HISTORY
Calendar of Events
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1 event,
William Saunders & His World- Hartford History Lecture Series
William Saunders & His World- Hartford History Lecture Series
Dr. Fiona Vernal, UConn History Department For three generations, the Saunders family operated a successful and innovative tailor business in the city of Hartford, eventually establishing a reputation as Black merchant tailors with deep ties in Hartford’s Black and white communities. Their network stretched from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York to Barbados and France. This […]
1 event,
Elections and Cakes: Connecticut Revolutions at New Haven Museum
Elections and Cakes: Connecticut Revolutions at New Haven Museum
Making Election Day a state holiday in 17th century Connecticut was a revolution. So was making Election Cake to celebrate it in the 18th century. Through the fiction of Harriet Beecher Stowe, journals of Thoreau, sermons of Ezra Stiles, petitions by Black citizens, period cookbooks, diaries, magazines, and memoirs, food historian Dr. Linda Civitello will […]
1 event,
Connecticut’s Old State House: Historic Firsts: The 2024 Presidential Election
Connecticut’s Old State House: Historic Firsts: The 2024 Presidential Election
What is the significance of the Nov. 5, 2024 election in US history and politics? What should voters pay attention to as they vote? Three distinguished experts from the University of Connecticut will discuss these issues and answer questions about the upcoming election. Panelists: Evelyn M. Simien is Professor of Political Science and the Director […]
1 event,
In the Footsteps of Galileo AARP Webinar: Mystic Seaport
In the Footsteps of Galileo AARP Webinar: Mystic Seaport
On October 9, dive into the scientific legacy of Galileo with Brian Koehler from the Mystic Seaport Museum Treworgy Planetarium. This virtual program delves into Galileo’s groundbreaking discoveries and their profound impact on humanity’s understanding of the cosmos. Learn about Galileo’s pivotal use of the telescope in 1609, marking the beginning of a new era […]
1 event,
“Hot Summers in the City: Hartford’s Urban Unrest, 1967-1969”- Hartford History Lecture Series
“Hot Summers in the City: Hartford’s Urban Unrest, 1967-1969”- Hartford History Lecture Series
FEATURING Elena Rosario, PhD Candidate, University of Michigan In the 1960s, protests, demonstrations, and rebellions were widespread across the United States, including in many Connecticut cities. This lecture will focus on a series of late-sixties civil disorders organized by Hartford residents of color from 1967 to 1969. It will also highlight the causes, aftermath, and […]
2 events,
Fashionspeak Fridays: Beyond Vanity: The History and Power of Hairdressing at The National Arts Club
Fashionspeak Fridays: Beyond Vanity: The History and Power of Hairdressing at The National Arts Club
Fashion | Join Elizabeth L. Block, author of Beyond Vanity in conversation with hair care legend Frédéric Fekkai for an insightful look at women's hair as a cultural site of meaning in the early United States. Block will discuss multiple substantive categories of place and space within which hair had pronounced impact, including the preparatory places of the […]
Tracing the Footsteps of Hartford’s First Black Church Walking Tour- Hartford History Lecture Series
Tracing the Footsteps of Hartford’s First Black Church Walking Tour- Hartford History Lecture Series
*Tour will start at Center Church (675 Main St.) Tracing the Footsteps of Hartford’s First Black Church will begin at Center Church at 10 am with a presentation inside the church by members of the church’s history team. This will allow participants to learn about the genesis of the Talcott Street Church congregation in the […]
4 events,
UCONN: The Fall 2024 Draper Workshop: The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic
UCONN: The Fall 2024 Draper Workshop: The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic
The Fall Draper Workshop will be a book launch for Draper Chair, Manisha Sinha’s recently published book, The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860-1920. A group of eminent historians of the period will comment on the book with a response from Sinha, followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience. The event […]
“A Black Ecological Return to Charter Oak Terrace”- Hartford History Lecture Series
“A Black Ecological Return to Charter Oak Terrace”- Hartford History Lecture Series
Channon Miller, Assistant Professor of American Studies and History, Trinity College As much as water protects, nourishes, and sustains Black children’s lives, it also restrains, suffocates, and degrades them. The residents of Hartford’s Charter Oak Terrace confronted a water-based ecological catastrophe in the 1960s. A flooding river—channeled by municipal neglect, class inequality, and racial segregation—drowned […]
