Joseph Webb Hall

Upcoming events at Joseph Webb Hall

Community

WDS BOOK CLUB | Life Along The Hudson: The Historic Country Estates of the Livingston Family

Calling all bookworms, history buffs, preservationists and culture mavens! Join us for our NEW year-long book club, accompanied by a lecture series with acclaimed authors. This month we’re reading: Life Along The Hudson: The Historic Country Estates of the Livingston Family By Pieter Estersohn Tuesday, April 14, 6 pm | In Person and Virtual Moderated by TR Revella-Hamilton, WDS Director of Preservation & Collections Meet fellow history enthusiasts in person as we discuss thought-provoking books by acclaimed authors. Our carefully curated monthly selections delve into the rich tapestry of American and European history, featuring compelling works about revolutionary figures, historic preservation, decorative arts, and stories that shaped our cultural landscape. Whether you’re a seasoned historian, preservation enthusiast, or simply curious about the stories behind our built heritage, there’s a place for you in our community of learners. JOIN BOOK CLUB How it Works: Book Club meets bimonthly at the Museum and via Zoom on the second Tuesday of each designated month, unless otherwise noted. Book Club members will receive the newest book title via email two months prior to the book club date. You may join Book Club at any point during the year.

Tue 14 Apr18:00Joseph Webb Hall

via Joseph Webb Hall

Community

Webb Barn Sale

WEBB BARN SALE Saturday, April 18 & Sunday, April 19 | 9:00 AM-3:00 PM | Rain or Shine! One person’s heirloom is another’s greatest find. The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in The State of Connecticut (NSCDA-CT) returns with their beloved biennial sale — a community favorite fundraiser in support of the Webb Deane Stevens Museum. Browse an extraordinary array of donated goods: fine silver, tableware, art, jewelry, linens, rugs, small furniture, kitchenware, collectibles, toys, garden items, holiday décor, and so much more. Every purchase directly supports the preservation and programming of one of Connecticut’s most cherished historic landmarks. Come early for first pick—and come ready to discover something wonderful. Admission: $5 per adult | Children under 18 free Payment: Cash, check, and credit cards accepted at the door Parking: Free parking is available behind the Webb Barn on the museum campus, on Main Street, at the Keeney Memorial Cultural Center (200 Main Street), and at the Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department lot (171 Main Street).

Sat 18 Apr09:00Joseph Webb Hall

via Joseph Webb Hall

Community

Webb Barn Sale

WEBB BARN SALE Saturday, April 18 & Sunday, April 19 | 9:00 AM-3:00 PM | Rain or Shine! One person’s heirloom is another’s greatest find. The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in The State of Connecticut (NSCDA-CT) returns with their beloved biennial sale — a community favorite fundraiser in support of the Webb Deane Stevens Museum. Browse an extraordinary array of donated goods: fine silver, tableware, art, jewelry, linens, rugs, small furniture, kitchenware, collectibles, toys, garden items, holiday décor, and so much more. Every purchase directly supports the preservation and programming of one of Connecticut’s most cherished historic landmarks. Come early for first pick—and come ready to discover something wonderful. Admission: $5 per adult | Children under 18 free Payment: Cash, check, and credit cards accepted at the door Parking: Free parking is available behind the Webb Barn on the museum campus, on Main Street, at the Keeney Memorial Cultural Center (200 Main Street), and at the Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department lot (171 Main Street).

Sun 19 Apr09:00Joseph Webb Hall

via Joseph Webb Hall

Dance

PERFORMANCE | American Contemporary Dances with The Hartford Dance Collective

Purchase Tickets Join us in the intimate Webb barn for the Museum’s first commissioned dance performance! Experience dance in-the-round, featuring new and established works by The Hartford Dance Collective. Rooted in themes of female empowerment, the dances explore strength, resilience, and self-expression through bold physicality and nuanced storytelling. Inspired by America’s 250th anniversary, the Collective enriches the story of our nation’s founding by amplifying women’s voices and experiences. Surrounded by history and audience alike, the dancers invite viewers into a shared space where past and present converge—where the courage to claim one’s voice echoes the spirit of those who shaped a new nation within these very walls. About This Commission In commissioning this work, the Museum celebrates both a milestone and a continuation: bringing contemporary artists into dialogue with a site where questions of identity, purpose, and collective future have always lived. PERFORMANCE | Friday, May 8, 7 PM 5:30 PM | VIP Ticketholders Talkback with Hartford Dance Collective 6:15 PM | Doors open 6:15-7:00 PM | Cash bar available, furnished by Vino Crudo 7:00 PM | Performance in-the-round TICKETS | $18 / $25 / $30 / $45 Students (16-22) | $18 Members | $25 General Admission | $30 Inner Circle VIP | $45 Premiere seating: first two rows Pre-performance talk-back with dancers and choreographers of Hartford Dance Collective Early-admission Reserved Parking Access to one open...

