• “The Fundamentals of African American Genealogy”, Saturday, October 7, 2023, 2:00-3:30 p.m. Dr. Lucie Lewis gives a special presentation on the fundamental how-to’s of researching African American genealogy, along with detailing the historical facts, places, and tools to assist genealogists in the process of tracing their family tree. Program takes place on-site or remote option via Zoom. For more information see, https://bportlibrary.org/hc/events/the-fundamentals-of-african-american-genealogy/.

• “Museum Lyceum: Past Meets Present: Lessons from Indigenous Communities and Inspiring Future Storytellers”, Sunday, October 8, 2023, 2:00 p.m. Join us as our very own Senior Educator and Associate Director, Mac Korte, shares his experiences and knowledge of Indigenous American history and culture. With experiences that stretch coast to coast, including working with tribes from the Pacific Northwest to here in New England, Mac provides a fresh perspective on the dynamic world of Indigenous communities. Sharing his journey, learn how these pivotal moments have shaped his educational approach at the Windham Textile and History Museum along with his broader perspective in the museum and history fields. This discussion not only bridges personal experiences with our museum’s mission but also casts a spotlight on a new generation, inviting a new wave of aspiring historians and museum professionals to get involved and learn from the rapidly changing museum and history landscapes. This event is subject to change. $12 for Museum members; $15 for the general public. Please purchase your ticket in advance by October 6 and for more information see, https://millmuseum.org/currentevents/.

• “Unearthing History: 2023 Virtual Lecture #5: Update on the Brian D. Jones site in Avon, CT since discovery in 2019”, Thursday, October 12, 2023, 7:00-8:30 p.m. Presented by Eric Heffter, Senior Prehistoric Archaeologist, Archaeological and Historical Services, Storrs, CT. October is Archaeology Month in Connecticut. Eric’s presentation will be 90 minutes with time after for Questions and Answers. This 2023 Virtual History Series is sponsored by Avon Historical Society, Avon Free Public Library, and Avon Senior Center, in partnership with the Avon Land Trust, Farmington River Watershed Association, and the Institute of American Indian Studies in Washington, CT. It will be held on Thursday, October 12 from 7:00–8:30 p.m. via Zoom through a link. This event is free and open to the public. Sign up here.

• “Glimpses of Windsor’s Black Patriots”, Wednesday, October 18, 2023, 7:00-8:00 p.m. Like every other New England town, Windsor supplied the Revolutionary War effort with Black soldiers as well as white. Each left documentary evidence behind, but not always a lot. Librarian/Archivist Michelle Tom will share many of these documents and discuss possible interpretations of her ongoing research. Admission is $5. For more information and registration see, https://windsorhistoricalsociety.org/event/glimpses-of-windsors-black-patriots/.
• “Two of Windsor: Accused and Exonerated of Witchcraft”, Wednesday, October 25, 2023, 7:00-8:00 p.m. Join Connecticut author Beth M. Caruso as she discusses the witch trials in colonial Connecticut. Her well-researched novel, One of Windsor: The Untold Story of America’s First Witch Hanging, is based on the life of Alice ‘Alse’ Young, the first colonial hanging victim from Windsor. She will explore the specific witch cases in Windsor regarding Alse Young and Lydia Gilbert as well as the climate that led to the Connecticut witch trials in general and to the indictments and deaths of at least eleven people between 1647 and 1663. Beth will also recount the process of passing Resolution HJ 34 in the Connecticut General Assembly in May 2023 as well as its pertinence for modern witch hunt victims in over sixty countries in present-day. She is more than happy to answer any questions you may have. Admission is $10. For more information and registration see, https://windsorhistoricalsociety.org/event/two-of-windsor-accused-and-exonerated-of-witchcraft/.

• “Connecticut Our Homeland Our History” with Darlene Kascak, Education Coordinator and Traditional Native American Storyteller, Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, October 19, 2023, 12:00-1:00 p.m. This program is free and open to the public. Please register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIqf-GtrTgiE9Ez993R5GcIoVvBYb_KkFHz.  After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

• “Lunch and Learn: Hannah Watson and Women Printers in Early America”, Tuesday, October 24, 2023, from 12:00-1:00 p.m.  Women printers were never the majority within the early American print industry, but their work could prove to be the critical component in keeping print businesses and newspapers alive. Such was the case of Hannah Bunce Watson, widow of Connecticut Courant printer Ebenezer Watson, whose determination and grit in the face of adversity laid the foundation for the paper to stay alive into the twenty-first century. Join us as New England Regional Fellowship Consortium grantee, C.C. Borzilleri, addresses how printers like Hannah Watson engaged with their local communities, including colonial and early state governments, to build trusting relationships and sustain their businesses. This virtual presentation is free and open to the public. Click here to register. Questions? Contact Public Programs and Special Events Coordinator, Jen Busa via email at jbusa@connecticutmuseum.org.
• “Endangered Eating and the Hunt for Rare Apples: Book Talk, Author Signing, and Cider Tasting!”, Thursday, October 26, 2023, from 6:00-7:30 p.m. Apples have been called the country’s “most endangered food.” Currently, 86% of apple varieties grown in the US have vanished, and four out of five are on the brink of extinction. But thanks to the hard cider revival, rare apples are being saved. In this talk, food historian Sarah Lohman will give an overview of her new book, Endangered Eating: America’s Vanishing Foods, with a focus on the history of apples and hard cider in New Jersey and the stories of three apples reclaimed from the brink of extinction. Before the talk, you can sample locally-made craft hard ciders, courtesy of New England Cider Company! The book can be purchased at the event, courtesy of River Bend Bookshop. $10 Adults, $8 Seniors. Half price for Connecticut Museum general members and free for NARM-level members. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door. Questions? Contact Natalie Belanger, Adult Programs Manager, at nbelanger@connecticutmuseum.org.

