Noah Webster House

	Noah Webster Birthplace
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. National Historic Landmark
Location	227 South Main St., West Hartford, Connecticut
Coordinates	41°44′46.27″N 72°44′47.4″W / 41.7461861°N 72.746500°W
Built	1758
NRHP reference No.	66000886
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966
Designated NHL	December 29, 1962

The Noah Webster House is a historic house museum located at 227 South Main Street, West Hartford, Connecticut. It was the boyhood home of American lexicographer Noah Webster (Junior, 1758–1853), and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1962.^[2]^[3]

Description and history

The main portion of the Webster House is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, three bays wide, with a large central chimney and center entrance. The most recent architectural survey (2020) demonstrates evidence inside the main fireplace of the hand of Daniel Webster (either the father of Noah Webster Sr, or the grandfather) as the person who built the house, and who lived across the road. His name is evident, signed with a finger in the yet-to-harden masonry. This would place the construction of the house earlier than previously believed, in the period of 1715–1720. As part of a 120-acre (49 ha) farm, and is a typical frame residence of that era. A single-story brick addition was added to the house at an early date, probably to house a kitchen, and a wood-frame ell was also eventually added to the rear. A modern museum addition, roughly in the shape of a barn, was added in the 1970s after the property was rehabilitated and prepared for use as a museum.^[3]

In 1758 the house was the birthplace of Noah Webster. His father mortgaged the farm, including this farmhouse, for Noah to attend Yale College. Webster returned to the house after graduation, and was engaged as a teacher at local schools. His interest in lexicography prompted a series of publications, beginning with a spelling book in 1783 and culminating in the publication in 1828 of his Dictionary of the American Language, which sold millions of copies during his lifetime, and laid down basic principles for dictionaries and spelling books that are still used today.^[3]

The house was continuously occupied as a private residence until 1962, when it was given to the town. In 1966 it opened as a museum. It currently contains several items with Webster associations, including early editions of the Dictionary of the American Language and Blue-backed Spellers, as well as china, glassware, a desk, and two clocks that Webster owned as an adult.

The house also serves as the headquarters of the West Hartford Historical Society.

References

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
^ ^a ^b "Noah Webster Birthplace". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved October 9, 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c Blanche Higgins Schroer (January 6, 1974). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Noah Webster Birthplace" (pdf). National Park Service. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying 5 photos, exterior, from 1967 and 1974. (2.71 MB)

External links

Noah Webster House - official site

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.

[nhlsum-2] "Noah Webster Birthplace". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved October 9, 2007.

[nrhpinv2-3] Blanche Higgins Schroer (January 6, 1974). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Noah Webster Birthplace" (pdf). National Park Service. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying 5 photos, exterior, from 1967 and 1974. (2.71 MB)

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Topics	Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types
Lists by state	List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Lists by insular areas	American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands
Lists by associated state	Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau
Other areas	District of Columbia American Legation, Morocco
Related	National Historic Preservation Act Historic Preservation Fund List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places portal Category

v t e State of Connecticut
Hartford (capital)
Topics	Index Constitution Delegations Elections Geography Government History Images People Symbols Tourist attractions
Society	Abortion Climate change Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Gun laws LGBT rights Party strength
Regions	Councils of governments Coastal Connecticut Farmington Valley Gold Coast Greater Bridgeport Greater Danbury Greater Hartford Tri-State area Connecticut panhandle Greater New Haven Housatonic Valley Litchfield Hills Lower Connecticut River Valley Central Naugatuck Valley Naugatuck River Valley Quiet Corner Southeastern Connecticut
Planning regions	Capitol Greater Bridgeport Lower Connecticut River Valley Naugatuck Valley Northeastern Connecticut Northwest Hills South Central Connecticut Southeastern Connecticut Western Connecticut
Counties	Fairfield Hartford Litchfield Middlesex New Haven New London Tolland Windham
Cities	Ansonia Bridgeport Bristol Danbury Derby Groton Hartford Meriden Middletown Milford New Britain New Haven New London Norwalk Norwich Shelton Stamford Torrington Waterbury West Haven
All towns	Andover Ansonia Ashford Avon Barkhamsted Beacon Falls Berlin Bethany Bethel Bethlehem Bloomfield Bolton Bozrah Branford Bridgeport Bridgewater Bristol Brookfield Brooklyn Burlington Canaan Canterbury Canton Chaplin Cheshire Chester Clinton Colchester Colebrook Columbia Cornwall Coventry Cromwell Danbury Darien Deep River Derby Durham East Granby East Haddam East Hampton East Hartford East Haven East Lyme East Windsor Eastford Easton Ellington Enfield Essex Fairfield Farmington Franklin Glastonbury Goshen Granby Greenwich Griswold Groton Guilford Haddam Hamden Hampton Hartford Hartland Harwinton Hebron Kent Killingly Killingworth Lebanon Ledyard Lisbon Litchfield Lyme Madison Manchester Mansfield Marlborough Meriden Middlebury Middlefield Middletown Milford Monroe Montville Morris Naugatuck New Britain New Canaan New Fairfield New Hartford New Haven New London New Milford Newington Newtown Norfolk North Branford North Canaan North Haven North Stonington Norwalk Norwich Old Lyme Old Saybrook Orange Oxford Plainfield Plainville Plymouth Pomfret Portland Preston Prospect Putnam Redding Ridgefield Rocky Hill Roxbury Salem Salisbury Scotland Seymour Sharon Shelton Sherman Simsbury Somers South Windsor Southbury Southington Sprague Stafford Stamford Sterling Stonington Stratford Suffield Thomaston Thompson Tolland Torrington Trumbull Union Vernon Voluntown Wallingford Warren Washington Waterbury Waterford Watertown West Hartford West Haven Westbrook Weston Westport Wethersfield Willington Wilton Winchester Windham Windsor Windsor Locks Wolcott Woodbridge Woodbury Woodstock
Places	Boroughs Villages Historic Places Geography
Connecticut portal

Description and history

See also

References

External links