Events Calendar

Author Jeffrey Amestoy will speak about the November 1926 murder at the Bennington Museum

Learn about our “All In Vermont: put your history on the map” project which is a statewide, place-based learning opportunity for Vermont educators and students which encourages the study of community history in partnership with local historical societies.

Join author Robert Mello at the Joslin Memorial Library in Waitsfield on October 21st at 6:00PM to hear him speak about his latest book, When the Trees Came Back: The Great Battle To Save Vermont's Forests.  

The Leahy Library at the Vermont History Center will open late on Tuesday, October 27th, at 10:30 AM.

Offered the second WEDNESDAY of each month, September 2026 through February 2027, 1:00 to 3:00 pm.  All programs will take place at the Vermont History Museum, 109 State Street, Montpelier. Recommended…

The Leahy Library at the Vermont History Center will open late on Tuesday, November 24th, at 10:00 AM.

Offered the second WEDNESDAY of each month, September 2026 through February 2027, 1:00 to 3:00 pm.  All programs will take place at the Vermont History Museum, 109 State Street, Montpelier. Recommended…

The Leahy Library at the Vermont History Center will open late on Tuesday, December 22nd, at 10:00 AM.

Offered the second WEDNESDAY of each month, September 2026 through February 2027, 1:00 to 3:00 pm.  All programs will take place at the Vermont History Museum, 109 State Street, Montpelier. Recommended…

Offered the second WEDNESDAY of each month, September 2026 through February 2027, 1:00 to 3:00 pm.  All programs will take place at the Vermont History Museum, 109 State Street, Montpelier. Recommended…

An immersive theater experience inspired by the Spiritualist history at the museum. Ticket holders will gather for a drink and a short talk on Victorian Spiritualism before entering the Historic Home where actors will guide them through participatory dramatization, recreating séances based on Rokeby records and other historical accounts. With multiple performance times per night, in this year's production, an unexpected spirit appears with a prophecy. Repeats October 23 & 24.

Free closing reception with light refreshments, conversation, and friends. Opportunities also to get out on the water with a final sail as well as a demonstration of our new natural linen spritsail, crafted through a partnership this July with the Weaver's Croft, the Sailcloth Study Group, and Gambell & Hunter Sail Loft during a conference titled “By Hand: Reclaiming the Art of Historical Sail Making”.

Using a reproduction of the exploded cannon from the Battle of Valcour Bay during the American Revolution, think like an archaeologist and piece together what happened and how the aftermath affected sailors and their families. www.lcmm.org ( )

Lots of family-fun activities: Flax production, Reenactors in the historic Allen House, harvest-themed family crafts, historical toys & games, costume corner, and special activities sponsored by Brownell Library featuring the Vermont Reads book.

Presenter: Richard Allen is a retired educator and dedicated local history author who spent 37 years teaching in Williston, Vermont. As a passionate community historian, he has authored several books on our regional heritage. His deep research into archives and local oral histories makes him uniquely qualified to bring the early transportation and social hubs of Chittenden County back to life. Sponsored by the Williston Historical Society and the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library as part of our Williston 250th Speaker Series.

Lots of pie. Details forthcoming.

Annual meeting for the Weathersfield Historical Society followed by a potluck supper and dancing.

A boy who grew up in poverty in Northfield in the 1800's became a world-famous evangelist and preached at Vernon's Pond Road Chapel. Among his many accomplishments, he founded the Northfield School for Girls, the Mount Hermon School for Boys in Gill, Massachusetts, and the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. A brief annual meeting of the Historians membership will be held at 1:45 p.m., immediately preceding the program, and all are welcome.

Roger Allbee, author and former Vermont Secretary of Agriculture will present a program “Turning the Soil: 250 Years of Vermont Agriculture”. A historical look on changes in rural communities, farmers' activities, agricultural production, and farm policies over a period of more than 250 years. It comprehensively analyzes agriculture from the perspectives of grassroots, state, national, and global levels.

illustrated talk with Dr. Zachary Bennett, Professor of History at Norwich University.

A Secret Pledge, a Severed Head, and the Murder that Brought America's Most Famous Lawyer to Vermont.

Potluck supper followed by a business meeting and presentation by Skylar Bayley, who will talk about his new book Nothing But Honor. Eyewitness accounts from journals, letters, pension records, and post-war interviews drive new conclusions on how the action unfolded at the Battle of Hubbardton in 1777.

The launch party for #2 which is focused on Civil Unions will include free copies of Proud Little State #1 and #2, snacks, artmaking, a display of objects from the VT Queer Archives, and the chance to add your own memories and stories to the archives.

HSM Executive Director Coco Moseley and Middlebury College Associate Professor Ellery Foutch share their stories behind the making of the new exhibition “Drawing on the Archive: Tillie Walden's Charity & Sylvia.”

