Join your friends and neighbors with the return of Essex Historical Society’s (EHS) popular Winter Lecture Series, hosted by our partners at Essex Meadows.  This year’s theme highlights the American Revolution.  The Series begins on Sunday, January 5, at 3pm with the illustrated talk, “Tories, Spies and Traitors: Divided Loyalty in Revolutionary Connecticut” presented by Annie O’Brien, from the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History.

Ms. O’Brien’s talk asks, “Which side are you on?”  That’s the question that every single person in Connecticut had to answer in 1775, as the thirteen colonies began a rebellion against British rule. Loyalty was not only a matter of words or opinion. For soldiers and civilians alike, loyalty could mean loss of fortune, of friends, and even of life. This presentation reveals stories— some well- known, some obscure— of Nutmeggers who risked and sacrificed to support their chosen side.

The illustrated talk is free and open to the public, held in beautiful Hamilton Hall at Essex Meadows, 30 Bokum Road, Essex.  For more information, please contact EHS at 860-767-0681 or mjosefiak@essexhistory.org

With an education and interpretation background at Avon Public Schools and the Mark Twain House, Annie O’Brien presently serves as a Museum Educator at the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History, developing and teaching educational programs for school and adult audiences.

EHS’s Winter Lecture Series highlights local history during the American Revolution, paving the way for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of the United States in 2026.  This 250th anniversary is also known as the Semiquincentennial (a.k.a. Semi-Q) celebrates all of our country’s history from Indigenous peoples to the present.  Please stay tuned for more collaborative 250th programming at the town and state partners!