The Daniel Webster Birthplace State Historic Site is associated with the birth and early childhood years of
Daniel Webster, one of our country's most respected orators and statesmen. While the
Franklin site affords a view of the early years of Daniel Webster, it also provides a glimpse of 1700's farm life in the infant years of the United States.
The house contains many of the original artifacts from that period of time, including the fireplace that was reconstructed with the original hand-made bricks and hearth, along with 147 acres from the original farm. Furnishings such as the flax spinning wheel and kitchen utensils are typical of a rustic farm of the period, while other items belonged to Daniel Webster later in his life. The site is managed by the New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation and the Franklin Historical Society provides a living history interpretation and a participatory living history program for school children during the week.
Daniel Webster, born in 1782, was a frail and sickly child who spent much of his time playing, fishing and roaming the countryside. During this period, Webster developed a deep love of literature. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1801, he became a lawyer and renowned orator serving as a U.S. Congressman from New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He also served as Secretary of State under presidents Benjamin Harrison, John Tyler and Millard Fillmore.
Throughout his forty-year career of public service, Webster helped mold a loose collection of states into a unified nation with many impassioned speeches, including one where he stated 'The Union, one and inseparable, now and forever." Daniel Webster died in 1852 at the age of seventy.