Lectures & Events
GENERAL LAFAYETTE THEN AND NOW: LEGACY, MEMORY, AND THE 250TH OF HIS AMERICAN SERVICE
Throughout 2024 and 2025, the American Friends of Lafayette commemorated the Bicentennial of Lafayette's return to America as Guest of the Nation, hosting 350 events across 24 states. Learn about Lafayette's contributions during the American Revolution, his lifelong passion for human rights, and how his legacy spread across the United States in 1824-1825 and again in 2024-2025.
Sleeping with the Ancestors & Divided Loyalty
McGill’s nationwide journey of sleeping in former slave dwellings is documented in Sleeping with the Ancestors, co‑written with Herb Frazier. The two authors partnered again for Divided Loyalty. While Sleeping with the Ancestors centers on the antebellum era, the 250th anniversary of American independence inspired them to shift their lens in Divided Loyalty, the prequel, toward the colonial built environment and the world that shaped the nation’s earliest history.
The Illustrious Life of an 18th Century House: Scotchtown Before, During, and After the Henrys
Scotchtown is noted to be the largest home ever listed for sale in the Virginia Gazette, and its walls hold both secrets and scandals as well as grief, joy, and pain. Can one house hold a history of industry, murder, mystery, alongside the contradictions of liberty and bondate, freedom and inequality? Hear about illustrious Virginia families including the Chiswells, Robinsons, Henrys, Sheppards, and Taylors, and the enduring legacy that one house can tell.
Jammin’ on the James: Grace Street Seven
Summer nights on the James River? Music to our ears! Wilton House Museum brings you live music, house tours, and sweet treats with beautiful river views. Guests are invited to pack a picnic, spread out on the lawn, and enjoy great local bands with beautiful waterfront views. Italian ice from Good Vices, on-site tours, and a neighborhood shuttle make the evening easy, relaxed, and fun for all ages. In case of rain, the concert moves indoors to our spacious lecture hall.
The Story of America: The Struggle to Expand Human Freedom
Join us in exploring Richmond, once the epicenter of the domestic slave trade in the Upper South, to understand our whole history and how that history has impacted life today. Marland Buckner, the Shockoe Institute President and CEO, will share how that struggle to expand human freedom made America exceptional, and how the Shockoe Institute is focused on providing a venue for civic engagement so that our future can be brighter than our past.
Materializing Memory: The Art of Mourning at Wilton
Join us at Wilton House Museum for an exclusive collections pop-up event showcasing rarely seen mourning jewelry, portraiture miniatures, and intricate hair-work from our archives. Discover how 18th- and 19th- century Virginia residents translated personal loss into beautiful, wearable monuments of family love and legacy. This collections connections event style allows you to view these historical treasures up close and at your own pace, allowing you an intimate window into Early American material culture and the deeply sentimental rituals of the past. Admission is free, but an RSVP is required, so be sure to secure your spot!
Jammin’ on the James: Buckshot Robert
Summer nights on the James River? Music to our ears! Wilton House Museum brings you live music, house tours, and sweet treats with beautiful river views. Guests are invited to pack a picnic, spread out on the lawn, and enjoy great local bands with beautiful waterfront views. Italian ice from Good Vices, on-site tours, and a neighborhood shuttle make the evening easy, relaxed, and fun for all ages. In case of rain, the concert moves indoors to our spacious lecture hall.
Jammin’ on the James: The Ham Biscuits
Summer nights on the James River? Music to our ears! Wilton House Museum brings you live music, house tours, and sweet treats with beautiful river views. Guests are invited to pack a picnic, spread out on the lawn, and enjoy great local bands with beautiful waterfront views. Italian ice from Good Vices, on-site tours, and a neighborhood shuttle make the evening easy, relaxed, and fun for all ages. In case of rain, the concert moves indoors to our spacious lecture hall.
Camp Wilton
Camp Wilton is a free, family friendly open house that brings Revolutionary War and colonial history to life through hands-on, interactive experiences for all ages. Inspired by the two week encampment of the Marquis de Lafayette and Continental forces at Wilton in May 1781. The event highlights the 1753 house and original site’s role as a gathering place for military and Virginia leaders during the Revolution.
Registration is free but recommended!
Oceans of Kin: The Power and Promise of 18th Century Atlantic Genealogies
Wilton House Lecture Series: Oceans of Kin: The Power and Promise of 18th Century Atlantic Genealogies with Karin Wulf
A Woman of Fine Presence: The Material Culture of Maggie Lena Walker
Wilton House Lecture Series: A Woman of Fine Presence: The Material Culture of Maggie Lena Walker with Ethan Bullard
The Crown’s Silence
Wilton House Lecture Series: The Crown’s Silence with Dr. Brooke Newman
A Mantua-Maker’s Method: Recreating Historical Dress
Wilton House Lecture Series: A Mantua-maker's Method: Recreating Historical Dress with Brooke Welborn