Event Calendar

Date: Sunday, April 19, 2026

Time: 3:00 pm.

Location: Litchfield History Museum (7 South Street, Litchfield CT)

Cost: Free (Suggested $5 donation)

In 1777,Joel Stone fled his home in Litchfield to join the British army in New York. Inthis talk, historian Tim Compeau will share his research on the local LoyalistJoel Stone and his attempts to build a counter-revolutionary community in UpperCanada. Though an exile, he kept in touch his family and former neighbors andenticed some of them to join him in Canada following the War of Independence.Stone positioned himself as a patron who could help his countrymen secure landson the Canadian frontier, but only if they reaffirmed their allegiance to theKing. An early twentieth century Canadian historian referred to him as “abenevolent despot” of his “little kingdom”

This casestudy reveals the fluid allegiances of settlers trying to survive the upheavalsof the revolutionary age, and the tenacity of Loyalists in maintaining theircontrol of the Upper Canadian borderlands. It also demonstrates the persistenceand expansion of kinship networks despite war and exile. People, goods, andnews continued to flow between Stone’s settlement in Upper Canada andLitchfield, Connecticut until his death in 1833.

TimothyCompeau is an associate professor of history at Huron University in London,Ontario, Canada. He is author of Dishonored Americans: The PoliticalDeath of Loyalists in Revolutionary America (University of VirginiaPress, 2023). 

Thelecture will be held at the Litchfield History Museum, 7 South St. Litchfield,CT. For those unable to attend in person, a zoom option is available. Pleaseregister in advance, as space is limited. The event is free, and donations areappreciated.

Date: Sunday, April 26, 2026

Time: 2:00-4:00 p.m.

Location: Litchfield History Museum (7 South Street, Litchfield CT)

Cost: Free 

The Litchfield Historical Societyis delighted to host the Litchfield Arts Council for a celebration of NationalPoetry Month. Attendees of all ages are invited to an ekphrastic poetryworkshop at the Litchfield History Museum on Sunday, April 26 from 2:00-4:00.The workshop will be led by Sandy Carlson, Woodbury’s poet laureate emerita andmanaging partner of Orenaug Mountain Publishing (OMP)

 For more information, visit https://litchfieldartscouncil.org/

Date: Sunday, May 3, 2026

Time: 3:00 pm.

Location:  Litchfield Historical Society (7 South Street) 

Cost: Free (Suggested $5 donation)

This program explores the Revolutionary War through the life of Titus Minor, an African American soldier from Connecticut. By examining service at Valley Forge, struggles for freedom, and postwar hardship, it reveals how liberty, race, and sacrifice shaped the lived experience of the American Revolution and how we remember it 250 years later.

Peter C. Vermilyea teaches history at Housatonic Valley Regional High School and for the University of Connecticut. He is the author several books on the history of Litchfield County, including his newest publication Litchfield County in the American Revolution.