Exhibit: World War I
April 1 - August 30
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Ridgefield men and women rallied to protect our nation during what was called “the Great War” and “the war to end all wars”. Visit Ridgefield Town Hall and see up close their heroic efforts to protect our country, from the soldiers who gave their lives, to the residents on the home front.
This exhibit is curated by Town Historian Kay Ables, and presented by the Ridgefield Historical Society. The exhibit is on view at Ridgefield Town Hall, Monday through Friday 8:30 am – 4:30 pm between April 1 and August 30.
Author Talk: The Tragedy of Benedict Arnold with Joyce Malcolm
May 2
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Join us for an Author Talk with historian Joyce Lee Malcolm as she discusses her just-released book The Tragedy of Benedict Arnold.
Proud and talented, history now remembers this conflicted man solely through the lens of his last desperate act of treason. Yet the fall of Benedict Arnold remains one of the Revolutionary period’s great puzzles. Why did a brilliant military commander, who repeatedly risked his life fighting the British, who was grievously injured in the line of duty, and fell into debt personally funding his own troops, ultimately became a traitor to the patriot cause?
Joyce Lee Malcolm unravels the man behind the myth and gives us a portrait of the true Arnold and his world. There was his dramatic victory against the British at Saratoga in 1777 and his troubled childhood in a pre-revolutionary America beset with class tension and economic instability. We witness his brilliant wartime military exploits and learn of his contentious relationship with a newly formed and fractious Congress, fearful of powerful military leaders, like Arnold, who could threaten the nation’s fragile democracy.
Throughout, Malcolm weaves in portraits of Arnold’s great allies, George Washington, General Schuyler, his beautiful and beloved wife Peggy Shippen, and others, as well as his unrelenting enemy John Adams, British General Clinton, and master spy John Andre.
Dr. Joyce Lee Malcolm is an historian and constitutional scholar specializing in British and colonial American History. She is the Patrick Henry Professor of Constitutional Law and the Second Amendment at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. She has previously taught at Princeton University and Cambridge University. She has written many books and articles on the Second Amendment and individual rights.
This event will be held at Ridgefield Library. For more information and to reserve a seat, please go to the Ridgefield Library event page.
This program is co-sponsored by the Library, Books on the Common, Keeler Tavern Museum, Ridgefield Historical Society, and the Drum Hill Chapter of the DAR with special thanks to West Lane Inn and Nutmeg Livery.
Genealogy: United States Military Records with Toni McKeen
May 6
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
In this presentation, Toni McKeen will cover what documents are available in United States Military Records, the information they contain, how to find them, and how to use them for further research. The program will begin with an inspirational PowerPoint presentation of historical WWI and WWII posters.
Toni McKeen has been doing genealogy research on her own extensive Italian family, her husband’s Irish family and son in law’s German family for more than 30 years. She is a member of several genealogical organizations, and was recently Chairman of the Genealogy Club of Newtown. Over the years she has taught at Founders Hall in Ridgefield, in Redding, CT as well as Bronxville and Mamaroneck, NY. Toni has also been a popular lecturer at various genealogy societies in the New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Boston, and Long Island.
This lecture will be held at Ridgefield Library. For more information and to reserve a seat, please go to the Ridgefield Library event page.
This program is part of the town-wide Remembering World War I series commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of Word War I. The series is co-sponsored by the Library, Keeler Tavern Museum, Ridgefield Historical Society, American Legion, Graveyard Restoration Committee, Marine Corps League and the Drum Hill Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. This program is made possible thanks to the Friends of the Library.
Member Event: First Annual Member Appreciation Day
May 19
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Spend the afternoon with your fellow members at our first annual Thank You Party! We invite you to bring a friend (or two!) and introduce them to the Ridgefield Historical Society ‘s many offerings. At the event learn more about our genealogy services and Historic Plaque program, see a display of treasures from our state-of-the-art archive, mark your calendar for summer Sundays at the Peter Parley Schoolhouse, take a tour of the 1714 Scott House led by preservation architect David Scott, and meet Town Historian, Kay Ables. In the back yard, go back in time with the 4th Conn. Regiment as they cook and bake over an open fire, demonstrate how to clean, make cartridges for, and shoot muskets, and reenact the camp life complete with period tents depicting how soldiers and camp followers lived during the period.
