MA250

South Shore History Symposium: The Revolution, Independence, and the South Shore
2026-04-18 09:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | The Spire Center for the Performing Arts, Court Street 25 1/2, Plymouth, Massachusetts, 02360, United States
Presented by the “Backroads of the South Shore,” a consortium of 20 non-profit organizations operating in 12 towns from Weymouth to Plymouth, this year’s South Shore History Symposium will once again feature presentations from five prominent local historians. In keeping with the 250th commemorations of 1776, the symposium will focus on “The Revolution, Independence, and the South Shore.”
9:15 a.m. Welcoming Remarks, Donna Curtin, Back Roads of the South Shore Chair and Executive Director of Pilgrim Hall Museum
9:20 a.m. Privateers and Warships of Plymouth Bay during the Revolution, Patrick Browne, Executive Director of Plymouth Antiquarian Society
10:00 a.m. George Partridge—Duxborough’s Zealous Patriot and Bigwig of the Revolution, Tony Kelso, Duxbury Town Historian
10:40 a.m. Hingham’s Black Revolutionaries: Stories of Service on the Battlefield and Home Front, Paula Bagger, Hingham Historical Society
11:30 a.m. To Declare for Independence: South Shore Town Meetings in Revolutionary Massachusetts, Stephen C. O’Neill, Director, Hanover Historical Society & Director, Dyer Memorial Library
12:10 p.m. “Trill forth harmonious ditty”: Music of the American Revolution, Dr. Anne C. Mason, Curator, Pilgrim Hall Museum
For Tickets, please Check the Event Website. Or, contact info@plymouthantiquarian.org or call the Plymouth Antiquarian Society at (508) 746-0012.

Patriots’ Day Pancake Breakfast at the Church of Our Redeemer
2026-04-18 06:00 - 10:00 | The Church of Our Redeemer, 6 Meriam Street, Lexington, 02420, United States
To celebrate Patriots’ Day, the Church of Our Redeemer, 6 Meriam Street, Lexington, MA, will host its annual Patriots’ Day Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, April 18 from 6:00 to 10:00 AM in the parish hall. We are located just past the bike path, across from the Lexington Visitor Center. A complete breakfast including pancakes & sausages, juice and choices of coffee, tea or hot chocolate is offered. Please join us in the Great Hall, for a warm, community atmosphere to celebrate the day. Proceeds from the event will benefit local charities.

Patriot's Day Celebration in Lexington
2026-04-18 | Lexington Battle Green, Lexington Battle Green, Lexington, 02421, United States
Lexington’s Patriots’ Day celebration commemorates the opening moments of the American Revolution with moving reenactments, solemn ceremonies, and vibrant community events. At dawn, the Battle Green comes alive as militia and British regulars recreate April 19, 1775. Parades, historic homes, music, and family activities follow, honoring courage, sacrifice, and civic pride while welcoming visitors to experience the town’s enduring revolutionary spirit through storytelling, education, reflection, and shared remembrance across generations and communities each historic spring.

Patriots Vigil at Old North Bridge
2026-04-17 19:30 - 21:00 | Old North Bridge, Old North Bridge, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
Friday April 17, 2026
Patriots Vigil
Ceremony 7:45 pm – 8:30 pm
Luminaria 7:30 pm- 9:00 pm
North Bridge, Concord
As darkness descends upon the North Bridge battlefield we invite you to come and reflect on the events of April 19, 1775 and the meaning of liberty. The evening ceremony will feature a lantern-light procession, poetry, music, and a recitation of the names of the soldiers who gave their lives on that “ever-memorable” 19th of April.
The path from the North Bridge Visitor Center to the North Bridge will be lighted with 122 luminaries to honor those who lost their lives in the battle.
Lantern light procession* starts at North Bridge Visitor Center, 174 Liberty St, Concord, MA
*To participate in the lantern-light procession, please provide your own REAL candle lantern. The procession will begin at North Bridge Visitor Center, 174 Liberty Street, Concord Ma. From there we will march down the quarter-mile path to the North Bridge where the ceremony will take place. Participants are welcome to wear 18th century clothing if they choose, but please do not bring muskets.
This event is co-sponsored by Friends of Minute Man National Park