Fri 8 May19:00Joseph Webb Hall

via Joseph Webb Hall

Community

CLASS | Saturday Morning Arts: Open-Level Dance Class with The Hartford Dance Collective

Purchase Tickets Dance with us! Join us one Saturday a month at 10 am to awaken your creativity and get moving. Each month, a choreographer from the Hartford Dance Collective will lead an open-level dance class designed to build curiosity, strength, range of motion and confidence in your own  movement. Classes include warm-ups, exercises in mobility, and dynamic choreography phrasework. If you’ve been dancing all your life, are a former dancer, or have never danced before, YOU ARE WELCOME HERE! Move your body freely in a supportive community, surrounded by art and our beautiful Colonial Revival Garden. Date: May 9 Tickets: $20 The Hartford Dance Collective | The Hartford Dance Collective aims to empower women to have a voice and an equal opportunity in dance by providing choreographic and leadership opportunities. By sharing professional contemporary dance with new audiences and providing performances in diverse locations, they work to bridge the gap between the arts and the community. Their studio space at Parkville Sounds in Hartford, CT, provides creatives with a home to hone in on their movement vocabulary, and they hold the belief that everyone can dance and everyone should. www.thedancecollective.org

Sat 9 May10:00Joseph Webb Hall

via Joseph Webb Hall

Dance

PERFORMANCE | American Contemporary Dances with The Hartford Dance Collective

Purchase Tickets Join us in the intimate Webb barn for the Museum’s first commissioned dance performance! Experience dance in-the-round, featuring new and established works by The Hartford Dance Collective. Rooted in themes of female empowerment, the dances explore strength, resilience, and self-expression through bold physicality and nuanced storytelling. Inspired by America’s 250th anniversary, the Collective enriches the story of our nation’s founding by amplifying women’s voices and experiences. Surrounded by history and audience alike, the dancers invite viewers into a shared space where past and present converge—where the courage to claim one’s voice echoes the spirit of those who shaped a new nation within these very walls. About This Commission In commissioning this work, the Museum celebrates both a milestone and a continuation: bringing contemporary artists into dialogue with a site where questions of identity, purpose, and collective future have always lived. PERFORMANCE | Saturday, May 9, 2 PM 12:30 PM | VIP ticket holders talkback with Hartford Dance Collective 1:15 PM | Doors open 1:15-2:00 PM | Cash Bar, furnished by Vino Crudo 2:00 PM | Performance in-the-round TICKETS | $18 / $25 / $30 / $45 Students (16-22) | $18 Members | $25 General Admission | $30 Inner Circle VIP | $45 Premiere seating: first two rows Pre-performance talk-back with dancers and choreographers of Hartford Dance Collective Early-admission Reserved Parking Access to one open rehearsal...

Sat 9 May14:00Joseph Webb Hall

via Joseph Webb Hall

Community

TEA | Mother's Day Tea

Purchase Tickets Treat the special women in your life to an elegant Mother’s Day filled with flowers and flavor. Enjoy music and a morning stroll through our gardens with WDS Head Gardener Pete Winne, learning about the blooms and blossoms that shine in early Spring. Then share tea, cake, and conversation overlooking the beautiful grounds. Whether you’re celebrating a mother, grandmother, daughter, or dear friend, this is a gracious way to honor the women who you hold dear. Mother’s Day Tea Menu* Savory Bites Egg Tartlett (DF, GF) Smoked Salmon Finger Sandwiches Cucumber & Cheddar Finger Sandwiches Coronation Chicken Tea Sandwich Sweet Treats Assorted Scones with Cream & Jam Fruit Tart Flourless Chocolate Torte (GF) Bakewell Tart Beverages Blackberry Iced Tea Strawberry Lemonade Selection of Hot Tea *Menu subject to change. Please share allergens and food sensitivities to Note: Each event is limited to 20 guests. To book a private tour and tea for your friends and family,

