In October 2019, Shane Newell met with the Warren County Historical Society (WCHS) to discuss the idea of gifting his extensive collection of Joseph Warren paintings, engravings, and sculptures to the society. Shane is a native of Warren County and former owner of the historic Grist Mill in Warrensburg. In order to accommodate the collection for public display, the idea of converting the vacant house adjacent to WCHS into a museum was born. The small 2-story house resembles the birthplace and childhood home of Joseph Warren in Roxbury, MA. The original Warren House is an apartment house with only a small marker honoring its original owner, and nothing of his contribution to American Independence.
The Newell collection will serve to decorate the interior of the Warren House Visitors' Museum in a way that honors Joseph Warren similar to the houses of Philip Schuyler, John Adams and Paul Revere. The Warren House Visitors' Museum will add something new to the well-known historic sites of Warren County and invite tourism for the upcoming 250th anniversary celebration of our Independence from England.
Warren’s extraordinary leadership in the years leading up to the American Revolution will be highlighted in the programs offered at the museum. The Newell-WCHS partnership plans to develop a “Freedom Library” as part of the Warren House. Beyond the house, WCHS hopes to add “Gardens of the Apothecary” and sidewalks to connect the buildings on their campus. The group hopes for to construct an “Independence Theater” that will serve as a meeting house for events and leadership seminars. The future encampment will be named The Joseph Warren Center for History and Leadership.