Fireside Chat with Historian & Guide Daniel Berger-Jones
2026-04-17 16:00 - 18:00 | 776 boylston street, Boylston Street 776, Boston, Massachusetts, 02199, United States
In honor of America’s 250th anniversary and Boston’s celebration, join us for special fireside chats in our lobby with Historian Daniel Berger-Jones, a prominent Boston-based storyteller and reenactor who founded the Boston History Company. Daniel specializes in bringing local history to life through interactive, theatrical walking tours, lectures, and podcasts.
Gather to recount tales of patriots, pivotal moments, and the city streets that shaped a nation, from the echoes of the Boston Tea Party to the midnight ride of Paul Revere. These engaging events will offer an inspiring experience to connect with Boston’s revolutionary past while commemorating 250 years of American independence, in the heart of the city where history was made.
Event is located in our lobby lounge and complimentary to hotel guests. Food and beverage available for purchase.
Limited availability and advanced booking encouraged.

Gallery Talk: The Declaration in American Memory
2026-04-17 13:00 - 14:00 | Massachusetts Historical Society, Boylston Street 1154, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States
Join Library Assistant Brandon McGrath-Neely for “The Declaration in American Memory,” a gallery talk on the exhibition 1776: Declaring Independence. Visitors are invited to explore the rest of the exhibition and ask questions.
Attendance is free. Please visit here to register: https://www.masshist.org/events/gallery-talk-april-17-2026

AudaTours Stoneham Audio Tour: Timeless Tales of Historic Pride and Heritage
2026-04-17 12:00 - 14:00, 2026-04-16 12:00 - 14:00, 2026-04-15 12:00 - 14:00, 2026-04-14 12:00 - 14:00, 2026-04-13 12:00 - 14:00 | Nobility Hill Historic District, Stoneham, Massachusetts, 02180, United States
In Stoneham, the shadows of colonial fires and twentieth-century neon flicker side by side. Few realize how many secrets linger behind these iconic facades.
This self-guided audio tour leads straight through the city’s untold stories. Encounter corners and chapters that even locals walk past, and let carefully crafted tales reveal what hides beneath the ordinary.
Why did a quiet night at the Bernard Cogan House erupt into controversy that changed a neighborhood? Who vanished beneath the glowing beacon of Stoneham’s eerily beautiful gas station? What explains the perfectly preserved pencil marks under the Warren Sweetser House staircase?
Move between centuries as you cross storied main streets and hidden lanes. Each step peels back another layer of rebellion, ambition, and intrigue, letting Stoneham rise up around you as never before.
Tap play and see how deep Stoneham’s shadows can stretch. The secrets are waiting.

Revolution 250 Salem Tour
2026-04-17 11:00 - 2026-04-19 12:30 | Salem Historical Tours, Central Street 8, Salem, Massachusetts, 01970, United States
Everyone knows Salem for the 1692 Witchcraft Trials, but did you know that Salem made significant contributions to the American Revolution? The shot heard round the world almost happened in Salem, the town was known for its Privateers (legal Pirates) who were the most successful against the British Navy and British military governor General Thomas Gage encountered some of his biggest challenges to his authority in Salem.
We always say that without Salem, the United States may not be the same United States we know today.
Come to Salem as part of the Rev250 Celebration and learn the incredible role our patriots played in the start of our country.
https://www.salemhistoricaltours.com/revolution-250-tour

The Road to Revolution: Massachusetts and the Independence Movement
2026-04-17 10:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-16 10:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-15 10:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-14 10:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-13 10:00 - 17:00 | Old State House, 206 Washington St, Boston, MA, 02109, United States
Explore major Massachusetts events in the first year of the American Revolution at the Old State House, where protest turned into action and the momentum for independence accelerated. Created through a partnership between Revolutionary Spaces and the Massachusetts Historical Society, The Road to Revolution: Massachusetts and the Independence Movement invites visitors to step into 1775 and 1776—a moment defined by uncertainty, debate, and decisions that would reshape the world.