Sun 10 May10:00Joseph Webb Hall

via Joseph Webb Hall

Community

LECTURE | The Art of Collecting

LECTURE | The Art of Collecting with Ned Lazaro Thursday, May 14, 7:00 PM Purchase Tickets What drives someone to seek out a two-hundred-year-old sampler—and what does that impulse tell us about who we are? Join textile historian Ned Lazaro, Associate Curator of Textiles and Costumes at The Wadsworth Atheneum and former curator of textiles at Historic Deerfield for a moderated discussion on the history of collecting schoolgirl samplers and other forms of needlepoint in the United States. From early needlework to printed broadsides, discover how these rescued objects shaped our understanding of material culture—and why they still matter. Tickets: $15 |$12.50 Virtual | $10 Members This lecture will be offered in person and via Zoom. *Zoom link will be provided in advance of the lecture to Members and Virtual ticket holders. Ned Lazaro | David E. (Ned) Lazaro is the Associate Curator of Costume and Textiles at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut. He manages a collection of roughly 7,500 items, including costumes and textiles ranging from Egyptian artifacts to contemporary fashion. Lazaro specializes in interpreting fashion history, including 18th-to-20th-century deportment.

Thu 14 May19:00Joseph Webb Hall

via Joseph Webb Hall

Community

FEUDING FOUNDERS COLLECTIVE | Feuding Founders: The Untold Drama of Silas Deane, John Jay, and the Lees of Virginia

Purchase Tickets We tend to remember the founders as marble men — monumental, unified, certain. The truth is messier and more interesting. The Feuding Founders Collective is a multi-site public history initiative that humanizes Silas Deane, John Jay, and the Lee brothers of Virginia — men who were in conversation, in collaboration, and sometimes in conflict with one another. Presented in partnership with Jay Heritage Center (NY), Friends of John Jay Homestead, and Menokin and Stratford Hall (VA), this series destabilizes the one-dimensional portraits we’ve inherited and invites audiences to sit with the full complexity of these lives: the ambition and the insecurity, the idealism and the grudges, the smear campaigns and the shared cause. In an era of weaponized media and public takedowns, these 250-year-old stories feel less like history and more like a mirror — and understanding how the founders navigated political polarization, character assassination, and the tension between principle and self-interest may be one of the most useful things the past can offer us right now. Three sites. Three perspectives.

Sat 16 May10:00Joseph Webb Hall

via Joseph Webb Hall

Community

FREE EVENT | Wethersfield 250 Jubilee: Revolutionary War Encampment & Traditional Trades Fair

FREE EVENT| Wethersfield 250 Jubilee: Revolutionary War Encampment & Traditional Trades Fair Saturday, May 23, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Join us for a free, family-friendly day that celebrates our Colonial heritage and the traditional trades that built America. This year, our beloved Revolutionary War Encampment joins forces with the Traditional Trades Fair for a full day marking America’s 250th anniversary on the museum grounds. Watch the 5th Connecticut Regiment set up camp with musket demonstrations, a battle skirmish with invading British Marines, open hearth cooking, and a children’s march with wooden muskets. Listen to traditional Colonial music and speak with a camp surgeon about his gruesome profession. Try your hand at centuries-old games like graces, or eavesdrop on military maneuvers. Alongside the encampment, skilled artisans demonstrate timber framing, weaving, carpentry, and historic restoration—the craftsmanship that built the nation and keeps our oldest buildings standing. Witness live preservation projects, try hands-on workshops, shop our vendor market for everything from tools to keepsakes, and discover centuries-old skills through family-friendly demonstrations, Colonial games, and activities.

