WDS BOOK CLUB | Spiritualism's Place: Reformers, Seekers, and Séances in Lily Dale
2026-10-13 18:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
Calling all bookworms, history buffs, preservationists and culture mavens! Join us for our NEW year-long book club, accompanied by a lecture series with acclaimed authors.
This month we’re reading:
Spiritualism’s Place: Reformers, Seekers, and Séances in Lily Dale
By Averill Earls
Tuesday, October 13, 6 pm | In Person and Virtual
Moderated by TR Revella-Hamilton, WDS Director of Preservation & Collections
Meet fellow history enthusiasts in person as we discuss thought-provoking books by acclaimed authors. Our carefully curated monthly selections delve into the rich tapestry of American and European history, featuring compelling works about revolutionary figures, historic preservation, decorative arts, and stories that shaped our cultural landscape. Whether you’re a seasoned historian, preservation enthusiast, or simply curious about the stories behind our built heritage, there’s a place for you in our community of learners.
JOIN BOOK CLUB

How it Works: Book Club meets bimonthly at the Museum and via Zoom on the second Tuesday of each designated month, unless otherwise noted. Book Club members will receive the newest book title via email two months prior to the book club date. You may join Book Club at any point during the year. Come when you can – there is no penalty for missing a session.
Book Club 2026 “Library Card” Annual Fee*: $25 General | $20 Museum Members | $15 Students
Your Book Club Library Card entitles you to in-person and virtual Book Club sessions, as well as discounted admission to the accompanying Book Talks lecture series held on Thursdays at the Museum.

FEUDING FOUNDERS COLLECTIVE | Stratford Hall & Menokin, VA - The Untold Drama of Silas Deane, John Jay, and the Lees of Virginia
2026-11-14 10:00 - 15:00 | Strateford Hall, 483 Great House Road, Stratford, VA, 22558
Tickets on sale March 2026. Register your interest with an email to Renee Dumouchel: rdumouchel@wdsmuseum.org
This event takes place at Stratford Hall and Menokin in Virginia. Attend the full day in person, or purchase a virtual ticket for the roundtable discussion.
We tend to remember the founders as marble men — monumental, unified, certain. The truth is messier and more interesting. The Feuding Founders Collective is a multi-site public history initiative that humanizes Silas Deane, John Jay, and the Lee brothers of Virginia — men who were in conversation, in collaboration, and sometimes in conflict with one another.
Presented in partnership with Jay Heritage Center (NY), Friends of John Jay Homestead, and Menokin and Stratford Hall (VA), this series destabilizes the one-dimensional portraits we’ve inherited and invites audiences to sit with the full complexity of these lives: the ambition and the insecurity, the idealism and the grudges, the smear campaigns and the shared cause.
In an era of weaponized media and public takedowns, these 250-year-old stories feel less like history and more like a mirror — and understanding how the founders navigated political polarization, character assassination, and the tension between principle and self-interest may be one of the most useful things the past can offer us right now. Three sites. Three perspectives. Not a story of heroes and villains, but of imperfect people trying to build something that had never existed before.
Stratford Symposium: The Lee Brothers
The Feuding Founders Collective travels to Stratford Hall in the Northern Neck of Virginia for a day focused on politics and Revolutionary ideals of a group of men working for the goal of Independence even if they didn’t always agree on how to achieve it. The Lee band of brothers—Richard Henry, Francis Lightfoot, William and Arthur—played pivotal roles in our path towards revolution and formation of an independent nation. Their power and influence would be tested as they came into political conflict with Silas Deane and John Jay. The program will include a round table discussion and tours of Stratford Hall and Menokin.
About Stratford Hall
Stratford Hall brings together people from around the world to experience two-thousand acres of natural and human history, preserved and presented so that we can all learn from the courageous struggles of our ancestors, taking inspiration both from what they endured and what they accomplished. There are few places in America where people can travel down small, rural roads to arrive at a vast site that preserves so many aspects of early-American life, from the Great House where the influential Lee family helped to forge a new nation, to the fields worked by enslaved Africans, to the waters of the rivers that fueled trade, to the ground, which still yields secrets about the people and animals that lived before. Come experience this extraordinary place and learn about a layered history that began millions of years ago—a history that continues to educate, inspire, and influence Americans to the present day.
Attend All Three!
Each roundtable discussion will be livestreamed on Zoom. Attend all events onsite, online, or a combination!
Webb Deane Stevens Museum | Silas Deane: May 16, Connecticut
Jay Heritage Center | John Jay: September 26, New York
Stratford Hall & Menokin | The Lee Brothers: November 14, Virginia

WDS BOOK CLUB | Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution
2026-12-08 18:00 - 20:00 | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
This month we’re reading:
Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution
By Eric Jay Dolin
(Available on Audible)
Tuesday, December 8, 6 pm | In Person and Virtual
Moderated by TR Revella-Hamilton, WDS Director of Preservation & Collections
Meet fellow history enthusiasts in person as we discuss thought-provoking books by acclaimed authors. Our carefully curated monthly selections delve into the rich tapestry of American and European history, featuring compelling works about revolutionary figures, historic preservation, decorative arts, and stories that shaped our cultural landscape. Whether you’re a seasoned historian, preservation enthusiast, or simply curious about the stories behind our built heritage, there’s a place for you in our community of learners.
JOIN BOOK CLUB

How it Works: Book Club meets bimonthly at the Museum and via Zoom on the second Tuesday of each designated month, unless otherwise noted. Book Club members will receive the newest book title via email two months prior to the book club date. You may join Book Club at any point during the year. Come when you can – there is no penalty for missing a session.
Book Club 2026 “Library Card” Annual Fee*: $25 General | $20 Museum Members | $15 Students
Your Book Club Library Card entitles you to in-person and virtual Book Club sessions, as well as discounted admission to the accompanying Book Talks lecture series held on Thursdays at the Museum.
