Fraunces Tavern Museum

Learn how rum impacted the American Revolution with Jordan B. Smith! This talk, building on Jordan’s 2025 book, The Invention of Rum: Creating the Quintessential Atlantic Commodity, presents a new story of how rum was invented, made, sold, and consumed in the Atlantic world, and how those developments intersected with the American Revolution. We will explore how rum revolutionized the Atlantic wor...

Did we need a Declaration? What does the text tell us about the signers? Was the Declaration a success? What has been its appeal and its influence abroad and at home over the last 250 years? Judge Douglas Ginsberg explores these questions at this special Liberty 250® lecture. Judge Douglas Ginsburg is known for his civics work. He produced a film for PBS in July 2023 on the Declaration of Independ...

Join historian Robert Watson for this talk exploring some of the fun and intriguing stories behind the stories as well as common myths and misconceptions about both remarkable events.* This special 250th lecture was recorded as part of Fraunces Tavern Museum's Evening Lecture series on Monday, March 9th, 2026. *The views of the speakers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of S...

Join author Renee Witterstaetter as she presents on her book, Cloaked Crusader: George Washington in Comics and Pop Culture, looking at the visage of Washington in everything from tavern signs to comic books to movies, over the past 250 years.* This special 250th lecture was recorded as part of Fraunces Tavern Museum's Evening Lecture series on Tuesday, February 10th, 2026. *The views of the speak...

On Monday, January 26, 2026, SRNY commemorated the birthday of Frederick Samuel Tallmadge, the second President of the Sons of the Revolution℠ in the State of New York, Inc., whose generosity enabled the Society to acquire Fraunces Tavern in 1904. Our featured speaker was Kevin Draper,* historian and co-founder of New York Historical Tours, who spoke on the subject of the American Revolution in th...

How can the American Revolution be understood as a global war? How were the war’s effects felt at home and abroad? In this virtual interview conversation with John Ferling*, author of Shots Heard Round the World: America, Britain, and Europe in the Revolutionary War., we discuss the subjects of Ferling’s most recent book and the broader scope of the Revolutionary War, followed by an audience Q&A....

Join author Michael Cecere* for a lecture in our special 250th series. This talk covers important events in 1775 across all of the thirteen colonies, with a special emphasis on the Middle Colonies and New York. This special 250th lecture was recorded as part of Fraunces Tavern Museum's Evening Lecture series on Tuesday, September 23, 2025. *The views of the speakers are their own and do not necess...

Spies, espionage, and intelligence operations during the American Revolution have long captured the public's imagination, thanks in part to popular books and television series. While these dramatizations highlight a captivating aspect of the Revolutionary War, they often blur the line between fact and fiction. Join historian Charles Dewey to uncover the real stories of the men and women—soldiers a...

It is a truism that Lower Manhattan has been America's town square since its founding in 1524, even though its history is much deeper. Virtually every aspect of global, local and national significance can be in some manner traced to this Downtown stage. Some have been forgotten and some have been transformative in our culture and many have fallen between. This is both a project in urban archaeolog...

It is a truism that Lower Manhattan has been America's town square since its founding in 1524, even though its history is much deeper. Virtually every aspect of global, local and national significance can be in some manner traced to this Downtown stage. Some have been forgotten and some have been transformative in our culture and many have fallen between. This is both a project in urban archaeolog...

On June 23, Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York, Inc. commemorated the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill with a reception and lecture by Dr. Samuel A. Forman*, author of Dr. Joseph Warren: The Boston Tea Party, Bunker Hill, and the Birth of American Liberty. At the 250th anniversary of the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, we recall the Battle of Bunker Hill, whose carnag...

Join author Kostya Kennedy for this lecture exploring the dramatic events of April 18 and 19, 1775—the night of Paul Revere’s famous ride. With new insights from archives, family documents, and contemporary accounts, discover how the legendary ride is far more complex than it is usually portrayed.* This special 250th lecture was recorded as part of Fraunces Tavern Museum's Evening Lecture series o...

More than 3 years passed between the last battle in the North and the British surrender at Yorktown. In this lecture, Alan Pell Crawford tells what actually happened in those 3 too-little known years that forced the British to lose the war–and enabled America to win it.* This lecture was recorded as part of Fraunces Tavern Museum's Evening Lecture series on Monday, March 17, 2025. *The views of th...

