Daniel Webster Birthplace Historical Site – June 16, 2011
When planning a trip to the New Hampshire State Parks visiting a historic site is usually not the first thing that comes to mind. However the State Park System maintains 14 different historic sites that commemorate important locations around the state. The New Hampshire State Parks’ Bureau of Historic Sites manages sites that range from old military forts, to an early 1800’s era sawmill, and to the childhood homes of Robert Frost and Daniel Webster. With historic sites located all over the state, and many nearby or in some state parks, it is easy to combine a day outdoors with an educational experience.
Recently I found myself at the Daniel Webster Birthplace located just southwest of Franklin, NH. At a bend in the road, crossing over a small brook, the small log cabin cabin sits in a clearing on a slight hill. Even today the property is quiet and secluded giving the sense that not much has changed. Exploring the area it is easy to imagine what was like growing up in the late 1700’s.
The two-room cabin is centered around an indoor fireplace that once served as the homes kitchen. Outfitted with antique cookware, furniture, and an old spinning wheel the cabin truly feels like a living piece of history. Finding the Daniel Webster biography that was left behind, I settled in at the table. I soaked up the words in the book as well as the experience, as I read the late statesman’s biography while sitting at the very home he grew up in.
Visiting one of the many historic sites in the state can be great whether you’re a history buff, curious, or just looking for something different to do for the day.
Great Post!
Nearly 50 years ago I performed The Devil and Daniel Webster at the Webster birth site beneath one of the giant elm trees it was said the Great Man had planted. (They are now gone.) I was the Devil. Today, I perform solo history; Webster in “I Still Live!” is one of my men.
You have a great summer, Dan’l!
Jack Tobey our guide is knowledgeable and honest about the life and times of Daniel Webster. The house is intimate and worth seeing. To sit in a house built in the late 1700s and realize the challenges of living then made me grateful for today’s comforts.
Daniel, the house, and Jack are worth the trip. Very rural, portable restroom bring your own food and water.