Meet fellow history enthusiasts in person as we discuss thought-provoking books by acclaimed authors.
Join textile historian Ned Lazaro, Associate Curator of Textiles and Costumes at The Wadsworth Atheneum and former curator of textiles at Historic Deerfield for a moderated discussion on the history of collecting schoolgirl samplers and other forms of needlepoint in the United States.
They were allies, rivals, and collaborators — sometimes all at once. The Feuding Founders Collective launches at WDS with a daylong symposium exploring the real Silas Deane, John Jay, and the Lee brothers of Virginia. Walk the historic houses, hear from scholars at three partner sites, and discover why these 250-year-old rivalries feel so familiar. This is the real story — not the tidy one.
Meet fellow history enthusiasts in person as we discuss thought-provoking books by acclaimed authors.
One man painted the Revolution. Another held the Bible at Washington's inauguration. Both have deep Connecticut roots. Historian Damien Cregeau traces six extraordinary Revolutionary War lives—including Wethersfield's own Samuel Webb—in this richly illustrated presentation. In person and via Zoom. Books available for signing on-site.
This event has been postponed. Contact rdumouchel@wdsmuseum.org to be notified when a new date is chosen. Head Gardener Peter Winne explores the science and folklore behind the influence of sound on plant life—part lecture, part live demonstration, and completely unlike anything else on our calendar.
Meet fellow history enthusiasts in person as we discuss thought-provoking books by acclaimed authors.
This companion lecture to the exhibition American Girlhood by guest curator Emily Whitted will explore the larger history of needlework as part of early American education for girls.
Onsite at Jay Heritage Center in Rye, NY | Spy codes, smear campaigns, and fragile alliances: explore John Jay as diplomat and spymaster at the Jay Heritage Center in Rye, NY. Part of the Feuding Founders Collective.
The Revolution wasn’t won by generals alone. In this companion lecture to the Webb Deane Stevens Museum's exhibition Remember the Ladies: Women of the Revolution, Zara Anishanslin introduces us to the women who shaped the war for independence
Meet fellow history enthusiasts in person as we discuss thought-provoking books by acclaimed authors.
Forensic anthropologist Anna Dhody traces America's dramatic shift from dangerous variolation to revolutionary vaccination, revealing a founding-era debate about trust, authority, and what it meant to be American that feels strikingly familiar today.