Upcoming Events at The John Brown House Museum

Thursday, October 15 @ 6:00 PM

Today

Roger Williams and Witchcraft with Andrew Schnetzer

Thursday, October 15 @ 6:00 PM

Join the Rhode Island Historical Society on Thursday, October 15th, at 6pm for Roger Williams and Witchcraft, a presentation from Roger Williams National Memorial Park Ranger Andrew Schnetzer. Roger Williams’s English world was filled with the fear of witchcraft, demonology, and satanic practices. Williams’s views on the spiritual world were subtle and complex, balancing his beliefs in soul freedom with a pragmatic vision of civil laws. Join National Park Service ranger Andy to explore the uncanny world of Roger Williams and Witchcraft. Andrew Schnetzer has worked for the National Park Service for over 19 years. As a park ranger at Roger Williams National Memorial, he focuses on making the ideals of our Nation’s earliest thinkers central to the American experience. As a park ranger, he does not consider himself a historian, but an interpreter of American stories. His programs are grounded in the evidence while striving to find meaning, dialog, and understanding in a modern world. Guests can register here.

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Saturday, October 17 @ 11:00 AM

This Weekend

HerStory: Historic Women of the East Side Walking Tour

Saturday, October 17 @ 11:00 AM

Join staff from the Rhode Island Historical Society’s Museum at the John Brown House for HerStory: Historic Women of the East Side at 11am on Saturday, October 17. This walking tour, which covers just over a half mile on Providence’s East Side, highlights women’s stories from the 18th-century through the present day. Whether you’re passionate about history, social change, or just eager to be inspired, this unique experience will leave you with a renewed appreciation for the women who have made history and continue to shape our future. From educators, artists, and unsung heroes, this is the story of the women of the East Side. The tour departs from the Museum at the John Brown House at 52 Power Street, Providence, RI, and lasts approximately 90 minutes. The tour will end at Frazier Terrace 223, Benefit St., Providence, RI, in front of the entrance to the RISD Museum. Tickets cost $15 per person and $10 for RIHS members, and include admission to the Museum at the John Brown House on the day of the tour. Guests can register here.

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Monday, October 19 @ 12:30 PM

Liberty at Lunch: South Carolina’s Upcountry History Museum

Monday, October 19 @ 12:30 PM

Join the Rhode Island Historical Society on Monday, October 19th at 12:30pm for the tenth installment of Liberty at Lunchtime, a monthly virtual series highlighting partners in the other 13 original colonies. The series continues with a presentation from Abby Silon, Education & Program Manager at South Carolina’s Upcountry History Museum. In the early 1900s, life centered entirely around the Mill Village—a unique, isolated culture that forever changed how Upcountry Carolinians played, ate, and lived. Explore the fascinating intersection of labor, sports, and culinary history in the Palmetto State. Discover how textile mill worker fueled their bodies during long shifts with Southern staples like bologna sandwiches and sweet tea. We will also trace the legendary rise of Brandon Mill’s own “Shoeless Joe” Jackson, whose journey from child laborer to baseball icon mirrors the grit of the workers who built the Upstate. Join us to see how the historic brick mills of yesterday have transformed into the vibrant breweries and art studios of today, proving that when you taste South Carolina’s food, you are tasting its history. Abby Silon is a public historian and the Education and Program Manager at the Upcountry History Museum. Originally from Beaufort, South Carolina, she holds an M.A. in Public History from Georgia Southern University and a B.S. in History from Lander University. She cataloged Gretsch instruments in the Georgia Southern Museum collection and worked at Clemson University on the Cemetery Hill Project as an interpreter/educator. With a background in museum education and collections, Abby is dedicated to using museums as creative spaces for community engagement and historical preservation. Her research interests include Gullah Geechee history, the Gilded Age, cemetery preservation, and Cold War diplomacy. Guests can register here.

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Tuesday, October 20 @ 6:00 PM

