Connecticut At War 1776

Topping off a day visiting Historic Lebanon, the Marlborough Tavern should be considered for lunch or dinner. Take Exit 13 from Rt.2 and go west on Rt 66 for a short distance to the light at the Four Corners. The Tavern is on the far left corner. It was built in 1740 by Elisha Buell and continued in the Buell family for over one hundred years.Two presidents were known to stop there for dinner, James Madison and Andrew Jackson. Those events are immortalized in oil paintings of the presidents on the walls of the dining rooms. The plank paneling on the walls, the wide chestnut boards on the floors and the central chimney surrounded by fireplaces are typical of old New England homes in the area from that time period.

Over the years, I have gone to political events and school awards events at the tavern and my husband enjoys having dinner there once a month with the Lions Club. Their Christmas party is always there. He usually orders liver with onions and bacon because they cook it just the way he likes it.

Lunch appetizers are $1.50-7.95. Salads run between $2.75-8.95. Sandwiches $5.95-$7.50 and entrees $7.95-10.95. The last time I was there for lunch I ordered a special for $6.95, soup and salad. It was French onion soup topped with delicious melted Mozzarella cheese and the salad was very fresh and delicious with a wonderful raspberry dressing. I especially like the way the table was set and the food was served. Some of the offerings from the dinner entrees include Roasted Duck, Veal Francaise, Prime rib and Baked Stuff Shrimp. There are some great dinner specials for $14.95 if you arrive before 6:00pm.

For reservations call 860/295-8229

Marlborough has another historic-like restaurant. From the Four Corners turn right onto North Main Street. The Sadler's Ordinary is only a few minutes down the road on the left at 61 North Main Street. It is part of the Marlborough Country Barn complex (a great place to shop for reproductions of Colonial styled furniture and household needs -- excellent quality).

Sadler's Ordinary was named after a previous restaurant located nearby in the early 1600s. In appearance it looks much like the tavern inside, but the ceilings are 8' high instead of the 6'4" in the tavern.

Lunch menus are slightly higher in price compared to the tavern but are very interesting. Grilled Fresh Salmon Salad, Chicken Pot Pie, Quiche, Eggplant and Roasted Peppers Foccacia to name a few. Dinner entrees are exciting also, Veal and Portabella Mushrooms $14.95, Chicken Florentine $13.95, Pecan Duck Breast $15.95, Grilled Leg of Lamb $15.95 are part of the list. They change the menu weekly. Everything is delicious and beautifully served.

For reservations call 860/295-0006.

The town of Lebanon hosts several festivities during the year and the historic buildings are sometimes opened during those occasions. One year, on Halloween, my husband and I volunteered as docents for the Governor Jonathan Trumbull House located on West Town Street On the Green in Lebanon because I am a member of the DAR and the house is now owned and operated by the Connecticut Daughters Of The American Revolution.

We brought flashlights because we would be guiding people through at night and candlelight was considered dangerous with the crowds. There are no electric lights in the house. It was a unique experience. We felt like we were living there. People came with children and they didn't really want to leave. The children thought there were ghosts in the house because it is so old.

The house is a plain colonial dwelling and has a central chimney and a central staircase. The rooms are parcially panelled and not oversized like Redwood. Furnishings are of the period. Some excellent information about the family geneology and an old map of the layout of Lebanon is in the governor's office upstairs.

Jonathan inherited the house from his father in 1755. He and his father had significantly prospered in trade and were one of the wealthiest families in Connecticut. The house was built in 1735-1736 for Joseph Trumbull, Jonathan's father. John Trumbull the famous Revolutionary War artist and youngest son of Jonathan and Faith Robinson Trumbull, was born in the house. In a book written by the artist in 1841, he explains how involved their lives were with Washington, Jefferson, Rouchambeau, LaFayette and many other prominent persons of that era.

Jonathan was the only governor of a colony in America who was not a Tory sympathizer and continued to be governor before, during and after the war. His store (very near the house during his occupancy but now nearby) had a large turnover of trade, both retail and wholesale, and then it became a meeting place for the Connecticut Council of Safety beginning on June 7, 1775. Over 500 meetings were held there so it became known as the War Office.

In his book, son John explained hard times hit the family business when he was eight or nine years of age (around 1765) but John, like his older brothers, was well educated at Harvard in spite of hard times. Many famous Americans overextended themselves during that era (Jefferson for one) and lived on the verge of bankruptcy.

Always interested and involved in politics, Jonathan became governor in 1769 and remained in that position until 1784. He died the following year.

Some years ago our DAR chapter was host for lunch to a touring group from France who were decended from the French who fought in our Revolution. I had the honor of meeting descendants of Rouchambeau and LaFayette in the front parlor of that house.

The house is open for tours Tuesday through Saturday 1-5pm and Sunday by appointment.

Located on the Green, the War Office has a new foundation so it is apparent it has been moved there from another location not too long ago. Originally it was located behind the Governor Jonathan Trumbull House when that structure was located on the corner of Rt 207 and West Town Street across the street from Redwood. Today Wentworth Real Estate has its house and office where the Governor Trumbull House once stood.

