Introducing the Big Barn Project
Tuesday, February 9
Marjory O’Toole, LCHS Executive Director
Hear about the Historical Society’s first permanent exhibition project in over 40 years. Executive Director Marjory O’Toole will share our plans for a major permanent exhibition on farming from the time of the Sakonnet People to the present day. See before and after photos of our 19th-century dairy barn as we reimagine it from an underappreciated storage building and create a vibrant new museum space. Learn how you and other community members can help by sharing farming photos, stories, and artifacts with us.
Beyond Salem 1692: Witchcraft in the Seventeenth-Century
Wednesday, February 3
Dr. Charlotte Carrington-Farmer, Associate Professor of History at Roger Williams University
Between 1450 and 1750, at least 100,000 individuals, mostly women, were accused of witchcraft in Europe and North America. Of these, roughly half met their demise at the stake or in the noose. The lecture will address how and why magic and witchcraft made sense to early modern people and what it meant when someone was accused of making a pact with the Devil. By setting the Salem trials of 1692 in context, the lecture will consider the nature of witch-hunts more broadly and the social, religious, judicial, and political causes.
They Knew They Were Pilgrims:
Plymouth Colony and the Contest for American Liberty
John G. Turner, Professor of Religious Studies, George Mason University
Drawing on original research using underutilized sources, Dr. Turner moves beyond familiar narratives in his new history of Plymouth Colony published for the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s Landing. His work focuses on the ways English settlers and Native peoples engaged in a contest for the meaning of American liberty.
Quaker Women in Colonial New England
Elizabeth Cazden, Independent Quaker Scholar
Explore the lives of Quaker women in Colonial New England and the roles they played within the Society of Friends. Ms. Cazden will use her intensive research as a path to understanding the rights and responsibilities of local Quaker women.
The Women of the West Road—Activists & Advocates
Janet Lisle, Author of The History of Little Compton
Author and local historian Janet Lisle will detail the lives of a close-knit group of 19th-century women living at the corner of West Main and Swamp Roads, who, despite their youth, led Little Compton’s abolition efforts in the century’s early decades.
Slavery & Freedom in Little Compton
Wednesday, August 5
Marjory O’Toole, Executive Director, LCHS
Explore the history of Northern slavery and emancipation through the personal stories of people enslaved in Little Compton and the surrounding communities. Special attention will be paid to the histories of enslaved women and girls.
Nevertheless, She Persisted: Exploring 17th-Century Women for a 21st-Century World
Hilary Goodnow, Director for Education & Outreach, Plimoth Plantation
What does it really mean to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes? Explore the lives of 17th-century women through the eyes of Mayflower passenger Elizabeth Tilley Howland and discuss how living history provides new insight into their joys, sorrows, and challenges.
Link: https://vimeo.com/451232853/b04835338f
Little Compton’s 17th- 18th- & 19th-Century Women
Marjory O’Toole, LCHS Executive Director
From sachems to epidemic survivors to suffragists, the early women of Little Compton led lives that we are only just beginning to understand. Learn more about these fascinating individuals and their growing community with video recordings of three previous lectures.
Women’s History Project – Virtual Indoor Exhibit Tour