Wadsworth Stable
This 2,200 square-foot Palladian-style stable was originally built in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. on the estate of Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth. The stable was constructed before the American Revolution and housed the horses of many important dignitaries, including General George Washington.
The stable has been repurposed and contains museum exhibits, including a colonial-era floor loom and weaving array, a tribute to the 1780 Rochambeau encampment on the Lebanon Green, and a woman’s equestrian display. It also houses a fully restored 200-year-old Booby Hut Sleigh and two antique farm wagons.
Rev. Daniel Wadsworth, Hartford’s Center Church pastor, first built the stable on his estate in 1730. His son, Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth, served as Commissary General for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and provided provisions for the Connecticut war-time troops. On September 20, 1780, Wadsworth hosted the first meeting between Washington and Rochambeau at his Hartford mansion.
The family’s tradition of service continued as Jeremiah’s son Daniel became a patron of the arts, founding the Wadsworth Atheneum. Daniel was an amateur artist and an architect. After a devastating fire, he rebuilt the stable in the Palladian style we see today to complement the Wadsworth mansion. In 1794 he married Faith Trumbull, a granddaughter of Governor of Jonathan Trumbull.
With the advent of the automobile, this unique stable was no longer needed, and the building fell into disuse. By 1950, it was scheduled for demolition, and Miss Katherine Seymour Day formed The Friends of Hartford and raised funds to relocate the stable to Lebanon, Connecticut. Since 1954 it has been adjacent to the Governor Jonathan Trumbull House and lovingly cared for by the Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution as a unique example of early American equestrian life.