People, Places, Things: 50 Years of RI LGBTQIA History Panel Discussion

Tuesday, October 20 @ 6:00 PM

Join the Rhode Island Historical Society on Tuesday, October 20th, at 6pm, for People, Places, Things: 50 Years of RI LGBTQIA History, a panel discussion commemorating 50 years of Rhode Island’s Pride Parade and some of the projects, places, and people that helped build the queer community in Rhode Island in the years leading up to and following 1976. The panel, moderated by Jason Tranchida & Matthew Lawrence, will feature three 10-minute talks from Elmo Terry-Morgan on “The Black Lavender Experience (1998-present)”, Janaya Kizzie on “Kandy’s of Course Beauty Salon (1968-2017)”, and Angela DiVeglia on “Kings and Queens Bar in Woonsocket (1977-2002)” and the Kim Deacon Collection of photographs at the Providence Public Library. The program will also feature a brief overview of the LGBTQ+ timeline made by Lawrence, as well as a screening of archival footage from the first Rhode Island Pride Parade in 1976. Guests may arrive before the program for a 5:30pm reception. Guests can register here. Jason Tranchida (he/him) & Matthew Lawerence (he/they) are a collaborative duo living in Providence, Rhode Island. Matthew and Jason have worked on multiple art and curatorial projects, including Headmaster, a project-based art magazine and the multi-channel video installation Scandalous Conduct: A Fairy Extravaganza, a musical-documentary about the Newport Navy Scandal of 1919.. Separately, Lawrence is an archivist, writer, and editor. In 2022, he received his Master of Information Studies from McGill University, and has since worked on archival projects with Providence Public Library, the Massachusetts State Historical Records Board, and Providence College Galleries, among others. He was a 2021 finalist for the Rabkin Prize for Visual Art Journalism and a 2015 recipient of the Public Humanities Scholar Award from Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. Tranchida has a creative practice that is a multi-disciplinary intersection of art, design, and curatorial projects. Born in Detroit and living in Providence, his project-based art practice includes objects, installations, video, and digital explorations. As creative director of Headmaster magazine, Tranchida has received two Print Merit Awards from the Society of Publication Designers. His creative agency LLAMAproduct specializes in graphic and experience design, creative direction, and event production. His work draws heavily on his foundation in architecture and stage design. Elmo Terry-Morgan (he/him) is Associate Professor Emeritus in Africana Studies and the Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies, and Artistic Director Emeritus of Rites and Reason Theatre at Brown University. Professor Elmo Terry-Morgan’s areas of specialization are African-American Theatre, African-American Folk Traditions and Cultural Expressions, Black LGBTQ+ Theatre, and Research-to-Performance Method [RPM] Playwriting. ETM and his students developed their sui generes course in 1998, Black Lavender: The study of plays with Black LGBTQ+ content and The Black Lavender Experience [BLX] 2009, a presentation of LGBTQ+ plays, films, interviews and panels. Among the artists who have contributed to the course and the BLX are Christina Anderson, Djola Banner, Sharon Bridgforth, StaciAnn Chin, Brian Freeman, Shirlene Holmes, Dréa St. Clair, Chisa Hutchinson, E. Patrick Johnson, Daniel Alexander Jones, Ione Lloyd, Renita Martin, Lenelle Moises, Yoruba Richen, and Brown University and Tougaloo College students. Janaya Kizzie (they/she) is an author, archivist, and historian living in the Providence area. Kizzie processed the AS220 Collection, documenting the history of arts and place-making, at the Providence Public Library in 2016, and was named the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities Rhode Island Public Humanities Scholar in 2020. They have been a processing archivist at Brown University since 2022. In 2024 Kizzie was commissioned to create three biographies on LGBTQ+ people in Rhode Island for Rhode Tour, an online app documenting the history and culture of the state. Angela DiVeglia (she/her) is an artist, urban gardener, writer, curator, and librarian. Her work centers around visual and immersive research, social movement documentation, public history, post-industrial landscapes, radical cartography, and the transformative power of community archives. She helped create the Rhode Island LGBTQ+ Community Archive at Providence Public Library and serves on the Board of Dirt Palace Public Projects, a feminist arts organization that offers numerous residency and exhibition programs in Providence.

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Saturday, October 24 @ 10:30 AM

Providence During the Revolutionary War Walking Tour with Scott Alexander

Saturday, October 24 @ 10:30 AM

Join the Museum at the John Brown House for “Part Two” of our Revolutionary War walking tour series on College Hill. Providence During the Revolutionary War examines our Rhode Island Capital’s involvement in the American Revolution and how everyday people’s lives were changed as war ravaged the world around them. See the historic sites where enslaved men attempted to gain freedom, refugees tried to survive plight and famine, and how uncertainty was rampant during our country’s founding. Comfortable shoes are a must during this 90-minute, approximately 1-mile walk through the historic College Hill neighborhood. Our Revolutionary War walking tour series features the Roots of Revolution and Providence during the Revolution walking tours. Participating in both tours will offer the full historical experience of the Revolution in Rhode Island. The tours are not required to be seen in order. Guests can get their tickets here.

