The second impressive item you should notice in this parlor is a much more permanent one, the fireplace surround (see image). There could be others in existence but the museum is aware of no other stone fireplace surround. Most surrounds in even the wealthiest 1770s houses were beautifully carved from wood. This one is not wood but is carved from brownstone, which was quarried not too far down the Connecticut River from Wethersfield in Portland. It would have been quite a project to get the big slabs of brownstone onto barges to make their way up to the Deane House. And someone did a skillful job carving the flowers and curlicues that decorate this fine fireplace surround. You can enjoy the details on the link of this item.

Also in this room is one of the few pieces of furniture that belonged to Silas and may have been in his house in Wethersfield. The tea table (see image), which is owned by the Connecticut Historical Society Museum in Hartford but which has been loaned to the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum, did belong to Silas Deane. The table is thought to have been made by a Philadelphia craftsman and could have been bought by Silas in his days as a member of the Continental Congress in that city. It, too, can be viewed at your leisure on a link. There is a lesson plan about Silas's time in the Continental Congresses and his impressions of other delegates, such as George Washington and John Adams.