i drove up to connecticut tuesday morning to visit with my sister for a few days. we paddled about on her town's lake and toured several historic homes in wethersfield. i also was able to get a lot done on the shawl i've been knitting. it was a relaxing week.
tuesday and wednesday were spent at the lake . .
a delicious dinner of lobster with broccoli slaw and corn on the cob (which we were to full to have and so saved it for another night).
wednesday night . .
thursday morning . .
trying on a pretty ring in a local consignment store . .
clams with the bellies and mocha milkshakes at harry's . .
it was warm in the sun, but cool in the shade. i was glad i had worn my sweatshirt.
friday morning we visited several historic houses in wethersfield.
taking the path through the woods to the buttolph-williams house, also known as the house that inspired elizabeth george speare when she was writing the witch of blackbird pond.
the front door . .
which was reinforced with iron nails hammered sporadically throughout, and alternating vertical and horizontal boards on the inner side, to help prevent an intruder from splintering it with an axe.
the hearth with settle in front to keep the warmth of the fire from escaping.
a turner to help rotate the chicken which would have been on a spit in front of the fire.
trestle kitchen table with wooden plates . .
windows with muntins and mullions . . or "grilles."
an old chest with the date carved into it . .
and also sunflowers.
a spinning wheel and loom for weaving the flax . .
along with a spinner's weasel to wind the desired length of yarn. an inner mechanism would make a "pop" sound when the proper length was reached (indicating a possible reference to the nursery rhyme "pop goes the weasel").
it is now thought that the house was built by benjamin belden in 1714 (and not david buttolph as originally believed). the house was sold to daniel williams in 1721. so, the house was originally used as a tavern and the above room would have been the dining room for the guests. the connecticut landmarks association acquired the house in 1941 and opened it to the public after an extensive restoration in 1951. elizabeth george speare lived in wethersfield for several years in the late 50's and found the house inspiring for her book, the witch of blackbird pond which was published in 1958, and which earned the town of wethersfield the distinction of being labeled a "literary landmark." here is a link to the wethersfield library's map of the events that take place in the book.
witch trials in connecticut preceded the salem trials by fifty years. wethersfield itself saw nine people accused and three convicted between 1648 and 1651.
the upstairs bedroom with william and mary furniture . .
and a popular pattern motif . .
seen also in the bed curtains.
the fireplace with bedpan to warm the bed in winter . .
and plate with king charles . .
the next house we visited was the silas deane house . .
silas deane was a lawyer from groton, connecticut who lived from 1737 to 1789. he married wealthy widow mehitabel nott webb in 1763 (along with her six children). unfortunately, she died three years later of tuberculosis, leaving him with the six stepchildren and their own young child. the webb house was set to pass on to the oldest webb son, so silas built a house for himself and his child directly next door.
the kitchen . .
with a large cone of sugar . .
and smokehouse behind the fireplace.
one of the upstair's bedrooms . .
and deane's room . .
i love the large stair landings and the wide planked wood floors.
silas deane's interesting political career. he never made it back home after serving the government in france and died in england in 1789. there were several biographies of him in the museum's bookstore which i thought i had taken a photo of, but which i now don't see in my photo library. here's the wikipedia information.
the next house we visited was the stevens house built in 1789 by leatherworker isaac stevens. his descendents lived in the house for 170 years, when it was acquired by the state of connecticut and subsequently restored from 1959 to 1963.
an old grandfather clock without the minute hand . .
a clothes wash basin . .
and a beautiful piano.
the last house we walked through was the webb house whose restoration was undergoing a renovation.
they had uncovered some old murals beneath wallpaper . .
a view of the garden from an upper floor window . .
this chest of drawers was discovered to have a beautiful floral motif (it had been covered in paint). (she mentioned the time period, but i've forgotten the date.)
the webb house was built in 1752 and became famous for serving as george washington's headquarters in may of 1781. this is the house mehitabel nott webb lived in with her six children and second husband silas deane before succumbing to tb in 1767. joseph webb's oldest son, joseph jr., lived in it for many years with his wife abigail chester, and it was well known for lavish parties and entertaining, earning it the nickname "hospitality hall."
the room that george washington stayed in and where he met with the french commander the comte de rochambeau, with whom he finalized a campaign which led to a victory at yorktown, helping to end the american revolution.
the tour guide pointed out the sleeping pad set outside the door to the room washington slept in and mentioned that it would have been where william lee stayed, washington's enslaved personal assistant.
these last two photos were taken in the very large attic of the webb house . .
we were definitely ready for lunch afterwards . .
and a special treat at the ice cream shop . . (i had coffee and kathy bought a quart of her favorite flavor, lemon pie - which i also had and which was very good!) . .
and warren brought home our favorite cookies from the italian bakery near his work. we played a few rounds of charades during the week and watched the musical wonka (kind of like a "prequel" to willy wonka and the chocolate factory . . we enjoyed it).