Meet at Scott House (click for map), home of The Ridgefield Historical Society.
Rain Date: Sunday, May 20, 1-4 pm
Peter Parley Schoolhouse Open House
May 27
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Step back in time into the 18th-century Peter Parley Schoolhouse! Watch a video about Peter Parley, its most famous “scholar”. See old desks, quill pens, and a potbellied stove. Find out which of Ridgefield’s twelve little red schoolhouses was closest to your house. Read the strict teacher’s rules and play with colonial toys!
The schoolhouse is open from 1 pm to 4 pm the last Sunday of each month, from May through October. Click here for directions.
Field Trip: Arthur Avenue and The Cloisters
June 2
9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Save the date for Ridgefield Historical Society’s Spring trip!
Visit Arthur Avenue and its famous Italian shops and restaurants.
Arthur Avenue, in the Belmont section of the Bronx, is our first stop. Shop for the freshest breads pastries and meats. Bring a cooler! Have lunch on your own and enjoy fine Italian cuisine at one of the many nearby restaurants.
After lunch, we travel to Fort Tryon Park in northern Manhattan to the Cloisters, overlooking the Hudson River. We will tour the Cloisters medieval art, architecture, and gardens and as a special bonus we will see part of the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute’s exhibit, Heavenly Bodies.
Cost of the trip is $55 for members and $60 for nonmembers. To sign up, call The Ridgefield Historical Society at 203-438-5821 or email us at ridgefieldhistory@sbcglobal.net.
Meet at the south parking lot of Pond’s Edge Professional Park (click for map; 901 Ethan Allen Highway). Arrive a little early to leave time to park and board the bus.
Peter Parley Schoolhouse Open House
June 24
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Step back in time into the 18th-century Peter Parley Schoolhouse! Watch a video about Peter Parley, its most famous “scholar”. See old desks, quill pens, and a potbellied stove. Find out which of Ridgefield’s twelve little red schoolhouses was closest to your house. Read the strict teacher’s rules and play with colonial toys!
The schoolhouse is open from 1 pm to 4 pm the last Sunday of each month, from May through October. Click here for directions.
Peter Parley Schoolhouse Open House
July 29
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Step back in time into the 18th-century Peter Parley Schoolhouse! Watch a video about Peter Parley, its most famous “scholar”. See old desks, quill pens, and a potbellied stove. Find out which of Ridgefield’s twelve little red schoolhouses was closest to your house. Read the strict teacher’s rules and play with colonial toys!
The schoolhouse is open from 1 pm to 4 pm the last Sunday of each month, from May through October. Click here for directions.
Peter Parley Schoolhouse Open House
August 26
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Step back in time into the 18th-century Peter Parley Schoolhouse! Watch a video about Peter Parley, its most famous “scholar”. See old desks, quill pens, and a potbellied stove. Find out which of Ridgefield’s twelve little red schoolhouses was closest to your house. Read the strict teacher’s rules and play with colonial toys!
The schoolhouse is open from 1 pm to 4 pm the last Sunday of each month, from May through October. Click here for directions.
Peter Parley Schoolhouse Open House
September 30
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Step back in time into the 18th-century Peter Parley Schoolhouse! Watch a video about Peter Parley, its most famous “scholar”. See old desks, quill pens, and a potbellied stove. Find out which of Ridgefield’s twelve little red schoolhouses was closest to your house. Read the strict teacher’s rules and play with colonial toys!
The schoolhouse is open from 1 pm to 4 pm the last Sunday of each month, from May through October. Click here for directions.
Peter Parley Schoolhouse Open House
October 28
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Step back in time into the 18th-century Peter Parley Schoolhouse! Watch a video about Peter Parley, its most famous “scholar”. See old desks, quill pens, and a potbellied stove. Find out which of Ridgefield’s twelve little red schoolhouses was closest to your house. Read the strict teacher’s rules and play with colonial toys!
The schoolhouse is open from 1 pm to 4 pm the last Sunday of each month, from May through October. Click here for directions.