George Washington and Samuel Fraunces developed skills of risk-taking, judgement, and leadership through their entrepreneurial ventures that would later advantage them and the new nation when they chose to join the cause of American patriots. In this lecture, John Berlau spotlights the successes and struggles of both men in their respective business careers that intertwined at important points in...

On Monday, January 27, 2025, SRNY commemorated the birthday of Frederick Samuel Tallmadge, the second President of the Sons of the Revolution℠ in the State of New York, Inc., whose generosity enabled the Society to acquire Fraunces Tavern in 1904. Our featured speaker was Richard Brookhiser,* author of Glorious Lessons: John Trumbull, Painter of the American Revolution. This engaging book tells th...

Clement Clarke Moore is known the world over for his masterpiece of juvenile fiction, Twas the Night Before Christmas — less well-known is Moore's own life story and the involvement of his parents and grandparents during the revolutionary period. Join author and historian Pamela McColl for a festive presentation on the life and times of Clement Clarke Moore (New York, NY 1779-1863) and the Moore a...

In this lecture, join author, photographer, and licensed NYC sightseeing guide Tommy Silk as he discusses how he decided on the 120 buildings that constitute the hidden landmarks of the five boroughs. Discover the histories of the city's remaining buildings from the 18th century and earlier, including Fraunces Tavern itself, and learn why so few of these structures remain today.* This lecture was...

Remarks and Lecture from special guests in the Bissell Room of Fraunces Tavern® for Fraunces Tavern® Museum’s expanded permanent exhibition The Birch Trials at Fraunces Tavern, October 23, 2024. Speakers include Elizabeth Cooke-Sumbu and Andrea Davis, descendants of individuals listed in the Book of Negroes, reviewed and compiled at Fraunces Tavern in 1783. Andrea Davis, Executive Director of the...

Remarks from the preview reception for Fraunces Tavern® Museum’s expanded permanent exhibition The Birch Trials at Fraunces Tavern, October 23, 2024, in the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Educational Center for American History. Speakers include Peter C. Hein, President, Sons of the Revolution℠ in the State of New York, Inc. (SRNY); Craig H. Weaver, SRNY Museum Committee Co-Chair; Scott M. Dwyer,...

Hosted by The Lower Manhattan Historical Association, Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York, Inc. and its Fraunces Tavern Museum, and cultureNOW. Each October the Lower Manhattan Historical Association celebrates two of the Continental Army’s most decisive Revolutionary War victories, the battles of Saratoga and Yorktown. Both General Horatio Gates, the commanding general at the Battle o...

Join the Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York, Inc. to celebrate the signing of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787, featuring a lecture on the formation and implementation of the United States Constitution by Tom Hand, author of An American Triumph: America’s Founding Era through the Lives of Ben Franklin, George Washington, and John Adams, an honorable mention for the...

In this lecture, Tyson Reeder traces early America's rocky beginnings, when foreign interference and political conflict threatened to undermine its aspirations and ideals, even its very existence. Spanning the period from the Revolution to the War of 1812, and focusing particularly on the career of James Madison, it reveals a nation adjusting to rancorous partisan politics, aggravated by the untes...

We don't always consider the powerful impact that the War of Independence had on the physical landscape of 18th century America – much less how those impacts might still be seen and felt today. Join Professor David C. Hsiung for fascinating insights into the lasting legacies of the Revolution on the natural world, including deforestation at Valley Forge, raids that seized animals but also produced...

It is a truism that Lower Manhattan has been America's town square since its founding in 1524, even though its history is much deeper. Virtually every aspect of global, local and national significance can be in some manner traced to this Downtown stage. Some have been forgotten and some have been transformative in our culture and many have fallen between. This is both a project in urban archaeolog...

Perhaps no single day in US history was as threatening to the survival of the nation as August 24, 1814, when British forces captured Washington. This unique moment might have significantly altered the nation's path forward, but the event and the reasons why it happened are often forgotten. In this lecture, Dr. Robert Watson explores the British campaign and American missteps that led to the fall...