MHS Open House

Join us on Saturday, June 16 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at our annual Open House featuring a preview of our summer exhibition Mr. Madison’s War: The Controversial War of 1812. Visitors are invited to participate in tours; listen to exhibition talks; enjoy refreshments; and learn more about the Society’s collections, programs, and services.

A variety of activities will be offered throughout the day.

• Starting in the front lobby at 10:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 2:00 PM, tours of the Society's public rooms will give visitors a taste of the history and collections of the MHS.
• At 11:00 AM, visitors are invited to "Frederic Baury's Extraordinary War," a detailed description of the brief but illustrious Naval career of a Midshipman during the War of 1812. This talk will be given by Nora Saltonstall Preservation Librarian Kathy Griffin.
• At 1:00 PM, Stephen T. Riley Librarian Peter Drummey will present "War and Peace: John Quincy Adams in St. Petersburg and at Ghent, 1809-1814," a talk focused on John Quincy Adams. While serving as the American minister to Russia, Adams witnessed events leading up to the War of 1812 in America, and at the same time, the “other” War of 1812, the titanic French invasion of Russia. In detailed letters to his parents and voluminous diary accounts, Adams documented his observations of both.
• View Mr. Madison’s War: The Controversial War of 1812 and examine the controversial nature of the war in Massachusetts and the struggles between the Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans.

Enjoy refreshments throughout the day and visit our information table to learn about MHS resources, upcoming programs, and how to become a member.  For more information e-mail rsvp@masshist.org.