Built in the 1830s, the Bassett House is one of the oldest buildings in Whitewater. With this age, however, the Bassett House requires ongoing restorations and updates to meet the day-to-day needs of the rental space.
As a historical site, any changes to the exterior of the Bassett House require the approval of the Whitewater Landmarks Commission. The Whitewater Federation of Women’s Clubs (WFWC), which maintains the Bassett House, recently added security lights and plans to restore the soffits and fascia in the spring.
Interior changes, however, do not require commission approval, and are at the discretion of the WFWC. Because the kitchen is often used by renters and club members, recent updates to the Bassett House have focused on remodeling the kitchen space.
WFWC President Pat Blackmer said that installing a dishwasher was especially important. Additionally, the kitchen updates include a new sink with a garbage disposal, updated countertops and backsplashes, new flooring and upgraded appliances.
“I think people will be very pleased with it,” Blackmer said. “The upgrades will allow for more events. We’re hoping that because of this, we’ll be able to rent the space more often.”
To help fund the ongoing renovations, the WFWC hosts an annual concert series, typically in the spring. Chamber music has historically been played in small, intimate settings such as homes. This history makes the Bassett House a natural space for these performances.
The first concert of the 2026 Spring Concert Series took place March 15. This event was a special children’s concert. The program included “Winnie-the-Pooh Suite” by Gwyn Parry-Jones, “The Unhappy Aardvark” by Paul Harris and “Peter & the Wolf” by Sergei Prokofiev, performed by the Rock River Wind Quintet. Alongside the music, guest reader Benjamin Whitcomb narrated the stories that accompanied the performances.
Throughout the concert, many children — most younger than 5 — remained engaged with the performance and stories. During the intermission and after the performance, children approached performers to ask questions about their instruments.
Whitcomb’s narrations helped bring the performance to life for the young audience.
“Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, ‘bump, bump, bump,’ behind Christopher Robin, on the back of his head,” Whitcomb read. “It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs.”
As the Bassett House continues to undergo updates, performances like these do not just fill the space with music, but connect the present to the way it used to be.
“Anytime you can give somebody into a historic site, it’s great to do something like this, where you’re playing music,” oboe player Pamela Whitcomb said. “Back in a historic site like this, where they didn’t have TVs, radios, iPods, phones and music easily at their fingertips, you had to make the music at your home. And so that’s something they would have been doing here when they lived here. I think it makes people appreciate the spaces a little bit more.”
More concerts in the series will support the Bassett House’s updates. The next concert in the series is scheduled for April 12, with the Rachel Woods Voice Studio.
