The John Trumbull Birthplace, also known as the Governor Jonathan Trumbull House, is a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

on the Lebanon Green in Lebanon, Connecticut. Built in 1735 by Joseph Trumbull as a wedding present for his son Jonathan (1710–1785), the house was a center of political and military strategy during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, when Jonathan Trumbull was

Governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Connecticut Military Department, military forces. The Governor (United States), governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...

. It was also the birthplace of John Trumbull (1756–1843), an artist known for his depictions of the war and its people. The house was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1965.

Description

The house is a -story wood-frame structure, five bays wide, with a side-gable roof, wooden clapboard siding, and a large central chimney. Its centered entrance is flanked by fluted pilasters and topped by a transom window and an entablature. Two ells extend back from the house, joining it to another small cottage, used as a caretaker's residence. The first floor of the interior is divided into a parlor, dining room, and bedroom, with a kitchen and pantry in the ell. The second floor, in addition to bedrooms, has a secret "bolthole" chamber which Governor Trumbull used as an office. The house includes a selection of Trumbull possessions, as well as other period items.

History

Joseph Trumbull built the house in 1735, when his son Jonathan married Faith Robinson. Jonathan Trumbull was elected governor of the Connecticut Colony in 1769, and became the first governor of the independent state of Connecticut in 1776. One of Lebanon's leading citizens, he was also a successful merchant, managing his affairs from this house. During the years of the

(1775–1783) many meetings took place either here or in the adjacent

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

, which was originally connected to the house by a secret passage, and it functioned as a major logistical center for the northern states. A troop of French Army cavalry was stationed on the Lebanon Green during the winter of 1780–1781, and these troops joined those of the

Comte de Rochambeau Marshal Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, 1 July 1725 – 10 May 1807, was a French nobleman and general whose army played the decisive role in helping the United States defeat the British army at Yorktown in 1781 during the ...

when he marched through in 1781 en route to the

Siege of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...

. and Jonathan's son John Trumbull was born in the house June 6, 1756. He served as an aide to

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

in the war, and became an artist. He was commissioned by Congress in the 19th century to paint four of the eight historical paintings that adorn the

United States Capitol rotunda The United States Capitol rotunda is the tall central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It has been described as the Capitol's "symbolic and physical heart". Built between 1818 and 1824, the rotunda is located below the ...

. He also painted portraits of many of the war's military leaders. In 1830, the house was moved several hundred feet to its present location. The Connecticut chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution purchased the property in 1934, and have operated it since then as a

. The property is open to the public on weekends from May through October. The house was declared a

in 1965, and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1966.

References

External links

Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution

Governor Trumbull House and Wadsworth Stable

– Town of Lebanon * {{National Register of Historic Places Houses in Lebanon, Connecticut National Historic Landmarks in Connecticut Museums in New London County, Connecticut Houses completed in 1735 Trumbull, John Birthplace Trumbull, John Birthplace Historic places on the Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Register of Historic Places in New London County, Connecticut Trumbull, John Historic district contributing properties in Connecticut

Description

History

See also

References

External links