Revolution House to Debut in Newport Summer 2015

GoLocalProv Lifestyle Team

Revolution House to Debut in Newport Summer 2015

The Newport Historical Society’s research team is reinterpreting its traditional house museum, the circa 1697 Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House, into the Revolution House, Newport’s sole museum devoted to the American Revolution.

The new Revolution House will debut next summer in conjunction with the 250 anniversary of the Stamp Act Riot.

“We have found that our visitors are extremely interested in learning more about the American Revolution when they visit Newport. After all, in many ways, it all started here,” explains the Society’s Executive Director Ruth Taylor.

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Although well-known history celebrates the Boston Tea Party and the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first episodes of armed resistance against the British happened right in Rhode Island on Narragansett Bay.

Stamp Act Riot

The Stamp Act Riot was the first in a series of events that eventually led to the Revolutionary War. Stamp Act Riots occurred in Boston and in Newport, among other cities. It was during a riot begun at the Colony House in August of 1765 that patriots sacked and attempted to tear down the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House, then home to Martin Howard, loyalist and tax collector. The NHS will celebrate the Stamp Act riots this summer with a reenactor-led public “riot” on Saturday August 23, 2014, along with other programs.

Revolution House will provide a dedicated exhibit space to showcase the important role that Newport played in the build-up to and conduct of the Revolutionary War. Innovative exhibits and displays will be installed in the house, which will use artifacts and documents from the Society’s world-class collections. The property will fill a void in the current cultural offerings throughout Newport’s Old Quarter.

Read here to learn more about the house’s history and Newport’s role in the American Revolution

This tour season is the last opportunity for visitors to see the property as a conventional house museum.

The Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House is open for tours in May, November & December on Saturdays and Sundays from 11am-3pm; it’s open daily 11am-3pm June through October.

Tours cost $8 per person and are free for NHS members.


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