Group works to save Webster estate
By Ryan Boyle | October 12, 1993A citizens group in Marshfield, Mass., has spent the last three years fighting to save the 18-acre estate of distinguished Dartmouth alumnus Daniel Webster, Class of 1801. The group, known as the Daniel Webster Preservation Trust, founded in 1990, hopes to raise $800,000 to buy the plot from developer William Last, who purchased the land in 1986, according to local newspapers. Jim Cantwell, an aide to Massachusetts State Senator Brian McDonald, has spearheaded the movement, which has strong community support. Cantwell and the group plan to convert the estate to a combined bed and breakfast and a museum dedicated to Webster, a 19th century statesman and lawyer. They also hope to protect the 350-year-old English Linden Tree, which residents believe English colonists planted to remind them of home, the Boston, Mass., Patriot Ledger reported. According to the Ledger, Last originally planned to build a housing project for elderly citizens, but the 1990 recession delayed the construction for three years. In early April, the town zoning board refused to extend the building permit.