The Silas Deane House is a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

at 203 Main Street in

Wethersfield, Connecticut Wethersfield ( ) is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located immediately south of Hartford along the Connecticut River. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 27,298 at the time ...

. Built in 1766, this

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

was the home of

Silas Deane Silas Deane (September 23, 1789) was an American merchant, politician, and diplomat, and a supporter of American independence. Deane served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, where he signed the Continental Association, and then became t ...

(1737–1789), the first foreign diplomat for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Description and history

The Deane house is a two-story wood-frame structure, four bays wide, with two asymmetrically placed interior chimneys, and a two-story ell extending to the rear. The main entry, in the second bay from the right, is flanked by pilasters and topped by a crowned and dentillated pediment. The interior features original woodwork, including pilasters and fully paneled fireplaces, and an elaborate stairway balustrade.. The house was built in 1766 by

. Trained as a lawyer, Deane became involved in resistance to attempts by the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

to levy taxes on its colonies in the late 1760s, served in the

First Continental Congress The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates of twelve of the Thirteen Colonies held from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia at the beginning of the American Revolution. The meeting was organized b ...

in 1774, and was elected to the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress (1775–1781) was the meetings of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, which established American independence ...

in 1775. Deane was selected in March 1776 by that Congress to represent it in dealings with the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

. Deane successfully negotiated the secret agreement by which France supported the nascent United States prior to its formal entry into the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

in 1778, after signing a formal treaty of alliance negotiated by a commission that included Deane. He later became disenchanted with the rebel cause, and died in exile in Europe. In 1959, Deane's house was donated to

The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America (often abbreviated as NSCDA) is an American lineage society composed of women who are descended from an ancestor "who came to reside in an American Colony before 1776, and whose services wer ...

in Connecticut and in 1963–1965, it was restored. It is now open as part of the

Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum The Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum, located in Wethersfield, Connecticut, is owned and operated by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in Connecticut. The museum features three 18th-century houses that sit on their original sites i ...

and includes original furniture and portraits of Deane and his second wife. The Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum also owns the adjacent 18th-century Joseph Webb House and the

Isaac Stevens House Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

in Old Wethersfield, and also operates the nearby

Buttolph–Williams House The Buttolph–Williams House is a historic house museum at 249 Broad Street in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Built in 1711, it is one of the oldest surviving houses in the town. It is owned by Connecticut Landmarks, a historic preservation orga ...

, which is owned by

Connecticut Landmarks Connecticut Landmarks is a non-profit organization that has restored and operates significant historic house museums in Connecticut. Headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, the organization was founded in 1936 as the Antiquarian & Landmarks Socie ...

. The house was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1970, and was declared a

in 1972.

References

External links

Silas Deane House, Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum
{{National Register of Historic Places Houses completed in 1766 Houses in Wethersfield, Connecticut Museums in Hartford County, Connecticut Historic house museums in Connecticut National Historic Landmarks in Connecticut Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Hartford County, Connecticut 1766 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies Historic district contributing properties in Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References

External links