Wethersfield Historical Society celebrates America250 with a new program series exploring the history of the American Revolution. All of the programs in this series are held in the ballroom of the Keeney Memorial Cultural Center (200 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT). Admission is free to current members of the society and $10 per program for non-members.
Thursday, February 19 at 7pm
Tammy Denease as Clo Pratt
Historian, artist, and storyteller Tammy Denease appears as Clo Pratt, a Black woman who lived in Wethersfield during the American Revolution. Born into slavery, Clo Pratt was bequeathed her freedom in her late mistress’ will. As a free woman, Clo probably earned her living by hiring herself out, weaving, and cleaning local homes. Join Clo on a trip through the colonies where she introduces you to known, and lesser-known, heroes who not only fought for freedom from King George but also freedom from some of the founding fathers.
Tuesday, March 10 at 7pm
Songs of 18th Century America
Historical musician Linda Russell performs Songs of 18th Century America. Interspersing local history with music from the period including ballads, Revolutionary War anthems, and love songs, Linda uses music to bring the history of the Revolution in Wethersfield to life.
Friday, April 24 at 7pm
Capt. Moses Tryon: Local Hero in a Global Conflict
Joseph Morneault, former director of historical music at the USS Constitution Museum and author of an upcoming biography on Moses Tryon, presents a lecture on Captain Moses Tryon. Learn about the contributions Wethersfield resident Moses Tryon made to the American Revolution captaining several privateer vessels during the course of the war.
Thursday, May 14 at 6:30pm
Founding Mothers
Historian Dr. Amanda Goodheart Parks delivers Founding Mothers, a lecture about women in Wethersfield and across the colonies who made significant contributions to the American Revolution. Despite Abigail Adams famously exhorting her husband and his fellow Founding Fathers to, “…remember the ladies,” history has largely forgotten their efforts. This lecture shares the extraordinary stories of notable women across the nation (Martha Washington, Mercy Otis Warren, Polly Cooper, and others) who helped America win its independence.
Dr. Amanda Goodheart Parks is a historian, educator, and public speaker with over fifteen years of experience bringing the past to life for people of all ages. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Salve Regina University History Department.
Tuesday, June 2 at 7pm
The Catacomb of Loyalty: A Deep Dive into New-Gate’s Role in the Revolution
Morgan Bengel, curator and site administrator of Old New-Gate Prison & Copper Mine, delivers The Catacomb of Loyalty: A Deep Dive into New-Gate’s Role in the Revolution, a lecture exploring how loyalists and POWs were treated here in Connecticut.
Tuesday, July 21 at 7pm
The French Alliance & the Road to Yorktown
University of Maryland History Professor Dr. Richard Bell delivers The French Alliance & the Road to Yorktown. Wethersfield resident Silas Deane played a crucial role in helping to establish an important alliance between the U.S. and France. This lecture will explore the important role that this alliance played in the American Revolution and how it evolved over time, from France providing secret support with guns and other matériel to working directly with the U.S. to beat the British at the decisive siege of Yorktown.
Tuesday, August 4 at 7pm – A Panel Discussion
Black History in Revolutionary Connecticut
Learn more about the experiences of Black people in Wethersfield and beyond during the American Revolution in this moderated panel discussion co-hosted by Wethersfield Historical Society and the Webb Deane Stevens Museum.
Funding for this program series is made possible by the generous financial support of the Robert Allan Keeney Memorial Fund at Greater Hartford Gives Foundation, M&T Charitable Foundation, Awilda Aponte & Ken Johnson, and members of Wethersfield Historical Society.
This event will be held in the ballroom of the Keeney Memorial Cultural Center, (200 Main Street, Wethersfield) Admission is free for current members of Wethersfield Historical Society and the Webb Deane Stevens Museum, $10 at the door for the general public, cash or check. Preregistration is not required.
This program series complements the Forgotten Patriots exhibit, on view in the Watson Gallery of the Keeney Memorial Cultural Center (200 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT) during regular museum hours. Forgotten Patriots was created by Wethersfield Historical Society in consultation with Museum Makeover Consultant Karen DePauw and Executive Director of Hidden LLC Consulting Tammy Denease. This exhibit would not be possible without the efforts of volunteer research librarian Martha Smart and independent researcher Diane Cameron who spent decades researching the lives of free and enslaved people of color in Wethersfield. Additional information on the lives of Wethersfield’s Black patriots was provided by Terry Jackson (descendant of Benoni Lattemore) and Rocky Hill Town Historian Robert C. Herron. Funding for this exhibit was made possible by the Robert Allen Keeney Memorial Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, CT Humanities, Conservation ConneCTion, and members of Wethersfield Historical Society. America 250 | CT Museum Makeover is a program of Conservation ConneCTion and is supported by the America 250 | CT state commission, administered by CT Humanities (CTH), with funding provided by the Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development/Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) from the Connecticut State Legislature. Funding for the program series is made possible by the generous financial support of the Robert Allan Keeney Memorial Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, M&T Charitable Foundation, Awilda Aponte & Ken Johnson, and members of Wethersfield Historical Society.