New Year Events: 2010
Upcoming events and programs offered this season at the Webb Deane Stevens Museum.
Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum to offer Little Historians program for children
2-4 in February and March
It’s never too early to learn about the past! In February and March, the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum in Wethersfield will offer Little Historians, a special program for children ages 2-4 and their caregivers. The classes are a great way to combine learning, fun, and social skills while meeting new friends!
In each session, history will be brought to life through stories, songs, dance, and other activities. Young children will learn and play while engaging in fun, educational activities with their parents or caregivers and other children. A snack will be provided each week.
Session 1, Little Historians Take a Holiday February 3,10,17 and 24 from 10 -11 a.m. Learn the history and customs of different holidays.
Session 2, Little Historians Travel Through Time March 3,10,17, and 31 from 10 -11 a.m. Explore different time periods throughout history.
Each month’s session is $45 per child/$35.00 for museum members. The program will be held at the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT 06109. Pre-registration and pre-payment are required by January 25 for Session 1 and by February 22 for Session 2. Please call 860.529.0612 for more information.
Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum Honors Black History Month with Special Tours in February - Activities Reveal the Stories of Enslaved and Free African Americans in Wethersfield
In honor of Martin Luther King Day and Black History Month, the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum in Wethersfield will offer a special tour focusing on the enslaved and free African Americans who lived in town during the 18th century.
On January 18, February 20 and February 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and February 21 and February 28 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., the museum will host tours that provide a unique look at the struggles and triumphs of the African Americans who resided in Wethersfield, including those who lived and worked in the Joseph Webb and Silas Deane houses.
Three-house tours cost $8 for adults, $7 for seniors over 60, AAA members and those active in the military and $4 for students and children ages 5 to 18, $20 per family (two adults and children). The last tour departs at 3 p.m. For more information, call (860) 529-0612.
Uncovering General George Washington's bedroom... as it really was
For the next week, Wethersfield’s Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum is restoring woodwork within historic bedchamber where the Revolutionary War’s final campaign was planned
The northeast bedchamber on the second floor of the late Joseph Webb’s Wethersfield, Connecticut home (now part of the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum) is one of the most significant places in our nation’s history. It was here, from May 19-24, 1781 that General George Washington met with French General comte de Rochambeau to lay out a joint military campaign against the British that would end the war and ensure independence for our nation’s founding 13 colonies.
General Washington’s bedchamber is now undergoing restoration and renovation work that will help visitors better appreciate the decorating aesthetic of the Colonial period, the care, attention and resources that the Webb family lavished on their home’s interior and the skill and artisanship that tradesmen of that period dedicated to their craft.
“We often believe that our forbearers in the 1700s lived within very drab, beige and grey decors,” said Webb-Deane-Stevens Executive Director and Curator Charles Lyle. “However, recent paint analysis at the Webb Deane Stevens Museum and at other historic colonial sites around New England is revealing that those who had the money to showcase their homes chose to live within much more colorful, even flamboyant environments. The restoration of Washington’s bedchamber at the Webb House will give visitors a more realistic glimpse into how those who could afford it during Colonial times really decorated.”
During a historic paint analysis at the Webb House in 2006, Brian Powell of Building Conservation Associates made an exciting discovery. The woodwork in the bedchamber where General Washington slept for five nights in 1781 had originally been finished with a faux cedar graining, artificial in appearance but very much the haute style of the day in England and Europe.
According to conservation/historic design expert and Woodstock, Conn. resident Marylou Davis, who is conducting the restoration project, wealthy families in the 1750s such as the Webbs often traveled to England, admired the lush Baroque aesthetic of British and European homes during that time and brought these posh decorating ideas back to their colonial New England homes.
After the American Revolution, the newly independent colonies supported the development of American industries in the production of wallpapers, floor coverings and furniture manufacturing, a tribute to our own aesthetic that trumpeted independence along with a more modest décor than that of England or Europe. Thus, the ornate cedar graining in Washington’s Webb House bedchamber was covered up with a staid reddish base color.
Led by Davis and using ground ochres or clay-based paints identical to those used in the 1750s, the restoration project now underway involves the accurate recreation of the original paint finishes in the bedchamber. The graining, in imitation of cedar, is being done on all woodwork elements following the bold grained striations that are visible under layers of the newer reddish over paint. The work includes the shutters, window trim, corner posts and boxed in beams on the ceiling. Sash, window casings, and the baseboards are being painted dark based upon the historic paint analysis.
The bedchamber’s floorboards are also being stripped to bare wood as was the practice during the 18th century.
The bedchamber’s flocked red original wallpaper will remain intact; however, a replica panel - which is being manufactured by Adelphi, a historic wallpaper manufacturer - will be placed in front of the bedroom’s back wall after the paint, finish and floor work is completed. The original wallpaper, manufactured in England and painstakingly applied to maximize the opulent design, retains the look of cut velvet. The replica panel will help visitors envision the room’s vibrant walls as they appeared in General Washington’s day.
The museum expects to complete restoration work in Washington’s bedchamber in April, said Lyle. “We’re looking forward to welcoming visitors on weekends in April to see the results of our efforts and add yet another chapter to the Webb-Deane-Stevens’ 300 year history.”
The museum expects to complete restoration work in Washington’s bedchamber in April, said Lyle. “We’re looking forward to welcoming visitors on weekends in April to see the results of our efforts and add yet another chapter to the Webb-Deane-Stevens’ 300 year history.”
For more information, call the museum at 860-529-0612.
The simple bed in the Slave chamber on the second floor above the kitchen at the Silas Deane House is where Deane's African servants Hagar and Pompey slept.