1776: Declaring Independence
2026-04-17 09:30 - 16:00, 2026-04-16 09:30 - 16:00, 2026-04-15 09:30 - 16:00, 2026-04-14 09:30 - 16:00, 2026-04-13 09:30 - 16:00 | Massachusetts Historical Society, Boylston Street 1154, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States
Featuring manuscripts, artifacts, and rarely seen treasures, this exhibition captures a monumental moment in American history.
In 1776, people grappled with ideas of liberty, loyalty, and the role of government in society. Private letters, intimate diaries, and newspaper accounts reveal how the Declaration of Independence grew from draft to founding document. 1776: Declaring Independence spotlights handwritten copies of the Declaration by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson as well as multiple early printings, including a rare Dunlap broadside. On and off the page, we explore how it echoed across the commonwealth and around the world, reshaping the colonists’ chances of launching a new nation. How did the Declaration change Americans’ quest for liberty, then and now? We invite visitors to trace the Declaration’s complex legacy as a national beacon for celebration and protest.
Check here for closures and more admission information: https://www.masshist.org/visit/hours-and-admission

Revolutionary Roads: From Anti-Catholicism to the founding of Emmanuel College
2026-04-16 12:15 - 13:30 | Emmanuel College, Pilgrim Road 103, Boston, MA, 02215, United States
The American Revolution helped usher in greater religious toleration in Massachusetts. With the adoption of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780, Catholics and other religious minorities were guaranteed freedom of worship in the Commonwealth. Although the path toward acceptance was not always easy, these changes allowed Catholicism to take root and, over time, become a defining characteristic of the Bay State.
Education, long central to Massachusetts society and its Puritan founders, was also a core value shared by Catholics. In 1849, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur arrived in Boston’s North End to educate Irish immigrants. Their mission of teaching and service continued to expand, culminating in the founding of Emmanuel College in 1919, the first Catholic women’s college in New England.
Join us for a panel presentation and discussion that connects the revolutionary spirit of 1776 with the pioneering work of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and their enduring legacy in Massachusetts.

Salt and Revolution: The Saltworks of Cape Cod in the 18th Century
2026-04-16 10:30 - 12:00 | Cape Cod Museum of Art, 60 Hope Lane, Dennis, MA, 02638, United States
Join historian Bob Kelley of the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth for a fascinating talk on the saltworks developed on the uplands at Sesuit Creek in the East Precinct of Yarmouth. He will discuss why the Atlantic coast was unable to produce salt as efficiently as European countries, how the 1775 Prohibitory Act of Parliament inspired Capt. John Sears to experiment with solar salt production on the eve of the Revolution, and how, in 1785, the hand pump from the wreck of the Somerset became part of that development.
Bob will explain how salt production shaped the region’s economy for more than 80 years—with help from tariffs enacted by Congress beginning in 1789—and identify the first salt makers whose innovations fueled this vital industry. He will also explore how solar salt production enabled the rapid spread of the Sears and Hattil Killey patents throughout the Cape after 1799, and why the industry began to decline in the mid-1800s.
Bob Kelley of South Yarmouth began his career as a manager of small manufacturing facilities in northern New Jersey for 13 years. He was a former corporate director for the Slim-Fast Foods Company for 20 years, V.P. Operations for Stein World, LLC 8 years, retiring in 2018. Bob is a commissioner with the Yarmouth Historic Commission, current President of the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth, and a tenth-generation Yarmouth Quaker descended from David OKillea of Kelley’s Bay on Bass River. He is a researcher and writer of the local history of South Yarmouth, with a heavy concentration in the subjects of genealogy, saltworks, Quakers, and the Indigenous Peoples of that town.
Bob has tracked the origins of solar salt production and discovered over three hundred saltworks-related deeds in Dennis and Yarmouth. He will produce a reference, picture and history book in early 2027 on Yarmouth Saltworks.
[Image credit: The old salt works, South Yarmouth, Mass. Digital Commonwealth, Historical Society of Old Yarmouth Image Collection. ]

