A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Thursday to mark the completion of restoration work at the Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society, a project that received significant grant support from the state.

By Ronni Newton

There was great cause for celebration at the Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society on Thursday morning as Gov. Ned Lamont, Mayor Shari Cantor, and other officials gathered to mark the completion of a significant restoration project exactly 267 years after Noah Webster was born in that very building.

“This is a small house with a very big story, and preserving our historic places is more important and more challenging than ever,” said Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society Executive Director Jeffrey Mainville.

The restoration project, supported by more than $700,000 in grant funds from the Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development, as well as by the Town of West Hartford which owns the building, included replacement of the Visitor Center roof as well as preservation work on the exterior of the historic site that included replacing portions of siding and repairing windows and a faulty gutter system.

The Noah Webster House, located at 227 South Main Street in West Hartford, was built in 1747 by Noah Webster’s father and grandfather on what was then a 90-acre farm in the West District of Hartford, and is a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The room where its most famous resident and namesake was born, on Oct. 16, 1758, remains a part of the historic structure which serves as a museum and regional tourism site, and is visited annually by thousands who attend educational programs and exhibitions.

“Noah Webster was proud to be from Connecticut, and he was very active in the local affairs,” said Mainville. “His letters show that he pushed for increased development of manufacturing infrastructure in his home state, which is still a good idea, and he published an appeal to the well-to-do citizens of Hartford, imploring them to forma charitable society to support families of the men who were severely injured at work and could no longer provide for their wives and children.”

Webster, who is best known as the author of the first American dictionary – a version of which lives on today and published by Merriam Webster – and the “Blue Backed Speller” for which Blue Back Square is named, was also a teacher, lawyer, political writer, editor, member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, and early abolitionist. He was not a “founding father,” but Mainville noted that he was “one of the loudest voices that advocated for a new form of government, and he cited the Connecticut constitution as the ideal model, a document that he called the most perfect on earth.”

Chris Conway, president and CEO of the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce, said that if Noah Webster were alive today, he would probably re-define one of his own definitions. “Renovation. Noun. The act of restoring something valuable. He would probably add ‘so it can continue to inspire, educate, and bring the community together,'” said Conway, noting the remarkable collaboration between local, state, and federal partners who recognize that the Noah Webster House is a critical piece of history and investment in the future.

“It’s a cultural cornerstone, a living classroom, and perhaps fittingly for the Chamber, an economic driver,” Conway said.

Matt Pugliese, the deputy commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development, said that historic preservation plays “a critical role in economic and community development.” DECD invests in cultural and historic assets because of the impact they have on education as well as civic pride, tourism, and commerce, he noted.

State Sen. Derek Slap said the state’s investment in the Noah Webster House was a “really, really smart investment. It’s what Connecticut is all about – history, education,” he said – along with pizza and basketball. Noah Webster, Slap said, “was a revolutionary, a patriot, and an abolitionist. He believed education and reading were keys to a better society.”

State Rep. Kate Farrar said the Noah Webster House “is such a vibrant, living monument to everything that we really continue to fight for in our country.”

Cantor, who thanked all who were involved in the restoration and those in attendance, praised the renovation of the treasured landmark. “This is a beautiful building that has stood witness to nearly three centuries of American history. And today, we will ensure it stands strong for generations to come. … This is a small house that has a lot of information in it, and it’s so much more than wood and stone.”

The celebration is not just for the renovation, but to honor Webster’s legacy and the belief that history matters, said Cantor. Webster was “a true American original, an author, a teacher, lawyer, political writer, an early abolitionist. He championed the American Revolution and our constitution, and his work fundamentally changed how we communicate and understand ourselves as Americans,” she said. He was also instrumental in establishing copyright laws, epidemiology, public health, and established the country’s first daily newsletter. “He also founded the first modern American magazine in December 1887 with this motto that resonates today: ‘science the guide and truth the eternal goal.'”

As the country, and West Hartford, prepares for the America 250 commemoration of the Declaration of Independence, Cantor said the gathering at the Noah Webster House was fitting. “This renovation project is a commitment to our preserving the very foundations of our community’s history and the enduring principles of democracy and freedom that Webster himself fought to secure.”

While Noah Webster was actually a “founding teenager” in 1776, Lamont said he sees his as one of the country’s most important founding fathers. “I think in many ways Noah is the guy that made it happen,” the governor said. “I mean we were a country, we could have a Declaration of Independence, we could win a revolution, we could have a constitution, but a country is a culture and a culture is held together by a common language. So Webster’s Dictionary is not just a list of words and proper spelling of the word  ‘color’ and adding words like ‘skunk’ and ‘squash.’ But is was also showing that America was not just an offshoot of Britain but was its own cultural entity.” Webster reinforced that as a teacher, Lamont said, also promoting the universal right to public education.

“Sometimes I think we need Noah Webster more than ever because we sometimes don’t seem to have a common basis of facts to work from or a common understanding of what words mean,” said Lamont. As the 250th anniversary approaches, he said, it’s an important time to remember how important Noah Webster was to the state and country.

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