Historic Wethersfield

Wethersfield, CT

America’s Tapestry: Commemorating the Revolution Through Fiber Arts

April 9th, 7:00pm. America’s Tapestry: Commemorating the Revolution Through Fiber Arts

LECTURE | With Stefan Romero

Discover the extraordinary America’s Tapestry project—a nationwide initiative creating hand-stitched panels commemorating the American Revolution, with each state contributing its own unique narrative in thread.

Stefan Romero shares the inspiring story of how this project came to be and explores the centuries-long tradition of using fiber arts to preserve collective memory. From the Bayeux Tapestry to modern commemorative quilts, learn how needle and thread have documented our most pivotal moments.

For tickets or more information: https://www.simpletix.com/e/lecture-america-s-tapestry-fiber-arts-the-tickets-259326

Feuding Founders Collective

May 16th, 10:00am – 3:00pm. Feuding Founders Collective: The Untold Drama of Silas Deane, John Jay, and the Lees of Virginia

Three sites. Three perspectives. Three stories of imperfect men trying to build something that had never existed before.

They were allies and rivals. Collaborators and critics. Sometimes all at once. This spring, the Feuding Founders Collective launches at WDS — a multi-site series that strips the marble off the men who built the republic and asks what their struggles with polarization, loyalty, and public reputation can teach us about our own. Wethersfield kicks things off May 16, with events at partner sites in New York and Virginia to follow. Stay tuned.

Tickets on sale March 2026. Learn more: https://wdsmuseum.org/event/feuding-founders-collective/

Wethersfield 250 Jubilee

May 23rd, 10:00am – 4:00pm. Wethersfield 250 Jubilee: Revolutionary War Encampment & Traditional Trades Fair

With the 5th Connecticut Regiment & Traditional Trades Artisans

Webb Deane Stevens beloved Revolutionary War Encampment joins forces with the Traditional Trades Fair for a free, family-friendly day marking America’s 250th on the museum grounds.

Watch the 5th Connecticut Regiment drill and skirmish, chat with a camp surgeon about his gruesome profession, and see skilled artisans demonstrate the timber framing, weaving, and carpentry that built the nation and keep our oldest buildings standing. Hands-on workshops, Colonial games, delicious food, and a vendor market with local crafts, demonstrations and gifts all day.

The free festivities will begin on the Museum grounds immediately following the Town of Wethersfield Memorial Day Parade.

10:00am – 4:00pm. Demonstrations throughout the day will include*:

Colonial music
Children’s colonial games
Surgeon’s table
Woodworking
Masonry
Textile weaving
Open hearth cooking and food
Flag displays and history programs
Weaving and sewing
Soldier’s tent and display of equipment
Colonial clothing and textiles
Life of a Privateer
Butter churning
Camp tours and information about the 5th Connecticut Regiment and its history
Schedule (in formation)

10:30am Musket and drill demonstration

11:00am Children’s wooden musket drill

11:30am Reading of “Paul Revere’s Ride”

12:00pm Midday nooning

1:00pm Demonstrations of 18th-Century battle tactics, including musket firing and bayonet practice

2:00pm Canon firing demonstration

2:30pm Reading of “Paul Revere’s Ride”

4:00pm Camp Closes

*Schedule and demonstrations subject to change.

Mother’s Day Tea

May 10th, 10:00am – 11:30am Mother’s Day Tea

Treat the special women in your life to an elegant Mother’s Day filled with flowers and flavor at the Webb Deane Stevens Museum.

Enjoy music and a morning stroll through our gardens with WDS Head Gardener Peter Winne, then share tea, cake, and conversation overlooking our beautiful grounds. Whether you’re celebrating a mother, grandmother, daughter, or dear friend, this is a gracious way to honor the women you hold dear.

For tickets or more info:
https://www.simpletix.com/e/tea-mother-s-day-tea-tickets-260313

Lantern Light Tours

October 9th, 10th, and 11th. The 17^th Annual Old Wethersfield Lantern Light Tours

Join Wethersfield Historical Society for a special America250 Lantern Lights Tour! Participants will travel around Wethersfield as actors share stories about Wethersfield during the American Revolution. Tours depart from the Keeney Memorial Cultural Center (200 Main Street) every fifteen minutes between 6:30pm and 8:00pm. More information and ticket sales to be announced…

The French Alliance & The Road to Yorktown

July 21st, 7:00pm. Lecture: The French Alliance & The Road to Yorktown

University of Maryland History Professor Dr. Richard Bell delivers The French Alliance & the Road to Yorktown as the next installment of Wethersfield Historical Society’s American Revolution Program Series. Wethersfield resident Silas Deane played a crucial role in helping to establish the important alliance between the U.S. and France. This lecture explores 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. Admission: $10 General Public; Free for current members of Wethersfield Historical Society.

At Keeney Memorial Cultural Center, 200 Main Street, Wethersfield. Admission: $10 General Public; Free for current members of Wethersfield Historical Society. For more info visit, www.wethersfieldhistory.org.

New-Gate’s Role in the Revolution

June 2nd, 7:00pm. Lecture: The Catacomb of Loyalty; A Deep Dive into New-Gate’s Role in the Revolution

Wethersfield Historical Society presents The Catacomb of Loyalty: A Deep Dive into New-Gate’s Role in the Revolution, a lecture given by Morgan Bengel, curator and site administrator of Old New-Gate Prison & Copper Mine. This talk is part of WHS’ ongoing American Revolution Program Series and explores how loyalists and POWs were treated here in Connecticut during the war.

Founding Mothers

May 14th, 6:30pm. Lecture: Founding Mothers

As part of its American Revolution Program Series, Wethersfield Historical Society presents historian Dr. Amanda Goodheart Parks. Parks will deliver 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.

Captain Moses Tryon

April 24th, 7:00pm. Lecture: Captain Moses Tryon: Local Hero in a Global Conflict

Wethersfield Historical Society presents Joseph Morneault, former director of historical music at the USS Constitution Museum, as part of its American Revolution Program Series. Morneault is the author of an upcoming biography on Wethersfield resident Moses Tryon. Learn all about Tryon’s contributions to the American Revolution made while captaining several privateer vessels during the war.

Songs of 18th Century America

March 10, 7:00pm. Songs of 18th Century America

Wethersfield Historical Society’s American Revolution Program Series continues with soprano Linda Russell and 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.

At Keeney Memorial Cultural Center, 200 Main Street, Wethersfield. Admission: $10 General Public; Free for current members of Wethersfield Historical Society.