What's New With Webster?
Jeff Mainville was Our Guest
We were happy to welcome back Jeff Mainville, CEO of the Noah Webster House\West Hartford Historical Society. Jeff has been at the helm for over a year now, making repairs to the old house, setting up a climate-controlled archives room, and starting new programs.
Coming up is America 250 (in 2026), and the NWH will play a big role in providing programs to celebrate our Country’s semiquincentennial (250 years). Leading up to this will be many lectures, a summer workshop for teachers, a summer adventure camp in conjunction with Westmoor Park, Alefests, and of course, the ever-popular “Haunted Happenings.”
Last year (and in the year to come) WH Rotary provided funding for the “Life on Webster Farm” program and this proven to be a nice success. The program caters to families and introduces them to the nuances of 18th Century life in the West Division of Hartford.
There has been a 62% increase in school visits from 2023-2024; every West Hartford fifth grader will visit the House at sometime during the school year.
This year there will be three new educational programs:
- The Connecticut Town Meeting for eighth graders
- Webster’s Wanderings – the geography of early America (for fourth graders)
- “Sketches in American Policy” for High Schoolers. This was Webster’s series of essays that provided the basis for the U.S. constitution.
And once again, they will sponsor the Connecticut portion of the Scripps National Spelling Bee,
West Hartford Rotary and the Noah Webster House have been partners since 1960. The house was slated to be demolished and West Hartford Rotarian, Gordon Bennett, stepped up and saved the building from the wrecking ball.
AND DON'T FORGET:
As we approach the holiday season, stop by and check out the West Harford Gift Store located in the foyer!