Wide Awake: The Connecticut Youth Movement that Elected Lincoln at Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
Wide Awake: The Connecticut Youth Movement that Elected Lincoln at Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
In the election before the Civil War, young anti-slavery activists in Connecticut organized one of the largest, strangest, and most consequential mass movements in American history. Marching in militaristic, torchlit rallies, these Wide Awakes launched a diverse grassroots campaign to defend democracy from slavery. Their incredible rise helped elect Lincoln, but also sparked the Civil […]
1 event,
“The Paradox of Pearls: Accessorizing Identities in the Eighteenth Century” at Walpole Library
“The Paradox of Pearls: Accessorizing Identities in the Eighteenth Century” at Walpole Library
In connection with the fall exhibition “The Paradox of Pearls: Accessorizing Identities in the Eighteenth Century,” the Library presents a community talk with exhibition curator Laura Engel, Duquesne University. This talk is free and open to the public. Advance registration requested. Lewis Walpole Library-Farmington Libraries Talk at the Lewis Walpole Library, 154 Main Street, Farmington, CT The […]
3 events,
Tours to climb Harbor Lighthouse with the Custom House Maritime Museum in New London
Weekends New London Maritime Society offers tours for up-to five people to visit inside the lighthouse. Take the tour and climb 116 steps to the lantern room, all the while learning about the 264-year history of Harbor Light, one of the oldest lighthouses in the country and the tallest on Long Island Sound. We can't […]
JIBBOOM CLUB #1 at the Custom House Maritime Museum in New London
JIBBOOM CLUB #1 at the Custom House Maritime Museum in New London
JIBBOOM CLUB #1 meets the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 1:30 PM. Join us for a talk, good company, coffee & cookies. Sponsored by the Maco Family Fund, the gatherings are FREE and open to all. ~ October 15 -- On October 15th we're trying something different, when master storyteller Claudia Kenyon invites six fellow Jibboomers to […]
History Rises From the Graves, A Talk on Tombstone Restoration at Essex Library
History Rises From the Graves, A Talk on Tombstone Restoration at Essex Library
Hear about the history uncovered in the cemeteries of Essex! The Essex Library and Essex Historical Society present Michael Carroll, founder and director of the nonprofit organization Rediscovering History, Inc., to provide a talk on local gravestone restoration. Carroll’s organization has had a contract with the River View Cemetery Association to clean and reset gravestones […]
1 event,
Making Chocolate the 18th Century Way at Henry Whitfield Museum
Making Chocolate the 18th Century Way at Henry Whitfield Museum
Robert Lecce and Edward Dirgo of the Pewter Pot Fine Spiced Chocolates will demonstrate how chocolate was made in the 1700s. They’ll also be selling their chocolate bars and chocolate drinking mixes. The demonstration is free and, in honor of State Museum Sunday, admission to the Whitfield House and Visitor Center exhibit galleries is free […]
1 event,
Take a Tour of Connecticut’s beautiful State Capitol building
Take a Tour of Connecticut’s beautiful State Capitol building
Capitol Information and Tours at the Connecticut State Capitol is operated by the League of Women Voters of Connecticut Education Fund and sponsored by the Joint Committee on Legislative Management, Connecticut General Assembly. General tourist information centers are located outside room 101 in the State Capitol and on the first floor, west entrance in the […]
1 event,
Paranoia: The Witchcraft Trials in Colonial Connecticut –at The Ancient Burying Ground in Hartford
Paranoia: The Witchcraft Trials in Colonial Connecticut –at The Ancient Burying Ground in Hartford
Colonists brought a belief in witchcraft from England, where it was rooted in the Bible and reinforced by the Church, witch-hunting pamphlets, investigation methods, and deep folk traditions. Hear the stories, gossip, and intrigue of the people connected to the 17th century witchcraft panic in Hartford including the magistrates, lawyers, townspeople, and clergy. Learn about […]
3 events,
Exhibit: “Weston…What Lies Beneath” at Weston History & Culture Center
Exhibit: “Weston…What Lies Beneath” at Weston History & Culture Center
Through March 2, 2025. Open Sundays and Thursdays from 1pm - 4pm. The yard of one of Weston’s oldest homes, the Peter Thorp House, reveals its past lives in the […]