Sat 23 May10:00Joseph Webb Hall

via Joseph Webb Hall

Community

WDS BOOK CLUB | The Great Contradiction: The Tragic Side of the American Founding

Calling all bookworms, history buffs, preservationists and culture mavens! Join us for our NEW year-long book club, accompanied by a lecture series with acclaimed authors. This month we’re reading: The Great Contradiction: The Tragic Side of the American Founding By Joseph Ellis (Available on audible) Tuesday, June 9, 6 pm | In Person and Virtual Moderated by TR Revella-Hamilton, WDS Director of Preservation & Collections Meet fellow history enthusiasts in person as we discuss thought-provoking books by acclaimed authors. Our carefully curated monthly selections delve into the rich tapestry of American and European history, featuring compelling works about revolutionary figures, historic preservation, decorative arts, and stories that shaped our cultural landscape. Whether you’re a seasoned historian, preservation enthusiast, or simply curious about the stories behind our built heritage, there’s a place for you in our community of learners. JOIN BOOK CLUB How it Works: Book Club meets bimonthly at the Museum and via Zoom on the second Tuesday of each designated month, unless otherwise noted. Book Club members will receive the newest book title via email two months prior to the book club date. You may join Book Club at any point during the year.

Tue 9 Jun18:00Joseph Webb Hall

via Joseph Webb Hall

Community

WDS BOOK CLUB | The Painter's Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution

Calling all bookworms, history buffs, preservationists and culture mavens! Join us for our NEW year-long book club, accompanied by a lecture series with acclaimed authors. This month we’re reading: The Painter’s Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution By Zara Anishanslin (Available on Audible) Tuesday, August 11, 6 pm | In Person and Virtual Moderated by TR Revella-Hamilton, WDS Director of Preservation & Collections Meet fellow history enthusiasts in person as we discuss thought-provoking books by acclaimed authors. Our carefully curated monthly selections delve into the rich tapestry of American and European history, featuring compelling works about revolutionary figures, historic preservation, decorative arts, and stories that shaped our cultural landscape. Whether you’re a seasoned historian, preservation enthusiast, or simply curious about the stories behind our built heritage, there’s a place for you in our community of learners. JOIN BOOK CLUB How it Works: Book Club meets bimonthly at the Museum and via Zoom on the second Tuesday of each designated month, unless otherwise noted. Book Club members will receive the newest book title via email two months prior to the book club date. You may join Book Club at any point during the year.

Tue 11 Aug18:00Joseph Webb Hall

via Joseph Webb Hall

Community

LECTURE | Civic Stitches: Early American Needlework and National Identity

LECTURE | Civic Stitches: Early American Needlework and National Identity  with Emily Whitted, Guest-Curator, American Girlhood: Needlework, Memory, and The Making of a Nation Thursday, September 10, 6:00 PM Purchase Tickets This companion lecture to the exhibition American Girlhood by guest curator Emily Whitted will explore the larger history of needlework as part of early American education for girls. In the aftermath of the American Revolution, female education was a critical space for civic development, and needlework was one educational medium in which girls processed their own identities within the new nation. This lecture will connect needlework within the exhibition with pieces from other public collections, and broadly trace the rich lives of early American girls engaged in crafting a nation. Tickets: $15 |$12.50 Virtual | $10 Members *This lecture will be offered in person and via Zoom. Zoom link will be provided in advance of the lecture. About the Curator | Emily Whitted is a PhD candidate at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the guest curator of American Girlhood: Needlework, Memory, and the Making of a Nation. Her research broadly explores the history of textiles, women’s history, and material culture in early America. Her current and past work includes projects with the New Bedford Whaling Museum, the National Park Service and National Council on Public History, the Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle, and the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Foundation.

Thu 10 Sept18:00Joseph Webb Hall

via Joseph Webb Hall

Community

FEUDING FOUNDERS COLLECTIVE | Jay Heritage Center - The Untold Drama of Silas Deane, John Jay, and the Lees of Virginia

Tickets on sale March 2026. Register your interest with an email to Renee Dumouchel: This event takes place at Jay Heritage Center in Rye, NY. Attend the full day in person, or purchase a virtual ticket for the roundtable discussion. We tend to remember the founders as marble men — monumental, unified, certain. The truth is messier and more interesting. The Feuding Founders Collective is a multi-site public history initiative that humanizes Silas Deane, John Jay, and the Lee brothers of Virginia — men who were in conversation, in collaboration, and sometimes in conflict with one another. Presented in partnership with Jay Heritage Center (NY), Friends of John Jay Homestead, and Menokin and Stratford Hall (VA), this series destabilizes the one-dimensional portraits we’ve inherited and invites audiences to sit with the full complexity of these lives: the ambition and the insecurity, the idealism and the grudges, the smear campaigns and the shared cause. In an era of weaponized media and public takedowns, these 250-year-old stories feel less like history and more like a mirror — and understanding how the founders navigated political polarization, character assassination, and the tension between principle and self-interest may be one of the most useful things the past can offer us right now. Three sites. Three perspectives.

