The Museum

As the custodian of Silas Deane's house since 1959, the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum is uniquely positioned to tell his story. In addition to having access to the published and unpublished letters held by its sister institutions, the Museum owns primary documents and artifacts relating to Silas Deane and his family and peers, including his and his wife's portraits, numerous family letters, even an original copy of his obituary published in England in 1781. Deane's connections, differences, and similarities with figures such as George Washington and John Adams provide ample topics for discussion and comparison. His status as a "lost hero" makes him unique among the Revolutionary generation and potentially of great interest to students of American history.

The Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum believes that Silas Deane Online will revolutionize the way in which it is able to serve older students, and lead to other projects targeted at high schools, college students, and lifelong learners. Staff also expect that the proposed project will be a first step in an overall plan to bring the Museum's education programs and knowledge base onto the Internet in a large scale, in ways which are faithful to its tradition of high-quality scholarship and use-driven experience.

Silas Deane House,
Webb Deane Stevens Museum