Ghent and then London, where Deane planned a return to America to regain his reputation and finances; however, on September 23, 1789, he became ill and died while his America-bound ship received repairs. He never again lived in his home in Wethersfield, CT.
While Silas Deane was serving in the Continental Congress, his wife Elizabeth continued to host prominent individuals at their residence. In 1774, John Adams visited Wethersfield on his way from Boston to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia and took tea with Mrs. Deane at this house (possibly in the parlor shown below). Then on June 29, 1775 (the same day we visited) George Washington and Charles Lee dined at the house with Elizabeth- Washington was on his way to Boston to take command of the army. Silas Deane was absent from both of these historic visits.
Joseph Webb House
The house was built in 1752 by successful merchant and ship owner Joseph Webb following his recent marriage to Mehitabel Nott (yes- the same Mehitabel who would marry Silas Deane). The beautiful three-story house with a gambrel roof was specially designed to store goods and merchandise in the upper level. During their short marriage, Joseph and Mehitabel had six children together (their son Samuel Blachley Webb served as an aide for Generals Washington and Putnam).
In 1761, Joseph died and his son Joseph Jr. inherited the house. In 1774, Joseph Jr. married Abigail Chester- the two of them were known to frequently entertain guests that their home became known as “Hospitality Hall.”
What the Joseph Webb House is most famous for is the meeting between General George Washington and French General Rochambeau in May 1781. The house was likely chosen for the historic meeting due to its central location and because Joseph Webb’s brother Samuel served as one of General Washington’s aide-de-camps. On May 17, 1781, Washington wrote that he “lodged…at the house of Joseph Webb.”
Washington stayed at the Joseph Webb House for five days and met with French General Rochambeau in one of the front parlors from May 21-22, 1781. Their meeting was to discuss and plan the American-French military operations going forward, now known as the Wethersfield Conference. This planning eventually led to the victorious march to Yorktown, Virginia where the Franco-American force surrounded and defeated the British army under General Cornwallis. Of note, this meeting did not necessarily decide the Yorktown plan- in fact, General Washington desired to attack the British in New York City (perhaps he never got over his embarrassing loss of the city in 1776).
Following the war, Joseph Webb was forced to sell the house in 1790 due to financial struggles (and after being sent to debtors prison in Hartford twice). The house remained a private residence until 1914, when it was purchased by a group of local businessmen who desired to make it a library (this plan eventually failed). In 1916, Wallace Nutting purchased the home and opened it for tours. In 1919, the house was sold to the Colonial Dames of Connecticut, who still manage and preserve the house as a museum.
Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum
It was a hot June day when we visited the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum in Old Wethersfield, which is the largest historic district in Connecticut with over 150 colonial homes. The town of Wethersfield is full of history- it is arguably the oldest town in the state of Connecticut, held four witch trials (and a few executions) in the 1600s and was home to Yale University from 1716-1718. But at the heart of it all are the three colonial homes on Main Street that make up the museum, two of which have crucial connections to the beginnings of the United States.
We started our tour at the Joseph Webb House, which houses the museum shop and front desk in the restored kitchen and dining room of the house, where you can buy books, goods and your tour tickets (the three house tour is $12 for adults with various pricing options on their website).
Cher and I joined a group of four individuals for the three house tour (which lasted about one hour), led by a charismatic and very knowledgeable tour guide. We first visited the Silas Deane House, known for its heavy dutch front door and beautiful foyer staircase. We learned about the unfortunate life and end of diplomat Silas Deane and the famous guests his wife Elizabeth hosted at the outset of the American Revolution. It was an awesome experience standing in the same home that was visited by the likes of John Adams and George Washington.
Next we visited the Isaac Stevens House, which is furnished to look like a middle class family’s home in the 1820s/1830s, with many original family items in the house (a few are below- including a wall clock with naval battle scenes from the War of 1812). On the second floor of the house is a children’s exhibit that shows what life was like for a 19th century child. This exhibit displays many historic children’s toys and artifacts (including some creepy looking dolls).
Lastly, we toured the most popular home on the property, the Joseph Webb House. While Joseph Webb may not be a household name (although his brother Samuel played a prominent role as an officer in the Continental Army), the house is famous for the Wethersfield Conference.
American General Washington and French General Rochambeau met at this residence to discuss the joint operations between the French and American Armies. Although the exact parlor that was used for the meeting is unknown (there are two), a man by the name of Wallace Nutting decorated and dubbed one of the rooms the “Yorktown Parlor” (seen below). For the brief time that Wallace Nutting owned the Joseph Webb House, it was considered part of “The Wallace Nutting Chain of Colonial Picture Houses” and known for its unique wall art.
The last room on the Joseph Webb House tour was the second-story bedroom that General Washington stayed in. This corner room has been renovated to look as it did during Washington’s stay and has some of the original ornate wallpaper that was there during his stay in 1781. When a section of the original wallpaper was removed and examined, an imprint of an English tax stamp was found on it- which dated the wallpaper between 1765-1766 (during the brief time of the Stamp Act). It is remarkable to see the exact same wall pattern and look out the same window George Washington would have seen. You can almost imagine him standing there gazing out the window, wondering if he was making the right decisions for his army and nascent nation.
After the tour we decided to grab lunch across the street at a local favorite: Lucky Lou’s. The food, drinks and service were all fantastic- a perfect spot to grab a beer and lunch following (or before) a tour of the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum. After lunch, we walked up and down Main Street and visited a few shops and read the historic signs that are posted in town.
Nearby on Main Street is the First Church of Christ in Wethersfield, whose congregation was first founded in 1635. The current brick church with iconic colonial white steeple was built from 1761-1764 and would have been there during Washington and Rochambeau’s meeting and during the French encampment in and near the town as they marched from Newport, Rhode Island to Yorktown, Virginia in 1781.
Wethersfield, Connecticut has so much to offer- from its unique American history, colonial architecture, delicious food and quaint shops, it is a town worth visiting!