The War Office is now owned by the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and is opened to the public on Sat. and Sun. 1:30-4:30pm Memorial Day through Labor Day. The SAR sign near the road states it was built circa 1727 for Captain Joseph Trumbull. He intended the structure as a retail/wholesale store. He and son Jonathan established a very lucrative business there making them one of the wealthiest families in Colonial Connecticut. Being involved in every aspect of business from grist mill to ship building the Trumbulls were well known in Connecticut, throughout the country and even the world because they did business with many countries and had their own ships.

Eventually credit problems came to plague Jonathan. Educated at Harvard he was always active in politics as well as commerce. In spite of his financial situation he was voted governor in 1769. When war broke out he continued to serve the people of Connecticut as their governor. In all the other colonies the governor was a Tory sympatherizer and left for Nova Scotia, England or were detained by the patriots. Each colony united militarily under the title of The Council of Safety. He called the Connecticut Council of Safety meetings in his store in Lebanon instead of Hartford because it was safer and he could accomplish more in the purchase and distribution of war goods. Washington relied heavily on Trumbull's capable ability to procure badly needed supplies. He refered to the governor as "Brother Jonathan". Consequently the store became known as the War Office.

For the inquiring historian it can be proven Jonathan's life was interlocked with the great personalities of his day. Washington, Rochambeau, LaFayette, and the list goes on, were known to meet with the governor in the War Office in Lebanon. Up on a hill, it had the advantage of giving a view far and wide of the whole country side. If the British were coming it would hardly be a secret.

The building has a large stone fireplace in the center of the one room. Furnishings are appropriate for the period but it doesn't give the impression it was used for trade as well as a meeting place.

Just as it was for almost 300 hundred years, The Town Green,in Lebanon, one mile long and one of the largest town greens in Connecticut, still maintains its pastoral appearance. Too wet to build in, the founding fathers built their houses around it on dryer ground. Animals were allowed to graze there, the town's marching band practiced there, Gov. Trumbull arrainged for a fair to be held once or twice a year on the green, soldiers in the French army camped there in 1780-1781, and the town has used the green for many other activities and still does.It is a favorite place for reenactors. They are on hand for festivals and fairs demonstrating their crafts, always wearing period clothing, and now and again setting up full scale reenactments and encampments.

The early settlers built their meeting house on the Green and it was used for religious, political and social activities. Now the library, town hall, and community center, three churches and several museums are located in or around the Green. West Town Street runs along the west side of the eel-shaped green and Trumbull Highway (Rt. 87) along the east side. Exeter Road (Rt.207) cuts through the eel's neck.

The Green is surrounded by the homes of many famous participants in America's history. I have already noted the location and contributions of the Trumbull family in other journals whose homes were on the Green. The Green and the famous homes are on the National Register of Historic Places.

William Williams, signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born in one of the oldest houses on the green, built in 1712 and lived in another house on the green from 1755 until his death in 1811. The houses are still there but not open to the public.

Gov. William Buckingham was born in one of the houses on the Green, built in 1804 and he grew up in another house on the green. He was governor of Connecticut during the Civil War. He went to extraordinary lengths to provide for the war efforts. He donated funds for the Buckingham Pastor's Library also on the Green. The buildings are privately owned.

Dr. William Beaumont, brought up in Lebanon, is famous for pioneering research into the mysteries of the digestive system. His house, where much of his research took place, has been moved to the Green from elsewhere in Lebanon, and is now located behind the Gov. Trumbull House.

The Lebanon Historical Society located at 856 Trumbull Highway On the Greenn is open on Saturday 1-5pm.

John Trumbull, son of Gov Jonathan Trumbull and his wife Faith Trumbull, went to London to study art under Benjamin West, during the Revolutionary War*, against the better judgement of his father. When the spy, Major John Andres, was arrested, the British reciprocated by arresting Trumbull and he was imprisoned for eight months. It was at this time that he studied architecture under Sir Christopher Wren and the Adams Brothers**.

In 1804 he returned to Connecticut with his beautiful English wife and found Lebanon in need of an architect for their new meeting house. The building he designed has majestically graced the Lebanon Town Green since its construction from 1804-1807. It is called The First Congregational Church of Lebanon and is located on Rt 207 across from the Lebanon Town Hall at the southern end of the green.

The graceful white steeple climbs high above the treetops and can be seen for miles around. Red bricks covering that stately edifice were made of soil from the town green and its lofty timbers made from local trees. White Roman-Doric engaged columns give a rich classical elegance to the façade. Inside the pulpit towers above the congregation and with the Palladian *** window in back of it, it is designed to inspire exhilaration while hearing the Word of God.

When the meeting house was destroyed by hurricane in 1938 there was enough evidence available from the debris to restore it accurately. A descendant of John Trumbull generously contributed to the restorations. Tours can be arranged by appointment and after 10am Sunday Worship Service. To arrange a tour contact the church office 860/642-6179 M-F 9:30am to 2:30pm. A picture of the Meeting House can be seen in my Town Green story.

*John became famous for his Revolutionary War pictures that still hang in the nation's capitol.....**famous architects from that time.....***Thomas Jefferson brought that style to this country from Europe