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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
WETHERSFIELD, Conn. (January, 2010) – 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.
In the Webb house, visitors will climb up to the attic where the slaves slept and explore the area where William Lee, Washington’s personal valet, probably would have stayed while protecting Washington asleep in the room next to him. In the Deane house, visitors will hear about Hagar and Pompey who came to the Deane house as part of Elizabeth Deane’s dowry. The tour includes the “modern” 1770’s kitchen where Hagar worked and visited with her friends and the slave chamber where she and Pompey slept. Visitors will also learn about the path their lives took after the death of Silas Deane.
The tour includes the inspiring stories of many African Americans, such as Quash Gomer, who was captured in Angola and became a slave in Wethersfield. He later bought his freedom from his owner, married Elenor Smith and had 10 children. The tour will also reveal the Revolutionary War’s impact on slavery.
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.
About the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum
Located in the heart of Connecticut’s largest historic district, the museum, which consists of three authentically restored 18th-century homes, brings Wethersfield’s rich history to life, from the American Revolution to the early 20th century. The museum includes the 1752 Joseph Webb House, which served as George Washington’s Revolutionary War headquarters in May 1781, when he met with French General le conte de Rochambeau; the 1766 Silas Deane House, built for America’s first diplomat to France; and the 1788 Isaac Stevens House, which depicts life in the 18th and 19th centuries through original family objects and includes a new children’s museum.
The Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum, located at 211 Main St., Wethersfield, is open daily - with the exception of Tuesday - from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., May through October, and on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., November 1 through April 30. Three-house tours cost $8 for adults and $4 for students and children ages 5 to 18. For information about current exhibits, upcoming events or Museum School classes, call (860) 529-0612 or visit www.webb-deane-stevens.org.
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