Sat 26 Sept10:00Joseph Webb Hall

via Joseph Webb Hall

Community

WDS BOOK CLUB | Spiritualism's Place: Reformers, Seekers, and Séances in Lily Dale

Calling all bookworms, history buffs, preservationists and culture mavens! Join us for our NEW year-long book club, accompanied by a lecture series with acclaimed authors. This month we’re reading: Spiritualism’s Place: Reformers, Seekers, and Séances in Lily Dale By Averill Earls Tuesday, October 13, 6 pm | In Person and Virtual Moderated by TR Revella-Hamilton, WDS Director of Preservation & Collections Meet fellow history enthusiasts in person as we discuss thought-provoking books by acclaimed authors. Our carefully curated monthly selections delve into the rich tapestry of American and European history, featuring compelling works about revolutionary figures, historic preservation, decorative arts, and stories that shaped our cultural landscape. Whether you’re a seasoned historian, preservation enthusiast, or simply curious about the stories behind our built heritage, there’s a place for you in our community of learners. JOIN BOOK CLUB How it Works: Book Club meets bimonthly at the Museum and via Zoom on the second Tuesday of each designated month, unless otherwise noted. Book Club members will receive the newest book title via email two months prior to the book club date. You may join Book Club at any point during the year.

Tue 13 Oct18:00Joseph Webb Hall

via Joseph Webb Hall

Community

FEUDING FOUNDERS COLLECTIVE | Stratford Hall & Menokin, VA - The Untold Drama of Silas Deane, John Jay, and the Lees of...

This event takes place at Stratford Hall and Menokin in Virginia. Attend the full day in person, or purchase a virtual ticket for the roundtable discussion. We tend to remember the founders as marble men — monumental, unified, certain. The truth is messier and more interesting. The Feuding Founders Collective is a multi-site public history initiative that humanizes Silas Deane, John Jay, and the Lee brothers of Virginia — men who were in conversation, in collaboration, and sometimes in conflict with one another. Presented in partnership with Jay Heritage Center (NY), Friends of John Jay Homestead, and Menokin and Stratford Hall (VA), this series destabilizes the one-dimensional portraits we’ve inherited and invites audiences to sit with the full complexity of these lives: the ambition and the insecurity, the idealism and the grudges, the smear campaigns and the shared cause. In an era of weaponized media and public takedowns, these 250-year-old stories feel less like history and more like a mirror — and understanding how the founders navigated political polarization, character assassination, and the tension between principle and self-interest may be one of the most useful things the past can offer us right now. Three sites. Three perspectives.

Sat 14 Nov10:00Joseph Webb Hall

via Joseph Webb Hall

Community

WDS BOOK CLUB | Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution

This month we’re reading: Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution By Eric Jay Dolin (Available on Audible) Tuesday, December 8, 6 pm | In Person and Virtual Moderated by TR Revella-Hamilton, WDS Director of Preservation & Collections Meet fellow history enthusiasts in person as we discuss thought-provoking books by acclaimed authors. Our carefully curated monthly selections delve into the rich tapestry of American and European history, featuring compelling works about revolutionary figures, historic preservation, decorative arts, and stories that shaped our cultural landscape. Whether you’re a seasoned historian, preservation enthusiast, or simply curious about the stories behind our built heritage, there’s a place for you in our community of learners. JOIN BOOK CLUB How it Works: Book Club meets bimonthly at the Museum and via Zoom on the second Tuesday of each designated month, unless otherwise noted. Book Club members will receive the newest book title via email two months prior to the book club date. You may join Book Club at any point during the year. Come when you can – there is no penalty for missing a session. Book Club 2026 “Library Card” Annual Fee*: $25 General | $20 Museum Members | $15 Students Your Book Club Library Card entitles you to in-person and virtual Book Club sessions, as well as discounted admission to the accompanying Book Talks lecture series held on Thursdays at the Museum.

Tue 8 Dec18:00Joseph Webb Hall

via Joseph Webb Hall

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