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Wednesday, October 28 @ 6:00 PM

American Gothic: Dark Stories for a Young Nation

Wednesday, October 28 @ 6:00 PM

As our commemoration of the 250th continues, join us on Wednesday, October 28th at 6 pm for “American Gothic: Dark Stories for a Young Nation” as we explore some of America’s best-known dark literature and its New England roots. Together with Brown University English Professor Jim Egan, we will examine the literary and historical contexts behind classic 19th-century stories by essential American authors Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allan Poe. We will also be joined by retired National Park Ranger John McNiff, who will help to bring this genre to life by reading selections from “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” “Young Goodman Brown,” and the entirety of “The Tell-Tale Heart.” The program begins at 6 pm. Guests may arrive at 5:30pm for a wine and cheese reception. Egan is a Professor of English at Brown University. He specializes in 17th- and 18th-century colonial British-American literature, and he studies various aspects of the role of literature in an information age. Guests can register here. Tickets are $10 for RIHS members and $15 for non-members.

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Thursday, October 29 @ 6:00 PM

Fifty Years of Escapes, Ephemera, and Houdini Lore: Preserving a Rhode Island Connection

Thursday, October 29 @ 6:00 PM

The Museum of Work & Culture will host Rhode Island-based professional magician and entertainer Lon Cerel on Thursday, October 29, from 6 – 8 p.m. for Fifty Years of Escapes, Ephemera, and Houdini Lore: Preserving a Rhode Island Connection. October 2026 marks the 100th anniversary of Houdini’s death. To mark this historic centennial, the Museum of Work & Culture is partnering with Cerel for a special public presentation. For the first time in 50 years, Cerel’s collection of vault-secured, museum-grade archive of manacles, stage-used apparatus, rare correspondence, and ephemeral artifacts belonging to Harry Houdini will be on public display. Houdini performed numerous times in Rhode Island, both in Providence and Woonsocket, with his last appearance just weeks before his untimely death. The VIP portion of the program begins at 6 pm with a wine and cheese reception where a limited number of guests will receive an exclusive, intimate guided look at the artifacts. The main event will begin at 7 pm and feature a 30 min talk by Cerel, where he will detail the history represented in his collection, recount the stories associated with the artifacts, including that of Houdini’s last days, and discuss his own death-defying high-altitude, upside-down straitjacket escape performed in 1976 for the 50th anniversary of Houdini’s death. A Q&A will follow. GA Tickets are priced from $15 – $20. VIP tickets are priced from $30 – $35. Guests can register here.

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Wednesday, November 4 @ 6:00 PM

Funny Stuff: How Comedy Shaped American History with Ryan Lintelman

Wednesday, November 4 @ 6:00 PM

Join the Rhode Island Historical Society on Wednesday, November 4th, at 6pm for a presentation on the new book Funny Stuff: How Comedy Shaped American History by Ryan Lintelman, entertainment curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The National Comedy Center and Smithsonian Institution hold unparalleled collections of artifacts that illustrate the vitality and importance of comedy in American life, from vaudeville, silent films, and TV sitcoms to stand-up, sketch, and cartoons. In the new book, Funny Stuff: How Comedy Shaped American History, these collections are brought together in vibrant photographs and illuminating essays that tell the story of how comedy shaped American history. Hear from Ryan Lintelman, entertainment curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, as he reveals the stories of rarely exhibited artifacts and recounts the lives of famous, infamous, and unknown comics and their influence on American culture. This talk is part of our year-long commemoration of the 250th anniversary of America’s founding and Rhode Island’s part in shaping our nation’s history and culture from 1776 to 1976. Ryan Lintelman is a public historian and historian of American entertainment with a special interest in the history of film, television, and comedy. In his scholarship, Lintelman explores how people living in the United States have interacted with popular entertainment, and how popular culture shapes and reflects historical debates and developments. By probing the production, exhibition, reception, and cultural conversations about entertainment performance and products, Lintelman strives to engage a broad public in discussing Americans’ understandings of themselves and their place in the world throughout the nation’s history. Guests can register for free here.

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Thursday, November 5 @ 12:30 PM

Liberty at Lunchtime: Virginia Museum of History & Culture

Thursday, November 5 @ 12:30 PM

Join the Rhode Island Historical Society on Thursday, November 5th at 12:30pm for the eleventh installment of Liberty at Lunchtime, a monthly virtual series highlighting partners in the other 13 original colonies. The series continues with a presentation from Virginia Museum of History & Culture curators, Julie Kemper and Noah Tinsley. Kemper and Tinsley will share stories from the recent exhibit, We the People: The World in Our Commonwealth. The exhibition explores the immigrant experience in Virginia from the founding of the nation to today. Connect with the personal narratives of individuals born in 68 countries who sought freedom, opportunity, and refuge by immigrating to the United States and finding a home in Virginia. The VMHC is owned and operated by the Virginia Historical Society, a private, non-profit organization. It is the oldest cultural organization in Virginia, and one of the most distinguished history organizations in the nation. Our mission is to connect people to America’s past through the unparalleled story of Virginia. By collecting, preserving, and interpreting the Commonwealth’s history, we link past with present and inspire future generations. Guests can register for free here.

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