Defining Moment For Webster House

WEST HARTFORD, CT — One of the town's most historic sites received a nice bestowal from the state when Gov. Ned Lamont Friday announced $415,000 in state funding for renovations and improvements there.

Lamont and several other dignitaries were at the Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society Friday afternoon for the announcement, which came courtesy of the State Bond Commission.

Located at 227 S. Main St., the Noah Webster House was once home to famed lexographer Noah Webster.

While he didn't invent the English language, Webster — born in 1758 and died in 1843 — refined it, hence the publication of Webster's Dictionary.

When most folks learn about the meaning of words, Webster likely played a role.

"He is often called the Father of American Scholarship and Education," reads an introduction on the history of Webster on the Webster's Dictionary website.

At Friday's event, museum, town and state officials were not chapfallen at the news of the grant.

"The Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society was thrilled to host Governor Ned Lamont this afternoon,"read a post on the museum's Facebook page.

According to the museum, Webster House Executive Director Jennifer Matos gave a tour of Noah Webster's 1720-era birthplace to Lamont, Walter W Woodward, Connecticut State Historian emeritus, and state Rep. Tammy Exum, D-West Hartford.

The visit followed the State Bond Commission meeting Friday morning, where a proposal to fund $415,000 to the Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical was approved, the museum said via Facebook.

The $415,000 will cover an archival shelving system that will allow the museum to complete the West Hartford History Center and renovations to the orientation area and shop.

Museum officials say the funding will support local tourism and allow the museum to launch its social enterprise, "The West Hartford Gift Shop. "

In addition to Exum and Lamont, the museum posted a "thank you" to state Rep. Kate Farrar, D-West Hartford, state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, D-West Hartford, state Sen. Derek Slap, D-West Hartford, and to the State Bond Commission "for supporting our National Historic Landmark."

For more information on Noah Webster, click on this link.

For more information on the Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society, click on this link.

For the Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society Facebook page, click on this link.