The Role of the Press in the American Revolution
2026-04-15 18:30 - 19:30, 2026-04-15 08:00 - 17:00 | Bigelow Library, Walnut Street 54, Clinton, MA, 01510, United States
18th century newspapers and pamphlets were essential to the dissemination of information and were instrumental in fanning the flames of discord on both sides of the revolutionary conflict. However, how did printers get their information? This interactive program, with the added component of 18th century material culture items, focuses on the incredible process of typesetting and the role that printing and propaganda played in the pivotal events leading up to the American Revolution.
Michele Gabrielson is a local history teacher and historic interpreter of the 18th century. When she is not teaching in the classroom, Michele can be found leading tours, lectures, and demonstrations at historic sites in the greater Boston area. She specializes in interpreting the history of colonial women printers, the stories of loyalist refugees, and of 18th century chocolate makers! Most recently, she has taken on building a first-person impression of the revolutionary playwright and poet Mercy Otis Warren. Michele additionally serves as the secretary for the newly formed Mercy Otis Warren Society, dedicated to helping preserve the contributions of Mercy, is a member of the Authenticity Standards Committee for Minuteman National Historic Park, and is the coordinator for the Battle Road Guides for the annual reenactment of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. She was awarded a 2024 Rising Star Award for Public History by the Massachusetts History Alliance for her programming titled, “The Revolutionary Classroom,” and named a finalist for the 2024 Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year. She has been named the Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution’s Outstanding History Teacher of the Year for 2025 and the 2025 winner of the Fred Graham Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati.

The Siege of Boston: A New Discovery, Fireside Chat with Andrew J. O’Shaughnessy
2026-04-15 18:00 - 19:00 | Virtual Program, North Washington Square 19 1/2, Salem, MA, 01970, United States
Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Time: 6:00–7:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom Webinar
Cost: Free and open to the public; advance registration required
Join us for a virtual fireside chat with University of Virginia History Professor Andrew J. O’Shaughnessy, former Director of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Thomas Jefferson Studies at Monticello, who will discuss his new archival discovery and reconsider the significance of the Siege of Boston as the first major British defeat of the war—an event that forced Britain to undertake the monumental task of attempting to reconquer America.
Registration (required for virtual attendance):
https://1776.history.fas.harvard.edu/

American Revolutionaries: Tea, Sociability, and Revolution
2026-04-15 12:00 - 13:00 | Clark Art Institute, 225 South Street, Williamstown, MA, 01267, United States
American Revolutionaries is a series of gallery talks given by members of the curatorial team in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States. Each talk highlights artworks from the Burrows Gallery of American Decorative Arts, including silver from the Henry Morris and Elizabeth H. Burrows collection, which came to the Clark from an anonymous loan to celebrate the Bicentennial of the United States in 1976.
The series concludes with an exploration of works of silver and furniture. Alexis Goodin, curator of decorative arts, discusses the importance of tea in the daily life of colonial Americans. Goodin focuses on the women who helped organize a boycott of the hot beverage after the British government imposed the Tea Act of 1773.
Image: John Brevoort, Teapot, c. 1740, silver and wood. The Clark, bequest of Henry Morris and Elizabeth H Burrows, 2003.4.265

The American Revolution and the Fate of the World
2026-04-14 19:00 - 20:00 | American Antiquarian Society, 185 Salisbury Street, Worcester, 01609, United States
Historian and author Richard Bell traces the far-flung reverberations of American Revolution through the lives of the people it displaced, empowered, or destroyed. Participants will encounter a Native matriarch struggling to preserve a transatlantic military alliance, a Prussian officer reinventing himself in a foreign army, and a Boston schoolteacher shipwrecked thousands of miles from home. Along the way, Bell explores how the Revolution stirred a transoceanic refugee crisis, ignited antislavery activism, and inspired uprisings from Ireland to India. The program offers a bold new framework for understanding the Revolutionary War not as a tidy founding moment but as a sprawling, high-stakes struggle fought on land and sea, shaped by commerce, diplomacy, propaganda, and contingency. This is the American Revolution as you’ve never seen it before: complex, global, and astonishingly relevant to the modern world.

The Capture of Paul Revere
2026-04-13 00:00 | Minute Man Visitor Center, Lincoln, MA, 01773, United States
March with the Lincoln Minute Men along Battle Road at 2:45 p.m. or meet at the capture site at 3 p.m. where Paul Revere’s ride ended in Lincoln. See Revere, Samuel Prescott, William Dawes, Mary Hartwell, Catharine Louisa Smith, and Major Mitchell tell the true story, despite poetic efforts by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to tell a different tale. Music and musket fire. For all ages.
