West Hartford's Webster House Hosting USA 250th Program

Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society

WEST HARTFORD, CT — In 2026, the United States will celebrate its 250th birthday, and West Hartford's most historic site this year is hosting an early program to kick things off.

The Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society recently announced its first series of programs aligned with "America250" initiatives developing nationwide.

"The Original Promise of America" features three lectures with West Hartford’s Gene Leach, professor of history and American studies at Trinity College over a 40-year career.

This lecture series is being presented free of charge at The Noah Webster House, but due to a limited number of seats, pre-registration is required.

An event slated for Thursday, July 18, is already full, but tickets are still available online for “Liberty” on Sept. 19 and “All Men Are Created Equal” on Nov. 21.

All three lectures will begin at 6:30 pm on the scheduled dates and held at the Noah Webster House, 227 S. Main St., West Hartford.

It will “explore how the Revolutionary generation—Noah Webster’s generation—defined the purposes and prospects of their new nation,” said Leach.

“While focusing on Revolutionary Americans’ thinking about the promise of the United States in its infancy, this series considers how much of their vision has survived, how much ought to be preserved...and why,” he said.

Jeffrey Mainville, executive director at The Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society said “as the birthplace of Noah Webster, a major player in the early development of the nation, our museum hopes to contribute at a local level to conversations surrounding the past, present and future of the United States; our triumphs, our failures, and the inevitable changes to come.”

In 2016, Congress created the United States Semi-Quincentennial Commission ‘to plan and orchestrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.'

The commission launched America250, which will run through July 4, 2026.

For more information on "The Original Promise of America," visit www.noahwebsterhouse.org or call 860-502-3247.

To register for the available programs, click on this link.

For more information on the national America250 program, click on this link.