As we celebrate America 250, this event highlights the use of primary source records in historical re-enactment by bringing together 3 local re-enactors: Skye Makaris, Izzy Provoncha, and Jonah Spivak. They will discuss how historical records inform their practice and VSARA staff will share some insight into the backstory of the records on display.

Organized by Lindsay Robertson, Chickasaw Nation Endowed Chair of International Law, University of Oklahoma, and Visiting Professor at Dartmouth College, the program will include: 1.    Susan Chandler, Peacham Historian, Formed by Peacham: Samuel Worcester's Childhood. 2.    Lindsay Robertson, Samuel Worcester, John Marshall and the Supreme Court. 3.    Cherokee Nation scholar Jack Baker, The Trail of Tears. 4.    Cherokee Chief Chuck Hoskin, The Cherokee Today. Presented by the Peacham 250th Steering Committee with support from Vermont Humanities.

Talk by John Spiro. Part of the Castleton U. S. History series of talks in honor of the 250th.

The weekend of stories from Windham County's past and present is Saturday, Oct. 24, at 7 pm and Sunday, Oct. 25, at 2 pm. The HSWC issued invitations to all 23 county towns for stories and tellers. A different program for each date will include stories told by residents of our towns: stories that shed a light on where we've come from to become who we are. “Oral histories are windows into the past.  The Potluck of Stories captures local life and moments in time: they're precious documents of 'days gone by.'”  For more information, visit or write verbatimvt@gmail.com.

Commemorating the time in late October 1776, 250 years ago, when the British on Lake Champlain returned to Canada with three events. October 24, 1:00-3:00 pm, come along on a walk with experts and history buffs to the northern end of Mount Independence. On October 25, 1:00-4:00 pm, an afternoon or presentations. “You Say You Want a Revolution: Mount Independence & the Many Facets of the War for Independence.” Several talks of differing lengths during the afternoon, with breaks between. For October 28, the Mount's “Finest Day,” site interpreters will be on hand to talk to visitors about this day in history and how it gave General George Washington and the Americans time over the winter to prepare for the next efforts of the British. www.historicsites.vermont.gov ( )

Join us for a lively conversation, moderated by Middlebury College Professor of History Rebecca Bennette, with comic artists and graphic novelists Tillie Walden, Dan Nott, and Daryl Seitchik as they explore the possibilities of telling Vermont history through comics and the graphic medium.

Annual business meeting followed by the presentation "Stories of the All-Black 366th Infantry Regiment, 1941" by Dr. James Pratt, retired professor from Cornell University. Dr. Pratt will present his research on a segregated all-Black unit of the U.S. Army that fought alongside the French troops during WWI, and prior to WWII were sent to guard key infrastructure in New England, including in Vermont.

After-hours tour of the sites officially designated as HAUNTED in a recent paranormal investigation. Learn the history behind the hauntings. Plus free cider and spooky-themed snacks.

Visit their new office and extensive collection. Tour the renovated municipal auditorium.

See the renovations to the municipal building alongside viewing highlights from the Historical Society's vast collections.

Bill Farrell, a former Johnson State College Ski Team member, who will share his recollections of the JSC alpine racing program from its inception in 1966 through 1974, years when Dr. Walter Minartet and Erle Morse created what was often referred to as a “dynasty.” His presentation will include newly digitized 8mm film and photographs from his time on the team.

Luciana Frigerio and Sarah Rooker share how each of their perspectives came together to create the exhibit.

What would a museum reflecting your life look like? What would the experience be? In this illustrated presentation Frankie Vagnone, author of the Anarchist Guide to Historic House Museums and founder of Twisted Preservation will build a conceptual framework that may help us all strategically re-frame our historic sites. HSM will also host a brief Annual Meeting prior to the talk.

Doug Anderson brings the fascinating story of Joseph Addison to the town that bears his name Joseph Addison lived in London over 300 years ago. And though he never set foot in North America, he played a vital role in the American Revolution.  Addison was also a playwright, and it was his hit play, Cato , that had a profound effect on the American Revolution. The title character is the Roman general who stood up to Caesar and tyranny, so it's maybe no surprise that it was the most popular play in the colonies. The play spoke directly to resistance, to be willing to lay down your life for freedom. Cato was George Washington's favorite play.  Jefferson and Adams quoted from it in their letters.  When Nathan Hale said, “I regret that I have only one life to give for my country,” he was quoting Joseph Addison. That's our Joe, the Addison of Addison County. The Addison of the Town of Addison.

Presented by Izzy Provoncha.

Talk by Jim Douglas. Part of the Castleton U. S. History series of talks in honor of the 250th.