Newport House to be Reinterpreted to Show City's Revolutionary Role

Newport was a hotspot in the American Revolutionary war and it’s a topic that has consistently piqued the interest of visitors.

The folks at the Newport Historical Society have noticed. And they’re reinterpreting their traditional house museum, the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House, to focus on city life during the war.

“We have found that visitors are extremely interested in learning about Newport’s contribution to the American Revolution. Transitioning the museum’s focus to feature the events and people surrounding this pivotal era is a logical step forward and the country prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of its founding,” said the Society’s Executive Director Ruth Taylor.

Rather than featuring high back settees and colonial-era dining tables, the Society has committed to a multiphase plan to introduce the property as Revolution House, a museum dedicated to telling the story of Newport’s role during the American Revolution. The first exhibit, Revolution House: John G. Wanton and Newport at War, debuts August 9, 2015 and highlights Newport’s role in the American Revolution and the devastating effect the war had on the once bustling colonial city.

The Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House has served as a traditional house museum displaying furniture and household objects from the colonial era since opening to the public in 1930. “We have found that visitors are extremely interested in learning about Newport’s contribution to the American Revolution. Transitioning the museum’s focus to feature the events and people surrounding this pivotal era is a logical step forward and the country prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of its founding,” explains the Society’s Executive Director Ruth Taylor.

This debut exhibit is a preliminary version of a whole-house reinterpretation that will use the life experiences of the house’s occupants to tell the story of the American Revolution. The initial installation focuses on the experiences of John G. Wanton who purchased the house in 1765 after its former occupant, Martin Howard, was run out of town during the 1765 Stamp Act Riot for his Loyalist sympathies. John G. Wanton and Newport at War follows Wanton from the time he purchased the house through the end of Newport’s British occupation in 1779. Wanton represents a cross-section of Newport society and serves as an apt example of the unique revolutionary experience in Newport.

The exhibit debuts to the public on Sunday August 9, 2015. General admission is free from August 9-14, 2015 from 11am-1pm; donations are welcome. Beginning August 15, 2015, visitors can tour Revolution House on the historic site tour by calling the Brick Market: Museum & Shop at 401-841-8770; tours cost $8 per person and are free for NHS members.

“In many ways, so much of what we know about American history started here in colonial Rhode Island. The Revolution House plans help us tell more about this pivotal point and directly make these connections to the greater public,” Taylor said.

For more information, visit www.NewportHistory.org.

Photo courtesy: Newport Historical Society.