“A Commitment to Caribbean History & Cultural Heritage in Hartford: Digitizing the Lloyd Best Archive in Trinidad and Tobago”- Hartford History Lecture Series
“A Commitment to Caribbean History & Cultural Heritage in Hartford: Digitizing the Lloyd Best Archive in Trinidad and Tobago”- Hartford History Lecture Series
Channon Miller, Assistant Professor of American Studies and History, Trinity College Dr. Christina Bleyer, Watkinson Library, Trinity College The Watkinson Library at Trinity College has partnered with the Lloyd Best Institute of the Caribbean to digitize the Lloyd Best Archive. Using our project as an example, this presentation explores post-custodial archiving as a transformative approach to […]
Conscience of the Congress: John Lewis and the Politics of Voting at the New Haven Museum
Conscience of the Congress: John Lewis and the Politics of Voting at the New Haven Museum
The 2024 election is the perfect time to discuss the career of civil rights hero and congressman John Lewis, who helped bring about the Voting Rights Act and then fought for voting rights his whole career. Scholar and author David Greenberg will present “John Lewis and the Politics of Voting,” at the New Haven Museum […]
1 event,
Ghosts of Ridgefield at the Keller Tavern Museum in Rigefield
Ghosts of Ridgefield at the Keller Tavern Museum in Rigefield
Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center’s Ghosts of Ridgefield is a series of spooky and fun ghost tours happening three nights only: Friday, October 25; Saturday, October 26; and Sunday, October 27. Ticket sales will open in mid-September, with a special early pre-sale opportunity for KTM&HC members. Members: keep an eye on your inbox in late August […]
1 event,
Talk with Manisha Sinha: Lafayette as an Antislavery Icon at New London Maritime
Talk with Manisha Sinha: Lafayette as an Antislavery Icon at New London Maritime
As we continue celebrating the bicentennial of Lafayette's 1824-1825 tour of the United States, the New London Maritime Society welcomes renowned historian Dr. Manisha Sinha to the Custom House. Dr. Sinha will present a talk entitled 'Lafayette in the Abolitionist Imagination.' A reception to meet Dr. Sinha begins at 6:30 PM, with the talk starting at 7:00. Ticket prices range […]
2 events,
Paranoia: The Witchcraft Trials in Colonial Connecticut –at The Ancient Burying Ground in Hartford
Paranoia: The Witchcraft Trials in Colonial Connecticut –at The Ancient Burying Ground in Hartford
Colonists brought a belief in witchcraft from England, where it was rooted in the Bible and reinforced by the Church, witch-hunting pamphlets, investigation methods, and deep folk traditions. Hear the stories, gossip, and intrigue of the people connected to the 17th century witchcraft panic in Hartford including the magistrates, lawyers, townspeople, and clergy. Learn about […]
The Founding of Sleeping Giant State Park: at New Haven Museum
The Founding of Sleeping Giant State Park: at New Haven Museum
This year, Sleeping Giant State Park turns 100 years old! Creating the park was not easy or quick. This is a dynamic story of early 20th century confliction priorities and hard-reached resolutions: destructive commercial interests, the public’s passion for preservation, and thorny legal battles. The cast includes neighboring businessmen, Yale scholars, captains of industry, and […]
1 event,
Spirits After Dark Tour at the Stowe Center
Spirits After Dark Tour at the Stowe Center
Spirits at Stowe will continue from November through January, offered on the first Friday and third Saturday of each month. Our tours and lectures are unique, in that they delve into the historic, social, and political context of the 19th century and explore the role of spiritualism in the lives of reformers, suffragists, and Black activists. […]
2 events,
Connecticut’s Old State House Third Annual Election Cake Bake Off
Connecticut’s Old State House Third Annual Election Cake Bake Off
It’s time for a celebration and some sweet competition! Join Connecticut’s Old State House on November 2 for the third annual Election Cake Bake Off. Historically, Election Day in Connecticut combined voting with parties, libations, parades, and cake! Stores sold special Election Cake ingredients to women who transformed them into spice cakes for crowds gathered […]
David Eichelberg – Culture & History of the Mohegan Tribe – Family Program in Stonington
David Eichelberg – Culture & History of the Mohegan Tribe – Family Program in Stonington
David Eichelberg is the Outreach and Traditions Specialist for the Mohegan Tribe. As a tribal member, he has honed his focus of tribal culture and now is deeply involved in the Tantaquidgeon Museum in Uncasville. He speaks about the history of the Mohegan Tribe and discusses different tribal oral traditions, beliefs, music, and sacred practices. […]