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.
From journal Connecticut At War 1776