A docent at The Dewey House demonstrates a spinning wheel to Abner Gibbs third graders on a visit last week. (Photo submitted)
WESTFIELD – Abner Gibbs third graders got a taste of life in Colonial times in Westfield, during a visit to the Dewey House on Oct. 2.
The Dewey House, built around 1735, is located at 87 South Maple St. The house is maintained and preserved by the Dewey House Board of Trustees as part of the Western Hamden Historical Society, a non-profit 501 (c) organization.
Students were shown how food was cooked in 1730’s Westfield. (Photo submitted)
The students, accompanied by their teachers and Principal Stacy Burgess, and were greeted at the door by women in period costumes, who gave them a tour of the house, and showed them how Westfield families in the 1700’s cooked, bathed, worked and played.
“The children were very attentive,” said Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski who accompanied a class on one of the tours, which was also his first time visiting the living museum. “I think it’s great to have such a resource about history right in town. It really keeps history alive, rather than reading it out of a textbook,” he said.
Games children played in 1730’s Westfield. (Photo submitted)
Students watched as bread was pulled out of the brick oven on a wooden peel or shovel, and they got to try their hand at spinning yarn. They were also shown how people bathed with a cloth and a bowl of water, and heard about having to use outhouses, even in the middle of winter.
Students also played with some of the games children played with almost 300 years ago.
“I had fun and they really did, too,” said Czaporowski, who is a former history teacher.
The Board of The Dewey House offers several Open Houses for the public during the year, where visitors can tour the numerous collection of antique furnishings and construction that reveal what life was like in Colonial Westfield. The next one is scheduled on Dec. 8. For more information, visit www.thedeweyhouse.org.
