Webb, Joseph, House

History

It was designated a National Historic Landmark for its significance as the location of the five-day military conference between George Washington and French commander Rochambeau in 1781 during the American Revolutionary War that preceded the Siege of Yorktown, the last major battle of the war. Washington lodged at the house of Joseph Webb on May 17, 1781 in Old Wethersfield. The Joseph Webb House is owned by the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum and serves as its headquarters. The interior has been restored to an 18th-century appearance and the grounds feature a Colonial Revival garden and 19th-century barn in back.

The house was built in 1752 for Joseph Webb and remained in the family until around 1820, when it was sold to Martin Welles. It remained in the Welles family until 1913, when it was purchased by a group of businessmen who intended to use it as an athenaeum or a library, but a lack of funds led to its sale to Wallace Nutting. The house opened in 1916 as a part of Nutting's "Chain of Colonial Picture Houses". Nutting sold the house to the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in 1919, who continue to operate it as a historic house museum. Nutting's murals and interpretive Colonial Revival elements were integrated with an exhibit showing his influence in 1996.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The official nomination form is linked under Sources.