Connecticut’s Old State House

• Hartford History Lecture Series
  Note: The live stream for each lecture will be available on the Connecticut’s Old State House YouTube and Facebook pages on the day of the event except where noted below.

  • “Hartford History Lecture Series: Why Hartford’s Ethnic Heritage Matters Today” with Dr. Fiona Vernal, Thursday, October 5, 2023, 5:45-7:00 p.m. In the last century, Hartford’s demographic history has shifted dramatically and with it, the stories we can tell about the city, its landscape, and its neighborhoods. Through the lens of a series of articles published more than a century ago, this talk explores the history of Hartford’s changing ethnic heritage and the roots and routes that have made the city home for a succession of different ethnic groups. This event is free and open to the public. Please register here: https://bit.ly/2023CollectionsAndCummunities.

  • “Trinity College Architecture & Archives Walking Tour (at Trinity College Rocky Ridge campus)”, Saturday, October 7, 2023, join Art History Professor Alden Gordon, for a fascinating tour of the historic Trinity College Rocky Ridge Campus. We will discuss the history of the college’s founding in 1823 on Trinity Hill overlooking the Park (Hog) River on the site occupied today by the Connecticut State Capitol. We will discuss the topography of the Rocky Ridge site and its context in Hartford’s post-Civil-War expansion from agrarian to an increasingly dense and industrializing Capital city. The walk will see the pioneering William Burges British Victorian Romanesque revival Long Walk (1876-1881) and consider the 1923 Trowbridge and Livingston Centennial Master Plan for the main quadrangle built out during the Great Depression by McKim Mead and White for the academic and residential buildings and by Frohmann Robb and Little for the Trinity College Chapel. The tour will survey the Post WWII expansion of the campus to the South before concluding with a visit to the Special Collections of the Trinity College Archives.  The tour will begin at the Trinity College Admissions Building on the Trinity College Chapel Parking lot off of Summit Street near the corner of Vernon Street. This walking tour will be live and in-person, will last two hours and will require a walk of about 1 mile.  Free on street parking is available all along Summit Street. In-person only. Please register here: https://bit.ly/2023CollectionsAndCummunities.
  • “Tales and Treasures: Exploring Hartford through Trinity College Archives & Watkinson Library” with Dr. Christina M. Bleyer, Eric Stoykovich, and Eric Johnson-DeBaufre, Thursday, October 12, 2023, 5:45 p.m.  Join the Watkinson Librarians and Archivists for an engaging presentation that delves into the history of Trinity College’s two centuries in Hartford. Through a rich collection of documents and photographs, College Archivist, Eric Stoykovich will show how the Trinity College Archives sheds light on Hartford’s transformation, capturing the essence of the city across different eras. Rare Books and Special Collections Librarian, Eric Johnson-DeBaufre will illuminate the remarkable journey of a unique document, tracing its origin from a free Black community in Brooklyn to the hands of one of the library’s most significant benefactors. College Librarian and Director of the Watkinson Library, Christina Bleyer will discuss current and future initiatives for the Watkinson Library that are rooted in Hartford and its diverse cultures. Don’t miss this captivating presentation, where the past comes alive through hidden stories and extraordinary acquisitions, bridging the gap between history, the present, and the future. Please register here: https://bit.ly/2023CollectionsAndCummunities.

  • “From Historical Society to Museum of Culture and History: 200 Years of Collecting Connecticut’s Stories” with Andrea Rapacz and Andrea Slater, Thursday, October 19, 2023, 5:45 p.m. In 1825, the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS) was established with “the purpose of documenting, procuring and preserving whatever may relate to the civil, ecclesiastical, and natural history of the United States, and especially the State of Connecticut.” Over its almost 200-year history, the mission of documenting and preserving has stayed the same, but the organization and its collection has evolved with the communities it serves. This year, the CHS underwent a monumental rebranding to reflect this ongoing change. Andrea Rapacz (Chief Curator) and Andrea Slater (Florence S. Marcy Crofut Archivist) will present an overview of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History and highlight some of its iconic collections, as well as some of the people that have been a part of this change. Please register here: https://bit.ly/2023CollectionsAndCummunities.

  • “Wadsworth Atheneum’s First Century: Collections and Patrons (at the Wadsworth Atheneum)” with William Hosley, Thursday, November 2, 2023, 5:45 p.m. For more than a century, Daniel Wadsworth’s picture gallery, the Connecticut Historical Society and the Watkinson and Hartford Public Libraries were housed together within the complex known as Wadsworth Atheneum. Like no other museum its size in America, the Atheneum’s collections and identity were shaped by fascinating donors and patrons whose tastes and interests reflect the needs and priorities of their time and place. The lure of the local is abundantly presented in a collection 200+ years in the making. Former Atheneum curator William Hosley will introduce us to the stuff and stories belonging to such legendary personalities as JP Morgan, Daniel Wadsworth and Sam & Elizabeth Colt. It will explore Hartford connections between artists and collectors like Frederic Church, William Merrit Chase, and Wallace Nutting, and introduce pathbreaking patrons and philanthropists like Samuel P. Avery, Rev. Francis Goodwin and Henry Keney. Please register here: https://bit.ly/2023CollectionsAndCummunities.