THE ISAAC STEVENS HOUSE

The story of the Isaac Stevens House is in many ways the most interesting of the three Webb-Deane-Stevens properties, because it came to the Museum from descendants of the original family.  In 1786 leatherworker Isaac Stevens purchased half an acre of land on High (now Main) Street adjacent to the Webb property and in 1788 began constructing his new home, completing it in 1789.  Although smaller, the house is a center hall Georgian very similar to the Webb House.  Presumably Isaacís leather business was successful, for he included fine woodwork and paneling in the finish details.  Interestingly, the shutters he installed slid closed (as compared to the folding shutters in the Webb House), a common feature in commercial, not residential buildings.

Isaac died of disease in 1819.  His son Henry inherited the house, but also succumbed to illness by 1825.  Henryís widow Elizabeth probably expected to pass it to their children Elisha and Henry Jr., but both died by 1835.  In 1832 Mrs. Stevens married Captain Stephen Francis and had five children, four of whom survived to inherit the Stevens House jointly.

In 1906 Miss Eliza Francis left the house to her niece, Jennie Andrews, who during the 1920s was working for the Connecticut Colonial Dames as a part-time guide and waitress at the Webb House.  Facing financial difficulties and fearing that the Stevens House would be torn down if she sold it, Mrs. Andrews conveyed the title to the Colonial Dames in 1945, retaining a life interest for herself and her husband.  When Jennie died in 1958, Colonial Dames President Marcella Putnam purchased the contents of the house and donated many family pieces to the growing Museum collection.  These items mostly date to the late 18th and early 19th centuries.  They reflect the growing availability of consumer goods after the Industrial Revolution, as well as changing tastes and technologies.

The Colonial Dames restored the Stevens House from 1959-1963, and opened it to the public.  The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1964 with the establishment of the Old Wethersfield Historic District.  The house contrasts with the elite homes of the Webbs and Deanes, being more typical of the middle class which prospered during the Federal era.  The kitchen, for example, was not designed to be staffed by slaves or servants but by the women of the household themselves.  The rooms are comfortable but not overly large, and the furnishings hint at the beginning of the Victorian desire for ornament that would dominate the rest of the 19th century.  The many family objects offer visitors to the Stevens House an intimate connection with the people who originally lived and worked here.
 

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